a heartfelt goodbye to Linda's Home Kitchen

Linda's Home Kitchen served its last customers last weekend on 19 Jan 2013. If you've been following and read my first post, you'd know that my mum is Linda. The restaurant was really close to my heart and its closing is somewhat bittersweet. Over the years, Linda's has come to be my second home. In fact, I spent more time at the restaurant more than I did in my own home whenever I was back for holidays. When I was still based in Singapore, it was where I would be right after work (yes, I did have a full time job on the side) and it was where friends would meet me on weekends. Friends asked if I was ever tired but as hard work as it was, it was fun because I've always loved food and meeting people. The restaurant gave me that and I've been blessed to meet many like-minded folks who appreciated the dedication, passion and pride that my mum put in day after day for almost 3.5 years.

We've had the privilege of being a part of important events in our customers' lives - families celebrating their grandma's 60th birthday, golf kakis celebrating a hole-in-one on the golf course amongst others. Birthdays were especially special because I remembered many occasions where customers were surprised by our little gesture of a simple bowl of mee sua with 2 eggs for the birthday boy or girl; a tradition that is practiced in our own home. We've also made many friends out of our regular customers and found distant relatives (and one of them turned out to be an ex-colleague)! Their support has been relentless and precisely why we've been able to say goodbye with a bang.

Having Linda's has been very much a personal journey for all of us. It was almost as if we opened our home out to the public. I've always felt proud and slightly amused when customers asked me, "You mean you get to eat like this at home???!" And when I nodded my head, the reply would always be "So lucky!" I used to have friends visit my home during the Chinese New Year and this carried on for 10 years until Linda's came about. Since then, Chinese New Year gatherings have taken place at the restaurant. My dad, fiercefully proud of being Hakka, managed to share stories about his travels to Hakka provinces in China, the food my grandma used to make in his younger years and more. If my grandma was still around, I know she would feel that my mum has done her old recipes proud. My mum, as tired as I knew she was at times, immensely enjoyed cooking for her customers and got to live her passion through the small operation she had with Linda's. Although the time spent at our actual home was less, our family actually spent more physical time together after Linda's came along. We've actually gained a lot out of this whole experience.

So where do we go from here? I guess we are a bit wiser, my mum will have more time to herself; to travel and eat more and Chinese New Year gatherings will now revert to take place at home. I've never got to say this directly to my mum but I'm extremely proud of her and the steel she has. I can pay to eat at the best restaurants in the world but in my heart, the best food will always be the ones cooked by my mum, in the comforts of our own home.

To our family, friends and customers - thank you for your support and patronage over the years. It has been a pleasure having you in our "home". Hopefully, we've been able to shed light into the world of Hakka cuisine for you. And please don't hesitate to say 'hi' if our paths ever cross. Singapore ain't that big anyway.

To Linda's - you will be sorely missed.

bring on the new yr!

It's been a quiet year on this blog. I thought I would have had more time to write, more time to reflect but instead, I've been loads busy especially in the 2nd half of 2012. There's been many highs but along with that, some lows as well. I've also experienced many firsts and I've got a feeling that streak will continue on in 2013. Despite all that, I've not stopped. I may have stopped writing for a bit bug I've not put my fork down. So here's to more eating and more good fun at the dining table with your loved ones in 2013!

ume restaurant.

UME Restaurant
478 Bourke Street
Surry Hills, NSW 2010
Tel: +61 (02) 9380 7333
Website: http://umerestaurant.com.au/

It was a pleasant surprise to see Ume among the list of winners at this year's Good Food Guide Awards. Commensurations to the team at Ume because the food I had on a recent visit was outstanding.

SMH Good Food Guide 2013 - Winners Announced!

The Sydney Good Food Guide award winners have just been announced and I'm all excited because the 'eating season' is just about to start again. I think there were many deserving winners this year - The Bridge Room, Momofuku Seiobo amongst others. There were a couple of good and bad surprises though - I thought Sixpenny would have received more than 1 hat because of the hype around them when they first opened, Tomislav would certainly sit comfortably among the 2-hatters based on a recent visit and I personally think Honeycomb should get one hat since Cafe Sopra has one because the quality of Andy Bunn's food is much better than what Cafe Sopra now serves. Moreover, was the 1-hat based on reviews of all Cafe Sopra branches? I think Quay is absolutely worthy of being Restaurant of the Year and although I'm still bummed that Tetsuya hasn't got its 3rd hat back (yet), winning the Diner's Choice award confirms his place in Sydney's food scene. And his star is also shining brightly in Singapore's dining scene with the excellent work he's put in at Waku Ghin. More on that to come but first, this year's winners list in the city area.

 

Three hats 

Est, Marque Restaurant, Momofuku Seiobo, Quay, Rockpool on George, Sepia

 

Two hats

Aria, Bentley Restaurant & Bar, The Bridge Room, Buon Ricordo, Claude's, Four In Hand Dining Room, Gastro Park, Guillaume at Bennelong, Icebergs Dining Room and Bar, Longrain, Ormeggio at the Spit, Pilu at Freshwater, Porteno, Rockpool Bar & Grill, Spice Temple, Tetsuya's, Universal
 

One hat

A Tavola, Aki's, The Apollo, Arras, Assiette, Balla, Bar H, The Bathers' Pavilion, Billy Kwong, Bistro Moncur, Bistrode CBD, Black by Ezard, The Boathouse at Blackwattle Bay, Buzo Trattoria, Cafe Sopra, Catalina, China Doll, Chiswick, Clareville Kiosk, The Devonshire, Fish Face, Flying Fish, 4Fourteen, Foveaux, Glass Brasserie, Jonah's, Lucio's, Ms.G's, The Ortolan on Bayswater, Oscillate Wildly, Otto Ristorante, Pendolino, Sake Restaurant & Bar, Sean's Panaroma, Sixpenny, Three Blue Ducks, Tomislav, Uccello, Ume, Xanthi

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/restaurants-and-bars/whos-who-of-hats-20120901-256l7.html

goodbye pier.

Pier Restaurant (closed)
594 New South Head Road
Rose Bay, NSW 2029

It's with a very heavy heart that I'm writing this entry. As the words are being typed, Pier would have closed its doors for good. One could be positive and celebrate all the good years it's had, the wonderful plates they served. But I'm sad because Pier is one of my favourite restaurants in Sydney and a place which holds special memories for me.

masterchef pop-up!

Yup, in case you're wondering. I do watch Masterchef. Although I don't follow the series religiously and there are bits about it that I don't particularly fancy, it's hard for me to stay away from it since it's Australia's biggest reality cooking competition on TV (and plus I pretty much watch whatever reality cooking competitions I lay my hands on). I won't say I'm a huge fan but I do have my favourite contestants - people who I've felt are worthy winners. And my all time favourite is season 2 winner, Adam Liaw. So when the Masterchef pop up came along, I thought it would be a great idea to sample his food since it didn't seem like his restaurant was going to open anytime soon. And since Da knew who knew Adam Liaw (because of the Masterchef phenomenon that had swept through Asia), she decided to join in for the novelty of the pop-up experience during her one week visit.