Spoons

Things I ate in the Southern Hemisphere that weren’t small plates

1. Zila (Melbourne)
2. Pisang goreng di curug (Tabanan)
3. Lapo Marpadotbe (Jakarta)
4. Zabb Nua (Melbourne)
5. Warung Sika (Bali)
6. Breakfast @ home (Batangas)
7. Ala Ehnimals Buko HaloHalo (Batangas)
8. ITC Kuningan (Jakarta)
9. Pasar Badung (Denpasar)
10. Depot Umum Batan Sabo (Denpasar)
11. Breakfast before foraging (Tabanan)
12. Gentong Mas (Bali)
13. Warung Nasi Bali Bu Ketut Nari (Bali)
14. RM Aryani (Bali)
15. Es Campur SS Apjay (Jakarta)
16. Mata Karanjang (Jakarta)
17. Sop Konro Karebosi (Bali)
18. Xuan Anh Banh Cuon (Melbourne)
19. Bahn Xeo Tay Do (Melbourne)
20. Smokotoro

Last week we cooked and ate together around a long table in solidarity with Gaza. Together we raised £3,303.19 for

Sharing this now, in the middle of a festive season built around comfort and abundance, feels like a reminder that gathering, eating, and celebrating doesn’t exist in isolation. While many of us are able to enjoy warmth and ease, there are still lives being shaped by violence and loss elsewhere.

This dinner wasn’t charity, and it wasn’t resistance. It was simply a group of people coming together to eat, enjoy each other’s company, and play a small part in raising funds for a mutual aid fund on the ground in Gaza.

Thank you to everyone who showed up. Huge thanks to and the team at for so generously hosting, and for contributing 50% of drink proceeds from the evening.

Endless gratitude to those who supported the food so we could maximise what went to the fund:

.ldn



F**k the occupation. Free Palestine.

In the latest print issue of , I got to write about a Batak dish I grew up with – and the very un-Batak way I now cook it in London.

The piece is rooted in arsik dali ni horbo, the buffalo-milk version my mom used to call “yellow tofu” for its soft, cheese-like consistency. Diaspora cooking means working with what’s here, naming what’s missing, and adapting without pretending things are the same. Hence: burrata. A choice that would raise eyebrows in a Batak kitchen – and likely irritate a few Italians too.

Edited by Sharanya Deepak
Photos by 
Testing and styling by