Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan

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February 12, 2010 By cheryl

Oyster Omelette (Or Luak): The Food Of Love


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Food, love, passion. They’ve always been intertwined for me.

Sure, diamonds and Louboutins are perfectly nice and all that. But a man who knows how to feed you well? Now that’s truly priceless.

I’ve been thinking about why that is the case ever since my Twitter Let’s Lunch bunch, a global group of cooks who have a monthly virtual lunchdate, decided to put together aphrodisiac-laced dishes in honor of Valentine’s Day. In a story this week in the New York Times, food researchers say that the powers of aphrodisiacs have been rather exaggerated. Very few of the usual suspects — asparagus, chocolate — have proven to be able to boost the libido, apparently.

But how else to explain oyster-induced tinglies or the quickening heartbeat that truffles inevitably seem to cause?

Science be damned. I’d rather carry on believing in the potent sexual powers of food, thank you very much.

For my Let’s Lunch afternoon delight, oysters immediately came to mind. They’ve gotten me into trouble more times than I choose to remember. And, they’ve also long been regarded as aphrodisiacs perhaps they’re filled with zinc, which is a key nutrient for testosterone production.

Besides, there’s a Singaporean fried oyster omelette dish that never fails to get my heart racing at the mere thought of it. 

Just like it can be with love (or what comes after love), however, this dish proved to be a little tricky to pull off …

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Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Let's Lunch, Recipes, Singapore, Singaporean, Southeast Asian, Tales From the Road, Teochew Tagged With: Afternoon Delight, Aphrodisiacs, Asparagus, Chocolate, Food, Garlic, Libido, Love, New York Times, Or Luak, Oysters, Passion, Sex, Sexy, Shallots, Singapore, Teochew, Truffles, Valentine's Day

July 22, 2009 By cheryl

Sicily: A Duomo Above Others


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Just about this time last year, I was in a little car, racing four hours across Sicily in search of a good meal.

At the end of the trek from Palermo, in far western Sicily, to Ragusa, in the Southeast, lay Ristorante Duomo, one of just two restaurants on the island at the time to have received a Michelin star.

Now, I’ve gone to many lengths in the name of sampling noteworthy food — this level of devotion is not anything new. But doing an eight hour-trip in a day just for a spot of lunch? Even that was a little insane for us.

What can I say? It was worth it. 

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Filed Under: Food Porn, Italy, Restaurants, Tales From the Road Tagged With: Agrigento, Almond, Amberjack, Baba au rhum, Baroque, Berlotti beans, Cannolo, Chocolate, Ciccio Sultano, Cod, Cucuzza, Felidia, Fennel, Fettucine, Focaccia, Greek ruins, Ice-cream, Jasmin, Jello, Lacoste, Lamb ragu, Lambuga, Limoncello, Marian Burros, Michelin, Mojito, Mozzarella, Mullet, New York, New York Times, Palermo, Pistachio, Pizza, Pork, Port, Prickly pear soup, Ragusa, Ricotta, Ristorante Duomo, Sicily, Sorbet, Tenerumi, Truffles, Valley of the Temples, Watermelon, Zucchini

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