8 July 2015
| Last updated on 25 August 2015
The Happy Foodie Bringing Malaysia to Dublin
Meet Anes Syafiza the Malaysia foodie. Anes has just returned from spreading her love of Malaysian cuisine all over the Emerald Isle.
We’re living in:
I am currently living in Johor Bahru, Malaysia with my husband and two lovely kids. Johor Bahru is the capital city of Johor, one of the 14 states in Malaysia. My husband is currently working as a Fund Accountant in Singapore and he has to cross the Malaysia-Singapore border day in day out.
A bit about us:
My name is Anes Syafiza, a wife, mother of two, ex auditor and part time food blogger. I was born and raised in Malaysia. I went to Dublin in 2001 to pursue my degree in Accounting and Finance. After graduated, I was so lucky to be able to find a job in a medium size audit practice based in Dublin. After giving birth to my lovely daughter, I decided to become a full-time housewife. During that time, I‘ve run a small business from home selling foods to Malaysian community in Dublin. There were about 1500 Malaysian living in Dublin at that time. My husband has created a food and travel blog in order for me to share simple Malaysian recipes to the world.
How long have you lived there?
We were in Dublin for about 10 years. We love it so much and until now still keep wondering if we’ve make the right decision to leave the beautiful country.
Why did you move?
Unfortunately, Ireland was highly impacted by economy crisis and recession period. Income tax risen, goods and services rate when up, salary cut, redundancy and more. In 2011, my husband was offered with a job in Singapore as a Fund accountant. After considering our income and expenses, we decided to return back for good.
Why we like living here:
I like living in Dublin because of it cities. I’ve lived, work and studied in Dublin for approximately 10 years and I do think Dublin is the most relax city in the world. There are few cities worth visiting within Ireland such as Galway, Kilkenny, Cork and Belfast. Each cities offer with amazing landscape and culture too. I like Ireland because of its green landscape and its white sheep. Go to their country side and you will get what I meant and you’ll love it. When it comes to St Patrick Day celebration, everyone will enjoy and dress up in green. Some even dress up as Irish leprechaun. This was amazing!I love the Irish, they are funny and cheerful. Even though sometime it was hard for me to understand with the accent. I believe no matter you are, whether you are in Dublin, Galway, Cork or Belfast, you’ll experience or feel the welcoming aura. I like the Irish street performers. They were so talented and brilliant too. They have filled the streets such as Grafton Street and Parnell street with colours and make its so unique.
I like spending my time at Phoenix Park and Saint Stephen Green Park during summer time. It was a fun and unforgettable memories for me. We talk and laugh and had a great BBQ too.
There are two mosques available in Dublin. The Clonskeagh and the Dublin Mosque. Both are well managed and make me feel at home even though living in a Catholic country.
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Accommodation Option:
We were renting in a gorgeous apartment in Dublin City Centre. It’s just 15 minutes’ walk to the famous Grafton Street. There are lots of apartments available in the City area. I’ve used www.daft.ie when looking for an apartment.
What top tips do you have for anyone considering a move?
We tend to get excited when moving abroad. I've spent a lot of money on winter clothes which I bought in my own country Malaysia. When I arrived in Dublin, I then realised that plenty of selection available in Dublin and cheap too, of course it is a four season country.
What’s the best thing about being and expat?
To know and to experience about other’s culture is so amazing. We get the opportunity to meet with new friends in another country. Surprisingly, they were also keen to learn about our culture.
How do you keep a little bit of home with you as an expat?
I like to eat especially when it comes to Asian foods. So, in order to feel like home, I’ve learned to cook. Asian cooking ingredients can be easily obtained in Ireland. There are a couple of Asian groceries store available in Dublin city centre. This was my inspiration behind my blog.
Anything else you’d like to share with us about your expat experience?
The experience living as an expatriate abroad has definitely changed my life and family. It makes us be more open in heart and mind, be patient and not to judge too quickly. The key to enjoy living as an expatriate is to be able to adapt quickly with the culture. Don’t worry about their foods because everywhere you go, whether it be east or west you can easily find selection of foods such as Western foods, Arabic foods, Indian foods, Chinese foods, and many more. Honestly, living as an expat was certainly a challenging life for me but at the end, it definitely gave me a great reward.
