The first time I tried it, I was almost sure I had made a mistake.
It was not bad exactly. That would have been easier to explain. It was just confusing. Too sharp in one corner, too earthy in another, a little too much of something I could not name. I remember putting my spoon down and wondering why people spoke about dishes like this with such affection.
Then, a few weeks later, I thought about it again.
That is the strange thing about food. Some dishes do not charm us immediately. They linger instead. They wait somewhere in the back of the mind, asking for a second chance. I felt something similar the first time I ate at Sabor at CHIJMES, where the experience reminded me that first impressions are not always the full story. Sometimes a flavour, a room, or even a dish needs a second visit before it starts to make sense.
Maybe that is why I keep returning. Not because I suddenly love the dish in a simple way, but because it makes me pay attention.
In Singapore, food often carries more than flavour. It carries migration, memory, family habits, old recipes, and new interpretations. Sometimes, the dish we dislike at first is simply speaking a language we have not learned yet.
And when I return to it, I am not just tasting again. I am checking whether I have changed.
