Why I choose to cook at home - the evolution

Deep into my 2nd decade of intensive cooking for my family, I realise how much I have changed since I began. While I used to focus more on how good the food tasted, I have slowly but surely pivoted more to the quality of the ingredients (resulting in even better-tasting food😂👌👌).

There are many reasons for my natural evolution. Living in an agricultural country and being semi-active in the F&B world, I am lucky to access to premium produce (local and imported) from farms and suppliers. I have kids with growing appetites - making nutritious home-made meals more cost-efficient and also increasingly worth the time and effort.

Let me break it down simply. 

If you order a dish priced at $10 at a good restaurant, as a safe rule of thumb, the ingredients will cost approximately $3. The other $7 will be used to pay for overheads (set up costs, manpower, rental which contribute to the preparation/presentation, service, cleanliness, air-conditioning, marketing etc.), government taxes, service charge and (hopefully) some profit margin for the owners.

Obviously, the restaurant will have economies of scale ordering ingredients from their suppliers. What they get for $3, we might get the same for $6.

Then comes even more analysis. Firstly, $6 is already less than $10. Secondly, depending on your habits, there is an opportunity this $6 can be stretched into 2, 3, 4, 5 meals. How does that start to sound? 

I would like to think that the basic principle behind my current style is the focus on ingredient and giving it the respect it deserves. 

Take an 'expensive', premium quality free range chicken for example:

1. You can separate the meaty parts from the carcass and use the parts as the centrepiece of your champion dish, be it a roast/braise/curry.... 

2. The carcass can be used to make the most wonderful pot of chicken stock (using frozen leek tops, parsley stalks etc, you get the idea😏, other accumulated chicken 'spare parts') that will be the base of your cooking (soups, braises, sauces) for meals to come. 

3. Innards can be accumulated for a future stir-fry or pate. 

Just 1 good chicken can grace your dining table in different forms for days. 

If I buy a slab of good grass-fed beef for the BBQ, I will save the precious fat for a subsequent meal of heavenly beef fat fried rice, and the grilled bones to add delicious smoky beefiness to my next pot of Ragu. 

If you are still reading, I believe you get the drift. I just hope you can reconsider the pros and cons of cooking at home. The key is to get your hands on ingredients you can trust, and have no hesitation feeding your family with, and give it the greatest form of respect it deserves. This is the basis of a lifestyle of wholesome home-cooked family meals. Bless you! 

PS. If you are worried about your cooking skills, just know that like any other activity, you can only get better. Just do it! 

Ultimate Hong Kong Guide 2023 - Where to eat Dim Sum (Yum Cha), Seafood and Roast Goose!

Hong Kong has been through a lot since my last visit in 2016. 7 years, the longest interval I remember having between 2 Hong Kong trips, as Hong Kong had always been one of my favourite places to visit, mainly because of the tip-top quality of food, be it fine-dining or straightforward everyday Cantonese fare (ie. cha chan tengs, dim sum houses, wanton noodles, roast etc). 

Hong Kong in a nutshell (to me anyway)

Then again, a lot has changed. Obvious geo-political issues have resulted in severe talent drain, further alleviated by the pandemic. Hong Kong has remained expensive without getting better. One though, can take comfort that it might be slightly less crowded (but still crowded nonetheless), and the notorious impolite service staff have become more accommodating, or been replaced by seamless online ordering platforms. 

Take my words with a pinch of salt, as I only went for 4D3N, and did not touch the exclusive realms of fine dining, which may well still be Asia's pinnacle. I am here to help, not dissuade you from visiting Hong Kong, by plucking out the best of what I enjoyed:

1. Life-changing Roast Goose (and it's not Kam's)

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 2. The best seafood and sunset view

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3. Affordable Dim Sum with Michelin Star (need to queue)
 

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4. Dim Sum with a view (and no queue)
 

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5. Dim Sum to be enjoyed like royalty having high tea

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So there you go, and like my Taiwan guide, hopefully this becomes a running post that is constantly updated with every visit. Enjoy Hong Kong! 

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How I get my kids to try new food

Ok, I have to clarify, I am not an established parenting blogger or child educator, so please read on and take my advice with a pinch of salt. What I can offer here is only a regurgitation of my thoughts after making at least 4-5,000 meals (if not more) for my family since we had kids (my son is 11 and daughter is turning 9). I also had a good chat with the little ones and gathered their personal tips, which I will share below as well.

First, I want to share my mentality towards food. We eat an average of 3 times a day, each and every day. Civilizations can be defined by or easily recognizable simply from the cuisine their people grow up eating. Food is, therefore, to me, one of the most important forms of general knowledge you can impart your kids, whether it's understanding the sources of food, differentiating good ingredients from bad, knowing exactly what they put in their mouths, or learning how to prepare their own meals.

