tasting tales

China town – London

October 23, 2015

by Kelsey

The good thing about living in the West, especially in the UK where there is such a vast cultural diversity, is not having the feeling of being home sick. Making home closer to home! Luckily for me, I can easily get all the authentic ingredients in China town that is around the corner of Leicester Square. Yes it may be a little pricier due to exportation or limited stock but there is no arguing this place is able to keep the same quality and consistency as any place in Asia. I love everything about China Town, with the bright walls in every corner and eye catching red lanterns and vector at the entrance; it is forever a hustling and bustling hot spot. Going there I somewhat feel a sense of belonging and able to identify myself with everything that it has to offer. Over the years it’s become very popular with the tourist for street photography, it’s quite funny seeing their expressions as it’s obviously quite a culture shock.
Though it isn’t that big, it has all the supermarkets, restaurants and bakeries to offer for those who are intrigued to try.

Tarte tomate

October 19, 2015

by Kelsey

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Western cuisine

Quick and easy

“A light tart from the South of France, Provence making it the perfect summer dish.”

When visiting my dad’s town in the South of France over the summers, my mom would make tomato tart and call it pizza just to convince my brother and I to like it more when we were younger.

Pulut seri kaya

October 6, 2015

by Kelsey

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Asian cuisine

Quick and easy

“A two-layered dessert with steamed glutinous rice forming the bottom half and a green custard layer made with pandan juice. Coconut milk is a key ingredient in making this kuih. It is used to impart creamy taste when cooking the glutinous rice and making the custard layer. Pulut seri kaya can be served with it’s original colour that is yellow or green from the pandan colouring.”

My Aunty Val is not only known for her Devil’s curry but for her desserts too, she makes the best nonya cakes and this is something I’ve always been interested in learning. When I was really young, eating this whenever I transited in Singapore and living in Brunei, I would always question myself as to how the rice layer was added without it changing colour from the egg custard.

Roti John

October 5, 2015

by Kelsey

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Asian cuisine

Quick and easy

“Roti John is essentially an omelette sandwich, popular as a Malay breakfast or snack item in Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore.”

When the family and I lived in Brunei when I was 10-11. Every day after school, my brother and I would ask my mom to take us to the supermarket that was down the road from our home. My brother would religiously order roti John because it was the fastest snack to make.

Culinary journey

October 1, 2015

by Kelsey

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My thoughts

Before embarking on this new journey, I had to really think whether this was exactly the path I would be taking for the long run rather than going through a faze and just exploring a new “expensive” hobby. By the age of 17, I approached my dad to tell him after my summer working at a boutique hotel in Santorini that I wanted to pursue a career in culinary and we had already started thinking of which schools to attend – either in Switzerland or in Lyon. But the reason why I didn’t end up following through was due to a number of valuable reasons that ALL future culinary students need to know:
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Corn beef soup

September 24, 2015

by Kelsey

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Western cuisine

Quick and easy

“A cheap dish to make, preferably best eaten during the winter period to keep warm.”

Not many people would think much about this dish but what makes it special is the fact that it is an incredibly straight forward dish for when you’re too busy to cook something extravagant. My mom usually makes this dish because back in her day this dish was considered “war food” or “food for the poor” because of how affordable corn beef is.