Malaysian Food and Culture Fair

31 August 2019

On 31 August 2019, Malaysia celebrates its National Day. In conjunction with that, the Embassy of Malaysia in Sweden organised a Malaysia Food and Cultural Fair. Immediately, I asked a friend if I could share a table with her to sell my baking. I baked Kuih Bakar and Onde-Onde. I sold a piece of kuih bakar for SEK30 and 6 onde-onde in a box for SEK30.

The day started with the flag-raising ceremony and singing of our national anthem. The event started at 10am and the crowd started pouring in. I bought char kuey teow, fried flat noodles, my all-time favourite food for SEK80. That was the only food I bought. I am happy to report that by the end the event, I sold all my baking! All 109 pieces of kuih bakar and 192 onde-onde. I was over the moon! The customers commented that my delicacies were delicious. 

Surströmmings Dag (Fermented herring fish day) 2019

29 August 2019

Surströmming (pronounced as 'sur strem-ming') is one of the local food in Sweden that is definitely not a must-try! Haha! It is fermented herring fish that is commonly found in the north of Sweden. Even those from Stockholm do not find this dish appealing. The smell is so bad that one can only open the can in the forest, where it is away from people. Some people gets nauseous just by smelling the fish. 

Here is a history on this fermented herring fish from Wikipedia.

Surströmming is a lightly-salted fermented Baltic Sea herring traditional to Swedish cuisine since at least the 16th century. The Baltic herring, known as strömming in Swedish, is smaller than the Atlantic herring, found in the North Sea. Traditionally, the definition of strömming is "herring fished in the brackish waters of the Baltic north of the Kalmar Strait". The herring used for surströmming are caught just prior to spawning in April and May.

During the production of surströmming, just enough salt is used to prevent the raw herring from rotting while allowing it to ferment. A fermentation process of at least six months gives the fish its characteristic strong smell and somewhat acidic taste. According to a Japanese study, a newly opened can of surströmming has one of the most putrid food smells in the world, even stronger than similarly fermented fish dishes such as the Korean hongeohoe or Japanese kusaya.

Today, Sundbyberg town organised a Surströmming Day. Sundbyberg town organises this day annually on the last Thursday of August. It has been in my checklist to try this food. The booth that sells the fermented herring fish was located at the end of the other stalls and also one street away from the other stalls. That is how bad the smell is. Before I got to this stall, I was expecting a strong smell of rubbish to waft through the air but I got a faint smell in the air. I cannot describe what is that smell but it definitely was not so bad as I expected. 

We stood in queue and paid SEK100 for a plate of three fermented herring fish that comes with boiled potatoes, chopped onions and yoghurt, and a canned drink. 

Haenyeo Choir

25 August 2019

Today, a friend invited me to join her to listen to Haenyeo choir at the The Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities which is also known as Östasiatiska museet. They brought in actual Haenyeo divers who are retired and are now travelling around the world singing about their previous job which brings tears to those who can understand. One of the divers shared her experience and answered questions from the public. One of her comments shocked me - pregnant divers could dive up to 10 days before delivery! Also, all these divers look so young despite being in their 70s or 80s. Cold water does preserve the beauty.

Here is a brief history on Haenyeo.

Haenyeo are diving fisherwomen on the island of Jeju off the south coast of South Korea. The Haenyeo tradition is more than 1000 years old and originates from small opportunities to feed on the barren volcanic island of Jeju. Desirable marine products can be sold and provide a good income for the families. Haenyeo is traditionally the breadwinner of the family, while the men care for children and household. What led up to women working at sea while the men care for children and households? One theory is that a long time ago the work was being taxed – and because only men were obligated to pay taxes, they stopped diving. Another explanation may be that women's physics, with more subcutaneous fat, made them less exposed to cold water than men. Source from Varldskultursmuseum.

There was an exhibition about the Haenyeo divers and this is one of the quotes from the Haenyeo divers. Yes, women are strong people. We persevere.

After the choir, my friend treated me to matcha cake and I had tea.

Tastebud : Opizzicato

24 August 2019

One fine evening after a long hike, we decided to eat something light for dinner. We chose Opizzicato and I had caesar salad for SEK195. It is a very expensive salad! The place was packed too. We dropped in and luckily, we had places to sit, although it was outdoors.

Sörmlandsleden 6, 7 & 8

24 August 2019

Today's hiking brings me to Sörmlandsleden 6, 7 and 8. I have done 6 and 7 in 2017 so section 8 was a new trail for me. Along the trail, I saw so many humongous mushrooms! Most of them were as huge as my face, and I have to tell you, I do not have a small face. We started Section 6 at 11am and reached the start of Section 7 by 3pm. About 4 hours for 12km of distance. 

At Section 7, we rested for a bit and some of us took a dip in the waters. I did not bring any swimming attire, so I just sat and played with the water which was cold for me. Section 7 has 6km only and that took us about slightly less than 2 hours. 

Tastebud : Smak (Michelin)

23 August 2019

Smak - my first Michelin experience. Ever. We took the five-dish selection for SEK590 per person. The place was crowded. I can conclude that Swedes don't mind paying for a gastronomic experience. I chose 5 flavours - chili, thyme, soy, truffle and passion fruit as dessert. For each flavour, there is a recommended wine. I took one glass of wine because it takes me the whole dinner to finish it.

