About the blog

In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so.

- Anton Ego, Ratatouille                               

This blog is my way of keeping track of the places I've been to, the desserts I've tried my hand at, and most importantly, whether I liked them. While I'm floundering to remember what I've ordered once the waiter walks away, Miss XS would be comparing how the food tastes to another restaurant we had half a decade ago on another continent. Now it's my turn to keep track, because, as we know, what's on the internet doesn't lie. 

Along the way, this blog became a way for me to share my thoughts on the food, and what I feel about them. It's my way to remember what it was like to be there, by weaving the pictures I took together with a narrative. 

This is not a food blog. I write mainly about memorable experiences, restaurants or otherwise. Though it's always a bit of a surprise to look back and see that my experiences food feature much more heavily than what I expected... 

I try to avoid writing bad reviews. At the risk of making everything I eat - and blog - appear exceptional (which definitely isn't true), I simply don't write about unremarkable dining experiences. I might point out if a particular dish is sub-par, but I must have loved some of the other dishes there if I were to write about it. What a chore it must be to dedicate a blog post simply to slag a restaurant for being average, as if my unsatisfied opinion on that restaurant is the only taste that matters. A waitress may have a bad day, or the cook may make a mistake, and I'm uncomfortable with leaving a scathing review online based on one off-night, a review which may continue to circulate online for years afterwards. The restaurant business is not easy, and for many restaurateurs, it's their livelihood. So play nice...

I find myself leaning more and more towards writing about travel, which is novel to me, as I never particularly enjoyed traveling much in my younger days. Perhaps blogging has changed me in numerous ways. I find that the mindset of a blogger is more enjoyable than being a simple tourist. A tourist compares everything they encountered on their travels to their best ever experience. Someone who blogs is different: I want to be charmed, and the host country wants to charm me. A simple mindset shift, but one that makes travelling much enjoyable to me. 

-Calvin
Updated February 2018

Some of the photos on this site, as indicated by their captions, belong to R or EJ and are used with permission. EJ uses a Canon 700D and you can find more of his work here. R uses a Nikon D800E. 

No pictures on this blog are to be used or redistributed without my/our permission.