Sunday, July 8, 2018

THE FOOD THAT MAKES US

23/6/2018
SATURDAY

Little super model. 

Saw an interesting event at The Story Book @ Desa Parkcity. So we signed up for the Book Talk and Recipe Journaling. It was raining all the way but we finally made it before the event start...

Enter all and let the magic begins......

The Story Book ...
"where stories live" through interactive activities like drama, songs, performances as well as story telling .
They host events/workshops based on difference genres/themes each month. For June is food and health. Check their website if you are interested to be a member which entitles you to special discounts. 

This self-published book by the authors "is a collection of Malaysia stories and home recipes that shows when we make food, food make us too".  They even visited an Orang Asli settlement and recorded the ways they prepared a feast for them using naturally sources of fish, plants and even rice which they grow.  They related how the livelihood of the Orange Asli have been affected by modernisation/industrialisation that threatened their crops and foraging in the jungle.  

the authors - Foong Li Mei (left) and Szetoo Weiwen (right)
Both were classmates but each went their different ways after college. Ms Foong  is a free-lance journalist contributing to business magazines while Ms Szetoo is the owner of Stickerrific.  We were shown a video of Ms Foong's husband sharing how he cooked the traditional Hainanese Chicken Rice recipe passed down from his grandparents while Ms Szetoo's showed us the video how her parents cooked bottles of  Achar for their families, friends and neighbours. 
  
Our workshop - to create our own recipe journal.
When we record down recipes, we are also marking down memories of the food and time spent with our family and friends. Often with the demise of our loved ones especially the one who cook and feed us, one regret we always have is that we cannot replicate that particular taste of the dish cooked by him/her.  Some particular dishes of the past era  may be lost through the generations.  For example, in my family, we cannot cook like our father's Steamed Carp with ginger and scallions or my mother's Steamed Pork with Tung Choy.   Simple dishes yet evoking fond memories of our childhood and our parents as well.        
  
Recipe journalling also record the different stages of our lives and how it affect the way we cook and/or partake different foods.  When we were small, its our parent's comfort food, when we are single working adults, it would be more eating out at our favourite restaurant and when we become parents ourselves, its more healthy cooking for our own children. 

Ms Szetoo shared  how she journal her recipes, using doodles, packages, photos etc.  She showed us her a few of her beautiful recipe journals.

While, I think Sarah did a better job at it...

this is my style... never the artistic one.... the way I cook is "agar-agar" (estimate) or according to my taste. But once in a while, I will follow a new recipe to the dot. Of course baking is a different ball game, you follow the recipe or else be prepare that nobody would want to eat that piece of cake!. 
The event ended with some group photos.

my brunch at The Hermitage @ Plaza Arkadia, Desa Parkcity. 
What prompted me to order this? Homemade salted egg yolk butter.  How does it taste? Rather bland, butter with bits of salted egg yolk.   This was served with 3 mini croissant and a mini fruit compote comprising of bits of oranges, grapefruit, pomegranates and watermelon.  

Saw this tree painting outside one of the cafes. 



2 comments:

  1. This event was really so meaningful. I agree that everything becomes like a beautiful dream ended and we cannot recall back all the delicious tastes our loved ones had cooked and baked when they were alive. I miss my mother so much.

    My office will moved to upstairs Plaza Arkadia soon. Looks like a new & happening place.

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  2. True the event bring back fond memories.
    The Plaza will be more convenient for residents around Desa Parkcity.

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