Customer Reviews

The New Mrs. Lee's Cookbook, Vol. 2: Straits Heritage Cuisine (v. 2)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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We lived in Singapore in 1971 and 72 and I actually took cooking classes from Mrs. Lee in her home. While she cooked she lectured on the culture of the Island and how it was to grow up during WWII. These recipes are exactly as I remember and are those served today in the markets.

I find the New Mrs Lee's Cookbook so versatile - It's so handy when I need to entertain and yet also contains good ideas for kids too. As a new mom, I find recipes like Sook Muy Tong (creamed corn and minced chicken soup), Lobah (shredded yam and meat) and Potato Balls easy to prepare and help take away the pain of trying to get the little one to finish his meals.

By the way, this book is great as a gift too; the recipes are easy to follow and the photos are incredible - they really make your mouth water.

These cookbooks are excellent for anyone who wants to enjoy authentic Nonya Cuisine. My favorite dishes are "Chicken wrapped in Paper" and "Curry Devil." These dishes are delectable and the directions are easy to follow. Even though I love cooking I do not have much experience cooking Asian cuisine. What I find most difficult about Asian cuisine is that I am unfamiliar with the ingredients and I don't even know what most ingredients look like. However, with both of these volumes at my side, I was able to go into my grocery store and get the ingredients I needed because each book has a photo glossary of all the ingredient that are needed to make every dish. In addition, the cookbooks are truly beautiful; every recipe has a final picture of what the dish should look like as well has useful tips and basic cooking techniques to make sure that each dish is authentic. I highly recommend these books to anyone who loves Asian cuisine.

This book was written by the late Mrs Lee Ching Koon, who was the mother of Lee Kwan Yew, the first Prime Minister of Singapore, and updated by her granddaughter Shermy Lee. The dishes are detailed, and following trends set by Western foodies, antedote information is added to each recipe beforehand, and photos are approaching the Western standards in books like Neil Perry in quality. The food remains faithful to Perenaken tastes which is a big plus. The Lee family are Singaporean Nonyan family, so their cuisine is Southern Straits Chinese rather than Penang Northern type - the Southern Straits are more coconuty while Northern Straits sourer.

Having said this, one drawback is a lack of any recipe on kuihs which form an important part of Nonyan cooking. I would love to see them on the publication, but apparently it was not on Mrs Lee's works and her granddaughter doesn't see fit to add to her grandmother's recipe list, so I would recommend you buying the 6-volume late Leong Yee Soo's collection in addition.