This, folks, represents my culinary raison d'être - the world famous Seremban Beef Noodles, otherwise known (in Cantonese) as Ngau Lam Fun; one of countless childhood memories that finally lured me away from IT consultancy and into food full-time some 17 years ago. To expand on that a little, the reason I got into this “food thing” was partly to » Read More
How to Make Hainanese Bread
December 3, 2017 by
Hainanese bread was something we grew up eating at the kopitiam (coffee shop) on the top floor of the wet market in my hometown of Seremban (Pasar Besar Seremban, which incidentally burned down quite recently). It was tall and fluffy with a texture I haven’t been able to find among the myriad varieties of bread here in Australia, and it was » Read More
How to Make Seremban Hakka Noodles (Non-Pork Version)
August 17, 2017 by
My aversion to pork means I’ve rarely explored the cuisine of my own Hakka heritage, which seems to be dominated by pork dishes. This is one such example, made famous by a stall in my hometown of Seremban, hence its name - Seremban Hakka Noodles. Since I don’t eat pork, I’ve never actually eaten it. I’m not exactly going in blind however; I » Read More
How to Cook Beef Rendang from My Malaysian Home State (Negeri Sembilan)
January 7, 2017 by
This is my stepmom’s recipe which is influenced by the beef rendang style of my home state of Negeri Sembilan, but with her own “Chinese” twist to it through the use of soya sauce. Beef Rendang Recipe INGREDIENTS: 500g beef, sliced 3 onions, peeled and quartered 6 dried chillies, boiled with water until soft 6 cloves garlic, » Read More
How to Make Seremban Chicken Siew Pao
July 21, 2016 by
This is a famous snack from my Malaysian hometown of Seremban and in this recipe I'm using chicken mince as the filling. These instructions work on a Thermocook or a Thermomix, but in their absence you can use a dough mixer for the dough and a saucepan + stove for the filling. Seremban Chicken Siew Pao (Baked Chicken Buns) » Read More
Tang Sifu
March 17, 2016 by
This post was written 3 years ago and published on Father's Day. My dad has since passed away. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I’ve never been hugged by my dad. Growing up, I was under no illusion that I was anywhere near the favourite of his 9 » Read More
The Hard Sell
March 17, 2016 by
‘Hello, sir/ma’am – come try Malaysian food – we have noodles, curry, satay, roti’ – called out my newest staff member to the passing crowds. We were trading at a market and he was obviously trying hard to show initiative and had been at it all day. I finally couldn’t stand it anymore and told him to stop. I don’t grovel for business; it’s just » Read More
Starting School – Seremban
March 16, 2016 by
I attended ACS (Anglo-Chinese School) in Kindergarten. I’d been raised speaking Hakka within the family, and Cantonese among the neighbourhood kids. The teacher spoke Cantonese to me. I remember a boy, Bernard Wong, taking a liking to me and bringing me candy every day. We hung out. Then one day, he started getting obnoxious. I think he’d » Read More
The TV
March 16, 2016 by
We lived on the 11th floor of the 14-storey high Templer Flats – Seremban’s Twin Towers – a welfare project for low-income families. 11 of us (9 kids plus our parents) crammed into a tiny 2-bedroom apartment. Each night the mattresses would be on the bedroom and living room floors to accommodate everyone. There was one toilet, which doubled as » Read More
Bob is Sexy
March 15, 2016 by
‘Oi, tukar, tukar!’ (Oi, change! Change!) yelled the Odeon cinema usher as he banged on the counter at my Dad’s canteen. He needed some change for whatever reason, and forgot to say please. I was furious; I’d had enough of his BS. At 15, I’d had a personality transplant; from a mild, soft-spoken and obedient kid, I’d turned into a » Read More