Eat. Muse. Love! Food for Thought

By Chua Foo Yong and Toh Mu Qin

Catch the duet from an ‘actively ageing’ mother and her daughter in this unique collection of 50 musings on foodie haunts that comes with a twist. Featuring 100 Chinese idioms and 50 eating places, veteran broadcaster Madam Chua Foo Yong waxes lyrical as she loses her way from foodie talk into the world of Chinese culture and shares insights of her own family folks and well-known personalities in the entertainment industry in her time. Indeed, these people have fashioned indelible changes to the entertainment ecosphere, as well as to her very own life too. Meanwhile, Madam Chua’s daughter, Mu Qin has, in her inimitable way, been rubbing off the artistic DNA from Mum, in turn, not just in foodie pursuits, but in the eighth art of photography! Yes, she may have chosen a different means of expression, but stays faithful to the same tune – one of LOVE of all that is true, good and beautiful.

• Language: English
• Publisher: We Green Solutions
• Release date: Jun 30, 2016
• ISBN: 9789810988685

Book preview

序幕 ■ PROLOGUE

吃吃想想

能

吃，是福"！

是的，民以食为天，果腹是人类的天性。 吃，除了是身体新陈代谢的需要，也是口舌及精神上的一种享受。

我住在东北一带，比较熟悉这里的吃吃喝喝，既然有这些既方便，又好吃，价格又大众化的食物，给大家介绍，该是一件好事吧？和女儿共同出书，她还可以从年轻人的爱好和口味，与大家分享。介绍的地点，角度，或许更多样化！

这本书里，也和大家分享，我在工作上和生活上的点滴回顾与观察。在书写这些趣事中，加插了成语。中文成语，易学，易记，好用。 在表达方面，贴切，透彻，当中，还蕴藏着博大精深的文化及价值观。可勉励人，还能给人在道德/行为上，做适当的指引，让一些对成语有兴趣的读者，温习，及使用曾经学习过的成语，既饱了肚子，又添加几个交流的词汇，一乐也！

T

o be able to enjoy food is a blessing!"

So goes the above Chinese saying. While we need food to survive, and eating is part of a metabolic process – a physiological need for our bodies – it satisfies the pleasure of our taste buds and uplifts our souls and spirits.

I live in the north-eastern part of Singapore, so I am more familiar with the eating places in this area. Here, the food is good, the prices reasonable, and the places accessible. I thought it would be nice to share these foodie tips with the readers! I am glad my daughter, Mu Qin, with all her youth and interest in food culture, is with me to do the ground work, present creative perspectives, and objective comments on each ‘makan’ place introduced in this guide.

Also, in this guide, I share a number of my fond memories and observations of life and work, and juxtapose them with Chinese idioms, or chengyu (成语). Chinese idioms are easy to learn, remember and use. Well expressed Chinese idioms, whether written or conversational, are often seen to be pertinent and precise. Moreover, they hold a rich tapestry of Chinese culture and moral values, all of which could serve as a compass to guide a man’s way of life.

Finally, I hope readers relish this unique guide, and for those interested in Chinese idioms – they will take delight in learning them and use them as clever vocabularies.

Enjoy!

蔡芙蓉 ■ CHUA FOO YONG

EAT■ MUSE■ LOVE!

D

oes your camera have to eat before you do? Hurry up! The food’s getting cold! Are you done? I am famished! This is torture!"

Those are some of the oft-heard comments from my buddies whenever I dine with them. As a travel enthusiast and a die-hard foodie, I have been crisscrossing the globe since my younger days and tasted countless foods from different continents in the process. I view my photos as return tickets to revisit these fleeting moments that would otherwise be no more. Photography is an interesting skill that I have picked up along the way. I love capturing food as well as candid shots of people to remind myself of the unique travel experiences that I went through when I reminisce over these precious moments in time to come. Personally, I used to believe that the grass is always greener on the other side and hence, my ignoring and the resultant ignorance of our very own culinary culture within this humble red dot. Oh Boy! What a huge mistake that was!

One fine day in October 2014, I decided to accompany my parents for brunch as it was my school term break. Mummy, as usual, was chatting away about all the ideas she had in her head but on that particular day, she brought up the idea of a mother-daughter book collaboration. I was all ears and jumped at the idea. Now, THAT is a very good opportunity for us to bond as a family!

Without any further delay, discussions on how best to go about working on our book went into top gear and within a few months, we visited numerous coffeeshops, hawker centers and restaurants. Eventually, we whittled down to 50 locations that we feel are worthy of your visit too, as these choices are value for money. The experience of working on this book jolted me: though we may be just a teeny weeny dot on the world map, we do have plenty to offer, too!

This foodie book has been written with a distinctive twist: we have introduced meaningful Chinese set phrases or idioms that inculcate moral values as well as snippets of Chinese culture and local history. We strongly believe in the maxim, ‘活到老，学到老’ – one is never too old to learn. Mummy is a living example of active aging! I am really glad that she had suggested this project, which has finally turned her dream of writing her own book into fruition after her retirement. She once said, Our food choices might have been influenced by our psychological make-up. We grew up eating certain foods and after years of missing them due to our own hectic schedules, we will find it more gratifying and enjoyable as we visit them again!

We hope our readers will experience the same sense of satisfaction upon returning to the ‘root’ foods that they have been missing out too! The information provided in our food guide is to our best knowledge as of March 2016. Any relocation or other changes thereafter will be outside the scope of this book.

