10 Things I Can’t Live Without
Food but to be more precise — Dried shrimps sambal
I got tagged by Allison Cecile and thought it will be fun to share.
#10essentialthings
1. Dried shrimps sambal — chilli
This is my one and only preferred garnish over my food. Forget about dainty parsley or chives, it has to be dried shrimp sambal.
If I could drop this over everything I eat, I would. This salty spicy sambal (chillies paste) is made of fried dried shrimps and chillies.
It’s fried until dry. I usually drop a dollop into my dish for an extra kick of heat. 🔥
2. Huawei phone camera
I don’t need the phone, but I need the camera function. I take all my holidays and nature trip pictures with this old Huawei phone.
It even makes my artwork look a lot more professional. A very decent camera function for a very reasonable price.
3. My Sarong Batik
Wrote about this here. It’s my security, or rather my smelly blanket, which I drag along my travels. It’s multi purpose and have been with me for several years now.
4. Picture books
My sleep therapy. Fonts are large enough to read without my glasses. 😄 🤓
My favourite book is The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy.
5. My paints
I never thought much about painting until I started with trees. It is therapeutic and since then I have a collection of different trees. These are some of my favourites. Plus this got me trying to paint tea bags too.
6. Vitamin C
I have to confess this habit of taking vitamin C started during Covid last year and now it has become a daily essential.
7. Pain de campagne — Country bread
My favourite bread and I can only buy it from this bakery called Sun Moulin (a Japanese bakery) 20 mins drive from where I live.
The bread is freshly baked and rolls of the oven at 12pm and slice an hour later. So timing matters when buying this bread. 😉
8. Hair clips
I actually have a few of them. For whatever reason, I keep losing them, so now I have one in my car, bedroom, study and one in my bag.
My last hair cut was in October 2020 and since then the hair salon in Malaysia has been closed because of lockdown. (580 plus days to be exact but who’s counting)🥴
9. Soft Japanese Pillow
I do not know why it’s Japanese. But it’s a soft rectangular pillow, with a center that is sewn in such a way to make it sink in the middle.
It’s the only pillow that helps support my neck. I have tried plenty of pillows and this is the best I have had so far. 😴
10. My steamer pot
I follow my late grandma’s advise when it comes to reheating food. She always uses the steamer over boiling water.
Ah Ma says it’s better to use steam because it’s healthier and I know better than to question her words.
Thank you for taking the time to know me. 😃
Medium is a unique place where we find little nugget of stories about a writer’s life and personality. Occasionally, we get to have a glimpse and journey together with the writer.
As Allison Cecile mentioned,
“It’s the community of writers here that makes this place so special — and that includes getting to know one another better through snippets and pieces here and there.”
If you’d like to join in, use #10EssentialThings as one of your tags so it’s easy to find!
Check out Allison’s post below for her 10 Essential items.
