You found me! Welcome to my blog. My name is Ira and I am a freelance travel photographer/writer with a passion for food. Any food, all food. I travelled extensively in Asia for 15 years and during this period I was based in China for 10 years and for shorter periods of time in Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand and Malaysia. Currently I am based in my country of birth, the Netherlands, exploring European destinations while missing Asia deeply.
Traveling changed me profoundly and being on the road is my happy place. When traveling I began to realize how local food is not only super delicious, but also a great way to understand the local culture. A food market tells me more about the culture than a guide book ever could, and travellers and friends from all over the world have given me valuable insights into their local cuisines.
My own cooking changed a lot over the years, as I was forced to improvise in my very basic Chinese kitchen without any familiar ingredients readily available. Luckily, an array of amazing unknown local ingredients were just waiting to be explored. The most important thing I learned was from the locals, who taught me to choose ingredients very carefully by using all your senses.
In the Netherlands, my kitchen is my happy place. Whenever possible, I will cook from scratch and I love to experiment. I invite you to experiment. This blog will combine precious travel memories, the beautiful food I ate along the way and the extraordinary people I met and shared my food with. I am intrigued by ingredients and spices, as well as their origin, and how they are connected to the history of the world. My Dutch garden is slowly being transformed into a food-only garden, and hopefullly its harvest will contribute generously to this blog.