We've been back from Indonesia a week and a bit. We're about to set off for Mongolia. There's been a lot of work to fit into a short space.

As always, however, there have been multiple compensations. (Looking back at various blog posts, I realize this is a sentiment I express a lot...)

-- Eating bika Ambon, a gift from friends in Yogya. It's actually from Medan, not Ambon, and it's apparently tricky to make. But it's deliciously bouncy. It reminded me a bit of ma lai gao. I wonder whether there's a connection.



-- Going to see Money Monster (a little bit formulaic -- we get to hate the Wall Street fat cats and the trivializing media a bit more, without having to exert ourselves -- but it's entertaining)

-- Noting a neat identity change for Quill's terracotta warrior



-- Marking a colleague's departure for fresh fields with dinner at Yashi-no-me and post-dinner karaoke in Wisma Cosway (we'll draw a veil over Prudence's rendition of Dancing Queen, but some colleagues picked much tougher lyrics...)



-- Browsing Hamleys in search of a birthday present for a one-year-old, and then enjoying his party





-- Enjoying eight-treasure porridge on Jalan Hang Lekir, and then moving a few doors down for kopi O kosong and Hainan kaya roll (on the mysteries of "Hainanese" food, see here)



-- Shouldering our way along the flea-market-filled alleys flanking Jalan Petaling, and regaining our calm in the lovely Wei Zhen Gong Guan Yin Si Temple, which we'd walked past many times (the first time back in 2011) but never entered











-- Taking in my third Haagen Dazs of the year (the "Banoffee Royale", made from Royal Milk Tea ice cream, bananas, caramel sauce, and crunched up crunchy waffle cones)



-- Easing ourselves towards Northeast Asia in the shape of lunch at T Signature in Quill (the T's for Taiwan... Taiwan... how long ago was Taiwan...?) -- can thoroughly recommend the Taiwanese pepper salted chicken and spicy salted fish