Curry
There’s a rite of passage for any food lover living in the East of Singapore, and it involves a queue. Specifically, the perpetually long, snaking queue outside Nakhon Kitchen in Bedok. I’d heard the legends for years: authentic Thai food, rock-bottom prices, and a wait time that tests your commitment. So, on a Tuesday evening…
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…
We still remember our first collective Rumah Terbuka (Open House) experience in Kuala Lumpur.Standing at the doorway of a home during Hari Raya, we were utterly paralyzed by the sheer volume of people and the aroma of Malaysian cooking. There were aunties ladling beef rendang and tables groaning under the weight of colourful kuih. “Do…
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…
I’ll never forget the first time I made miso soup from scratch. Not the instant kind, but the “proper” way. I boiled water, dissolved miso paste, added tofu, and waited. It tasted flat, salty and cloudy but missing the deep, satisfying flavor I loved in Japanese restaurants. I thought maybe I needed better miso. Years…
There’s something special about visiting a place that has seen decades of Singapore’s history unfold. Guan Hoe Soon, tucked away on Joo Chiat Road, holds the title of Singapore’s oldest Nyonya restaurant, and you can feel that heritage the moment you step inside. I’d heard about it for years, a place where recipes aren’t just…
The story of India’s culinary identity is deeply tied to its poultry dishes. I remember my first attempt at an Indian chicken recipe, failing to brown the onions properly left the dish hollow, missing its soul. The sound of mustard seeds popping in hot oil signals layers of flavor to come. The steam from the…
If you were to stand at a busy intersection in Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, or Jakarta and close your eyes, your nose would tell you a story before your eyes ever could. There is a specific, intoxicating perfume that defines Southeast Asian food: the sharp tang of lime juice hitting a hot wok, the…
In the vibrant tapestry of global gastronomy, few cultures have elevated the plant-based plate to an art form quite like India. While much of the world has recently turned toward meat alternatives for health or environmental reasons, Indian cuisine has been centered on the vegetable for millennia. This isn’t merely a dietary choice; it is…