Dishes featured in our food guide have been ordered according to our personal preferences and/or as we feel should be recommended. Since everyone has his own favourites, we suggest that you try other dishes too. Most of these food locations are easily accessible via public transport. Photographs of food have been faithfully reproduced here, that is, with no touch up whatsoever. Neither did we inform the owners of the food stalls that we would be featuring them.

What are you waiting for? It’s time to eat, muse and love! Jump on the food trail, and tick off these 50 noteworthy makan locations as you go along.

Bon appetit!

杜慕芩 ■ TOH MU QIN

介绍 ■ INTRODUCTION

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

这

本吃吃想想二部曲，可分三部分，介绍好吃的地方，回忆以往的点滴，穿插耳熟能详的成语。

第一部分: 和丈夫小华，女儿慕芩，穿街走巷，吃吃喝喝，有无限的乐趣。

第二部分: 回忆往事，没想到是那么的温馨感人，谈论所见所闻，有感慨也有快乐。

第三部分: 成语的编写，希望读者能善用它，并珍惜我们的语言和当中的文化价值。

通过这本书，我希望 我能传达华族的道德与价值观。

通过这本书，我希望能鼓励年长者，老当益壮，去学/做自己想做的事。我不也刚刚在写作的路上，迈开第一步吗？

出了这本书，我告诉自己，我还年轻！

T

here are three segments to this book Eat, Muse, Love!, recommending places where good food may be found, reminiscing about snippets of life in my years gone past, and lastly, chatting about commonly used Chinese idioms.

Part One: The joys of pounding the streets with my hubby Xiaohua and daughter Muqin in search of good foodie haunts.

Part Two: Revisiting the times of my life – what exciting moments and heart-warming journeys these have turned out to be! And a mixed bag of highs and sighs, too!

Part Three: Chengyu or idioms, as they are commonly called. It is my hope that these gems of our Chinese language will become part of our readers’ vocabularies. May our dear readers deepen their love in the language and the cultural values that come along, too!

Yes, it is my hope to pass on the morals and values that make one Chinese. It is also my hope that all our senior folks out there will always stay young at heart, pick up and do the things that they have been yearning to do. I, for one, have just set foot on my journey by putting pen to paper!

Now that this book is no longer a dream, I want to say to myself: Look, Foo Yong, you are still young!

Food is a necessity in life, so why not make it enjoyable? Singapore is just a tiny dot but we have so much to offer. Through the dishes featured, we’re bringing you back to those days of savouring simple, local, unpretentious delights at an affordable price. Additionally, you’ll be able to learn Chinese proverbs and idioms through meaning ful life philosophy and life experiences while ticking these foodie places off your ‘where to eat’ list.

We hope everyone will enjoy eating while sharing past, present and future muses and of course, love your life, family and friends. – MQ

bié chū xīn cái ■ xuě zhōng sòng tàn

别出心裁

Adopt an original approach; be different

雪中送炭

Provide help in somebody’s hour of need

Macpherson Minced Meat Noodles

1383 Serangoon Road

Singapore 328254

我

偏爱面食，尤其爱吃潮州干面薄/粿条汤，也许是受了爸妈的影响！这里的干面和汤面，水准高，老板亲自一碗一碗用心的煮。汤头、酱料，都是别出心裁！这碗面，也触动了对母亲的思念。她的教诲，影响了我的一生 -- 做人，得雪中送炭，别锦上添花，及时给人援助，才是可贵的！

I have a soft spot for noodles, especially when with mee-pok and kway teow in ‘dry’ and soup versions respectively – done in Teochew style, of course! Oftentimes I suspect that I have taken after Dad and Mum when it comes to eating habits. Well, you can find every bowl of both versions at this stall lovingly prepared to a high standard by the boss himself! The soup base and sauce have been thoughtfully crafted as well, so that these noodles may be presented at their best in taste and texture! Indeed, this very thought rekindles fond memories of Mum within me – oh, how my life had been influenced by her teaching! She inculcated in me values such as: Rather be a friend in need than pile icing on the cake. Assistance rendered in good time is the most cherished gift of all.

G

rowing up in Singapore, it is no surprise that mee pok has become one of my favourite staples. I would usually opt for ‘dry’ mee pok but find the soupy version more satisfying on a rainy day. As someone who takes pride in my own well-being, I would try to avoid broths with added MSG. What’s more, the taste of ‘broths’ with such additives will never triumph over the more ‘genuine’ and nutritious concoctions that have been lovingly and authentically crafted from scratch. The broth here, boiled for hours using pork bones, gives off an aroma that makes your stomach call out! I love the richness of this broth together with its springy noodles and signature fish cakes. Do not ‘jump to conclusion’ if you do not see any long queue here. The owner has put in place a queue number system and your mee pok is served up to you personally. Customers are able to wait in comfort and even enjoy a cuppa as they look forward to their treats. I find this idea both efficient and customer-friendly. With each serving of mee pok individually carried out, the wait might get long, so do expect at least a 20-minute delay. Kudos to the stall owner for being so considerate in setting up this system, winning the hearts (and tummies) of customers like myself despite the long wait. – MQ

xiāng xíng jiàn chù ■ biāo xīn lì yì

相形见绌

Pale by comparison

标新立异

Be conspicuously different to seek attention

长龍餐室