Picture Perfect

11/20/12
Zephyrin Tsoi
100231347

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From the right, you see the crispy and crunchy nachos. From the left, you see the cheddar cheese, the guacamole and the jalapenos. From the bird’s view, you see it all; except for the way the cheese melts on the side and the little bits and pieces hiding at the bottom. But really, which side is the perfect side of the plate of nachos?

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In this generation, you don’t see the flashing lighters at concerts anymore or disposable cameras in the hands of little children. Now, you see the flash from iphones, htcs, samsungs, and all different kinds of technology. Since these devices were introduced, there are those functions that we once could not use right away, like capture a moment right in the palms of our hands without regretting that we forgot our digital camera laying at home. More importantly, in these days, there’s been something lurking in our social media that’s tempting everyone to start foodtography.

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 This has become a great hit among students, teachers, parents, and children and mostly in the Asian countries. This is only because Asia spends so much time creating the perfect picture of food that it has become a moment to commemorate. With the social media we currently use, like facebook, flick, tumblr, instagram, foursquare and a lot more, it’s easy to take a picture and post it. Whether it’s to show what you’re currently munching on or to show where you are having lunch or breakfast, it’s a way to share and remember the places that you’ve been.  “Researchers have recently completed a research study on the psychology of food” says Weiss. Weiss defined the psychology of food as a way to document and commemorate our everyday lives. As if every plate of food we devourer is a statement or page of our own personal book. Right before you stab your fork into that plate of nachos and destroy that perfect image that was once beautiful when it arrived at your table, you have the chance to capture it and put it into your own personal book.

The best part is, food looks good and it makes us feel good. If we ever have a bad day, you can still find a beautiful bowl of ramen or a green tea cheesecake. Even if everything isn’t going the way it should be, food can always go the way you want it to. It can still promise you that even when the day’s dark and nightfall is coming, something good will happen as long as you want it to. Something perfect can be a part of that day and every other day.

Related Links: 

Pictures of Asians Taking Pics of Food

The Psychology of Foodtography

How to Mend a Broken Heart with an Empty Stomach

06/11/2012

Zephyrin Tsoi

100231347

There will always be that day, when someone you love walks away, that leaves. Everyone goes through a breakup whether it’s a family member, a friend or even a significant other. But most of all, it’s usually the one you loved that hurts the most. 

It’ll feel like nothing in the world will make things better. As if life had no meaning anymore. You start to think about what you did wrong that caused them to walk away. You start to wonder what it was that caused them to let go, to stop trying. What was the reason for walking away from something that you thought was so special, so right, so perfect? What became of ‘us’?

Breyers

While reminiscing through old photographs, therapeutic phone calls to friends and crying your heart out, it’s time for some serious comfort food. At that very moment, the best support to have is a gleaming metal spoon and a charming tub of Breyers' Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream to stop the tears. There’s no time to think about calories, bloating or weight gain but to become completely indulged in comforting yourself. Ice cream is always the first choice because of its sweetness and savory taste that melts in your mouth. It’s comforting to know that there is still something out there that can sweeten up your senses when everything just seems too bitter. 

After the first stage of the temporary frozen tears, it’s time to move on to the second choice, pasta. The feeling of carbs entering your stomach to fill all the emptiness that’s been filling up inside. The satisfaction of having a full stomach of protein and carbs feels incredibly great. Just like how McLuhan mentioned the theory of “the outering of our senses”, eating is like another way relieve the stress from our system. It's about the outering of our collective central nervous system that's overstimulated from the pace and intensity of the modern world. 

Zephyrin Tsoi

The last stage is the recovery stage. After eating all these sweets and carbs, it’s time to take a step down and proceed with the food that makes you feel and look good. This is the time to go look for food that regenerates you and help you take on the day without any troubles. At this stage, the list of comfort food is regularly large. It starts with vegetable soup, yogurts, protein shakes, oaks parfait, and fruit salads. Then as the day gets longer, it's good to have a nice cup of hot cocoa that's filled with "a soothing chocolate fix that provides protein and calcium," like Jenny mentioned in her article. 

Break-ups always require an intense recovery period, the one that requires friends and family to be there with a large selection of your favorite comfort foods. The best part is not about the different stages of food that you also get to enjoy but the fact that there are so many people standing by your side that want to see you smile again.

 It's not about the pain that you have to deal with, it's about the amount of time you want to spend feeling that pain reliving the past, or starting over with a new beginning to another chapter of your life. 

