I was born into a civil war. In Sri Lanka, the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils were killing each other over a political agenda. I believe that there is no country where people ask for war and no country where people want racism.
Growing up Sinhalese in Colombo, we never hated Tamil people and Tamil people never hated us. My dad can speak fluent Tamil and we’d go to Indian restaurants all the time. We’d celebrate special occasions with all our neighbours, be it Hari Raya, Deepavali or Christmas.
If we were all from the same race, if we had the same beliefs, and if we ate the same food – how boring would the world be? Our differences make things exciting. We are stronger as one human race that shares a lot of different cultures and traditions. It’s about toasting to diversity. And Singapore is one of the best places to do that.
DELICIOUS DIFFERENCES
We all love prata in the morning. I get mine from an Indian couple Mr and Mrs Mohgan’s at Joo Chiat Road. If I don’t feel like going too far, I get Tai Wah bak chor mee from Hong Lim, which is close to my home in Chinatown. For special occasions, I treat myself to Peking duck
at Imperial Treasure or a Peranakan feast at Candlenut. When I’m missing Australia, I pop by The Lokal on Neil Road for vegemite on toast.
In my cooking, I incorporate Japanese influences that I picked up from my time in Tetsuya’s. At Cloudstreet, I reinterpret the Sri Lankan flavours I grew up with. At Cheek by Jowl I used laksa leaves and green chilli in a dessert based on the food I’ve tried in Singapore. Can you imagine a world where people only eat or cook dishes from their own cultures? The restaurant industry is one of the best examples of how we benefit from the heterogeneity of Singapore’s population. And people should think about what they’d be missing out on the next time they tell a foreigner to “go back where you came from”.
PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS
I’m a brown face and yes, I had to work harder than a lot of people to get where I am. On the other hand, who doesn’t have to if you want to be at the top of your game. In one of my first jobs as a head chef, I was once told that the restaurant couldn’t market me. I was very upset. I took myself out of the situation, went home and had a good think about what I wanted to do. I didn’t wallow in self-pity about the colour of my skin or where I came from. I chose to push myself and prove to everyone that I have what it takes.
I’ve been in kitchens where I’m the only brown person on the team. People already have expectations of what I can and cannot do. But I don’t think it’s just me, we are all born into a world where society has already decided what we should be doing and how we should be doing things. You should use this to your advantage, it’s a chance to take people by surprise, and this gives you an edge.
RISING ABOVE
Race doesn’t matter. If you think you’re not successful because of your race, you’re wrong. I’ve been a minority my entire adult life but I’ve never used it as an excuse, only a motivator. Vinodhan Veloo, my sommelier at Cloudstreet has worked in restaurants like Odette because he’s put in the time and effort to learn everything there is to know about wine. Vijay Mudaliar from Native runs one of the best bars in the world. He’s learnt from some of the best in the industry and pushed himself. Haikal Johari from Michelin-starred Alma shows up in the kitchen every day despite being wheelchair-bound from his motorcycle accident. Don’t make excuses. No one is going to make your life better, the only person that can do that is you.
“Race doesn’t matter. If you think you’re not successful because of your race, you’re wrong.”
Sometimes, you have to learn to see the funny side of things. If you’re going to be offended by everything, you’ll never be happy. We all meet people who are close-minded and ignorant. Just don’t let them get to you. Channel your anger to do something creative, have a discussion about it, make things better. Angry arguments on the internet won’t get us anywhere. If we could all have a conversation – preferably over a meal with all our different cuisines – then I think we can move forward together as a society.
