A fair number of shares in the US that had a massive drop in March has more or less recovered - at least for the few my friends were looking at/bought. I have bought mainly Australian Vanguard ETFs so I don't need to worry too much about looking into individual companies. I tend to overthink/analyse these stuff and won't be able to make a quick decision - so this route is probably a decent option for me.

I have read comments and articles on the education + chinese students affecting both the education/apartment demand direly and I too think you will get your golden handshake sooner than later. Recently ate at "Hochiak" in Strathfield with my aunt and one of the nasi lemak options was 27 dollars - that is some premium nasi lemak. I think it's priced a bit too high for my liking and felt i was not worth the price tag. The price did curb my craving for Malaysian food for a while.

I used to go Hochiak in Chinatown and we must have been there at least a dozen times a year but last year, a lot of our friends (retirees) were telling us that their pricing is extremely expensive so my wife told me to boycott them. After that, we were only eating in Din Tai Fung, Masuya Suisan, Galleries (Bathurst St/George St) and Zilver. We stopped eating out in mid March because of Covid and has only started eating out again late Oct. We went Makoto Japanese (Liverpool St - World Sq) a few times and standard has dropped and so has Din Tai Fung (i think their chef has left) but Galleries is still very good. In the last 8 months when i was not eating out, my savings has shot up .

Not many Chinese students now at work so no more money to keep staff going. The unions (NTEU especially) have been blocking our voluntary redundancy but it looks set to go ahead. I have more than 30 years of service so will get quite a big sum . Also i have still a lot of long service leave (though we have to pay tax on LSL and annual leave). I have been WFH since mid-March and feel so lazy to work nowadays!!

Ho jiak is being run and own by my Damansara Jaya school mate. He is three years my senior cohort. He is a good guy who treats his staff well.


You should go back there to support them.. They aren't doing so well during bad times like this. Even bad times like now, he tries his best to retain all of his worker.

Ask your retired friends too to show some compassion for a fellow Malaysian..

Actually since 3 weeks ago, my wife and i have been going back to Hojiak Chinatown (mainly because the restaurants we used to go to have all closed down). Hojiak simple dishes like Hainnan chicken rice (A$18) and nasi lemak rendang (A$18) are our favorites. We have been there 4 times in the last 3 weeks. We went Din Tai Fung (Worldsquare) but were disappointed though it is cheaper.

We have been eating out a lot in the last 3-4 weeks because we have not gone out for about 8 months (March-Nov) so with the virus so well controlled in Sydney, we are more daring. We were very disappointed with Cinta Ria (Darling Square Chinatown). We also went to the new Pancake on the Rocks (Darling Square) and it was very good - their steaks and pizzas were excellent!! However, we still prefer to eat in small groups as there is still the possibly of asymptomatic cases.

I am very close to getting my golden handshake so i may need to buy kagenn a lunch. I should know before X'mas. I never expect to be so lucky to get a payout when i am already planning to retire early next year .

This post has been edited by Garysydney: Dec 8 2020, 11:54 AM

Din Tai Fung isn't Msian food.. what to expect, when overseas, expect to pay a premium for authentic malaysian cuisine. From what I can see, Hojiak chefs are all very passionate about malaysian food. Abit too unhealthy for my liking, but you can't deny that their quality is one of the best in whole of Australia if you are looking for the most authentic Malaysian tasting food.

The premium price is justified because of this. I don't get why people boycott something just because it is expensive. As long as you are paying for quality or authentic experience, the price is always justified. Just like when you buy a merc instead of a hyundai. You are paying for the quality and experience.

Nowadays retirees don't complain so much about price of food because there is not so much we spend on nowadays other than food in Sydney. We don't travel anymore so that is a big chunk of our expenses saved. Also a lot of our favorite restaurants have closed shop so there are less choices unlike before where there were so many choices.

Hojiak has all their waitresses wear tight short skirts so hum sap retirees don't mind paying more, i guess

This post has been edited by Garysydney: Dec 8 2020, 12:34 PM

Quite excited to hear about the golden handshake, not because of the meal.
Hopefully it'll be finalised and you'll get it, a few people in my company were in a similar situation when they received a forced handshake.
As I'm one of the few in the IT team not celebrating Xmas, I'll be working through to Dec but will be in the city on either the 21st or 22nd to makan / jalan-jalan around Chinatown too.

