Growing up in a home and country obsessed with food—my late grandfather came from Guangdong, the culinary haven of China, to Singapore where he once worked as a cook—I was brought up with the inclination that my family members and relatives knew a thing or two about eating and drinking. It goes without saying my grandfather was also yi jia zi zhu (meaning ‘the cook of the household’); my fondest memories are of eating with him and hearing him rant to my uncles about global affairs while sipping pu’er brewed in a large porcelain teapot.
As the years passed, that inclination grew to become a profession as I joined a hospitality school and pursued my ambition of becoming a hotelier or restaurateur. I later joined a food magazine where I could be paid to put all things delicious (or not) in my mouth. It was a major turning point in my life, not because I landed what I thought was a dream job, but because my superior instantly threw me into the deep end and made me write professionally about wine—a subject, which up until that point, I was not formally trained in. But swim I did, in copious amounts of Merlots and Cabernets, until one day my blood ran red enough to be made the wine editor of another food magazine.
Denne historien er fra September - October 2020-utgaven av WINE&DINE.
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Denne historien er fra September - October 2020-utgaven av WINE&DINE.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
New Blood
The next-generation is breathing new life into the forgotten art of spice-mixing, peppering the traditional trade with renewed ideas and fresh perspectives.
Sharing Is Caring
Compared to its flagship at Serene Centre, Fat Belly Social at Boon Tat Street is a classier and bolder affair, in more than one sense.
Nutmeg's Role In Singapore's History
From tales of it being used to ward off the plague in mid-1300s Europe to one of the ingredients in dessert, we have all known, tasted, or at least heard of nutmeg. But not many know of the spice’s role in Singapore’s history.
New And Improved
The ever-profound chef-owner Kenjiro ‘Hatch’ Hashida finds more room, three to be exact, to express a Ha Ri philosophy at Hashida Singapore’s new location at Amoy Street.
Pairing Spice-Driven Cuisines With Wine
Pairing spice-driven cuisines with wine has long been a challenge but with a little imagination, it doesn’t have to be.
Let Land Grow Wild
Niew Tai-Ran has worn many hats: aeronautical engineering major, investment banker, avid surfer, and, for the last 14 years, winemaker. Discover how this Malaysia-born, Singapore-native is championing the “do-nothing farming” philosophy at his vineyard in Oregon.
The South Asian Misnomer
Incredibly diverse and varied than most know, Indian food is far more intriguing than butter chicken or thosai. Here is a crash course on the extensive cuisine from region to region, recognisable for the seemingly infinite ways of using spices.
Keepers Of The Spice Trade
From its glory days along trade routes to pantry staples all over the world, spices have become so commonplace that we’ve taken them for granted. For these three trailblazers, however, spice is their livelihood and motivation: Langit Collective working with indigenous rural farming communities in Malaysia; IDH’s Sustainable Spice Initiative; and chef Nak’s one-woman mission to share forgotten Khmer cuisine.
Sugar, Spice And Everything Nice
Like food, spices bring vibrancy and variety to alcoholic beverages. Surfacing in unexpected ways on the palate, find everything from cumin to tamarind, cloves to cardamom enriching these drinks.
Building Blocks From The Archipelago
For the smorgasbord of dishes found in Indonesian cuisine, it is a little known secret that the modest bumbu, in all its variants, is the bedrock of such flavourful fare.
