May 2025
Food is My Family's Love Language
This Mother’s Day, we pay homage to the mothers who inspire our chefs from partner restaurants of The Culinaire’s List, curated especially for DBS Insignia Cardmembers, and share behind-the-scene footage of their heartfelt exchanges.
Goguma Cake, a sweet potato mousse cake with passionfruit, housemade at Nae:um for celebratory occasions
Cooking is a way to nourish your loved ones’ body, mind and soul. In Asia especially, grandmothers and mothers, who may not be accustomed to words of love and concern, often use cooking as their form of communication.
In this article, we feature the touching tales that shaped the journeys of three partner chefs of The Culinaire’s List. These accomplished chefs show how their love for cooking bloomed due to the important women in their lives—One taught her son, who was living abroad, to cook via weekly Skype, highlighting how every ingredient adds meaning to a dish; another gave her son-in-law a prized ingredient that took nearly 10 years to age. While a working mother could only cook noodles on Sunday, her efforts did not go unnoticed, and a grandmother made sure her offspring always ate three meals a day—because during times of unrest, having three meals a day was a luxury, and for children, the key to development.
In this season of celebrating mothers, our chefs are each crafting a dish as a tribute to the women who have inspired them to become who they are today.
Chef Jai Ganesh, Head Chef, Revolver
Chef Jai Ganesh has perfected his Grilled Corsican Sea Bass for his pescatarian mother
Who would you cook for on this day and what would it be?
My mom, with the Grilled Corsican Sea Bass with Moilee (spiced stew with coconut milk).
Why did you choose to cook this sea bass?
When I first became Head Chef at Revolver, I did a kitchen takeover with my own edition of Revolver flavours and invited my mom to the restaurant for the first time. As my mom is a pescatarian, I put a spin on a fish that she absolutely loves, and it became my favourite too. She said that she never had fish done this way and was very, very impressed (it was the first time she’d said she likes something I made without prompting).
Tell us what went into the making of this.
Grilling fish is a skill in itself. We need to make sure the coal temperature is just right and that the grill bars are extremely hot (otherwise, the skin will stick to the grill), and the fish skin is thoroughly dry. Even the height of the grill bars matters—too high and the fish won’t cook through, too low and the skin burns. It’s also crucial to monitor the cooking time to ensure the flesh stays moist inside with a perfectly crispy skin—basically, a lot of TLC (tender loving care) goes into it.
Chef Ganesh shares with his mother about his Grilled Corsican Sea Bass
How do you like to celebrate Mother’s Day, any specific traditions?
During Mother's Day, my family gathers at my place as I’m the eldest with a younger brother and sister; then we would go out for Thai food because my mom loves it.
Has your mother’s pescatarian lifestyle spurred you to innovate with seafood? I’m always experimenting with seafood as she loves fish. We used to serve this Japanese cod fish at Revolver, so I cooked it for her one weekend and she really likes it. I prepare it in different styles for her now, including grilling it on the binchotan (pure carbon Japanese white charcoal) I have at home.
What were the ways she doted on you?
She knows I like to eat so when I'm off on Sunday, she will cook my favourites. If I tell my mom, "Eh, very long never eat mutton curry,” she won't reply, but the next day, she will cook it. Food is my family's love language. Once in a while, I'll buy mee siam for her because she loves it. I'm constantly monitoring what she has in the kitchen, so when the supply is low, I'll get the groceries before she does so she doesn’t have to carry them; I'll have to force myself to wake up at 7.30am on my only day off each week just to beat her to it.
Chef Ganesh’s Grilled Corsican Sea Bass with Moilee is created to impress the woman who has been a strong supporter of his culinary dreams
Was there a moment with your mom that shaped how you approach cooking? It was in 2014 when I went to Australia to study. Food was very expensive, so I started cooking. I would go on Skype with my mom and she’d guide me to cook chicken curry and more, step by step.
She said, “You need to understand what each ingredient is for.” With her chicken curry recipe, what surprised me the most were the use of bay leaves. She asked me to cook without them one day, and on the following week, to cook with them. To me, dried bay leaves have no flavour on their own, but when you cook with them, it adds a whole different depth and aroma.
Chef Ganesh carries on his mom’s legacy of flavours and techniques learnt from weekly Skype sessions with her when he was abroad
There are many other ingredients and techniques she taught me about through Skype every week, and she will tell me what went wrong, “Did you put in the garlic or mustard seed first? You didn’t cook your garlic long enough; you didn't dry roast your spices for your garam masala first." She would even tell me that to get my powder really fine, I need a specific blender. But the funny thing is, my mutton curry and ikan bilis (anchovy) sambal still doesn't taste like hers! I use the same ingredients and methods, and cook them side by side with her, and they are still not the same! But I'll still like to tell her, ‘Thank you for teaching me how to cook’; she’s the reason I'm a chef today.
What would you say to Mom when presenting this?
Ma, I know you always say that whatever I cook is nice, but that's because I always ask you how it is and of course, you wouldn't want to disappoint me, it’s classic Mom bias. When you initially tried this, it was the first time you'd ever said that it's very good without me asking, so I know for sure that it was good! Hope you enjoy it!
