Tastebud : Cravings Kitchen

29 June 2022

We decided to have dinner here to celebrate my-supposed-victory in getting my driving license. But no, I failed for the first two times. Yeah, we were that confident that I was going to pass my first attempt. So, we booked this place. It seems like a different concept. Place orders for mini dishes and share them together. It is similar concept to Chinese restaurants where you share dishes. Of course, it is not common in European or Scandinavian food serving. So, my boyfriend and I ordered 3 dishes each. They are really small portions. They are delicious but not filling. 

1) First picture - Toscano salmon. It is called Toscano because it is surrounded by Toscano-inspired salad of spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. I do not remember the price of this but in a delivery website, it costs SEK145.

2) Second picture - Greek salad for SEK65. Watermelon feta salad for SEK69. Just checked its website and I am writing this in December 2022. The prices have increased by SEK10. 

 

3) Third picture - Orange and chevre salad SEK69 (December 2022 price SEK75) and Shrimply the best cocktail SEK115 (December 2022 price SEK129).

4) Last picture - Souvlaki (Marinated fillet of pork & chicken fillet with pita & dill tzatziki) SEK135 (December 2022 price SEK149).

Tastebud : Restaurant Springrolls

21 June 2022

Everyone loves summer. It is the time of the year where lots of folk go out, meet people, try many restaurants, drink beer (almost everyone drinks beer here or alcohol), and absorb as much Vitamin D as much possible - soaking in the sunrays. For me, I have tried different kinds of food that I do not have the desire to try new restaurants now. Plus, I cook too and I try recipes from all over the world. So, there is no foreign taste to me. 

Dinner today at a Vietnamese restaurant - Springrolls previously known as Viet Kitchen. I was informed by the staff that the menu for lunch and dinner is the same but the price for dinner is slightly more. I wonder why. Maybe the lunch portion is smaller? Tried the fried and non-fried spring rolls. SEK50 a piece. 

I had fried rice noodles with beef fillets. SEK169. For lunch, the price is SEK129. It is a huge difference. It is almost the price of one spring roll! Anyway, I did not expect this sort of fried noodles, because if I knew it was this, I would not have ordered this. This type of noodles is nothing unusual in Malaysia. 

I ordered Vietnamese coffee because that is my favourite coffee in the whole wide world. Unfortunately, I should not have ordered it because it is not as strong as the coffee I tasted in Vietnam. The cup is really small here and it costs SEK35. The coffee came with the filter and it was still dripping, Condensed milk was at the bottom of the cup and the cup is placed in a bowl of hot water to keep the coffee warm. 

Tastebud : Piren restaurant and bar

14 June 2022

Today, I met some girlfriends and we tried a new place by the waters, Piren Restaurant and Bar. The food is really expensive and there was nothing extraordinary in the taste. I had a poke bowl with crispy chicken that was served with chilli mayonnaise for SEK245. Yes, this bowl can be purchased for a significantly cheaper price if it was in town or a small neighbourhood. I did not get any drinks.

5 years later

Middle of June 2022 and I have been here for 5 years now.

I think I have assimilated myself with the culture here.

I can speak comfortably to the locals here. I can joke and I am not pressured with the language anymore. 

It is hard to imagine that it has been 5 years now. 

It was really difficult in the beginning. 

Being alone in a new country. I have to take care of myself even if that means starting anew in anything and letting go. It is like leaving a comfort zone. It is like getting out of bed. I think many people dreads getting out of bed!

Forcing myself to learn the language so that I can find a job to be financially independent. And when I found a job, I have to learn the working culture. Speaking with an accent and with broken Swedish in the beginning made me a loner at work. It was sad in the beginning but today, I am okay. I enjoy eating lunch by myself now as I can listen to podcasts. Podcast is a thing here. I think that is how single company keep themselves occupied. 

Everyone says that it is difficult to make Swedish friends. Well, I belong to that statistic who says it is so. I do not have any Swedish friends. I do have Swedish colleagues. I was active in Meetup activities where I joined hiking activities prior to the Corona pandemic. I met lots of foreigners and very few Swedish people. During the pandemic, I did not meet many people. Now, after the restrictions are lifted, I meet some people. What is  a definition of a friend, by the way? If someone tells me that it is someone that you can share your problems or communicate frequently, unfortunately, I won't have any friends at all then. Let us keep the definition simple and the bar very low. My interpretation of a 'friend' today is someone who I meet, have something to eat or drink with, make 'not-personal' conversations and to have a social life. To be honest, I am okay with that too today! I was not initially but I have to align myself with the current society I am living in. 

After 5 years, I have also found out that I enjoy baking, cooking and being in the garden. I plan and prepare meals two weeks ahead. I baked Malaysian kuih too. I am proud of myself in that area. In Malaysia, I do not cook often or bake at all. I plant vegetables too. I did so many new things that I never thought I could. 

One thing I stopped doing was running. Because race fees are so expensive here and I do not get much in return, so I am not inspired to run. In Malaysia, race fees are very cheap and we get so many freebies. I run if my workplace sponsors the run. So, I have done two runs within 5 years, and each was 5km. 

However, I replaced running with cycling now. I enjoy cycling so much that I am so lazy to walk. I bought a bicycle during the pandemic and I cycle a lot since then in every season. I was amazed at myself for my perseverance in cycling during winter. I did not think I would survive it but I did. 

I have unlearnt, learnt and relearnt many things. 

I think I can comfortably sum up that I will continue to live here until life takes a turn again.