I was in the house that morning when this…
…came via some courier service.
My girl was outside so she accepted it on my behalf from the guy. “It’s for you,” she said. I was kind of puzzled as I was not expecting anything – no, I did not go shopping online nor did I order any home delivery and I was not expecting anybody to send me anything either.
The name of the box was not familiar and for a while, I thought that somebody had sent me a few bottles of essence of chicken after reading my blogpost on it that day. The nature and shape of the box plus that FRAGILE sticker made me think of some glassware that was given to me free when I bought a few bottles of wine sometime ago.
I spotted in very fine print the email address of the sender so I knew who had sent it and seeing this…
…by the side of the box, I expected some nuts inside. “It’s from Aunty Mandy,” I told my girl, “and my guess is there are nuts that you can enjoy inside.”
Of course, she knows my very dear friend, Mandy, so very well. She was always there whenever we went over, never mind whether it was to KL, Penang or Sungai Petani. She would go out of her way to drive to where we were to make sure we were all right and to take us around. One Chinese New Year, when my girl could not come home for the celebration, she went all the way there to take her and a friend (from Sabah) out for dinner. Yes, she truly is a gem – precious and so very hard to find!
I opened the box and there was this note inside…
That was so very sweet and thoughtful of her, really, to remember and think of us during these difficult times. It has been so many years since we last saw her and I don’t know if we will ever meet again. Nonetheless, it is so very comforting to know that we are in her thoughts, always.
No, there weren’t any nuts nor essence of chicken. Instead, there were these bottles of sambal…
…and when I shared the photo on Facebook, it drew quite a lot of responses. Obviously, a lot of people have tried and they all loved it a lot.
One will expire in November and the other two, in 2023, next year which means that I have ample time to sit down and enjoy them one by one slowly. Thank you so much, Mandy! Indeed, the best of all surprises would be one that is most unexpected and comes with lots of love.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Life is full of surprise. Good to have surprises once in a while especially the unexpected ones that comes with lots of love and thoughts. You are truly blessed like I always say. If I am not wrong, your friend Mandy has been to Sibu quite a few times due to work related, right?
Yes, when she was working with her previous company. She did drop by for a visit a few times too – hopefully, she will come again one of these days now that we are free to travel within the country, at least.
What a nice surprise, cheeky message to π
Those sambal looks gourmet, have you tried them yet?
Yes, obviously, gourmet sambals with prices to match. Seems that many are going into these and selling online.
Wow so good. Wish I could get such boxes too. π Only kind-hearted souls will get these.
I take that as a compliment, thank you very much but I must say that is a more appropriate description of the giver than the receiver.
Wow! What a sambal-licious surprise! Sambal gift is better than any nuts, etc. So nice and thoughtful of your friend to send the bottles of sambal to you.
Yes, count my blessings!!! I shall enjoy them slowly, savour bit by bit.
Eat a bit a bit not so syok la!! Should enjoy it and once finish always can re-order.. if you like garlic, the garlic is the sambal is nice and yummy!! Very garlicky π π
That is the problem, usually with these things, we do not know where to stop, one sitting and half the bottle gone. LOL!!!
yeah I can finish half bottle .. good with rice or noodle… don’t be shy just eat..and enjoy it..
once finish u let me know i can re-order it.. let me know which one you like the best.. on off they do have promotion sometime free delivery even you just want to buy one bottle.. π
OK, thanks so much, will definitely let you know. I usually will blog about my reviews, bottle by bottle. Hope to get down to the first one one of these days.
So good, huh, your friend.
I wanna befriend with Mandy too. π
>They have Castella cake there too?
Oh yes, I was surprise to find Castella cake too.
It’s a famous cake from Nagasaki.
In the old days, there was a cake brand called Sara Lee.
Their sponge cake was actually very nice and moist.
You’ll get along very well, I’m sure. She’s very nice.
Oh? Castella from Nagasaki?
The ones here are all the Taiwanese franchises, nothing to shout about.
I bought their Japanese cheese cake in Miri, it was all right.
Sara Lee’s products are available at some supermarkets here – you can make your own cakes.
What a nice surprise! Cute little saying/teaser on the box, too. And you can’t go wrong with Garlic, in my book! Gotta LOVE Garlic!
Great for health, lots of benefits.
I order a lot of things from Signature Market but mostly nuts, dried fruits and health foods. A great concept!
Yet to check it out! We’ll just finish the sambals first.