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by Janna Wong

i'm Janna

It all began with my grandmother.

She brought communities together with her cooking. Food was her love language. Whenever my grandmother was over, the kitchen hardly ever got a break. We’d always wake up to the smell of something delicious cooking. Throughout the day, people would be coming in and out of our home to accompany her to the market, watch her cook, and attend her famous dinner parties.

She was the queen of “agak-agak” and was guided purely by her tastebuds. The little notes you see around this website? Those are her handwritten recipes and cooking notes made on the fly.

about

After her passing, my father and uncle took up the mantle of cooking for family and friends. I've continued her legacy by being a harsh critic of their food.

“This doesn’t taste like grandma’s.”

“Grandma used to roll the dough this way.”

“I remember grandma used to put egg in this.”

I 've spent a decade chasing the same flavours my grandmother made. When I moved out and had a kitchen of my own, I became my own harshest critic. I've experimented with every other cuisine except the one I grew up with. The standards I had set for myself were just too unattainable.

In 2022, a lot of things changed for me. My dad passed away. I got pregnant. Weeks before the baby was due, I had a stroke and underwent brain surgery. I became a mum. It made me reflect on life a heck lot. A key takeaway was to focus less on the end results and just enjoy the journey. The joy of cooking is not just the final dish, but in the process, and in sharing that food with people. After all, I don't run a restaurant. I am a home cook.

I am fully embracing the philosophy behind "agak-agak" cooking. Instead of being bound to traditions, I am inspired by them. My food reflects my journey as a young cook, guided by my grandmother's flavours, honed by my tastebuds, and shaped by my experiences.