Despite being over a decade when I stepped food in Italy, I still remember one of the local pizzeria that we stopped in. In that pizzeria, I had a slice of pizza that defined the gold standard for thick-crust pizza. I was frozen from a night-time wintertime walk to the diner, running on a body clock that was decidedly not dinner-time, and more than a tad grouchy after a walk in subzero temperatures. But the pizza was so astonishing,...

This is another of my milksha-inspired drink. It's a combination of two rich-tasting ingredients in a cup of deliciousness. Still, making this at home entails peeling a taro (you might want to wear gloves because direct skin contact with raw taro can be itchy), steam the taro, mash it then chill it before you can finally enjoy the fruits of your labour. Did this put you off off trying this recipe? (Great going, me.) Maybe it depends...

We all know the drill. Setting your oven to 290C or greater will give your pizza that nice blistered crust. A pizza stone is porous and has a high Specific Heat Capacity, and so baking pizzas on one gives the crust a bit more of a crisp. A cast-iron pan is a viable alternative, and also frames the pizza for an oh-so-instagramable photo. If you have an oven capable of reaching 290C, or have high maintenance cast-iron pans or dedicated...

This recipe was born from a well-meaning passionfruit jam recipe coupled with my complete inability to follow the steps. But enough about that. It’s not technically caramels. To be honest, I’m not sure what to classify it as. What it is, is that it is pliable. It’s like the olden-day malt candy Singapore used to sell by the roadside, where one can  twirl the candy around a stick or a spoon. This has a most intoxicating floral fragrance,...

Near my workplace, Milksha opened to great fanfare, but I could say for certain that one was as excited as I was. Their Taro Milk earned its place in my heart, with its combination of taro purée and chunky taro pieces.  Recently, a friend had recommended their excellent Black Sesame Milk. Not everybody is a fan of black sesame, but I enjoy its nutty fragrance. Several months later, as my confidence with the Joyoung machine grew, I had an...

In our house, we had these tabletop grinder/cooking machines from Joyoung for the longest time. My dad enjoys brewing the occasional soya bean drink with them, one which he could adjust the sweetness and the proportions of soya bean to his preference. But initially, this wasn't something I was captivated by. There were a lot of different functions that the grinder was capable of, but it wasn't something either of us explored very much of....

My mom took a bite and put her fork down. My dad asked me about each step of this recipe. And after they cleared their plates, they lingered on and picked at whatever's left. That's how I knew this stir-fry recipe is a hit.    The caramelised sugar and fish sauce is an amalgamation of sweetness and unami, and despite my reservations at the amount of fish sauce in the recipe, it turned out quite fine. Fish sauce can be quite pungent,...

It is astonishingly humid in Singapore now, and even being in the shade at home brings little comfort, when the open window brings even warmer air into the house. The middle of the year is typically when Singaporeans leave for vacations, but like everything else in this current health crisis, all my travel plans went up in smoke. While the borders to other countries remain shut, and I’m still leery even of unnecessary trips out of...

Version 3.0 Way back in 2017, when my housemates and I bought 5 kilos of pork belly and started roasting pork bellies, this has been been a recipe that I revisit every so often. It didn't always turn out successful, but after several years of revising the original recipe that was given to me, I think I'm near done with tweaking the recipe! One of the good changes I'd experienced? A change in mindset. The 2017 snob who declared that it was...

Coming off a particularly challenging work month and dusting off my kitchen mittens, I thought I should return to cooking with an easy-to-make recipe from an old master. This is a Provençal recipe, and made with hearty ingredients that are both cheap and plentiful. James Beard encountered this dish when he was stationed in the region during World War II. Eighty years later, with the world wrangling with yet another global crisis...

Hello friends! It's a couple of months into the new year, and looking back at 2019, it's a year with much to be thankful for, and I could think of no better one to cap off the decade.  There's a lot to be grateful about, and at the very top of my list would be the wonderful folks in my life. These people make life fun. And the colleagues I've met, who made working more enjoyable than I thought possible. Also, I developed...