Two Months Old

This blog turns two months old today. Still a baby by any standards. It has been a fun two months, during which time my perceptions and experiences of food have grown and expanded. It has been an enriching experience for my family too. We have become more aware, indeed even more enthusiastic, about the food we eat and cook. In that sense, it has also been a great bond-enricher too.

I have also inadvertently discovered a new side interest – food photography. While I may still be struggling to capture, with my small pocket-sized point-and-shoot Canon camera, the beauty and the pain-staking work of the chef (any chef) in all the food I shoot, I have become more aware of the visual aspects of food and how that speaks to us. My awareness of food presentation and how different ingredients look together on a plate has grown. Maybe, one day, I might actually graduate to a “pro-consumer” camera

When I started this blog, I did not think about who (or how many) might read this blog. As it is, it has turned out to be a wondrous opening and sharing of a small window into the Asian and Chinese food culture, as viewed through my family’s eyes. Just as I have learnt much and thoroughly enjoyed my glimpses of other food cultures and cuisines through the many food blogs I visit and read regularly, I am heartened that others have found my own food culture interesting. In many ways, by sharing glimpses of the Chinese cultural heritage, as filtered through my family’s interpretations, I myself, have become reconnected to and re-inspired by my own Chinese cultural roots. For this, I am very grateful to the friends and readers who have stopped by and expressed interest in my postings.

It is also one of my hopes with this blog to share some of the places for good food in Singapore, the region and wherever I may have stopped, eaten and tasted a gastronomic experience. I of course recognize that “one man’s treasure, is another’s poison”. Food is such a personal experience. I have many times eaten food that came highly recommended but which I personally found “okay”. By the same token, I have raved about food which friends have found to be “run-of-the-mill”. Similarly, I have tried recipes that gave me experiences other than what was recommended to me. And I do expect that there will be people who try my recipes and decide to improve them. And this is the exciting and exhilarating part of any sharing of food experiences, is it not? The exploring of new ideas and recommendations. The discovering of new taste sensations, and the resulting growth and expansion of our own ideas, perceptions and understanding of food and different cultures.

I love receiving feedback about the recipes on this blog that some of the readers have tried, how they have made it “better”, or how they have their own variations to a similar recipe they have always cooked from. It makes me (hopefully) a better cook in the process. It’s a joy to be learning something new every single day.

It would be nice to have fellow Singaporeans (or anyone who has eaten in Singapore) share their own experiences of good eats on this blog – food even tastier, yummier than what I have experienced and written about. I love discovering great food-finds. Indeed, I welcome the sharing of great food venues anywhere in the world. I personally feel strongly that good food establishments should be supported. It is the diners who eat at restaurants, small eating houses or just the neighborhood hawker stalls that enable their owners to stay in business and to continue to hone their skills, talent and passion for food. The food and beverage industry is not an easy industry to survive in. Speaking from the point of Singapore’s food industry, an owner has to contend with high cost structures, a finicky eating public and intense competition. Every village, town, city and country has its share of excellent dining. There will always be more than one great eating place, and there is room for them all.

I realize the impossibility of eating at ALL the eating places in any country or society. And so my perceptions and understanding of its food will be colored by my personal experiences, for better or worse. Through reading the food blogs of others, I have gained precious nuggets of information that can and will only enhance my next experience of their food and culture. It is my sincere hope that this blog can do the same, in some small way. Each society, culture and geographical region has its own culinary gems – each unique, different and special in its own right.

There are countless food blogs in the blogging world. Many have provided me with great moments of inspiration and learning and have entertained me with wonderful and humorous joie de vie, and even more remain to be discovered and enjoyed. I am happy that there is a place for everyone, a place filled with so much diversity, creativity and imagination, and free of competition. Each blog is unique, special and highly personal. I celebrate that.

Finally, in a world that is already so divided by competition, hatred, intolerance, discrimination and misunderstanding, I would like to think that food blogs can be places where people come to freely share in a common love and passion for food, places which celebrate the incredible diversity that makes this planet of ours so beautiful and special.

I hope to continue writing this blog for as long as it remains an enjoyable, happy and interesting experience for both myself and those who take the time to stop by to read it.

I know two months is not a long time, but I would like to thank the many numbers (200+ - and rising - daily visitors) who have stopped by during this time. Thank you too to those who have taken the time to show your support through emails or in the comment boxes. They are all truly appreciated. I would like to make a request: please do not leave remarks that are potentially sensitizing and/or discriminatory against other races, ethnic backgrounds, religions, cultures, societies and social sectors.* Thank you.

I dream of a world filled with greater love, understanding, acceptance and thus peace and harmony.

The Master painter uses the full arsenal of paintbrushes at his disposal to create his masterpiece. There are big brushes to paint the sweeping landscape, then there are the fine and delicate bristles for drawing in the refined details of human feelings, emotions and experiences. Let us not paint the world with a limited brush of ignorance and prejudice. For it is in the diversity of details where we will find the true beauty and glory of the human spirit. Let us step outside of ourselves and enjoy the sprawling landscape that is humanity.

* Such comments made on this blog prior to the date of this posting, which have remained unedited and in their original forms, are the views expressed by the comment’s authors, and do not reflect my own personal views and opinions, nor do they indicate my agreement with or my support of such views.
Any such comments made subsequent to this date will be edited and/or deleted, without prior notice to the comment’s authors.