The Hungry Bunny's first foray into the world of food blogging!
“Food porn”, as I like to call it. I’ve always loved watching lifestyle channels on tv and with the advent of the internet, I discovered the guilty indulgence of reading food blogs. I love the gorgeous mouthwatering pictures of food and salivating over the descriptions of the flavours and experiences of each food blogger. I used to get hungry just looking at the photos. And then I wondered, how hard is it to start a food blog of my own? I’ve toyed with the idea of starting my own food blog for some time now and admittedly, it took a bit of pushing from quite a fair number of people to get this done.
If I didn’t study law, I think I would have loved to be a tv food and travel guide. Alas, I’ve heard myself on tape, and trust me, I sound like a distorted version of Mickey Mouse. Not cute at all. Not even in the least bit endearing like those Taiwanese teeny bopper female celebrities with their too-cute-for-words whiny voices.
I have to confess, I hate coriander leaves, raw celery and garland chrysanthemum. I prefer spring onions, onions and garlic as aromatics than raw crunchers, cooked through so their sharp pungency is diminished. I don’t care for durians, sharks fin, bird's nest, and chicken feet. I'm not a fan of cockles, turtle soup, tulang, geoduck, sea cucumber, fish eyeballs, century eggs, artichokes and lady’s fingers. The list goes on. Alright, okay, I’ll admit that I’m extremely picky, have been since I was a child and took 2 hours to finish every meal, if it was finished at all (unless it’s fried chicken wings or roti prata). That’s why I don’t profess to be a true blue foodie, one in the league of Anthony Bourdain who’ll try anything once. But, this is a subjective blog afterall, one that is from MY point of view. Also, I’m extremely low-maintenance because I'm not crazy about expensive food such as abalone, escargots or bird’s nest.
In a way, I’m somewhat a foodie. Because I am picky, I am very particular about the type and quality of food I eat. My moods are very dependent on my stomach, and my dining companions will attest to my moodiness when I’m left hungry for too long. I also hate eating with people who eat like insects, and watch their diet incessantly, it’s disgusting. Dieting takes the joy out of eating. I believe a person who doesn’t enjoy his/her food is a person who hasn’t truly lived. Passion for food correlates to a passion for life.
This blog isn’t reserved only for haute cuisine. It’s horrendously pretentious to blog only or primarily about fancy schmansy fine dining restaurants. Singapore is largely characterised by world class hawker cuisine, which is second to none. If I were to be based overseas, I wouldn’t miss food from the fine dining establishments here, I would mostly miss the food available only in the hawker centres. I’ll bet good money that these pretentious hoity-toity wannabes would too. The Singaporean food that will be missed are precisely local food not easily available overseas, whereas there are so many Michelin and Zagat rated restaurants available overseas which arguably Singapore cannot compete with because they are truly in a league of their own. Where else but in Singapore can you get great soul food at relatively clean places and ridiculously cheap prices? [caveat: I don't photograph take-outs because the integrity of the presentation is lost in takeout boxes and plastic. and yes, that applies to hawker food too, somehow freshly cooked hawker food looks more appetizing served in those ubiquitous ceramic plates in a hawker centre setting than in those takeaway styrofoam or plastic bag packaging on the dining table at home.]
I have heard some people describe why they love eating frog’s legs. “I love it because it tastes like chicken.” My answer would simply be, “then why can’t you just eat chicken instead?” I don’t understand why some people have to eat an arguably unconventional food just to get the taste of a conventional food! Isn’t it less complicated to just eat chicken if you want to eat something that tastes like chicken instead?
I also don’t understand the masochistic Singaporean habit of queuing up endlessly for hours on end and/or enduring abuse by “Food Nazis”, just to eat “good food”. Isn’t eating supposed to be a fun and joyous experience? I find it perplexing that Singaporeans will endure the foul moods and abuse by some of our country’s infamous “Food Nazis” just to eat “good food”. Service is part of the food you eat. I don’t expect the fine dining attentiveness and politeness when I go to a hawker centre, but I draw the line at being abused. The food no matter how good, should never deprive one of basic manners. I’ve always felt that if the “Food Nazi” is always in such a foul mood, the necessary implication is that he obviously hates his job and therefore shouldn’t be cooking. Good food should NEVER require you to be abused. I’m sure there are food that are just as good, if not better, at places that’ll treat you like a decent human being, one worthy of respect and basic manners.
