Tag: malaysia

First Christmas in Malaysia

On By Yuliana BiantoroIn My Stories, reflectionLeave a comment

MERRY CHRISTMAS, people! This Christmas is kind of special for me. First time away from my family in Indonesia and I am totally on my own.

Christmas Goodies from a friend

Wise man said this year is not the year to get everything that we want, but to be grateful for everything that we have. The year of 2020 is indeed not an easy year for many people. Everything are upside down and sometime it is not easy to be grateful in difficult situation. I guess we are all learning how to cope with 2020.

For me, 2020 is the year when I learn to trust God and lean on Him even more. I guess when we completely surrender, so many things beyond imagination will happen. God has been very very good to me. He has never failed to amaze me with His love, care, kindness, and even with His rebuke.

I guess… me landed here in Malaysia, is one of the tiny part of “beyond imagination”. My friend said it is a “miracle”, since many people got rejection for their entry permit. I have lost all the hopes actually, but again… “with God on our side, everything is possible”.

And again, God shows his kindness to me. An ex colleague from Indonesia saw my picture in Malaysia and she contacted me a couple of days ago. She has been working in Malaysia for 3 years now. Today, when I sent a Merry Christmas greetings and asked her to meet up, she said YES. God hears my prayer and send me a friend in Christmas Day.

I spent my Christmas having dinner with Mbak Alfin. She treated me a dinner in Red Kettle, a nice restaurant in Starling Mall, just beside my apartment building. Then we had coffee in Starbuck. It felt so good to have a real contact and conversation in person, and not through zoom or teams meeting.

Well, of course I called my mom and dad, sister, brother, and we all had good conversation via video call. My mom tried so hard to make me not feeling very lonely during Christmas. Mom… well, always be a mom, right! I am grateful that they are healthy and celebrating Christmas safely at home.

Got this from Sommerset

I am grateful… super grateful for 2020 and for my first Christmas in Malaysia. Again… God has been very very good to me. He hears me and my prayers, even to my smallest wishful thinking.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas. Wishing you a Christmas season full of joy, love, and peace. May we remember to always be grateful for all God has done this year. God is faithful and His loving kindness endures forever.

Petaling Jaya, December 25, 2020

Damansara Uptown Hokkien Mee

On By Yuliana BiantoroIn Foodies & CuisineLeave a comment

I will be here in Malaysia for almost two solid (hopefully) good years. So I am thinking to start writing articles about local foods and restaurants. A friend of mine have given me a good long list for me to explore and I tried three or four places already. So… before I forget, let’s start with this one.

Today I had early dinner in Damansara Uptown Hokkien Mee. As per its name, this local restaurant’s specialty is Hokkien Mee. Hokkien mee is a malaysian style stir fried noodle cooked with pork lard and thick soya sauce, usually added with seafood like shrimp or squid, sometime topped with crunchy fried pork skin. Some halal version use chicken skin as replacement of pork lard.

The one in Damansara Uptown is the non-halal one. This local restaurant sells different kind of Hokkien Mee, Cantonese style Kuay Teow, Fried Chicken Wings, Fried Lala (lala is a type of clam), Loh Mee, and Vegetables. My Malay friend recommended me to try its specialty: the Hokkien Mee and Chicken Wing, so I ordered those.

HOKKIEN MEE

The Hokkien Mee is delicious. This tick noodle is cooked with pork lard and thick soya sauce, added with shrimps, crispy pork skin, and cabbage. It is very rich in flavor, melty sweet savoury in the mouth with a tiny bit crunchy texture from crispy pork skin, cabbage, and shrimp. It is very yummy, especially when I added their garlicy chilly sauce. YUMMM…

Beside the thick noodle you can also order other type of noodle for the Hokkien Mee: yee mee (Cantonese Noodle) or mee hoon (rice vermicelli) or a mix between yee mee and mee hoon. You can also order kuay teow (flat rice noodle). You can also order for 1 pax, 2 pax, or 3 pax. I saw some families coming and they ordered a big portion of Hokkien Mee with some other side food like thr Fried Lala, Chicken Wings, and Garlic Vegetable, and shared them.

Now about the chicken wings. I love chicken wings in all kinds of cooking style, name it… KFC, korean style, Indonesian BBQ, etc. So I had high expectation when I ordered it.

CHICKCEN WINGS

It is crispy in the outside, which I like from chicken wings, but the meat is rather dry but not too dry. LOL. I find it very hard to describe here. It is delicious and paired very well with Hokkien Mee and the garlicy chilly sauce. Will I order again next time? Maybe… if I have a friend to share with. The minimum order is two chicken wings, and I could only eat one piece.

I will surely come back for trying more menu 😊😊😊, before I officially move to my permanent apartment.

Update on December 22. I went for dinner after taking a stroll to buy bread and cakes from a nearby local bakery. I went here again and try its Cantonese Yee Mee, dry noodle with thick soupy broth, pork meat, shrimps, and veggies. This is not oily and suitable if you want to get something warm for the day.

CANTONESE YEE MEE

DAMANSARA UPTOWN HOKKIEN MEE. 117, 119,121, Jalan SS 21/37, Damansara Utama, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Open Monday to Friday. Monday – Friday: 4 PM – 2 AM. Saturday – Sunday: 1 PM – 2 AM.

Petaling Jaya, December 19, 2020.

Moving to Malaysia

On By Yuliana BiantoroIn My StoriesLeave a comment

I was very excited when my bosses informed that I am going to get 2 years deployment in Malaysia. It was December 2019. I officially started my new “job” on March, but then we all know that Covid-19 hit Asia badly back then. Many countries experienced lock down and closed their borders, Malaysia included.

I supposed moving to Malaysia around March / April. However, getting all the working permit etc have become harder than usual process during pandemic. It had driven me crazy (literally). The agency assigned by my office did all the Malaysia government related paperwork, but I need to take care of my own visa. I finally raised a white flag and told my global movement officer that I would need help from someone (anyone!) to take care of my paperwork with the Malaysian Embassy here in Jakarta.

After a long wait of all the paper work, FINALLY… my movement to Malaysia is confirmed. Cross finger. It has been a long complicated process during Covid, but thank God it is almost over. Almost… because I still need to get my VDR, visa for a person with Employment Pass from the Malaysian Embassy. Cross finger (again).

Frankly speaking, I am a bit nervous. Ok… maybe not a bit… I am super nervous. Many times I have doubt myself IF I can make it in my 2 years deployment contract. I have done almost a year now, still I can not grasp fully the business operation and environment there. Plus I have a very challenging boss. The pressure is very very high. I thank God and feel grateful that the team is very supportive and I have got so many favors and helps from them.

Now I am packing my stuffs. A bit in panic mode now as everything seems to be in the rush. We are in the middle of budgeting for next year too. So it is very hectic! Anyway… I trust God for making all the processes easy for me. I am praying for favors too from everyone involved in my journey. Hopefully things will go smooth until I settle down.

Still can not believe that it is finally happening! Gosh… it feels very surreal.

Jakarta, November 10, 2020