Soba, made from buckwheat flour, is prettily packed in bundles about 8 to a package. Note that many sobas are also made with wheat flour so it isn't a gluten-free food. Juwari, the finest--and usually most expensive--soba is made entirely of buckwheat, but please please...
Help! I’ve turned into my mother! As much as I love my mum, I’ve lived in fear that our bloodlines run so deep I was bound to inherit some of her “quirky” (yes, that’s a diplomatic term) traits sooner or later. While I’ve managed to dodge Ma's...
Supposedly, summer bade us farewell several days ago. The signs are all there: the sun dips lower in the sky, shadows lengthen, and the occasional nip in the air gently reminds me that summer is winding down and autumn is nudging its way in. However, all around me,...
One of the most common questions I get asked about my cookbook is: “Which one’s your grandma?” My sad reply: “She’s not in there.” I didn’t really know either of my grandmothers. My paternal grandmother, whom I called Oma, (I wrote about her in this post) lived...
Two weeks ago, I attended an event to celebrate Singapore’s 47th birthday that fell on August 9th. By some strange turn of events, I was roped in to lead a few songs in the requisite sing-a-long sessions. We sang popular folk songs like "Burung Kakak Tua,"...
Like many traditional Asian husbands and fathers, my dad was the sole breadwinner in the family and worked long hours. While Dad was also a strong authority figure, I have fond memories of him running beside me gasping and grasping onto my bicycle frame as...
Rhubarb ranks way up there, together with ramps and fava beans, as a local vegetable I have absolutely no clue how to tackle....
I’ve been in a pseudo state of déjà-vu since we returned to Seattle two months ago. Considering how long I’ve lived here (albeit off and on), I expected to ease into Seattle life as effortlessly as shimmying into a favorite pair of well-worn jeans. Everything I love...
We’ve all heard it before: It’s the thought that counts. Yeah right. I, for one, prefer not to give gifts just for the sake of giving. I actually do want to the person at the receiving end to like my gift. And during the holidays, this desire...
For the last three years, I had a pack of nigari and a wooden tofu press sitting in my kitchen cupboard. Unfortunately, the duo never saw any action as I didn’t get round to making tofu. Now that we’ve moved across the country and most of...
