It would be vastly easier for me to make this an eat, shoot and post kind of page, but I find cooking a lot more rewarding than finding a good makan place. The trouble is … well, as the Lonely Planet once said “good places go bad and bad places close down.” Recommendations are most reliable when they are current, but how current can one get when manpower issues cripple our food industry? I could have recommended you a 三捞河粉 at a coffeeshop at Hougang early this year. It was really good and I ordered it regularly. Then, a couple of months ago, I ordered the same 三捞河粉 at the same stall, but the taste was totally different. It sucked. If I had recommended it on this blog, I would have to delete it as quickly as possible.

Another reason for this blog not being as popular as I would like it to be, is that many Singaporeans use their kitchens for decorative purposes only – the cleaner the better.

But the popularity of Neighbourhood Chef has shown to me that people do love watching cooking shows even few of them would cook on a regular basis. Too much trouble. Too tired after work. Too little time. It’s easy to fall in love with cooking. Commitment to cooking regularly, however, occurs only with a few rare individuals.

Still, I think cooking shows/videos can still pull in the crowds. I don’t think I can ever be another Chua Lam 蔡澜, but having a following and being able to share my passion would be good enough for me. For a long time, I’ve been thinking of how to bring this blog to the next level. I’ve had a lot of ideas on making interesting/entertaining videos, but I can’t do it alone. One possible format is to have a guest in my kitchen, we chat as I cook, then we tuck in and have a little “talk cock” session with some dessert or wine. Friends I have quite a number, but the obvious problem – they’re all camera-shy and strangers who are keen on it want money for it.

Let me know if you have any ideas.