Further, here’s a tip, Singaporeans have very short attention spans. Food fads come and go, faster than it takes for Amy Winehouse (or insert any other celeb du jour) to go in and out of rehab. So if there’s some newfangled food fad, wait 6 months, there’ll be no queuing by then.
There, you now have a pretty good idea what this humble blog is about, so sit back, grab a snack, and enjoy!
If I didn’t study law, I think I would have loved to be a tv food and travel guide. Alas, I’ve heard myself on tape, and trust me, I sound like a distorted version of Mickey Mouse. Not cute at all. Not even in the least bit endearing like those Taiwanese teeny bopper female celebrities with their too-cute-for-words whiny voices.
I have to confess, I hate coriander leaves, raw celery and garland chrysanthemum. I prefer spring onions, onions and garlic as aromatics than raw crunchers, cooked through so their sharp pungency is diminished. I don’t care for durians, sharks fin, bird's nest, and chicken feet. I'm not a fan of cockles, turtle soup, tulang, geoduck, sea cucumber, fish eyeballs, century eggs, artichokes and lady’s fingers. The list goes on. Alright, okay, I’ll admit that I’m extremely picky, have been since I was a child and took 2 hours to finish every meal, if it was finished at all (unless it’s fried chicken wings or roti prata). That’s why I don’t profess to be a true blue foodie, one in the league of Anthony Bourdain who’ll try anything once. But, this is a subjective blog afterall, one that is from MY point of view. Also, I’m extremely low-maintenance because I'm not crazy about expensive food such as abalone, escargots or bird’s nest.
In a way, I’m somewhat a foodie. Because I am picky, I am very particular about the type and quality of food I eat. My moods are very dependent on my stomach, and my dining companions will attest to my moodiness when I’m left hungry for too long. I also hate eating with people who eat like insects, and watch their diet incessantly, it’s disgusting. Dieting takes the joy out of eating. I believe a person who doesn’t enjoy his/her food is a person who hasn’t truly lived. Passion for food correlates to a passion for life.
This blog isn’t reserved only for haute cuisine. It’s horrendously pretentious to blog only or primarily about fancy schmansy fine dining restaurants. Singapore is largely characterised by world class hawker cuisine, which is second to none. If I were to be based overseas, I wouldn’t miss food from the fine dining establishments here, I would mostly miss the food available only in the hawker centres. I’ll bet good money that these pretentious hoity-toity wannabes would too. The Singaporean food that will be missed are precisely local food not easily available overseas, whereas there are so many Michelin and Zagat rated restaurants available overseas which arguably Singapore cannot compete with because they are truly in a league of their own. Where else but in Singapore can you get great soul food at relatively clean places and ridiculously cheap prices? [caveat: I don't photograph take-outs because the integrity of the presentation is lost in takeout boxes and plastic. and yes, that applies to hawker food too, somehow freshly cooked hawker food looks more appetizing served in those ubiquitous ceramic plates in a hawker centre setting than in those takeaway styrofoam or plastic bag packaging on the dining table at home.]
I have heard some people describe why they love eating frog’s legs. “I love it because it tastes like chicken.” My answer would simply be, “then why can’t you just eat chicken instead?” I don’t understand why some people have to eat an arguably unconventional food just to get the taste of a conventional food! Isn’t it less complicated to just eat chicken if you want to eat something that tastes like chicken instead?
I also don’t understand the masochistic Singaporean habit of queuing up endlessly for hours on end and/or enduring abuse by “Food Nazis”, just to eat “good food”. Isn’t eating supposed to be a fun and joyous experience? I find it perplexing that Singaporeans will endure the foul moods and abuse by some of our country’s infamous “Food Nazis” just to eat “good food”. Service is part of the food you eat. I don’t expect the fine dining attentiveness and politeness when I go to a hawker centre, but I draw the line at being abused. The food no matter how good, should never deprive one of basic manners. I’ve always felt that if the “Food Nazi” is always in such a foul mood, the necessary implication is that he obviously hates his job and therefore shouldn’t be cooking. Good food should NEVER require you to be abused. I’m sure there are food that are just as good, if not better, at places that’ll treat you like a decent human being, one worthy of respect and basic manners.
Further, here’s a tip, Singaporeans have very short attention spans. Food fads come and go, faster than it takes for Amy Winehouse (or insert any other celeb du jour) to go in and out of rehab. So if there’s some newfangled food fad, wait 6 months, there’ll be no queuing by then.
There, you now have a pretty good idea what this humble blog is about, so sit back, grab a snack, and enjoy!
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