I am also not going to tell you to reward/punish your kids for trying new food. I tried it before, to limited success, but it goes against everything I believe eating should be. If they learn to enjoy a new kind of food, it is the best reward they can get, not anything you give them after.

If you are still reading, thank you, it means you might benefit from this, so here goes:

1. Don't be picky
   
   By that, I don't only mean picking the kinds of food you eat, I also mean the time you eat. I made it a point for the family to sit at the table to eat together as much as possible. If you start telling your kids frequently you are skipping meals  or eating later, you will have no  comeback line when they do the same to you in the future. To the next point....
   
   
2. Don't be a picky eater and expect them to like what you dislike!
   
   If you do not like vegetables, it's not reasonable to expect them to like it. If you are drinking coke, it is a weak excuse telling them coke is not good for them. Kids know. They model, so set a good example. At the very least, if they eat exactly the same things as you, don't complain that they are not eating more variety, or eating unhealthy. Look into the mirror first.
   
   
3. Don't stop trying.
   
   In my parental experience, I kind of feel that liking vegetables is not intuitive to human nature in general, but maybe it's just my kids. However, the only way to beat it is to keep trying. Just because your kids like chicken and hate vegetables doesn't mean you should only put chicken on the table and make less dishes for convenience. You will end up with kids who only eat chicken!
   
   In fact, you should still cook vegetables and put them on the table regardless. One day, the switch in their brains will flip and they will ask to try. Trust me. It works. Just don't stop.
   
   
4. Make them jealous (from my soon-to-be 9-yr-old daughter)
   
   An extension to the previous point, she explained that she started eating many things because she saw us enjoying some dishes repeatedly and got 'jealous'. For example, curry chicken (spicy) and braised bittergourd (bitter). So yes, keep cooking the things (you thought) they don't like!
   
   
5. Mix new ingredients into old favourites (from my 11-yr-old son)
   
   This is an old 'trick', like how I keep adding a lot of chopped parsley into my pasta, because I know if they get tired of removing them one by one and just pop a piece in their mouths, they will learn that parsley is actually acceptable.
   
   
6. Know your food
   
   This is very, very helpful. Knowing Nutella is made of hazelnuts (*smirk) can help you convince the kids to try hazelnuts. Knowing Ribena is made of blackcurrants might help you encourage them to eat blackcurrants. Use every morsel of knowledge you have, and educate them all about food in the process.
   

I hope these 6 short pointers can inspire you to push on in your quest to lay a foundation to get the kids to eat a healthy variety, doing them a world of good as they live their own lives in the future as parents to your grandchildren. It's actually more a mindset that what you do, isn't it?

From 13 to 42: Celebrating 30 Years of Brotherhood in Taipei #from13to42

 30 years man. 3 decades. 

That's how long we've known each other. 

For better or worse, the 3 years lost to Covid meant that we could only make a trip together 5 years after our previous one, but this time, instead of 3, 4 out of 5 of us could make it (for most of the trip anyway)!

Under the bright lights of Taipei. Photo credit: Jeek's Foodmaze

Even though we do not live in the same country, with most of our correspondences limited to an active WhatsApp chatgroup, our friendship and mutual understanding just got stronger over the years. I loved how we used "Oh-Peh-Som" (#iykyk) to decide our roommates for the trip, confirming how we loved each other equally and would enjoy any companion without preferences.

It's also interesting how we chose to reminisce in Taiwan again, albeit adding Tainan as a new destination to freshen things up, and had little to no comments to whatever we decided to do on the day, as long as we were together. We ended up walking 15-20km per day in between countless meals, trying to burn the calories we consumed, even though we consciously reduced the portions we ordered throughout the trip. 

I guess I will keep this simple and let these precious pictures tell the rest of the story.

The 3 of us shot to Tainan straight after arrival, still wide-eyed and excited over our late night supper.

It was street food mania, left-right-centre in Tainan. We ate and ate.

Not forgetting to explore the little alleys of Tainan.

Of course the big ones too.

During some rare down-time where we couldn't eat anymore, we visited the Confucius Temple.

Till we hobbled back to Taipei to complete the Fearsome 4some aka F4.

And things started to get a bit more interesting. Photo credit: Jeek's Foodmaze

Though some things remained the same - we walked.

And ate. Photo credit: Jeek's Foodmaze

And ate.

Threw in a hike up Elephant Mountain.

In order to eat again. Photo credit: Jeek's Foodmaze

Woke early to hit the gym.

To enjoy our one and only bubble tea (less ice less sweet).

But the most important thing.

Was obviously (not my shirt). Photo credit: Jeek's Foodmaze

That we were hanging out together. Photo credit: Jeek's Foodmaze

Through our last 2 trips in Taiwan, aside of us, there was 1 other constant, Jeek, whose showed us true Taiwanese spirit and hospitality by bringing us to the best places in Taipei, taking the best pictures of us in the process, leaving us with the best memories. Thank you Jeek, it was tough on you, we promise to come bother you again in the future.

