A Taste for Food

Life is nothing without good food. It maybe the most important thing in life after God.

My maternal grandfather is particular about fishes. He introduced us with the many varieties of fishes and salted fishes. He introduced us to weekly family dinner in nice restaurants. He introduced us to fine Chinese dining in big-time restaurants and in our dinners like having abalone and sharks fin on big occasions. He introduced us to food criticism, which is indeed a lifelong skill to develop. But he has one flaw. He do not eat beyond Chinese food.

My paternal grandmother is half-Thai, which is great because it helped me to develop a hate-love relationship with south Thailand varieties Tom Yums, Pad Phet, Ken Som and Som Tam except Thai Green Curry of which she loathes very much. She’s not very picky on food like my maternal grandfather and did not have the luxury of fine dining, but she is indeed a good cook. She also introduced me to the galore of Malay food and sauces like nasi kerabu, nasi minyak, nasi dagang, budu, belacan, laksa and ulam which are still some of my favourites. But she has one flaw. She don’t like beef.

My mother started reconstructing her parent’s cookbook. While keeping in the safe boundaries of Chinese food when she’s young, she ventured out into Malay, Thai and Indian cuisine as she grew older and got married. She introduced Loh Mee, Sekaya Pulut, Curry Mee, Calong Ikan, Chicken Koorma, and a whole lot of other varieties. She is a collector of dozens of cookbooks and recipes, and together we will read through them and decide whether any of the recipes is worth trying out. But she has one flaw. She don’t like to go beyond Chicken Koorma for Indian food.

In high school, I began to develop a love for Indian spices. I memorised the whole list of Indian spices like cardamoms, cumin, fennel, masala, saffron, cloves, bla.bla. through my Indian friends and teachers. I began to enjoy eating the rich Nasi Briyani on banana leaf over many pieces of papadoms. I began to be fascinated with how the beater can make great Chiffon cake just by hitting the egg whites fluffy enough. I began to discover the creaminess of cheesecakes from Secret Recipe….

To be continued…