What Are Your Tiffin Moments?

Flavors. Colors. Memories. Tender Loving Care. They are all stacked in tiffin carriers, which have come to mean a whole lot to most Asians.

“Long before there were plastic bags and disposable containers, tiffin carriers were used to store and carry food. Tiffin carriers are stackable, multi-tiered containers that are looped to a handle with latches on the side. The separate containers allowed for different dishes to be stored separately, and it usually even comes with a plate.

“Originally from India, it was invented as the carry-all for workers to pack their lunch to take to the office.” (“Tiffin Moments,” November 9, 2010).

Of course today, tiffin carriers, which are normally made of stainless steel or enamel, can be found in many parts of Asia. That being said, convenience, functionality, and environmental-friendliness are what characterize tiffin carriers.

In Malaysian slang, “tapau” refers to take-out(s). Derived from local Chinese jargon “打包,” which literally means “to package,” the word can be used as both a noun and a verb. It’s been used widely by non-Chinese Malaysians as well. The word has made its presence felt at roadside stalls, hawker centers, diners and restaurants, fast-food chain outlets … Oh, well! Just about any corners of the country where delicious foods are sold to hungry customers who want to tapau!

Packing your home-cooked and -baked foods into tiffin carriers to bring elsewhere is also a means to tapau. Inspired by the tiffin carriers, Tupperware, a renowed international name for its toxin-free and eco-friendly products, is launching BYO (Bring Your Own) Ta Pau.

Resembling the good old tiffin carriers, Tupperware Ta Pau is a multi-tiered food carrier that:

• comes with one microwaveable bowl, two dishes, a noodle holder, and a Grip-n-Go Carioller that’s designed to hold soup-based noodle and rice dishes;
• is made with safe, microwaveable, non-toxic and non-carcinogenic materials;
• does not release harmful chemicals to food or liquid contents.

Good news for all Malaysians in Malaysia! Don’t Call Me Chef, a food column that appears on the first Monday of every month in The Star, will be celebrating the tiffin carriers in the next issue, with the launch of Tupperware Ta Pau.

Tupperware products worth RM1,000, including Tupperware Ta Pau, will be given away to the senders of the three best entries for the below contest! What you have to do is:

1. Share your tiffin-carrier stories with the nation, alongside recipes. You can talk about your memories of tiffin meals, or even a favorite dish you tapau for school or work;
2. Cook the dishes as per the recipes, and capture them clearly through photography, with the meal in tiffin carriers, a bento or container, without the product name being visible. One photograph is required and must be of high resolution, i.e. at least 1,000 KB;
3. Closing date is Nov 21, 2010. So, work around your schedule and email your entries to Don’t Call Me Chef at dontcallmechef@gmail.com. You can also snail-mail to:
   
   Don’t Call Me Chef
   c/o StarTwo
   Star Publications (M) Bhd.
   Menara Star
   15 Jalan 16/11
   46350 Petaling Jaya
   Selangor Darul Ehsan

The winning recipes will be featured in next month’s Don’t Call Me Chef!

A foodie? A kitchen enthusiast? A Malaysian in Malaysia? I urge you to be part of the event! Share your passion for food and culinary art with other fellow Malaysians!

When Ivy, an editor at The Star, informed me and other fellow Malaysian bloggers, including Joslynn, Zu and Sonia, about the tiffins contest, I could feel tinges of excitement in me! Ivy co-writes Don’t Call Me Chef with Jane of Marty Thyme and Veggie Chick of Nodesserts. She also runs the food blog The Hungry Caterpillar. Ivy, thanks for spreading the word out!

Ideas are coalescing in my head. I think I know what will serve my tummy well for work next week.

How about you? What are your tiffin moments?