My Heritage and Culinary POV
About
I’ve moved a lot in my life for various opportunities (four times
just in the past five years)! Whether it was moving back to Los
Angeles on my own at the age of 17, going to college in the Pacific
Northwest or living in the Mitten State (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
for two years for work, I’ve had to become self-reliant in making
the food that I crave because it wasn’t always readily accessible
in the locations I lived in, and money isn’t always abundant.
As I often mention, growing up with more than half of my family in
the food business meant many yummy treats for me, always! Family throughout
my mother’s side ran local food businesses in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
My Grandfather and Uncle ran a Hainanese chicken rice hawker stall, while my
Aunt ran a curry laksa hawker stall for many years. At home, my Grandma
and Mom loved cooking agak agak style (Malay term for "estimate").
They relied heavily on their intuition for flavors and somehow the dishes always
turned out delicious! 🤣 My father is a Head Chef and has been working
in the Cantonese-Chinese restaurant scene for the past 45 years. He owned
and ran a successful Seafood Cantonese-Chinese restaurant in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia for 15 of those years. My father says Cantonese-Chinese restaurants
are a dying form of art as there is declining interest for people to enter
and learn this type of labor-intensive work.
This website is dedicated to:
- documenting and sharing recipes so the knowledge doesn’t disappear from this world, and
- introducing lesser-known flavors and ingredients.
Check back often for popup-free recipes and other exciting updates!