Shiok Mate Ep 1

My name is Denise. I’m the author of this vlog and I’m here, writing my very first vlog entry to tell you about the inspiration behind my creation, SHIOK, MATE! It’s really simple actually.

Hailing from Singapore, a multicultural island-city located just north of the equator, I’ve grown up on a diverse variety of Asian fare. So when I first settled into dorm life as an international student here in Perth two years ago, I was completely unaware of the “treat” I was in for when it came to hostel food – a “cuisine” practically in a class of its own (and I don’t mean it the good way).

I’m sure those of you who stay on-campus know all too well that hostel food is almost always oh-so-delicious…NOT!!! Wouldn’t you agree that it always reeks of that identifiable nauseating, mass-produced smell one could only find at hospitals or on board the plane? I was disenchanted from the first bite of my very first meal – beefsteak I remember tasting like a hybrid of sponge and cardboard! More meals like this made me miss my home cuisine, and I longed for a taste of it some day, somehow.

Over the semesters, the hostel kitchen’s occasional attempts to concoct exotic “Asian” dishes (which, by the way, I have found to be rather insulting to my culture) eventually drove me to scour the nearby streets every now and then in search of a remotely decent (not to mention authentic) meal. To my delight, I managed to find an array of “hidden Asian treasures” peppering the nooks and alleyways of Perth. What put the icing on the cake was that these places served sizable portions of food for very reasonable prices – a typical trait of REAL Asian food I must say!

This vlog goes out to all pity-worthy Asian students about to experience (or who have already had the pleasure of experiencing) the “joys” of eating hostel food. If there ever comes a day when you’ve reached the end of your tether with hall food, SHIOK, MATE! will serve as a ready guide for you to fill your hunger for a taste of home!

And to everyone else reading this, maybe you’d consider trying these places some time if you happen to drop by Perth for a holiday, or if you already live here and have never heard of these precious little finds! I’ll sign off here, but be sure to come back next week for my next post!

Before you go though, check out my interview with a former hostel kitchen employee and a fellow hostelite who were willing to share their experiences so far on the bad-hall-food situation. (Please note that their names have been changed to protect their identities).

Till my next post, bon appetite everybody!

Denise

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