Goodbye Freezing Tokyo, Hello Monsoon Season Singapore!
I’m winding down, getting ready for my imminent trip to Singapore. Over the next few days I’ll be busy finishing up deadlines and packing, in preparation for plonking myself down by the pool at the hotel (no doubt in the pouring monsoon rain) and doing sweet feck all for 10 days. Well, sweet feck all apart from Yongfook, Inc. stuff…
So this is probably going to be my last post this year. Here’s a look back and a look forward.
Above: Christmas 2004 - amazing to think that was just 3 years ago…I look so different…
Above: But I guess I’m no stranger to change.
Above: A recent pic. Tried to do a Blue Steel but ended up looking zombified and exhausted.
So, 2007. What a crazy fast year. Those who are close to me know what a progressive year it has been. I’ve gone from working in web production, to spearheading a startup, to now being an independent consultant working closely with some of the biggest names in Japan’s web and advertising world. 2007 has turned out great, and in 2008 I’m going to keep it going, but also balance the consulting work better with my own personal goals and dreams and put more time into Yongfook, Inc. And as I outlined in a previous post, it’s now all about the food, baby.
2007 has seen food - the fascination with and cooking of - become an ever-growing part of my life. Ironic, really. This blog initially became popular through my reviews of weird and kerazyOMG Japanese food, after which I opted for a strategic change to something more web and technology-focused (teh internets is srs bizness). Now, I suspect I may return to the original theme. Not reviews of silly snacks and whatnot of course, but certainly, commentary on food is something that I increasingly find myself wanting to write about. We’ll see what 2008 brings.
In 2007 I built Open Source Food and through contributing to the site, I’ve definitely seen my cooking ability grow and diversify (just see this as kind of a timeline, newest to oldest), as well as my enthusiasm and desire to create dishes and cook for people increase considerably. Cooking is an act that at the least delivers personal satisfaction, and when it goes well, elicits praise and admiration from others. It’s such a win-win pastime. I love it.
Above: Giving a presentation on web app development, using food and cooking as a running metaphor…
Additionally, I’ve placed an equally high priority on eating out. For me, it’s inspiring to eat something amazing that has been cooked by an acclaimed chef. To see and taste the fruits of their hard work, all their experiences, summed up in the dainty arrangement of fish, meat and vegetables laid before you is both humbling and encouraging. I used the latter half of 2007 to visit some of the best restaurants in Tokyo, with a kind of embarrassing frequency that must paint me as either criminally lazy or irresponsibly spendthrift to the staff. One of my favourite finds has been Union Square Tokyo which is conveniently located and has an excellent, seasonal menu and the most amazing staff who really personalise the experience of eating there. I’m now there a couple of nights a month. Salt, in Marunouchi by Tokyo station, has also become a favourite of mine and acted as an introduction to the talented Australian chef Luke Mangan.
This is also the year that Tokyo has been awarded the most Michelin stars of any city in the world. What an achievement. It proves to me that I am in the right place, at least for now, if I want to eat well and be happy. 2008 will no doubt see me exploring the highly praised menus of Joel Robuchon at his two and three-star restaurants in Tokyo. I can’t wait. Calling these adventures in gastronomy “research” is both fittingly accurate for me and - rather conveniently - makes it tax deductible.
Food is going to play a significant role in my Singapore trip, and indeed any holiday I take from now on. As I said in a previous post, I adore Singaporean food. When Singapore comes up in conversation in Tokyo, I’m invariably asked “so what is Singaporean food?”. I never know where to start. I spare them the hour-long lecture I could probably enthusiastically ad-lib and often just offer to take them for lunch or dinner sometime to see what it is.
Here are some thoughts on a few of the Singapore staples that I’ll no doubt eat within mere hours of landing…
Chicken Rice
I recently took a French friend of mine to have his first plate of Chicken Rice, here in Tokyo. After wolfing down the serving, piled high with gleaming, stick-to-your teeth breast meat, fragrant rice and dabbed liberally with the ubiquitous 3 sauces, the “Singapore Tricolore”, he sat back and proclaimed simply, “zat was good” with a big smile on his face. It’s so satisfying when you connect with someone over food. I think Chicken Rice is a near-perfect example of a national dish. It’s accessible in its simplicity and the flavour can be adjusted by you to your liking with the condiments. It is aesthetically beautiful, with its clean white, striking red and cooling green (of the cucumbers, a common accompaniment). Like the person who doesn’t drink, the person who doesn’t appreciate a plate of Chicken Rice is someone to be highly suspicious of.
Mee Pok
A bowl of fish ball mee pok is often one of the first things I get myself when I come back to Singapore. Mee Pok is a dish that has few core ingredients, lending the dish a deceiving simplicity. The harmony and perfection of these core ingredients however, is something you only find from the most experienced hawkers - noodles with good “bite”, flavourful sauce with not too much oil, and an array of fresh accompaniments, sometimes including a few bits of devilishly unhealthy (but oh so savoury) crisply-deep fried pork fat. I just love the warming, eggy taste of the noodles with the spicy and slightly tart sauce. British chef Nigel Slater made an interesting observation in one of his books once, saying that for some reason Italian pastas work well with thai and chinese-influenced Asian flavours, but the same cannot be said for the opposite; Chinese noodles with Italian sauces just feel odd in the mouth. A bowl of Mee Pok will certainly make you agree with the former - its thick, flat egg noodles an obvious spiritual relative of tagliatelle.
Popiah
Almost every culture in the world has a traditional variant of what we in the modern world might call a “spring roll”. Singapore has the Popiah, a thin flour pancake generously filled with steamed vegetables and a sweet sauce, with multiple variations. Impossible to eat without spilling a little, the Popiah is an inherently social food. It craves being the center of attention. There is something inexplicably saddening about eating a Popiah alone, or seeing someone doing so. The dish seems to amplify loneliness - its pre-cut slices reminding you exactly how many pieces you’d have left to give away, had you been with company.
In addition to all the local Singaporean delights, I’m looking forward to trying out the other end of the spectrum too - fine dining of the French and modern European variety. I’ve been spoilt for choice in Tokyo and I’m curious to see what Singapore’s classier restaurants such as Iggy’s, Sage and Au Jardin Les Amis have to offer in the way of an experience in food and inspiration for 2008.
Thank you all for your previous restaurant suggestions (and the few that came via email as you were too shy to comment!) and thank you for sticking by me this turbulent year. It’s all worked out great and I believe that all of you contributed to that in various ways - nice comments in my blog that kept up my enthusiasm, chatting to me via IM, supporting OSF - the list goes on and on.
Above: 2007, the year I finally managed to keep a clean apartment
Merry Christmas to All and a Happy New Year - I’ll see you in 2008, the YEAR OF YONGFOOK!!11
