Tastebud : Bonab Persisk Kolgrill

8 November 2026

Today, we took a walk in Sundbyberg and was initially interested to have lunch at a newly-opened pub. But it opens only at 1pm. So, we checked in Google Map and found this restaurant, Bonab that has google ratings of 4.7. Persian food. My first encounter with Persian food was last year at Farsi in Mall of Scandinavia. I was not too keen then because I see grilled food and lots of rice. Tried it anyway and it was good food but not the type of cuisine I will choose. 

We tried Bonab anyway because it has good ratings. We shared an appetiser which came at the same time as the main meal so it is not exactly an appetiser. Our appetiser is Kashke bademjoon SEK119 - grilled aubergine spread mixed with mint, garlic and yoghurt sauce and topped with fried onion. Are it with bread. I took Karafs SEK189 - a dish with lamb stew and celery as I wanted hot and soupy food. Includes yoghurt sauce and two types of rice. Some spinkles of saffran rice on the top. Boyfriend took Faziri SEK299 - 2 skewers, one of Koobideh Zaferani (ground beef and lamb) and Joojeh Zaferani (chicken tenderloin), served with saffron rice and grilled tomato. 

Very full after the meal. Tasty. But too much rice for me. I finished it anyway.

Close-up photos of the meals. Appetiser - aubergine spread. Delicious.

My lamb stew has more celery pieces than lamb pieces. Boyfriend said that it is because lamb is expensive. Ok. Fine.

Miss Li concert

7 November 2026

Today, I went to a concert of a Swedish artiste, Miss Li. It was a celebration of her 20 years as a singer and songwriter. It is an activity courtesy of Kompis Sverige, the organisation that I am a volunteer with. Yup, still a volunteer although I write only about unique activities now such as this. I volunteered for this activity and I got a ticket to watch the concert too. The concert was held in Avicii Arena, formerly known as Globen. It is a huge globe. I have never been to this place. It is a huge indoor stadium. There were 9559 people in the audience, according to a newspaper article. 

Started at 7.40pm and the concert lasted for about 2 hours. I had a pair of earplugs and I could still hear the music clearly. I have heard of some of her songs and I enjoyed her pop songs. She sang some slow songs too which was dull to my ears. Probably because I have not heard of them before. We got seats in the stalls section where it is meant for standing audience but there were chairs for us. I stood during some of the catchy songs and danced a bit to it. Very fun experience!

Kopitiam Stockholm

7 November 2026

A small Malaysian restaurant, Kopitiam, has finally opened in Stockholm. There was once a Malaysian restaurant but it has closed down many years back, before I arrived in Stockholm. It opened last week and the hype is there among the Malaysians and Singaporeans in Stockholm. Yay that we will finally get to eat Malaysian food. But the restaurant is located is Östermalm, a very pricey area and the prices are reflected in the menu. Nevertheless, I needed to try. This place is only opened during lunch hours from 10am-3pm on certain days. I suppose the hours may eventually change when the owner can hire people. Right now, it is just him in the restaurant.

Space is limited in the restaurant. There are 3 small tables that can accommodate 2 customers comfortably per table. One table has 4 chairs but it can be a tight squeeze. There is a place with sofa. One customer sat at the sofa and there was space for 3 more persons but of course, no other customers are going to sit there. Plus, it is a low table so it is not comfortable to eat from.

There are kuih and egg tarts. The green ball looks like onde-onde. Not sure what the three-layered kuih is. But I can guess it is made from glutinous rice and coloured with blue-pea flower and pandan leaves, hopefully and not from colourings. 

 

I had nasi lemak SEK185 and teh tarik SEK65. Boyfriend had curry mee SEK175 and kopi O (coffee with sugar) SEK45. We shared a pork pau SEK45. The only dish that was on point with the texture and flavous is the pau.

Rice in the nasi lemak does not have the fragrant smell of coconut milk and the rice is a bit sticky and I wondered if it was boiled in too much water or it was glutinuous rice. Rice portion was very small and I was very surprised when I saw it. I held myself back from exclaiming on the size. The chilli paste (sambal) was not spicy. The owner made spicy sambal on the first week of opening and customers sweated. So, he lowered the spiciness and received feedback from Malaysian customers that it is not spicy at all. Poor fella. Difficult to find a balance. The owner did offer me another version of sambal that uses sichuan pepper. It was sweet and still not spicy for me. Positive thing on this dish is that the chicken piece is roasted in the oven and not deep-fried. 

Curry broth had a very weak curry taste. The tea smells good but the taste was weak. Kopi O was tasteless to me, sort of diluted. I told the owner that I found the taste weak and thin while my boyfriend finds the taste good and perfect for him. So, the owner understand that Malaysians like intense flavour in their food but the locals are not keen for strong flavours. He has to find a balance. I don't think it is easy. Plus it is not affordable to get ingredients to replicate the Malaysia flavour but he will source for it. In my opinion, since most of the customers will be locals and non-Malaysians / Singaporeans, I think the flavour base should lean towards the locals. 

I like how the utensils and paper towel are in Milo and Nestle-cans. Definitely bring one back to Malaysia.

I was surprised to get a large mug of teh tarik.

Kopi C came in the classical coffee-shop cup that one can find in Malaysia. Super small cup, by the way. I think it is expensive for SEK45.

I will not mind coming back again to try the other food in the menu and give support to the owner. He seems very open to feedback and I hope he finds that taste balance.

My first Halloween pumpkin

I carved my first Halloween pumpkin. We bought a pumpkin from Lidl, one of the grocery stores with affordable prices. It is SEK9,90 per kg and this is a 5kg pumpkin. So about SEK50. 

First, estimate at where the lid of the pumpkin is to be carved out. I was afraid initially for the knife in case the pumpkin skin is hard. It is not hard at all and with a few thumps at the bottom of the knife, the knife went in and one follows the drawn line around the pumpkin. One has to carefully twist the knife a bit so that the knife does not detour much from the drawn line.

Now, the pumpkin lid is off

Then, remove all the fillings from the pumpkin with a spoon. Scrape everything out. 

Time to draw the eyes, nose and mouth. The reason the eyes and nose are in straight lines is because it is easy to carve them out. 

The Halloween pumpkin is done!

I crocheted a bag!

Next skill unlocked! Crochet. 

I crocheted a bag. I cannot believe that I could do it. Those who crochet say that it is easy. Now, I can say that too. I bought a DIY kit from Lidl, a grocery store. I thought it will be a kit for kids but it came with an instruction and materials. I was frustrated in the beginning because I did not understand. I searched through many articles and videos online. Finally, I understood.

I crocheted half of the bag in one evening, about 3 hours. Then, I completed the strap the next evening. I did not follow the instruction for the strap. The instruction to do the strap was a simple chain mask and I read that a chain mask needs to be strengthened as the strap can be pulled down by the contents of the bag. So, I made the strap thicker and now, the bag can definitely hold contents.

The kit came with beads to make braided beads at the bottom of the bag but I skipped it because I will give this bag to a kid. 

I am so proud of myself. Now I have a hobby to keep me occupied during my retirement.