Food for Thought

For those who know me well, I can come across as a foodie. This is because I really like my food and I'm prepared to drive to out-of-the-way places to try out new finds. I also heartily share with them good makan places whose cuisine I've savoured or delectable eateries I've stumbled upon. Most of my friends appreciate how I go ga ga over good food, but one went to the extent of labelling me an epicurean. Trust me, I did a double take too when she called me that. An epicurean is someone who's fond of luxury or indulgence in sensual pleasures, especially in eating and drinking. You can imagine my indignation because I merely wanted to avoid wasting calories on yucky food.

When it comes to people who love their food, the question inevitably arises as to whether they live to eat. Or should it be a case that we eat to live. The former seeks to indulge the physical and physiological, with no regard for the higher purpose of living. One only needs to think of Socrates' axiom that the unexamined life is not worth living to see where I'm coming from. The latter looks at food as nothing more than fuel for our physical and mental activities, and disregards its importance in the enjoyment of life. The answer, like most answers, lies somewhere in between the 2 extremes. The key to enjoying life while seeking out its meaning is moderation. We should neither just live to eat nor eat to live. [Not that doing either exclusively is possible in practice, except maybe the good old Romans who used to dine till they puked, after which they went back for more food.] Rather, we should embrace good cuisine as one of the main ingredients of an enjoyable life while maintaining a proper perspective on its purpose in sustaining our existence.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Being A Dad in My Fifties

After many years of trying, both naturally or through artificial means, we finally welcomed our boy in January 2023.  It had been a tough journey, spanning more than a decade, both physically for my wife and emotionally for both of us.  We almost became parents in 2017 and 2020 but it was not to be then.  The anguish of our loss still lingers within our hearts and looms over us whenever we think of them.        While we were elated with joy when we found out that my wife was pregnant last May, there were trepidations because we have had 2 unsuccessful pregnancies previously.  However, with much prayers and perseverence, we managed to have a somewhat uneventful pregnancy.  Perhaps "uneventful" is an overstatement as we did have a scare in the first trimester that had caused much consternation and concern.  But by God's grace, the baby developed well and each visit to the gynaecologist watered our hope.    Our boy made his entrance into the world via a planned caesarean sec
Read more

Good Friends

Like most people, I've had my share of good friends from school and from work. When I was younger, they tended to be more guys than gals. In fact, my best friends in secondary school were 2 guys; one was my fellow classmate Chee Peng while the other was his friend in another class. We spent a fair bit of time, including getting our monthly hair cut, together. After secondary school, we parted ways and headed off to different paths. The guy from the other class attended the same JC as I and we touched base intermittently, but I lost touch with Chee Peng . The fact that he was the bridge between the other guy and I meant that we also didn't talk much thereafter. I saw him once in a while in uni but nothing more than the obligatory "hi" transpired between us. In JC , my good guy friends were Adrian and David. Adrian was your typical ACS boy and we all know what mischief these boys can get up to. Of course, they are also charming and suave, as Cheryl my friend from w
Read more

Another First

This is turning out to be a year of many firsts. In Jan, I started a blog after toying with the idea for years. Then, I bought a digital SLR, again after many years of thinking about it. Now, I'll be trying my hands at baking. Come this Friday, I'll be making tiramisu , among other delectable desserts. It's one of the many welfare events that my company organises and I was inspired to go for it after seeing the email. I also promptly roped in my colleagues, who may have obliged because I also happened to be their boss. But I'd like to think they also look forward to learning how to bake too, and perhaps not to the same extent, spending some quality time with me - ha ha . I must say I'm looking forward to learning how to bake. I've always been amazed by how chefs can whip up the most dazzling and delicious dessert. I'm sure its both an art and a science. An art because it takes an artiste to create new recipes and present their creations in a way that is both
Read more