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Men rarely call themselves feminists.

Most understand and identify with the concept but struggle to say definitively that they are one. 

What's feminism even, they ask. If we're talking equality here, then why not use the term per se? Why ascribe equality to the advocacy of women's rights instead of fairness? 

It's because biologically, economically and sociologically speaking -- we were always at a disadvantage. Because we were born with an ovary and womb to bear children, and breasts to feed them. Because physically nursing and nurturing them naturally designated us primary caregiver and relegated us to the domestic space. Because as children were increasingly prized as labour and a source of income for the family, our worth grew tied to our fertility and our ability to raise healthy and intelligent children to bear the family bloodline.

I think about my grandmothers and how their lives growing up were worlds apart from mine. How nainai worked odd jobs as a dimsum chef, bus driver and canteen operator all while having five kids, and supporting yeye who earned a decent amount as a contractor but wasn't the most astute with his money. How popo was a stay-at-home mother to six children while gonggong worked long hours as a fishmonger. 

They belong so very firmly to the traditional female housewife mould -- something women all over the world are determined to buck today.

The sisters and i too. Each of us in different cities, independent and living alone, driven to achieve whatever we put our mind to, advocates for self love bc ain't nobody gonna love you till you learn to love yourself). Grateful to the parents who've taught us since young that the world's our oyster -- may we always have the courage to speak out and fight for what we deserve.

Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories

Such a lush treat for the eyes and heart.

Food's such an integral cornerstone of everyday life, and I love how Netflix pays tribute to this through sense of place in a traditional diner so small it can barely fit eight huddled around an open kitchen.

Binged 4 episodes tonight and the last was especially heartwarming. It's a typical story of love and opposites - Japanese physicist meets Korean nightclub girl in diner, they fall in love, she learns to cook his favourite omu rice from Master, but parents from both sides oppose due to debt and cultural differences. She returns to Korea to help with her parents' diner while he sadly devotes himself to his work, till one day he hears that there's a popular restaurant in Korea selling omu rice which the lady chef had learnt from a little diner in Japan. He flies over and spends every day conducting his physics research, patiently learning Korean to win her parents over.

The episode never lets us in on the ending (did they get together? did they not?) and to be honest i don't care because that's not the point -- the food is. This series shows us what food truly is. Not the rabid segregation of food groups and counting of macros, nor a product of consumerism to photograph and share on social media. Not just a plate of onions, ham, leftover rice, ketchup and eggs - but a dish melded from these elements to create a multi-sensorial experience that people interact with, attribute meaning to and (un)consciously remember. Food memory.

I sound like a geek..... Someone once asked who my idol was and i instinctively replied Tan Hsueh Yun ha ha.

Today during yoga class i suddenly remembered the heavy taste of almond paste, so vivid i could almost taste it on my tongue. Not almond butter but a faux almond-flavoured sugary paste with chopped almonds. It took all of 5min to realise where i'd had it. So much for "clear your mind of all thoughts" -