Little did we know that an impromptu getaway to a lovely organic farm in Kluang would lead us to one of the most heartwarming stories of 2023. And the discovery of Han Tze Soh and her loving family from Batu Pahat. We met Roy Chan and his wife, So-En at Talula Hills and hit it off straight away. From the get go, we chatted like we have been best friends for decades. We instantly forged a bond of similar mindsets and interests. The following day, as we enjoyed a conversation over coffee, Roy regaled tales about his grandmother with equal amounts of fondness and pride. And that really left an ..read more

The picture on the left was taken 5 years ago while the one on the right was taken just last week. A world of difference, right?  We mentioned before that my health deteriorated from 2013 to 2018 due to negligent eating and attending media tastings.  Then, we were busy chasing endless food trends and new openings.  I was guilty of trying too hard to be a reputable foodie that I neglected my health. I looked significantly fatter and felt much unhealthier by the end of 2018. So much of mainstream and social media today is only obsessed with bombarding us with tempting food c ..read more

Grass fed beef refers to the cows feeding on just grass as their diet, and it will yield a more leaner meat and a lesser fat content.  Grass fed beef will also have more nutritional content when compared to grain fed beef.  It can have as much as five times more omega-3 fatty acids to the grain fed ones.  Conjugated linoleic acid which is a beneficial fat known to improve immunity and reduce inflammation, is known to be higher in grass fed beef.  Grass fed beef will likely have a higher content of vitamins, key nutrients and antioxidants.  For all these health benefi ..read more

Why not all calories are the same, and why we should pay less attention to calories and focus more on what is the actual food we are eating.  According to Dr Giles Yeo, who is a renowned researcher on obesity at the university of Cambridge, every calorie count you see is wrong. Take protein. Only 70 percent of 100 calories of protein that we consume will be used as fuel inside us for energy. The other 30 calories are actually used to metabolise the protein to enter our bloodstream.  For carbohydrates, the actual caloric availability is higher, between 90 to 95 calories out of very ..read more

Why insulin resistance may be the root of our chronic diseases. And sugar is the main trigger. People usually say we get obese first before we get chronic illnesses. But, is that really the case?  Insulin resistance may answer this and we will use a supermarket analogy to explain. Let’s assume the cash register is a cell in our body, the cashier and the bar code reader is insulin and the grocery items that need to be scanned is glucose.  In a normal situation, there are just enough items for the cashier to scan and the information goes promptly into the cash register and everyone m ..read more

Lard oil may not be unhealthy, and can actually be good for you.  For years, we have been told that natural saturated fats like lard can contribute to heart issues. We were told to change to polyunsaturated fats in vegetable and seed oils. Recent studies have shown that this may not longer hold true.  Lard is actually one of the best sources of vitamin D, second only to cod liver oil. One tablespoon of lard oil (from pasteurised pigs) can contain up to 1000IU of vitamin D, which is more than the required amount for a day. Lard actually has even more monounsaturated fat than saturat ..read more

Andrew is a stage 4 cancer survivor, and has a lot to share on his cancer experience.  Today, he’s the man behind our favourite Bak Chor Mee soup at Soon Heng Pork Noodles, but it is his backstory that deserves equal attention.  Prior to being a hawker, Andrew was working a stressful corporate life that involved weekly overseas trips and ghastly working hours due to time differences. He was also a heavy smoker.  Andrew was eating whatever he likes at odd hours of the night. And consuming a ton of bad sugar in the process.  Looking back, Andrew can now attribute contractin ..read more

Have you ever wondered why whole foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and seafood don’t need to carry nutrition labelling on them? It’s because they are very minimally processed and do not contain any added ingredients. Whole foods also come “complete”. All the vitamins, nutrients and fibre are kept intact.  They have not been blended, broken down or dehydrated and in the process, they do not lose their nutritional value. Unlike ultra processed food.  When food is heavily processed, they will lose much of their flavour as well. This is where food companies will add unhealthy c ..read more

We have stopped eating ultra processed food wherever possible.  It’s unavoidable today that we have to eat some form of processed food. Even a sliced apple or the fresh vegetables in ntuc is processed to a certain degree. Ultra processed food is entirely different. Proper food must either contribute to the growth or the burning of an organism to qualify as real food. Ultra processed food does neither.  Ultra processed foods like instant noodles and junk fast food have very little nutrients and fibre, but they also contain a lot of sugar.  And we are not referring to the sug ..read more

Cook 2 rice cups of Japanese short grain rice in the rice cooker. Marinate 200g of sliced beef with 2 cloves of minced garlic, 2 tsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp honey, 2 tsp sesame oil and some sesame seeds.  Slice 1 carrot into very thin strips. Cut 6 shiitake mushrooms into strips. Blanch a handful of Chinese spinach in wok of boiling water for a minute and remove. Squeeze out any excess water.  Cut the spinach into shorter lengths. Season with 2 cloves of minced garlic, 2 tsp sesame oil, 1/4 tsp salt and some sesame seeds. In the same wok, blanch 200g of soy bean sprouts with 2 tsp o ..read more