Related Links:

5 Breakup Foods

Foods That Cure a Broken Heart

Healing for a Broken Heart

The Brightest Night of the Moon

10/2/2012
Zephyrin Tsoi
100231347

There is one day of the year where every family comes together to celebrate the moon at its fullest and brightest night. Some people see it as a reason to give and share, to others it may seem like a remembrance of how china revolutionized during their different dynasties. But to me, it’s a day to remember why families are united, why it is so important to create these days to just remind yourself how important it is to be together.

Credit: Zephyrin Tsoi

Mid-Autumn Festival, or as most Asians would call it the Lunar Festival, is celebrated every year on the 15^th day of the 8^th month according to the lunar calendar. This may be just another day of the year, but to some people, this day is more then just another festival. But of course, everyone sees this festival differently according to his or her religion, vision, and mostly, family traditions.

Even though everyone sees this festival differently, there is one thing that will always be the same, moon cakes.

As mid-autumn festival arrives, the sight of moon cakes become more and more visible everywhere you go. Moon cakes is a traditional chinese pastry made out of lotus paste with a salty egg yolk right in centre with a golden brown crust that is shaped in symbols of the festival. The taste of moon cakes was so sweet that people could barely finish one on their own. Families usually come together to open one moon cake, split in 4 or 8 pieces, and matching it with a strong herbal tea. If good weather, some families would even have a barbeque or hotpot outside under the moon to celebrate this festival as if they were celebrating with everyone else under the same bright moon.

Credit: Amy Yeong

As years went by, chefs became so creative and even made different types of moon cakes for the festival. Some became green tea flavored, red bean paste, peanuts, beef bits and even the taste of xo sauce.  Some even lost the lotus paste and filled it in with a creamy paste that required moonc akes to be kept in the fridge.

Sweetness has already pampered people’s mind that sweet is happy. Despite the many calories that each moon cake carries, just having the opportunity to be there with family, watching every single smiling face, enjoying that tiny piece of moon cake is already brightening the night before it ends. Being together really helps relationships grow stronger and help understand one another. Despite all the differences that people might have, festivals are ways to bring people together to just brush the little things off and appreciate the things that you have at that very moment. 

It would only be right to indulge a bit and enjoy the sweet taste of moon cake during this mid-autumn festival under the brightest night of the year.

Related Links:

Mid-Autumn Festival

Traditional Moon Cake Recipe

What is EMOD?

9/24/2012
Zephyrin Tsoi
100231347

Partially Emotional, Partially Food...This is EMOD.

There are many ways to express ourselves, but how should we do it? Should we speak our minds, gesture our thoughts or taste our emotions?

"shy" -zephyrin tsoi

"vitamins vs calories" -zephyrin tsoi

Food is an essential part of life that gives us energy, happiness, joy, pain, etc. There are multiple ways to utilize food as your communication tool depending on what you're eating, when you're eating and how much you're eating. Sometimes the most common methods of communication, verbal/written/contact, are undesirable to the given situation and the delivery through food may yield the most favorable result. Communication through food can be indirect, calm and casual depending on how it's conveyed by the receiver. You may combine existing communication methods, such as written, and manipulate the food to literally display your hidden emotions by words or by doodling faces.

We already understand that faces express freely how one may feel. Clearly, a frowning face would mean sadness and a grinning face would mean happiness. Just like food, many perspectives are already set in peoples heads. When a girl is sitting in her room eating a tub of ice cream, others will eventually assume that they are depressed. When one orders a salad for their main course, people's minds are set that they are on a diet and attempting to lose weight. The most common setting is when one goes out at night, to a bar or pub, and drinks to the point where they puke, blackout, and can't remember anything that happened that night. But really, what do all these food say for them? Can people determine what message they are trying to send  to each other by looking at what they are eating and drinking?

"3 tier choco cake" - steve (oui, chef)

For instance, alcohol can be used as a way to relieve stress, to lower the levels of consciousness and allow people to speak their minds freely. The effectiveness of utilizing food as a form of
communication just emphasizes the commonly used idiom stating, "a picture is worth a thousand words", as it is able to deliver the message stimulating all five senses. The appearance of the food, the sensations felt with the captivating aroma, the crisp sound of a knife hitting the bacon, the fork plunging into a three tier chocolate mousse cake and finally the savoury taste fills your mouth with joy. Food is a type of nourishing for one's mind and body but it can also reveal to others how you may be feeling or what you may be thinking about depending on your expressions and your food choice.

So the next time you decide to choose what to eat on the menu and you don't want anyone to know how your feeling, remember that what you end up choosing is saying something no matter how hard you try to hide it.