Cultural Insights

A lively street food scene bathed in warm lantern light, where friends huddle over steaming bowls and shared plates—capturing the intimacy, ritual, and unspoken bonds of late-night dining.

Midnight Confessions: The Secret Language of Supper in Food Images

By Aaron Ong - December 5, 2025

The city exhales. Its daytime hustle recedes into a quiet hum, replaced by a different kind of pulse. On street corners bathed in the lonely glow of a single lamp post, a new world awakens.…

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Warm morning light spills across a colonial-style kitchen where a chef in crisp whites prepares traditional Indian dishes, evoking the culinary legacies of British Singapore. In the foreground, a wooden table is elegantly set with chapati, richly spiced curries garnished with cilantro, and porcelain teacups beside a matching teapot—symbols of Anglo-Indian fusion. Steam rises from the stove in the background, blurring the line between domestic ritual and imperial nostalgia. The scene captures the sensory crossroads of spice routes and silk sheets, where food became a vessel for cultural exchange and colonial identity.

Spice Routes & Silk Sheets: The Singapore Colonial Food History

By Aaron Ong - November 3, 2025

Singapore’s food scene is a story shaped by oceans, empires, and centuries-old trade. As a photographer focused on our culinary traditions, I find inspiration not only at bustling markets and hawker centres, but in the…

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Two ornate communal platters showcasing Chinese-Malay fusion cuisine: the left tray features crispy fried chicken nestled in shredded vegetables and lettuce cups, evoking hawker-style abundance; the right tray presents a curated mix of grilled meats, flower-garnished rice mounds, and fiery condiments, symbolizing the bold, forbidden union of Peranakan and Nyonya traditions in Singapore’s evolving culinary identity.

Exploring Chinese Malay Fusion Cuisine: The Forbidden Union of Peranakan and Nyonya Food in Singapore

By Aaron Ong - October 3, 2025

Step into Singapore’s hawker centers or heritage shophouses in Katong and Joo Chiat, and you’ll discover Peranakan cuisine-a vibrant fusion of Chinese ingredients and Malay cuisine. This culinary tradition, also known as Nyonya food, combines…

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