Friday, 9 October 2026

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. 


Thursday, 8 October 2026

Tastebud : Kanto Bistro (2nd time)

7 October 2026

After dinner at Rara, we took a stroll to look for a place to have dessert. First, we went into Bröd & Salt (Bread & Salt) but they have buns only. Then, we passed by Mellqvist Kaffebar. There were so many people sitting outside on the outdoor serving enjoying their drinks and it was quite lively. I thought it was cold but I guess that don't stop anyone from enjoying a cold beer and wine. Continued on to the end of the street and we saw Kanto. We were here in 2024 to have Filipino food. I loved it here! 

We had ube cassava SEK120 and ube ice-cream SEK120. My friend had the ice-cream and I had the cassava. Price increased by SEK10 from the last time we were here. I had cassava too when I was here the first time.

Tastebud : Rara (2nd time)

7 October 2026

Today's dinner is Nepalese food. Well, the only significant dish is momo that is from Nepal. A different name for dumpling. Looks exactly like a dumpling, like how I make mine and the fillings are similar, pork, chicken, mushroom or prawn. The rest of the food in the menu is similar to Indian food. The restaurant was full and there were even walk-ins who had to wait. I was here in 2025 and had fried momos, curries, naan bread and starters with individual prices. Today's price, a year later, has increased, as expected.

We shared 3 smalls SEK365 - pork belly cooked in gochujang, puri, and spinach sprinkled with pomegranate seeds. SEK122 per plate is quite expensive since the portion is small. Also shared two of 8 momos SEK400 - one set with hot soup and the other with butter gravy (cooked in tomato sauce. Each set costs SEK200. 


Based on the description in the menu, puri dish is made of Semolina puff, potatoes, yogurt, mint &
coriander, tamarind and lentils. There is 5 balls. 


Chill belly - Slow cooked Pork belly, schezwan, gochuyang, soy, onion and paprika. There are 4 pieces of pork belly. It is sweet due to gochujang. No taste of sichuan pepper though although it is one of the ingredients in schezwan. I like this dish.


The momos. The one on the left is momo is tomato-butter sauce. We chose the filing with pork, shrimp and chives. The filings did not have any special taste. The sauce is good. I hope there were 8 momos because I am seeing 7 momos in the photo. The one on the right is momo in Nepali hot soup that is infused with Himalayan spices. I can taste the spices and I prefer this compared to the butter sauce.