Yunita and Morten lived for 17 years in Shanghai before moving to Thailand during the Covid-19 pandemic.  Although the years of the pandemic were a difficult time for many, Yunita feels it was actually a blessing in disguise for her as it prompted her to take action.  In conjunction with her husband, she had already decided that she did not wish to raise Isak in Shanghai, nor in Indonesia or Denmark.  They had been investigating their possibilities and had explored the options of Spain and Singapore.  But already having invested in a holiday home in Thailand, and having visited regularly since 2007, returning to Thailand, while they could, turned out to be the safest, best and easiest option, and it has been a move they have not regretted.

It was during her time in Shanghai, working as a pastry chef in a 5-star hotel as well as a well-known restaurant, that Yunita was introduced to Morten by a friend whose husband worked in the same office as him.  They have been married quite a while now, but remain romantic with each other.  She tells me he often surprises her with small, spontaneous gifts and I was fascinated to learn the origin of the name of her café, MY Honeypie, which is situated on the ground floor of their business, Ferior Interior.  Like me, you may have wondered why the letter Y is capitalised in the name. It is because the M is for Morten, the Y is for Yunita and Honeypie is what she calls her husband. (For the record, his term of endearment for her is Honeywife.)

The locals of Hua Hin are lucky that Yunita has bought her skills as a pastry chef to our town.  She knows you can’t bake many cakes without breaking eggs, and certainly doesn’t stint on the butter and cream.  Yunita also knows about how to balance sweet and bitter to provide a richness to her fabulous creations which have instant appeal to the western palette. Social media and word-of-mouth have been crucial contributing elements to the growth of her business. MY Honeypie has become a firm favourite for people wanting to order special occasion cakes, but please be sure to give her sufficient warning, so that she has both the time she needs and all the required ingredients to hand.

Yunita is actually an Indonesian by birth, a member of the Batak ethnic group, and was the first-born of 4 children to a couple who lived in North Sumatra.  But when Yunita was only 5-years-of-age, the family relocated to Jakarta, the nation’s capital, her parents having made the decision that their children would have better educational opportunities and thus better lives, as a result. Her father was a strict task-master, with very high expectations of Yunita, and so, to this day, she does not like to hear people speak to each other in a raised tone of voice.  It can cause her to quake, as a result of fear of her father.  Much like a Thai person, it seems to me. Yunita prefers to witness calmness and harmonious relationships, and is not fond of bickering or gossiping.  She admits she is still learning to be forthright in expressing herself in situations where she is not in agreement with the words or actions of others.  Yunita always finds it easier to say yes rather than no.

Her parents decided she should attend a vocational high school as money was not plentiful and they doubted they would be able to pay for her university education.  Instead, Yunita’s secondary education was completed at a tourism high school which was geared to ensuring graduates had skills applicable to the hospitality industry.

Yunita has had a long and distinguished career in the kitchen, despite this not being her original goal.  Had you asked a young Yunita what she wanted to be when she grew up, it would have been Police Woman. That ambition hit the waste basket when she learnt she would have to cut her hair short, something she was not interested in doing. That young Yunita would not even have believed she would eventually spend much of her adult life abroad, as she didn’t get a passport until much later in her life.

Yunita and her family love the beach (although she can’t swim) and the relaxed lifestyle of Hua Hin, and of course the delicious food. Raised in an Indonesian family, Yunita is a big fan of chilli and loves to eat spicy food each day, so fits well into the Thai food scene.  As Hua Hin develops, she would like to see improvements in the traffic and parking situation, and also safer pedestrian options for mothers with strollers along our roads. A better strategy to tackle the issue of soi dogs would also make life easier for Yunita.

At MY Honeypie, Yunita has carefully and most deliberately structured a tranquil meeting place. She hosts monthly get-togethers of her friends, where everyone brings a dish to share. MY Honeypie is also the venue for a weekly meeting of a group of creative ladies who get together to share their passions and skills.  Yunita offers display space and opportunity to a wide variety of local artists and craftspeople, to showcase their work to her customers.  MY Honeypie is indeed a unique and eclectic place in Hua Hin, and chosen as a cool, calm refuge by many. It is yet another way that Yunita shows her support for the local community, while at the same time indulging her need to spend time in the company of others.

Yunita is not, and never will be, a person who prefers solitude. She appreciates that the best way to make people happy is to be with them, and actively listen to them. The friendship group she collects around her are people who are comfortable mingling across age and cultural divides.  She loves that being around them is so easy, she doesn’t have to work at what to do or what to say, they share a ready and intimate connection.

Her work is a passion for Yunita, especially as the couple are now fully in charge of their own daily schedule, running their own businesses. Yunita has been busy upskilling and mentoring her staff, with the future aim of being able to step away from the daily grind of her café and spend even more time exploring the world.  Among her favourite places in the world are Italy, where she is captivated by both the food and the architecture, and Paris, the city of love. Not that just being at home, pottering in her garden, “playing with her flowers”, followed by a Netflix & chill session isn’t also a very attractive option for Yunita.

When asked about a role model or inspirational figure, Yunita chose not to give me one.  The truth is, Yunita doesn’t have one.  Instead, she actively seeks out and acknowledges the good that she finds in almost everyone. I think this is also one of her superpowers, and on leaving her company, you feel positive and empowered in yourself. Yunita’s favourite compliment is when she is told she is very welcoming.

I loved spending further time with Yunita, chatting for this article.  A more genuine and engaging person I have not met in a long time.  I certainly feel her parents made a very good choice in directing her towards a career path that perfectly matched her innate personality and talents, allowing her to experience great personal success at the same time as building community around her wherever she goes.