GOASIAPLUS June 2018

Frankly Speaking
“I manage to travel
alone with a
special needs kid.”
Tang, then, migrated to Australia with her
family when she was 17 and eventually
worked as an IT consultant after
graduating from the university.
Honing whatever culinary skills she
had acquired in her stepmother’s kitchen
as a child, Jackie ditched the nine-to-five
office job for the apron and the camera.
Since then she has had quite a
number of projects promoting street
food in restaurants, markets, food fairs
and on TV shows. Jackie was recently in
Malaysia to shoot for her latest TV series
Wok Around Asia.
This series take on an unusual slant in
presenting food from the perspective of
culture and a chef who is travelling with
her 5-year-old son Noah who has Down’s
Syndrome.
“I've had the opportunity to travel to
Southeast Asia on numerous occasions in
the past, usually as a result of invitations
from tourism bodies and international
hotel chains, in exchange for live videos,
online content and social media shares.
“This time around, I wanted to drive
the focus towards not just food, but food
through the lens of a cook travelling
with a special needs kid. I pitched Wok
Around Asia to Penang Global Tourism,
Tourism Malaysia and a number of
hotels in the region, and they were very
receptive to it, so I managed to pull it all
together fairly quickly” said Jackie.
Her culinary journey has taken her far
and wide but she is unable to pinpoint
which would be her favourite location.
She, however, declares her sentimental
attachment to Malaysia.
“Having been born and raised
there, there's a level of familiarity and
connection which allows me to hit
the ground running every time I visit.
I consider myself incredibly privileged
to be able to share about and promote
Malaysian food every chance I get; it's
one of those cuisines that I strongly feel
is under-recognised in the West, partly
because it's a little bit hard to pin down,”
she explained.
Despite all the others who have
presented Asian food from various
perspectives and across multiple
platforms, Jackie feels that the difference
she brings into the arena is that, “my
passion is driven first of all, by the
desire to honour my parents' legacy as
street food vendors back in the day in
Seremban - I want to share the lives of
these unsung heroes who work long,
back-breaking hours to create some
of the best food in the world without
expecting fame or glory.”
“I also want to preserve the recipes
from these street food traditions and
make them accessible to the busy home
cook without compromising on flavour
and authenticity. My focus, therefore, is
not just on where and what to eat, but
also, how to recreate this when you go
back to your home country.
“Overlaying all of this is how I
manage to travel alone with a special
needs kid - because I believe how I live
my life gives those around me, who may
one day face the same tough choices
as I had to make with regards to Noah,
permission, inspiration and drive to do
the same.”
Jackie was offered by Google+ to do
a live cooking demonstration show when
her baby Noah was fighting for his life in
hospital. It was her first big break and she
couldn’t give it up. Eventually she pulled
her act together and went ahead with the
show. After much trials and persistence,
Jackie got the show going.
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