Chef Javier Low, Chef-Owner of Iru Den
Iru Den’s signature aged cai pu butter expresses his gratitude to the nurturing spirit of mothers
I would cook cai pu (preserved radish) for both my mother and mother-in-law.
Why did you choose this ingredient?
They will both enjoy the umami flavour of our cai pu because it is a very common ingredient both in Taiwan, where my mother-in-law lives, and in Singapore—you will find cai pu in egg omelette and in our local carrot cake. But mine is painstakingly aged by my mother-in-law, and I will spin off two creations with it to suit each of their tastebuds.
Taiwanese cai pu is a prized ingredient at Iru Den, supplied by Chef Javier Low’s mother-in-law in Taiwan (Credit: Iru Den)
Tell us how you got inspired to create something so different for each of them.
I will always have strong memories of this cai pu as my mother-in-law first gave them to me after having aged it for around 10 years; and it’s something that I can use to cook for her as well as my mother.For my mother, I’ll serve her a Risotto with Mushrooms and Cai Pu Butter—it’s what I’ve been making for her since I first started cooking, and she’s always loved it. For my mother-in-law, I’ll offer cai pu butter with our home-baked ciabatta, as she’s been dry ageing cai pu for us for years, but has never had the chance to try the butter for herself, even though it’s been a hit with our diners.
Chef Javier honours his mother and mother-in-law through thoughtful dishes crafted with cai pu
Her passion for produce has led her to age this cai pu so patiently and it is reflected in the end-product—radishes cured with salt for over 10 years, left to dry in the heat of Taiwan, resulting in a very unique flavour profile. This is also meaningful because it is highly beneficial for our digestion and overall health.
To match this, we use the best butter that we can find, blend it with the cai pu, shape it into a quenelle, and it’s ready to serve with our ciabatta.
Chef Louis Han, Chef-Owner of Nae:um Group
Chef Louis Han’s memilmyeon is his rendition of his mother’s Sunday noodles
My mom and my grandma. Something that is very close to my heart would be my version of the Korean memilmyeon for my mom. For my grandma, I think she will like seaweed soup. It’ll be very simple, with just seaweed, beef, garlic and soy sauce, but it will warm her heart and her belly.
Why did you choose to cook the memilmyeon for your mom?
Memilmyeon is a signature at Nae:um, created from nostalgic memories of the noodles my mom would cook every Sunday at home. As a working mother, she led a very busy life, balancing her job at the law office while taking care of me. She often didn’t have time to cook, so I always looked forward to Sundays, when her noodles—delicious and full of love—would be the highlight of my week. This is why I really want her to enjoy my interpretation of her Sunday noodles.
Please tell us what ingredients go into it.
Buckwheat noodles are tossed in a dressing of homemade baek (white) kimchi, chives, and perilla oil. I also added a cured roe sauce and pickled old cucumber. With every episode of the menu at Nae:um, I change the toppings. In episode eight, for instance, I created an o-hyang jangyuk (five-spiced beef) for a blend of Korean-Chinese flavours.
Nae:um’s signature memilmyeon comes with different seasonal toppings such as the Korean-Chinese o-hyang jangyuk (five-spiced beef)
What would you say to your mom when presenting it?
My mom actually tried it when she visited Singapore in 2023, and I told her in front of my customers, "Mom, this is my version of your Sunday noodles!" She was a little embarrassed, but I think she was secretly proud! So I’ll definitely serve it to her again on this day.
Tell us about your grandma and how she influenced your love for food.
Back in her younger days, not everyone could enjoy three meals a day; when my mom and her siblings were young, they couldn’t even afford eggs. So now she insists we have three meals every day–even when I'm sick or have a hangover and tell her, "Let me sleep."
Since I was young, my grandma took care of me because my mom was working. I really enjoy her food. She is a very strong female figure who is an inspiration to her children. Because of her, our family has a very strong bond. My grandparents came from North Korea and the house we live in was built by them 40 years ago, with some help from my mom, aunties, and uncles when they were teenagers. My grandpa has passed away, but the rest of the family all stay there together.
Chef Louis’ interpretation of his mother’s Sunday noodles, reimagined with love
With my grandma’s old age, I'm worried, thinking that I need to take care of her, but she is still cooking and she wakes up at 4am every day. She is very traditional and prepares classic Korean food. She doesn’t let me touch the kitchen; I can’t even do the washing. To cook for her, I’ll have to do it at my restaurant. That’s why I want her to come here, so I can show her what I’m doing. To her, I’m still a baby. She’s always worried that I skip my meals. So, I want to show her that I’m an adult now, that I have my own business, and I know how to cook.
Especially for DBS Insignia Cardmembers, The Culinaire’s List is a celebration of Singapore’s vibrant culinary scene through our partnership with both Michelin-starred restaurants and hidden gems. Be updated on Singapore’s fine dining scene through our monthly editorial series, The Culinary Canvas, where we bring you the narratives of each chef, their dishes, their inspiration for a finer appreciation of their culinary creations.
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