You know you’re getting older when you get together with a girlfriend you haven’t seen in ages, and you find yourself talking about…houses. Weird, isn’t it, when you find yourself suddenly all grown up and not even resisting the idea! Even the setting’s grown up – we ate at a swanky new gastropub in Singapore – Slake.
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I am Singaporean. It may explain a lot about my queueing habits and my obsession with getting value for money, but being Singaporean is more than that. Political stability – and we shall not discuss the specifics of politics here – have allowed me to use my little red passport to travel just about anywhere I’d like to in this world, and the mishmash of cultures and languages have allowed me a better food knowledge, exposure and understanding than I would have if I was born anywhere else.
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Whenever I mention that I’m from Singapore, I inevitably get asked about Chilli Crab and Chicken Rice. And while they might be our most popular exports, Singapore is so much more than that. Yes, go to your Tian Tian Chicken Rice if you absolutely have to, but trust me, you’ll wanna hit up a few other dishes that you won’t get a chance to try otherwise. Here’s my list of Singaporean foods that will get you eating like a local!
Ah Singapore. I think I have a love/hate relationship with it. After all, it’s where I spent my best childhood years, and my worst teenage ones. And despite my distaste for the humidity that poofs my hair into the worst version of a 70’s afro (blessed with sleek Asian hair, I was not) and the heat that makes me sweat like a criminal on trial, I do have a fondness for the people and the food – because you can find nothing like it in any other part of the world. So once in a while I visit. And when I do, it’s a whirlwind.
We are now in the second half of winter, which means it’s last chances to have the oven and slow cooker running at the same time, without worrying that you are going to get cooked in your home alongside your lunch. So here are my favourite things to make in winter.
Let’s get those ovens running!!
Many Chinese dishes have stories behind them. Maybe it’s cause we know that food tastes richer with a legend or two, or maybe the lack of modern entertainment gave us cause to make things up. Either way, I love these tales that accompany my meal – it turns a simple lunch from a functional action, into a dining experience.
I love cooking with kids, but with no kids of my own, I only ever get the opportunity when I visit my cousin in Melbourne. These kids are a ravenous pair, and I’m such a proud aunt for it. But I know that as much as cooking with kids is really fun, it can be time consuming and messy, and often is left in the ‘too hard’ basket.
So why not use the appliances we have at our disposal? The food processor is my best friend in the kitchen, and these chewy cookies are my new favourite thing to make.
I think I’m a hippie at heart. There are a great many ideals I am in support of, and bringing together a community through food is definitely one of them.
Which is why I love the concept of Lentil as Anything – a not-for-profit restaurant with a unique business model of pay-as-you-like, all in the name of the community. But the question remains: how is the food?
Never in my life have I been surrounded with so many cafés, so many options, so many shops fighting to put a warm caffeinated beverage in my hands and send me off to work. In the mere 10 minutes walk to the Eastwood train station, I can think of over 5 cafés, each located within meters of each other, competing for my attention. Cherry Beans Cafe, Pishon Cafe and Sweet Pumpkin Soup Cafe are three that immediately come to mind. Some, intoxicating you with the awakening aroma of their coffee, while the rest repel you with the smell of burned coffee and their lack of appreciation for these magical beans.
I was researching party recipes lately, and I’ve come to learn that African dishes differ greatly. I guess I should have know, being an Asian and all, but it didn’t really click. Maybe it’s because African cuisine is not as documented, exported, and prolific, but there’s definitely a great wide area there to explore.