Had Pancakes on the Rock at Circular Quay, it was quite alright - should probably learn about nicer places to makan from you, but we usually just eat out once a week, and probably won't wait till the weekend to do it - sometimes too tired from work we'll just eat somewhere close. Also, it seems like overseas travel out of Aus is banned till at least March next year.


The meal at Ho Chiak was quite authentic, but certainly wasn't up to the standard for the price in my opinion. Nothing against them, but I preferred the food at Albee's in Campsie. My favourite makan place is a Vietnamese(+asian food) restaurant in Chester Hill which makes sweet & sour pork pretty close to Msian version without being too expensive - been going there for my fix once a month for over a year. Always happy to support restaurants which produces food with decent quality at reasonable prices. All the same, I avoid those which does not deliver quality on par with the price after eating once even if they're different branches of a franchise. If one wants to charge more than other shops for the same product but does not impress, I'd reckon it doesn't bode well (which depends on a person's personal preference).

I was previously happy to meet and support fellow Msians, but I've been screwed over twice by fellow Msians looking to make a quick buck. Pretty anecdotal - I know, but I no have the initial trust as one would have for a fellow countrymen. I can understand supporting a friend but I wouldn't let it cloud my judgement. If I think fi is not justified I'll let them know, and it's up to them to accept/reject it. When one grows up eating bread and biscuit, it's easy to ignore premium places/things that I feel are not worth it. My wife has better taste, and at least this balances things out - otherwise I can be happy eating rice with great gravy.

The unions are kicking a big fuss about increased workload (for remaining employees) when positions are made redundant (voluntarily). Pandemic and unions are still complaining about increased workloads!! They should bloody be grateful they still have a job!! This is the problem with government organizations. Actually I should keep quiet as i have been enjoying all the benefits for more than 30years . We used to get a lot of fringe benefits like top of the range phones every 2 years, a new laptop every 2-3 years - on top of this we get 10 weeks of sick leave/year (non-accumulatable).

However, in the last 12 months, all benefits have been slashed to bare bones!! From now, we only get a low range Motorola phone (once every 3 years) and new laptop every 5 years. Look what happens when no Chinese students come to Aust to study!! Our organisation was flushed with cash before and now we are talking about cost-saving measures!! Unthinkable last year. Anyway i am glad i may be getting a good payout (about 2 years pay which is non-taxable). I will know the decision just before X'mas but i think the news should be favorable - bloody unions!!

P's: I have been asking my director to make my position redundant for the past 3 years but he rejected it each time.

This post has been edited by Garysydney: Dec 10 2020, 07:23 AM

Those are some impressive benefits, never knew the education industry was so generous - as long as the money flowed well. 10 weeks of leaves is just mind-blowing. I think I won't be able to change jobs with when given that many days of leave. Too bad the education line just isn't for me, I'm a crappy student and probably a worse teacher. What's gonna happen to the organisation now with the worsening relations with China? On the plus side, hopefully you will be getting your handshake soon and this will no longer be an issue for you. I like to think organisations should put money aside for a rainy day, but with so much growth through the years it'll probably feel pointless to be frugal.
At least the unions are doing something - they have to make themselves seen fighting for the people they represent. I guess they're doing their job to stay relevant.

It's gonna be a rainy week till next week, not the best time to travel around but it looks like we'll still be going around to the city. Hopefully its not gonna be cats and dogs and maybe light drizzles. I'm looking forward to a few days break from the busy project go live - and hopefully work won't be too intense - which always seems to be the case when we're operating with a skeleton crew.

This post has been edited by kagenn: Dec 15 2020, 06:25 AM

The 10 weeks/yr sick leave is built into the EBA (Enterprice bargaining agreement). Staff can accumulate it up to 20 weeks (over 2 years) and that is the maximum it can get to but you get a fresh 10 weeks every year if you exhaust it - i have been quite healthy over the past 30 years i have never needed to use those sick leave. Some of the staff abuse this sick leave like crazy!! I got one 35 year-old Aussie kid in my team and he makes sure he exhaust his sick leave every year!! The thing is management cannot do anything about it. This system is very good for staff who wants to rort the system.

I have been a union member ever since i joined my organisation and the union has been pretty good but NOT THIS TIME (for me)!! Anyway i think my union NTEU just wants to show they are working hard and flex a bit of their muscles. We have 2 unions in our organisation and the other union is CPSU (this union is the public service union). CPSU didn't object to the voluntary redundancy at all.

Sydney weather is going to be wet over the next 7 days - make sure you bring a brolly.

I should know the results of my payout in the next few days but i think my chances are very good!!