The last word, as usual, has to go to our better halves, who held the fort at home with the little ones while the 4 musketeers had the time of our lives. It would not have been possible without your generous blessings.

So thank you, Li Li, Grace, Zhimin and Regine. Now that you know we are such good boys, when can we do it again?

PS. To complete the archives of our travel series, look here.

Be Kind

Dear Noah and Ellie,

Daddy takes pride in making food for the family. I have been cooking for both of you since you started to ingest solids. I know your likes and dislikes, even what you used to like, but don’t like anymore, and what you used to dislike but learnt to accept (this makes me super happy btw, every single time).

Daddy knows both of you love eating my Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice (鲁肉饭) which I haven’t made for a long time, so Daddy decided to do a big portion so we can enjoy it many times in the near future – wait, not just any big portion, but the best big portion I can make within my ability.

I ordered beautiful pork belly from Sloane’s, one of the main pork suppliers for some of the best restaurants in the country. I know Ellie doesn’t like things too greasy, so I ordered it less fat.

I bought half a kg of shallots, peeled (thank you Noah for helping me) and sliced them, because fresh is best (I don’t trust those peeled shallots from the supermarkets). I also pounded beautiful Sarawak white peppercorns in the pestle and mortar. 

I started the process of cooking the braised pork after dinner on Saturday and only turned off the gas at 2.30am on Sunday. These late cooking nights are lonely nights. That’s why I always share my cooking process on social media so I feel like there’s company.

I wanted to continue braising the next morning but the gas ran out, and while sending the gas delivery man off, I turned my ankle badly with a mis-step on our porch.

Still, I wanted to finish where I left off, as I could picture the joy in your eyes when I serve dinner.

Dinner was ok. All of you ate, just not with the excitement I thought it would bring.

“It’s not as melt-in-your mouth as before,” Noah said.

“I am afraid I don’t feel well after eating too much greasy stuff,” Ellie said.

I know both of you knew that I was not too pleased with these comments and subsequently apologized.

Noah and Ellie, you did not do anything wrong. I would much rather you have a good palate than not. Knowing what’s greasy and what’s not, and knowing this batch is not as melt-in-your-mouth as previous batches is evidence of that.

I understand too, that in my willingness to present a greasy dish that’s not-too-greasy, I cannot please every customer.

Then again, you are not my customer. You are my children. My children that I have literally cooked tens of thousands of meals for.

I just request that in your brutal honesty, be kind.

Loving you more everyday
Daddy

The Thailand Winter Getaway Series 2020: Koh Kret - small island near Bangkok with a bit of everything

Yeah I know. It's already September 2021. I'm almost a year late.

We can't travel anyway. What does it matter whether such information comes in January or September? I contemplated whether to write this at all, but decided to because my kids look too cute in the pictures =D. Also, winter's coming soon!

This will be a family photo album.

Anyway, during my first 11 years, I've never even really heard of Koh Kret, and I went there for the first time in September 2020 only because I was involved in coming up with an article about it (so if you would like a comprehensive Koh Kret Guide, please see here).

Personally, I feel that Koh Kret has a certain charm that you will usually expect to get further away from Bangkok. It's only an hour's drive + a minute's ferry ride away from most places in Bangkok, yet possesses the old-time energy of rural towns, with a good mix of its own character (eg. pottery, Mon culture) and modern vibes (eg. craft beer brewery, hip new cafe at old rice mill etc.). I love it that most of the stalls are run by folks who have lived on the island for generations, and that there are cool riverside views almost everywhere you go.

Literally a 1-minute ferry ride.

What made this trip special was that it was completely random. I woke up one Sunday morning not expecting the cool weather to visit Bangkok again (having arrived and disappeared a few times over in the past weeks), and was determined to do something completely spontaneous with the family.

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So off we went, with no plans and no expectations, just a day together walking half the island, snapping and eating along the way, in comfy cool weather. 

And island of nostalgia.

It was a first for the kids to visit a 'leaning tower'.

"Leaning Tower" of Koh Kret, Wat Paramaiyikawat.

A first for us to take an old-school family portrait.

Only took us a few minutes to get this precious memory.

A first for them to make their own pottery.

It was also a first for them to follow some free-range chicken and walk accidentally into a stranger's backyard, only to be greeted unexpectedly with warmth by the friendly villager, all on this 3kmx3km island on the Chao Phraya River.

They really had a great time.

I watched a video a few days ago on the current state of Koh Kret following this current Covid wave. As expected, it's not anything like before, when local tourists fill it every weekend. It's a little saddening but we also know that Bangkokians will flock back again once the situation allows. Hang in there, Koh Kret!

This picture makes me think of mooncakes.