I’m from a food-loving family. I was born in New Zealand but my parents are originally from Hong Kong and ran a Chinese restaurant in Wellington for most of my life. Before that, my grandmother had a restaurant and catering business in Hong Kong. Despite my family having strong Chinese roots, while I was growing up we ate out at European restaurants and had Kiwi barbeques in the backyard. My dad and I even share a passion for wine tasting.
In 2011, I left New Zealand to see more of the world and have a go at living in Asia. My partner Nick and I decided to move to Singapore because it’s an ideal base for travel - cheap flights around Asia, closer to Europe, but still not too far from home. Travelling inspires my cooking. Some of my favourite foods in the world comes from Italy, Japan and Vietnam, and probably because of this, these are also my three favourite travel destinations so far.
Since I’ve been living and working in Singapore, I’ve realised that eating out is a way of life here and how few people cook compared to back home. Although I love a good chicken rice or prawn noodles from one of Singapore’s countless hawker centres, there’s something about a good home cooked meal. The fragrant aroma filling your home, the satisfaction of successfully tackling a new recipe, and of course, the look on your friends’ and loved ones’ faces when they taste your food. I started Cooking In The City to share my love of food and travel, and hope that more people will catch the cooking bug.
I’d love to hear what you think about my collection of recipes, meal inspirations, and travel stories.
Jane