Went Coles Randwick this morning - they have started to implement the QR scan. Luckily i had my phone with me - i usually just pop in to Coles or Woolies as part of my morning walk and don't carry my mobile.

Looks like the Palm Beach spread is now affecting more suburbs.

Thought Sydneysiders could have a relaxed Xmas without too much worry about Covid but guess i am wrong.

This post has been edited by Garysydney: Dec 23 2020, 05:09 AM

Yeah, even my neighbouring suburb of Homebush may potentially have more cases too. A friend has cancelled a meet up as they were worried about the sudden surge in cases - can see more people getting worried about this. So far people aren't too worried about it yet I guess as the numbers are really low.
I was in the city yesterday and there were so many people out and about.

We bought quite a number of books from Kinokuniya so we'll have a fair bit of things to do at home. Also I bought a fair few cheap new games to entice the wife into my gaming habits. Stay safe all, and have a Merry Christmas!

I wish i have an interest in gaming but at my age, we have totally lost all gaming interest .

I received news that my application for a payout has been approved so i owe you a lunch!! My payout works out to be about 2 years pay (non-taxable). I will arrange lunch with you in the next few months. My last day is in March. After March, i am going to be a retiree - a bit anxious now as i plan what i am going to do once i retire

Hi all, Happy New Year! Just an update on currency exchange: My usual currency exchange. Orbit remit is showing A$1 to RM3.1.

Hello my friend.

I think ringgit dropped today because of the state of emergency declared in Malaysia.

I was at World Square two days ago and it looks like Papa Rich is opening a new store there. Hope they open faster. My wife and I went to Hojiak Chinatown on Saturday (??) and it was full house. They wanted to put us upstairs and we were lazy to walk up the stairs so we ended up eating ramen at Darling Square.

Looks like there are still 5 cases in NSW today and people are still careful about eating out. Don't know when i can buy you lunch but at this rate we are going, it may be quite a lot longer. I still have not eaten out in a bigger group for about 11 months now. Usually i only dare eat out with my wife and i

Hi all my company has offered me to transfer to Aus (most prob syd). but im weighting whether its worth it (due to me having a 3 yo) .

anyone can shine some light on pre school / primary school costs?

All good, we're pretty much eating at home and at most just tapau or quick grocery visits since I'm in Lidcombe with some recent cases as well as beign right next to Berala. No rush regarding a lunch meet up, happy to meet up when the situation is better.


No kids yet, but spoke to a friend and it does cost a fair bit, with school necessities + tuition. For them it was like over a hundred++ for a set of school clothes - this is public school. If you want to be able to put your kids into a good school you'll have to rent within the school catchment area, which also usually means higher rent as the demand is there. I personally think it'll be better than Msian education but some parents here will be able to give you a more accurate picture.

Since you are just next to Berala, you probably don't want to eat out too much.

My group of old mates are only eating out with their household members and not with friends as a matter of precaution. I have been working from home since March last year and my last day is some time in March. I owe so many of my colleagues lunches (they are saying i should be buying since i got a good payout) and they want to meet up with me before i go. Imagine even having lunch with colleagues is problematic because of this virus!!

This post has been edited by Garysydney: Jan 12 2021, 03:42 PM

Hi all, wanna ask about the chances of working and possibly settling down permanently in Australia (Melbourne specifically) in the near future.

Currently working in the financial audit field with around 2 years+ of experience in one of the Big4 audit firms. Will be finishing my paper around mid this year (an Australian-NZ paper too - CAANZ) and will achieve 3 years experience around Q3 of this year. Don't mind getting demoted there as long as I don't start from right at the bottom (currently at senior associate level). Also don't mind to stay in the firm forever as the audit field is actually quite interesting if we take away the long working hours.

Basically the family is trying to find a new environment to start off a new life, considering that we have family issues and also the perception of having not really bright prospects in Malaysia. Parents want the issues to end in their generation and not affect the kids. Singapore is not an option for us as we want to find somewhere with a less hectic pace of life (Aus/NZ will be the best)

Been hearing some of my colleagues who are able to jump off to the branches in various parts of the world. Those who went Australia mostly went to Sydney, but I feel like I will like Melbourne more considering the perceived less hectic life there (and fooddddddd). Been considering NZ too (Auckland) but seems like the opportunities there will be less than Aus. Maybe NZ will be a retirement spot later on.

Maybe someone from similar field can advice on when should I make the jump and the chances of it?

"the family" means who?...

sounds like it will have to be 189/190....

some information here: https://iscah.com/news-page/