Eda Wong
When I first tried to navigate a traditional Cantonese family dinner, I made a spectacularly embarrassing mistake. I sat down, looked at the sprawling, beautifully written menu, and confidently ordered an individual plate of sweet and sour pork just for myself. The table went completely quiet. My host gently nudged the menu back towards the…
The first thing I noticed was the smoke. It didn’t rise all at once, but in thin, steady ribbons that curled upward from a narrow grill set just inches from the counter. The scent came first, warm and unmistakable, a mix of rendered chicken fat and binchōtan charcoal, clean but deeply present. Inside the small…
If you live in Singapore, you know that finding Thai food is about as difficult as finding a humid day. We are spoiled for choice. From gritty hawker stalls serving fiery basil pork to upscale restaurants where a bowl of tom yum costs more than a taxi ride, the options are endless. But sometimes, you…
For the longest time, I was convinced that cooking authentic Thai food at home was out of my league. I imagined complex pastes, hours of simmering, and a mountain of ingredients I couldn’t pronounce. I was happy to leave it to the experts. But a casual dinner at Fourgather, a stylish Thai eatery in Telok…
In our first, would probably say, emotional editorial, I would like to open with how there is a particular kind of silence that happens before a dish is eaten now. Not the quiet of anticipation, but the pause of positioning, a hand hovering just above the plate, adjusting the angle of a bowl so the…
For years, I thought cooking Asian food at home required something mystical. My stir-fries were soggy, lacking that smoky breath of the wok. My fried rice was inconsistent, sometimes clumpy, other times dry. My sauces tasted flat, missing the balance of savory, sweet, and tangy flavors I craved. I assumed restaurants had secrets I’d never…
A friend texted me last week: “I’m outside this new Vietnamese place. How do I know if it’s legit before I waste my money?” It’s a question I get often. We’ve all been there, drawn in by a cool sign, only to get a plate of sad, sweet, tourist-grade pad thai that tastes like ketchup.…
My first time ordering Nasi Padang in Geylang Serai was overwhelming, I randomly picked dishes and was shocked by a $20 bill due to premium beef rendang and squid. That taught me to always ask seafood prices and that Malay food is a complex, modular cuisine. Malay food is everywhere in Singapore, in hawker centres,…
I used to think I understood Malaysian food. As a Singaporean, it’s practically in my DNA, right? Nasi lemak for breakfast, a cheeky roti canai for supper – I thought I had it all figured out. Then I spent a week eating my way through Penang and Kuala Lumpur, and I realised I knew absolutely…
I still remember the first time I faced a “build-your-own” Mala Xiang Guo counter. I stood there, plastic tongs in hand, completely paralyzed by the mountain of choices. Lotus root? Kelp knots? three different types of tofu skin? My anxiety spiked. I panicked, grabbed way too much luncheon meat, and ended up with a $28…