Happy and prosperous 2026 to all friends who are reading my column today.
How time flies! A while ago, we were looking forward to December 31, 2025. Now January 4, 2026 is already here.
Oh, how was January 1, 2026 for you? Personally, I always look forward to the first of January every year because it represents the fresh start of a new year. To me, the start of a new year seems like the ideal time to make a fresh start in my life. A new year always brings hope for something better in my life.
In many countries, people celebrate the coming of a new year with dancing, eating, drinking and watching or lighting fireworks on New Year’s Eve.
For me, it was a quiet New Year’s Eve. I welcomed 2026 alone. My niece, Ah Hong, and her husband were holidaying in Japan. My youngest sister, Ah Lan, who is working in Johor Bahru, could not take a break from work while my son and his wife could not bring their young kids out in the heavy rain.
Yes, it rained heavily that night and many areas in Kuching were flooded. The New Year’s floods drove nearly 1,000 people from their homes into six temporary relief centres (PPS) in the city.
The Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) said four of the centres were opened in the early hours of January 1, between 12 am and 7 am, following worsening flood situations.
In Kuching, Head of State Tun Pehin Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar and his wife, Toh Puan Datuk Patinggi Fauziah Mohd Sanusi graced the ‘Sarawak Countdown 2026: Let’s Celebrate Together’ New Year’s Eve celebration at the Kuching Waterfront on December 31, 2025.
The festivities featured a line-up of cultural and entertainment performances highlighted by special performances from KRU, a highly influential Malaysian pop/R&B/hip-hop trio, formed by brothers Norman, Yusry and Edry Abdul Halim in 1992, Dayang Nurfaizah, a highly acclaimed Malaysian singer from Sarawak, and renowned Indonesian star, Judika.
But the heavy rain did not stop thousands of locals and tourists from flocking to the Kuching Waterfront for the Sarawak Countdown 2026 celebration.
The official New Year countdown to 2026 was followed by laser, light and fireworks display .
Meanwhile, China welcomed 2026 with spectacular firework displays and breathtaking drone shows across the republic. The world record drone show in Chongqing, which was completely run by AI, was truly amazing and described as “Just intelligence in motion” by some viewers.
Immediately after the stroke of midnight, I welcomed 2026 by eating Spaghetti Bolognese, long spaghetti noodles topped with a rich, slow-cooked meat sauce made from minced beet, tomatoes, onions, carrots, celery, wine and herbs and Parmesan cheese, garlic bread and cream of mushroom soup.
I bought the Spaghetti Bolognese and garlic bread from a popular fast-food spot a day before and made the cream of mushroom soup from a packet.
I was introduced to spaghetti by a Mexican friend when I attended a print journalism course in Cardiff, Wales many years ago. When I first returned to Sarawak, I used to make my own spaghetti dish almost every day until I grew tired of it.
I love cream of mushroom soup after enjoying it with my family including my late mother at a globally recognised American multinational restaurant chain in Kuching.
Ever since I was young, my family had a history of welcoming the start of a new year by eating Chicken Mee Sua.
‘Mee sua’, often called ‘longevity noodles’, is a popular food among the Foochow community in Sibu, my hometown.
My family is Hainanese but we follow this Foochow and Chinese tradition of consuming ‘mee sua’ during festive occasions such as birthdays and Chinese New Year.
So on January 1 this year, I decided to eat Chicken Mee Sua at a Foochow stall in Kuching. I know how to cook Chicken Mee Sua but I thought it was faster and easier to just eat the food at a stall.
The queue at the stall, which sold different kinds of noodles, was long. The old man who used to prepare the food at the stall was not there. His wife was still there; she just sat quietly on a stool and watched her son prepare the customers’ orders.
I waited and waited for my food. After a long time, I approached the old lady and asked politely, ”Have you forgotten my order?”
The son, who had a loud voice, replied he was in the midst of preparing it.
A young woman, who was serving the food to customers, said loudly that I came later than a few others. I listened to her and kept quiet.
When the Chicken Mee Sua finally came, I was deeply disappointed.
The essential ingredients for Chicken Mee Sua are mee sua noodles (Chinese wheat vermicelli), chicken (thighs or drumsticks), toasted or black sesame oil for aroma, sliced or julienned ginger, Chinese wine (for depth and fragrance) and water for soup. Sometimes, red dates and wolfberries (Goji berries) are added for sweetness.
But that morning, the Chicken Mee Sua I ate at the stall was completely tasteless.
It seemed to have been cooked without the sesame oil, ginger, wine or red dates and wolfberries. It seemed to have been cooked with just plain water and some salt.
As I ate a piece of chicken and some of the vermicelli, I wondered how long the stall would last.
Many years ago, I used to visit this particular Foochow stall whenever I yearned for Pork Leg Mee Sua or Chicken Mee Sua. I liked the ginger and wine broth prepared by the old chef.
I don’t think I will go back to the stall anymore. I wondered why the woman’s son (the new chef) skipped the sesame oil, ginger and the wine when he prepared the Chicken Mee Sua.
Doesn’t he know the foundation of a stall’s success is a signature dish that customers crave and can rely on to taste the same every time?
Doesn’t he know that in today’s modern world, satisfied customers are the best marketers? That they will happily recommend a great stall to their friends and family.
Doesn’t he know that you can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all the people all the time?
Well, that was an unforgettable January 1 meal for me.
Anyway, my friends, Happy 2026! May it be your best chapter yet.
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Sarawak Tribune. The writer can be reached at adelinel888@gmail.com.
