It's time for a change. No A-Z this time round. Never good to get stuck in a rut. So this year -- drum-roll -- we're going to do The Year in Food. For each month we'll have the name of the locality, the dish, and the purveyor (if I know it), plus a bit of context. I don't think anything sums up a life quite like the food we eat, the people we eat it with, and the memories it evokes, so here goes: A Calendar of Memorable Dishes, 2024...

JANUARY -- Thessaloniki -- bougatsa (a custard-filled pastry) from Bantis

We were heading home after a trip to the British Isles, travelling overland as far as Istanbul. We saw in the New Year in Montenegro, and went from there to Turkiye, via Albania, North Macedonia, and Greece. Great month. Smooth travel. Lots of fun experiences. Backpacking certainly has its "oh-no" moments, but we're determined to keep doing it as long as we can still shoulder a rucksack.


FEBRUARY -- Siniawan -- Hakka dumplings from a stall at the night market

Back home in Sarawak, Malaysia. There was lots of bureaucracy to battle this month. Not to mention tedious medical stuff. But it was Chinese New Year, which is always fun.


MARCH -- Kuching -- Sarawak laksa (the best version -- sorry, rest of Malaysia, but it IS -- of this iconic coconut-based noodle soup) from Min Huat

There are so many great laksa places in Kuching. We could reel you off a dozen without even thinking about it. So it's really hard to pick a favourite. But this one was recommended independently by a couple of friends, and it is indeed very good. March was also an amazing month for temple processions, which we love. And there were a couple of landmarks: PT became an OAP; and our Sarawak visa revalidation was completed, which gives us the right of residence there until 2029. The rules keep changing, so it's unlikely we'll be applying for another 10-year visa once this one expires. Always assuming we haven't expired first...


APRIL -- Sematan -- bubur cha cha (a coconut milk dessert in which float all sorts of nice things) from Sematan Kopitiam (the one on the end of the row of shophouses)

We celebrated surviving the bureaucracy of February and March with a little beach trip, a short way along the coast west of Kuching. Memorable for beautiful views -- and, in Nigel's case, a centipede bite (not to be recommended)...


MAY -- Sibu -- ding bian hu (a rice-paste porridge) from Chop Hing Huong

Sibu was one of the ports of call on this year's Sarawak road trip (we just went as far as Bintulu this time). This particular breakfast expedition turned out to be a historic occasion, involving one of the last bowls of ding bian hu to be served by Mr Kiu Chiong Loi, who had decided to retire at the age of 83. Humbling...


JUNE -- Kuching -- kolo mee (another classic Sarawakian dish, consisting of dry noodles tossed with pork and shallots) from Eng's Cafe

Again, there are loads of good kolo mee joints in Kuching. But this one represents the many, many breakfasts we had with friends in Kuching over the course of the year, and as June wasn't a good month for either of us (health stuff), we were more than usually grateful for an arm around the shoulder.

JULY -- Kota Kinabalu -- ambuyat (a yummily gloppy sago paste that picks up the flavour of whatever you serve it with) from Little Sulap

KK was part of a Borneo get-away this month: Sabah, Labuan, and Brunei. A very laid-back trip, and super-enjoyable.


AUGUST -- Kuching -- spinach soup (with lots of tofu) from Ah Liong

This was not a great month, either for us or for our friends in Kuching. So any kind of comfort food went down a treat. It was also a very busy month, as the prospect of a longish Europe trip made us decide to give up our flat in Kuching, and put our stuff temporarily into store.


SEPTEMBER -- Denby, Derbyshire -- avo on toast from Eat at Denby's

By mid-month we were on the move, and the second half of September we spent in England, catching up with family and friends, and enjoying traditional breakfasts and variations thereof. Really, really nice...


OCTOBER -- Peel -- mushroom Benny from The Creek Inn, enjoyed with a friend we met in Kuching

For most of October we were on the Isle of Man, the bit of God's earth that still has the firmest grip on PT's heart. We spent 10 days in a thatched cottage up in the north, from which we could hear the sea, and the rest of the time in a trim little house in Colby, from which we could hear the steam trains. What could be better?


NOVEMBER -- Giltbrook, Nottinghamshire (just) -- Swedish meatballs from IKEA, a place we often go to with Nigel's mum

November was split down the middle. We had another couple of weeks in Derbyshire, chilling with family, and making the most of the still clement weather to do lots of walking. And then we set off on this year's surface-only backpacking trip. Boats, trains, buses, and feet... By the end of the month we were in Corsica. (The picture at the top -- another in the long line of terrible selfies for which these letters are famous -- was taken in Corte.)


Which brings us to now -- DECEMBER -- Alghero, Sardinia -- menjar blanc (a custard-filled pastry of Catalan origin) from Bon Bons

Wait a minute, didn't we start the year with a custard-filled pastry? Yes, so we have a nice symmetry. Anyway, they were different custard-filled pastries. Different custard, different pastry. We're in Sassari at the moment, Sardinia's second-largest city, and we really like it. Christmas, all being well, will find us in Cagliari, in the south of the island, and by New Year we should have moved on to Sicily.

After that, plans are too vague to go into. We are definitely booked to be briefly back in England at the beginning of February, and we should be back in Sarawak at some point not too long after that. But there are lots of question-marks. We have health uncertainties; we have where-do-we-eventually-end-up uncertainties; and like everyone else, we confront more global uncertainties than I ever remember in my lifetime.

Let's take one day at a time, and do what we can with what we have.

We wish you a peaceful, healthy, love-filled 2025.