“The human race is filled with passion. Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.“
John Keating, Dead Poets Society
Immense joy. Fulfillment. Admiration. Desire. Love. Conviction.
Everyone has that one thing that ignites these compelling emotions in them.
An activity, a topic or purpose that fully engages them and takes them through an immersive journey throughout their lifetimes. That one thing that they are most passionate about in life.
Passion inspires the common man and woman to go above and beyond and in many instances, fuels them to live better lives and become the best versions
of themselves.
In People & Their Passions, International Business Review features elite personalities like you’ve never seen them before as they share their hobbies, interests and biggest passions in life. Join us as we celebrate living life to the hilt with them.
“It’s not just about eating good food. It’s the whole experience, isn’t it? It’s actually a great platform to sit down together and talk.”
To me, my mom is the greatest chef in the whole world, so I grew up spoilt for choice, feasting on a variety of food based on my incredibly diverse heritage. Chinese, Baba Nyonya, Sri Lankan, Indian, Dutch – these are home food I grew up with. So, what can you expect – the little girl became an adult foodie and started a love affair to discover the best of all other cuisines too.
I gravitated towards a line of work that took me places and had me on the go all the time, so it became the perfect opportunity to experiment with multicultural food, the ambience, the atmosphere, the way food is served and presented and of course the delectable tastes that titillated the taste buds.
From dining with the Sultan of Kelantan, to dining on the Southbank of the Yarra River in Australia, I have experienced why food is considered the theatre of life. You bring players around the table, and the experience you remember after is never just the food alone, but also the camaraderie, the atmosphere and the lingering moments that the dinner or lunch brought out.
I have a very hectic schedule, and I guess that is what makes dining out so pleasurable. For a short period of time, we can leave the world behind and create our own sanctuary where we focus on just food, the people you are dining with and the well-deserved break from thinking and talking about work.
What’s my best experience in terms of ambience and cuisine? Oooh la la Gay Paree, hands down. I love those quaint cafes where you sit and dine in delectable morsels presented so professionally, while watching the world go by around you. It’s like I am part of a Nouvelle Vague film (French New Wave cinema) and I can sit back, relax and go… “Ah, life is so nice.”
But me being the quintessential Malaysian, I can revert to Nasi Lemak, just like that too. Life revolves around food and food is life, so I am passionate about both!
