Regarding the articles by Tan Hsueh Yun and Rebecca Lynne Tan

I just like this photo, don’t read too much into it

I got a message from a very angry Camemberu which was preceded by another message from Julia. Both were referring to articles published in the Straits Times’s Life Section. Both articles were riffing off the recent food blogger non-event involving what appears to be an inexperienced PR person.

In any case, this is the first time I’ve seen Camemberu so worked up.

Posted on 7th Sep 2010 in Musings | 4 comments

Fallout

“…everyone knows, when you make an assumption, you make an ass out of ‘u’ and ‘umption’.” – Mitch Hennessey, The Long Kiss Goodnight

On Sunday, I received 3 messages and twice as many direct tweets from food bloggers (most of them from overseas) about the incident. I was away at SGH awaiting a death in the family.

I’ve not thought about it much nor blogged about it because I like to get all the pieces in place first. After all, I am told that premature ejaculation can be very embarrassing (“Oh no baby, it’s because I love you so much/ that I gotta bust my nut…”)

Anyway, I think the bulk of the outrage was caused by the assumptions made by the blogger and his reaction when said assumptions turned out wrong. Based on the articles and blog postings, there seem to be a lot of assumptions being made in the communication between the organizer of the event and the blogger which resulted in a miscommunication of expectations and subsequent falling out.

Posted on 25th Aug 2010 in Musings | 11 comments

Quick note to marketing firms on food bloggers

“…treat bloggers the way you would like to be treated yourself. Unlike you, the marketing professional, who probably gets paid to reach out to them, most bloggers do what they do purely for the joy of personal self expression. They pour hundreds, if not thousands of hours of their lives into their personal blogging outpost. Respect that and you might get somewhere with them.” – Elise Bauer, elise.com

Food bloggers, or bloggers of any kind are people, your normal (mostly), everyday-kind of people.

I am sure most are happy to oblige to inquiries, invites to events, free or otherwise but do treat us gentle because we’re not your bitches.

Yet.

Anyway, to find a middle ground, I think Elise Bauer’s article on the Do’s and Don’ts of Marketing to Bloggers is an excellent start and, I dare suggest, required reading.

Posted on 21st Jul 2010 in Musings | 5 comments

Trying to organize a dinner

O Hai! Trying to organize a dinner and would like your opinion on how much you’d pay for dinner at a nice Italian restaurant?

I’m thinking of a starter, a pasta course, a main (choice of vegetarian or meat), a dessert and coffee or tea.

Let me know! Also feel free to sound off other suggestions by commenting.

Posted on 15th Jul 2010 in Food and Drink, Musings | Post a comment

Mentaiko Toast

Last post on Mentaiko I promise, because if you are like me, you should be pretty tired of Mentaiko by now.

Anyway, I received a question on how to do Mentaiko toast since I mentioned it in my previous 2 posts. Basically, you use the Mentaiko Pasta Sauce and spread it on white bread or, ideally, a baguette, toast it and eat.

Alternatively, with leftover Mentaiko pasta sauce in the bowl, you can use a piece of bread to mop up the remnants. And yes, it works with the Garlic Oil Mentaiko mix too. And, OK, if you want a slightly creamy toast, you can toss in a small dollop of the Japanese Mayonnaise, fold the mixture and spread it on the bread before toasting.

It’s that easy. Great if you need to bring something to a party as this can be easily assembled at the party venue, just ask for a toaster oven and knife for spreading.

However you do it, especially if you toast it to a brown crisp, it’s very good eating.

Posted on 25th Jun 2010 in Musings, Recipes | 2 comments

Follow up…

I love being able to use these random shots for random posts

…from my previous post, I’ve fixed my PC, cross-fired my graphics card(s). As a result, I’m participating in a war on two fronts while saving the world (again) from evil aliens in high definition and just as the world rejoices, I turn the tables. Muahahahaha!

Fear not, blogging will resume shortly and you may have noticed small tweaks appearing on this blog. It is deliberate.

Also, I tend to ask for the shortest and fastest route and then sneer if they don’t know how.

Muahahahaha.

Posted on 25th May 2010 in Musings | 4 comments

Papa Palheta on Bukit Timah Road

After a long hot afternoon of food photography, The Urban Explorer and I decided to caffeinate. The Urban Explorer is a coffee aficionado, so ordinary coffee would not do.

Posted on 14th Apr 2010 in Drink, Musings | Post a comment

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