Eating Together: Food, Space and Identity in Malaysia and Singapore

Rowman & Littlefield Studies in Food and Gastronomy

by Jean Duruz, Gaik Cheng Khoo

Accepting the challenge of rethinking connections of food, space and identity within everyday spaces of public eating in Malaysia and Singapore, the authors enter street stalls, hawker centers, markets, cafes, restaurants, food streets, and ethnic neighborhoods to offer a broader picture of the meaning of eating in public places. The book creates a strong sense of the ways different people live, eat, work, and relax together, and traces negotiations and accommodations in these dynamics. The motif of rojak (Malay, meaning mixture ), together with Ien Ang s evocative together-in-difference, enables the analysis to move beyond the immediacy of street eating with its moments of exchange and remembering. Ultimately, the book traces the political tensions of different people living together, and the search for home and identity in a world on the move. Each of the chapters designates a different space for exploring these cultures of mixedness and their contradictions whether these involve old and new forms of sociality, struggles over meanings of place, or frissons of pleasure and risk in eating differently. Simply put, Eating Together is about understanding complex forms of multiculturalism in Malaysia and Singapore through the mind, tongue, nose, and eyes."

Genres: Nonfiction

262 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2014

Reviews

[Max Loh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book on food culture in Malaysia and Singapore, and how we built our respective identities around it. I was especially interested in how economics and development shaped the food culture in Singapore and Malaysia, and the commodifying of food culture to appeal to a more global audience. Highly recommended for readers interested in food culture in Malaysia and Singapore from a social studies standpoint.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book adopts a semi-Bourdieuan approach to considering how foodways and foodscapes intersect with issues of not only class, but also race and national identity. The ethnographic slant of the book may be slightly dense, but there is a good mash of empirical perspectives layered with theoretical discourses. A very interesting read!

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a historically and culturally informative read, made enjoyable through nostalgia and my own connections with the subject matter. The authors argue that food consumption and preparation, and the spaces in which they take place, are particularly influential in shaping the interstices of race, class and social interaction in Singapore and Malaysia. Through close analysis of specific case studies (from the historical and contemporary differences between Malaysian/Singaporean kopitiams, to unique but changing role of Tamil Muslim mamak stalls), this book made a compelling case for understanding Singapore/Malaysian food culture(s) as deeply personal relationships with space, identity and society, and how these culture(s) have been instrumentalist for various societal aspirations.

[Tito Quiling, Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took about two years for me before I was able to get a copy. From the time I saw this one in Kuala Lumpur, I finally got a copy in Yogyakarta, to which I started reading on the way home to Manila. With two subjects intersecting, an interesting conclusion came about as histories between Malaysia and Singapore, similar food cultures as well as familiar spaces were underscored throughout the chapters. Both the authors anchor on the existing historical data in terms of the pre-divided peninsula, in which these countries share a significant amount of cultural markers. From kopi tiam to Tamil Muslim eateries, to urban villages, and inflections of Chinese tastes--there is a generous amount of background provided that helps the reader throughout the narratives. What makes this book riveting to read through are the inclusion of personal narratives interwoven with the passage of time that reflects the changing mindsets of Singaporeans and Malaysians and how cultures continue to mix. Moreover, whether one looks at individuals and groups of people, it is how food and familiar places create a distinct recognition, and a sense of self, which makes up one's identity.