Singapore's cuisine: a cultural melting pot

One afternoon in mid-June, I was under her tutelage trying to drip batter, through the holes of a device called the roti Jala mold, on a preheated pan to create the net effect.

"A key point is that the batter, made by mixing flour, water, coconut milk and raw egg, must be runny enough so that the dripping is continuous," she says.

"Another thing is that when you do the dripping, you must move the cup swiftly and keep it close to the pan. Otherwise, you are most likely to get a knotted jumble rather than smooth, beautiful netting."

For those who consider a certain level of sophistication - and hard labor - essential to cooking, making a professional, coconut chicken curry is what they need to try. The pounding of all the seasoning - from ginger and garlic cloves to lemon grass stalks and cumin seeds - into an unrecognizable mash seems to take forever. (A suggestion for the women: better bring along a male friend to the class if you want to cook this dish.)

"The dish is a perfect example of cultural amalgamation on a plate," says Soh.

"Among the ingredients, turmeric powder and coriander seeds are traditionally Malaysian. At the same time, cloves and cinnamon are considered Chinese while cumin and funnel seeds are Indian."

"The subtle balance of flavor, and the magic made possible by the interplay of the various ingredients, offers an apt metaphor for Singapore's multiethnic society," says Soh.

Before joining Food Playground, Soh, who learned cooking from her mother, was a housewife for 12 years.

"I had no earnings then and had no bought a gift for my husband for 12 years," says the 44-year-old mother of two, who had trained as an athlete earlier in life, and looks considerably younger than her age.

"This place (the cooking school) offers flexi-hour jobs for stay-at-home mothers like me, who can pass their culinary skills and stories."

Indeed, a food story is inevitably a human story.

Gwee opened his first restaurant in 1991, four years after a severe car accident disfigured his face. "The restaurant was opened with the compensation money," he says.

"It turns out that for me good taste had as much as healing effect as time," he says.

Yang Wanli contributed to this story.

zhaoxu@chinadaily.com.cn