Woman; Nonya = Cook

As a Nonya, I feel it is pertinent to want to learn to cook. I was not interested in cooking as a young girl. I was also hopeless at cooking during Home Economics lessons. I blotched my attempts at preparing the dishes. I remember making Kueh Ko Swee for one of my tests. I tried it at home and it was perfect, obviously due to my mum's guidance. When I did it on my own, it looked perfect but the inside was not cooked. :S The result of my Home Economics classes was that I became very good at washing dishes. Lol.

Watching the Little Nonya has made me go back to my roots and my desire to learn how to cook is now very strong. Another reason is that it helps me to feel close to my mum. It makes her feel proud of my successful attempts. I feel as if she is guiding me as I cook. I've managed to somewhat reproduce her Potato and Carrot Soup, and her Chicken Wings in Soya Sauce. :) Eating them makes me feel so nostalgic and poignant.

I was cooking Yaki Udon and my neighbour who is a wife and mother, but too lazy to cook, closed her windows to indicate that she did not want the food smells to get into her house. How can she not want to cook?! The only household chore she does is to wash clothes. She does not even clean her garden. The dirt and grime stuck in the grooves of her mosaic ground is repulsive! No matter how sick and weak my mum was, she would still clean and cook for us, till she became dependent on us for the smallest tasks. I'm so proud of her! My neighbour's husband is equally lazy at cleaning the house. Their house is so messy and cluttered. He cleans only his car. They go out all day long, to watch movies, lounge at their country club or go on trips. She is certainly lucky to be such a tai-tai! Oh, she does not have a maid, in case you are wondering.

There is a new term coined for men who can cook: gastrosexuals but being a woman requires you to know how to cook, or at least desire to learn how to cook.