chayohome2020

Beginner’s Choice: Meal and Cooking Solution Finders

A Student’s Solution to Missing Spicy Home-cooked Food By Soph (Founder of the Weave the Story YouTube Channel) I lived in a university town in New England, NSW, where there were 6 Chinese restaurants, but no Thai, Vietnamese or any other Asian restaurants. After eating at various Chinese restaurants, I got a bit bored andContinue reading “Beginner’s Choice: Meal and Cooking Solution Finders”

Beginner’s Choice: Student meals and YouTube recipes

Entertaining at home My brother and I went over to our cousin’s place for dinner last Sunday. Cousin Siri had invited Soph of the Weave the Story YouTube Channel and a couple of Thai friends over for a Thai dinner. My brother made itim kati (Thai coconut ice cream), and he brought peanuts for theContinue reading “Beginner’s Choice: Student meals and YouTube recipes”

Beginner’s Choice: The Long Weekend Challenge

I finally met up with Sandy, a dear friend and former colleague, after more than two years. We kept in touch through this blog. My friends get subjected to my weekly posts! Sandy and I were colleagues during the SARS outbreak. Somehow we survived SARS without a lockdown, and it ended as abruptly as itContinue reading “Beginner’s Choice: The Long Weekend Challenge”

Home Traditions: Chocolate

By Andrea Pavee As a child, my constant delight rested in chocolates. While the varieties we could savour back then was somewhat limited, whatever I managed to get my hands on did not last long. Cadbury’s was a staple then, just as it is now. Another popular brand was Van Houten’s chocolates which, back then,Continue reading “Home Traditions: Chocolate”

Beginner’s Choice: Cherry Blossoms and Outdoor-Dining

Celebrating in Japan Spring is a great time to celebrate the beauty of nature. There is a sudden burst of colour in many places that sparks joy. Apart from the beautiful sight of blossoms, there is also the joy of food which goes with celebrating the cherry blossom festival. I sent a birthday greeting toContinue reading “Beginner’s Choice: Cherry Blossoms and Outdoor-Dining”

Beginner’s Choice: Cháo gà ( chicken porridge) and gỏi gà (chicken salad)

By Cecille Vy Nguyen, a Vietnamese friend, came to the house and taught me how to cook Vietnamese chicken porridge and to prepare Vietnamese chicken salad. “It’s your birthday present”, she said. These two dishes are usually eaten together. She brought the chicken (kampong chicken) from her province, Dong Nai, two hours away from SaigonContinue reading “Beginner’s Choice: Cháo gà ( chicken porridge) and gỏi gà (chicken salad)”

Beginner’s Choice: Thoughtful Meals

Thoughtful gestures make thoughtful meals It has been two years since Covid disrupted the international travel. Travelling from Singapore to Johor Bahru (JB) (in Malaysia) can hardly be called international travel, as it is a five-minute train ride, but Covid made crossing the border impossible for two years. Since the reopening of the border, happyContinue reading “Beginner’s Choice: Thoughtful Meals”

Gardening: Airwell Chronicles

By Andrea Pavee Hello everyone! In my previous article, I wrote about our airwell which is the green centerpiece of our new home. It is situated right in the middle of the house, with a breakfast nook on one side, the dry kitchen, in front, and the dining room, on the other side. As ChayoContinue reading “Gardening: Airwell Chronicles”

Beginner’s Choice: The Heart of the Home

Students on exchange In Singapore There is more force of gravity in the kitchen than anywhere else in the house, so people usually gravitate to it, especially when there is the aroma of pastry baking in the oven. Some students came around today to prepare a French meal. There had to be baguettes, otherwise itContinue reading “Beginner’s Choice: The Heart of the Home”

Beginner’s Choice: The Joy of Sharing and Recycling

There has been some semblance of normality in the past weeks, though I understand that we will have to live with the “new normal” once Covid is over. The past weeks have been very busy, though a lot of activities have been over Zoom. I realised that I have made some new friends over theContinue reading “Beginner’s Choice: The Joy of Sharing and Recycling”