First dish - chili flavour in beef, leeks and turnip cabbage.

Second dish - thyme flavour in beef, duck liver and brioche.

Tastebud : Low and slow Smokehouse

22 August 2019

Today's American food is at Low and Slow Smokehouse. The dish on the left is pulled jackfruit for SEK170 and the one on the right is brisket for SEK225. To understand what brisket is, it is cut of meat from the breast or lower chest of beef or veal. Sweet potato fries for SEK40. Creamed corn is SEK40. Coleslaw is SEK25. 

Honestly, I did enjoy the pulled jackfruit. I was surprised that this can be made into a proper dish because the jackfruit I know is a huge green fruit that I do not enjoy very much. Haha! Jackfruit grows in abundance in Malaysia, by the way. I wanted to try something else than meat. I realised I have been eating lots of meat since I moved to Sweden. A LOT!

Tastebud : Pelikan

20 August 2019

Today, I had dinner with my colleagues at Pelikan Restaurant. Pelikan was established in 1664 in Gamla Stan and moved to the current premise in 1904. The interior design is really made up of old designs. You have to drop by to see it. I have read about this restaurant in Trip Advisor and the reviews mentioned that the food here is delicious and they serve Swedish traditional meals - shrimp salad, fish fillet and most of all, meatballs! I have never stepped foot inside this restaurant before because it is very expensive. 

Let me tell you this though, the food is so good! I had meatballs and the meatballs were triple in size than the usual tiny meatballs. The meat was so smooth and filling. Even the lingon jam and mashed potatoes that came with it tasted different - nothing that I have tasted before! The 4 giant meatballs meal cost SEK198. For dessert, I had strawberry sorbet for SEK65. There was cheese dessert and chocolate cake but I was too full. 

Hari Raya Celebration 2019

17 August 2019

Swedish Malaysian Association organised a potluck in conjunction with Hari Raya celebration. It was held at Rålambshovsparken. The weather was to our favour and we had a fun day indulging in Malaysian food and playing games. It was a potluck and so, there are no fees involved. I shared a watermelon and honeymelon with my friend. 

Enjoy the photos of the food!

Stockholm Culture Week 2019 : Space

13 August 2019

Every year in August, Stockholm organises a Culture Week. I went to my first one in 2017 where the theme was Bollywood. I did not go to the one in 2018. This year's theme for Culture Week is Space. Huge planet balls were on display. There was even a live telecast of astronauts in space answering questions that were posed by kids. At the end of the live telecast, an orchestra group came out to play with pictures of space as background. It was beautiful!

Girls' football

11 August 2019

Volunteer duties with Kompis Sverige today. I brought a group of participants to watch girl's football. It was Hammarby against Aik and the game was played in Hammarby's homeground. It is a stadium located close to Skanstull train station. So, you can imagine the crowd was cheering and chanting for Hammarby all the time. I felt sorry for Aik.

It was my first time watching a football match and it was exciting when the girls hit the goal. It rained around the second half but the game continued because it was not a heavy rain. The game ended with a 2-1 where Hammarby won the game.

Tastebud : Barrels and Burger

11 August 2019

In my opinion, Stockholm has a couple of yummy burgers in town. I went to Barrels and Burger, which is recommended by my friend. I had truffle burger for SEK150, fries for SEK36 and Aioli dip for SEK15. Burger places don't have ketchup unless you go to Burger King or McDonalds, which also sell different kind of dip. I am beginning to take a liking for burgers here. The grilled meat tastes different. 

Sörmlandsleden 1, 2 & 3

10 August 2019

The quest to complete Sörmlandsleden resumes this year. The last time I did a hike in one of the sections in Sörmlandsleden was in 2017. In 2017, I did 7 sections that were very near the public transportation. As the sections' number increase, the possibility of arriving by public transportation becomes lower.

Today, I did Section 1, 2 and 3. I did Section 1 in 2017 but did not continue on to 2 and 3. So, this year, I am very excited to continue the sections. I took the train to Björkhagen and the hike started from there. Section 1 was a total of 8.5km from Björkhagen to Skogshyddan. We started at 7.50am and ended by 11.20am. 

There was even spring water where the water is so fresh and cooling.

Section 1 took us about 3.5 hours. Section 2 continues on from Skoggshyddan to Alby friluftsgård (pronounced as 'free-lufts-gourd' which mean 'free air garden') with a distance of 6.5km.

We stopped at a lake for lunch where my friend took a dip and picked up a lotus. 

Tastebud : Tre Indier

10 August 2019

Indian dinner at Tre Indier. I had mixed chicken sizzlar (that comes with salad and rice) for SEK189 and a diluted mango juice for SEK29. Yes, the chicken came in sizzling. 

Tastebud : A la crepe

9 August 2019

Today, I tried a different kind of food - savoury crepe! Savoury means food that is flavoury and someone has cooked. The thin crepe contains beef and seafood, which is not the typical sweet pancake. 

We had the beef cognac crepe (SEK188/RM94) and the seafood crepe (RM192/RM96). No, I did not get drunk from the beef cognac. I was very full from this meal.

Tastebud : Orkide

8 August 2019

Yummylicious Thai food at Orkide! 

We had salmon lui suan (salmon with spices) for SEK195 and khana moo krab (crispy pork with kana leaves) for SEK198. They are pretty costly, I have to admit but it is sort of a fancy restaurant too.