I think of all the people who have influenced me in photography but none more so than my Ah Por. Even though she did not really do or say anything specifically, I think growing up with her somehow gave me the ability to empathize with people, which is why my photography is always shot in that perspective.

So these images are dedicated to you Ah Por! I'm sure you would have enjoyed the opera! Wish you were here!

Ingredients for Candlenut’s spice paste include lemongrass, galangal, turmeric root, shallots, garlic, shrimp paste, dried chilies and candlenuts.

Peranakan Food for the 21st Century

As far as Malcolm Lee is concerned, his modern take on Peranakan cuisine has already passed its most crucial test.

“My grandmother is OK with what I cook, and that’s very important,” says the 28-year-old chef-owner of Candlenut Kitchen in Singapore’s Chinatown. “She’s traditional but open to new things.”

One of Asia’s original fusion cuisines, Peranakan food was the product of intermarriage between Chinese merchants and local women from Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. Chinese cooking techniques such as braising and stir-frying were melded with indigenous ingredients like galangal, coconut milk and lemongrass. The result is a rich cuisine with powerful and often pungent flavors.

Malcolm Lee holds the finished dish.

It’s also time-consuming. Preparations have multiple steps. Spice pastes are pounded by hand using mortars and pestles, and meats braise for hours.

The perception that it’s labor-intensive and old-fashioned is one of the reasons why this centuries-old culinary heritage is disappearing, laments Mr. Lee, a fourth-generation Peranakan. Meanwhile, diners familiar with Peranakan dishes are often resistant to change and reluctant to pay top dollar for food that they equate with home cooking. “We’re talking about the difference between a McDonald’s burger and something made by Daniel Boulud,” says Mr. Lee. “Everything we do is from scratch.”

His sous-vide beef short ribs with buah keluak gravy embodies his philosophy of marrying contemporary cooking techniques and technology with traditional flavors. “I believe the cuisine has to evolve. And it’s not just about pasta tossed in some spices—it’s about using what makes sense with the food,” he says. Here are the secrets behind his dish.

Australian beef ribs: Quality is key when it comes to the centerpiece of the dish, and Mr. Lee uses grain-fed Australian beef that has been aged for 120 days. Each rib makes up a single portion. Before cooking, he trims the fat and silver skin, or connective tissue. After it has been cooked with the slow sous-vide method, the meat falls off the bone. But Mr. Lee saves the bone for the dish’s presentation: “A lot of our customers are familiar with pork ribs but not beef ribs. They don’t know about the different beef cuts, so I like serving this dish with the bone,” he says.

Spice paste: Every self-respecting Peranakan cook has his or her own spice paste, Mr. Lee says. His version has eight ingredients: lemongrass, galangal, turmeric root, shallots, garlic, shrimp paste, large dried chilies and candlenuts, which help thicken the paste.

Using a blender, he first adds the garlic and shallots, adding water to make a smoother paste. He forces the mixture through a sieve to get rid of the water, which is reserved for blending the remaining ingredients. Both mixtures are placed in a pan and fried until the excess water evaporates. Oil is then added, and the paste is fried until it is fragrant.

Buah keluak, Asia’s truffle: This sturdy black nut from Indonesia requires a herculean effort to make it edible. After they are picked, the nuts must be boiled and buried in ash for at least 40 days to get rid of the toxins. Cooks then soften the shell by soaking them for at least three days. The reward for all this hard work? A complex black paste with notes of chocolate and soy that Mr. Lee calls “the Asian truffle.”

Sous-vide: French for “under vacuum,” sous-vide gained popularity in the last decade thanks to chefs such as Thomas Keller and Ferran Adriá. Meat is placed in a vacuum-sealed bag and cooked in a low-temperature water bath for hours to help it retain its juices and aroma. “I’m not just following a trend—sous-vide should be the new gold standard for cooking curries,” says Mr. Lee.

The beef ribs on the menu are cooked sous-vide style for 48 hours, but Mr. Lee personally prefers a five-hour version, which produces a more steak-like texture.

Preparing the gravy: The spice paste, buah keluak, meat, beef stock and tamarind water are simmered together for at least 15 minutes to make a mole-like sauce. As a final touch, Lee adds buah keluak shells that have been stuffed with seasoned nut meat paste to the finished dish.

Price: 45 Singapore dollars (about US$35)

Candlenut Kitchen, 25 Neil Rd. Tel +65-6226-2506.

This other shot caught my eye because Mark Griffin's board had a big OMG~! LOL!

and my favourite Lykke Li song!

Lykke Li - I'm Good, I'm Gone from Lykke Li on Vimeo.