Talking ESEA heritage month with Yang's Noods, who sells her hand-pulled, flavour-infused noodles on DELLI.
How do you celebrate ESEA month and what does it mean to you?
"ESEA month in September is known to me as gearing up for mid-autumn festival. Growing in up in both Taiwan and Thailand, it's the month where you eat a endless Zhong Zi (leaf wrapped steamed sticky rice stuffed with pork, dried shrimp and shiitake mushroom) and mooncakes. For Taiwan specifically, it is also a month where lots of family members get together to do BBQ and eat pomelo."
What challenges did you face coming from your background, and how did you overcome them?
"I moved from Taiwan to Thailand when I was very young. Studying in international school in a foreign country was really eye opening and sometimes it can cause you to loose your sense of identity and who you really think you are. Luckily, I have many friends from similar backgrounds in school and being the extrovert that I am, I managed to cruise through."
What advice would you give to aspiring food and drink makers looking to incorporate ESEA flavours into their creations?
"I think people have very strong opinions of how authentic ESEA food flavour should taste like. Everyone expects ESEA should be as authentic as it should, and I don't disagree with that. However, I think people should also allow their own interpretation and rights to inject their own twist to it."
|
