Foreword>>

GOOD FOOD and eating together bond families. Whenever there is a major family gathering, my mother cooks lor ark (Teochewstyle braised duck). My brother and sisters show up enthusiastically and we all relish it. It's our family's signature dish, a recipe handed down from my grandmother to my mother and a precious treat from the days we could only afford to have it during the Lunar New Year. Lor ark and our other family favorite, hid dian ohr (sweetened yam cooked en casserole) evoke happy memories of specialoccasions and shared meals. Till today, our mother cooks for us -- her way of showing love. For her, the kitchen is the heart of a home, and the fi rst room she checked out when we bought our house. My wife is now learning to prepare these dishes, and so the recipes are passed on from generation to generation. In adulthood, it is the dishes from our childhood and the experience of dining together that we recollect with nostalgia. In keeping with modern times, family favorites today refl ect our multi-racialinternational taste. I hope the recipes in this book add to your collection of homecooked dishes and happy memories. SENG HAN THONG CEO, NTUC Media Co-operative Limited