Tapau Please

It's not quite Season 3 yet, but amidst the increase of people choosing to dine in smaller groups, we also want to address the stigma of dining alone. With Singapore's current dining restrictions capped at 2 per table, is dining solo really as awful as we always thought it was?

When was the last meal out you had by yourself? Did you embrace the solitude or did you struggle to be at one with the lack of idle chatter?

In our Season 2 finale, we speak about the rising concerns of queueing for food at hawker centres in Singapore, as clusters of COVID-19 cases in Bukit Merah continue to emerge. In response, the government has publicly advised people to avoid queuing for more than 30 minutes for food, to avoid the risk of infection.

We also bid farewell to Zat, who will be leaving SethLui.com and Tapau Please in pursuit of new challenges and personal aspirations. We'll be back with Season 3 in August 2021 with Nicole onboard for an all-female voice that'll bring vibrant energy and a fresh perspective, but till then stay safe everyone!

If you haven't heard the news: Yeo's has sealed a S$30million deal with Oatly to produce its famous vegan milk right here in Singapore, for distribution within Asia. While this is amazing news for foreign investments, it also comes hot on the heels of Oatly's controversy of being associated with Blackstone Group, a private equity firm that has ties to deforestation in the Amazon forest. With this backlash, will Singaporeans still support Oatly in its Asian venture?

Also, it raises the question of greenwashing, a topic that's becoming a fast-growing concern amidst the advent of sustainability and environmental awareness.

Inspired by Michelin Guide's succinct article on food trends that made its way into our foodscape in 2020, this episode of Tapau Please candidly addresses these to see if they really proved to be pervasive or performing a fleeting visit.

From dessert of the year to the fine dining making waves in our home space, do you think it's unavoidable for restaurants and hawkers to embrace and harness the power of social media and technology to remain relevant even after COVID-19 has passed?

It's not an issue that's often addressed in one discussion, but support fatigue is a real issue. Having been rallied to lend support to local businesses in Singapore, particularly the F&B industry, when does it cross the line of caring too much to the point of burnout?

Are we then selfish for refocusing our energies on saving money and spending more time at home during this pandemic? Or is there a way to balance investing our finances and time to keep these businesses alive, while not feeling guilty for being unable to support every business we care about?

Which material bodes the best chance of sustainability for our planet? Glass? Plastic? We've spoken about the Singapore government's proposal to implement a fee for the use of plastic bags, but that hasn't changed our daily habits when dealing with plastic containers.

Although there are vendors charging a few cents for take-away plastic containers, do you know which material is really best when it comes to carrying your own reusable container?

We've spoken about this before, but we can't possibly not talk about it again now that we have official word from Singapore's government that fines will be imposed for those who refuse to clear their trays at hawker centres and food courts, starting 1 June 2021.

We know there are two camps to this conversation, but regardless of your stand, we believe this initiative benefits all—and most certainly, the elderly employees who work in this under-appreciated vocation.

We love hopping in on the conversation of others when it comes to food and all the delicious debates that surround it. This time, we're adding our two cents' worth to a The Ezra Klein Show episode, where he speaks to author and columnist, Mark Bittman, who wrote 'How to Cook Everything' and writes for The New York Times column, The Minimalist.

They touch on pertinent and thought-inducing concepts such as externalities of food manufacturing, food's purpose, and the social and commercial construct of taste.

MasterChef Singapore Season 2 has finally wrapped up and in tribute to the entire season, there was no way we couldn't bring the highly talented finalists, Derek Cheong and Leon Lim, into our studios to share their raw, unfiltered experience with all of us.

We've always expressed appreciation for great food photography here at SethLui.com; our work literally revolves around how deliciously alluring a food can look. But have you ever wondered what goes on behind the camera lens of your favourite food images?

Jazreel Chan, a food stylist, drops some valuable insight about what goes on before the camera takes its shot, and how particularly "temperamental" food can be dressed to look its best for a shoot.