The Culture of Comfort Food

Published October 2009

I suppose today’s column will apply more to individuals such as myself, who take their food very seriously and regard the art of eating to be akin to one of life’s more pleasurable activities.

Comfort food. It soothes, it placates and it nourishes all at the same time. Many associate comfort food with pleasant childhood memories. Yes, taste is a powerful sense indeed. It has to be stated that comfort food does not usually refer to gourmet cuisine, though I wouldn’t be surprised if high-brow culinary connoisseurs find themselves daydreaming of mom’s (or dad’s, let’s not give in to stereotypes here) home cooking from time to time. Comfort food is basically one’s physiological association to memory which in turn generates an overall sense of wellbeing, no matter how short-lived.

Please don’t misunderstand, I’m not in any way referring to those who habitually ‘eat their feelings’ or individuals who gorge to the point of obesity. No, I’m talking about something as simple as looking forward to a nice, warm plate of whatever-makes-you-happy at the end of a gruelling work day.

A bit of online research revealed that a large percentage of adults preferred soups and broths as comfort food, especially in colder weather. “Soup was what I was given when I wasn’t well as a kid,” explained a friend. “That’s why if I know I’m coming down with a cold the first thing I’ll do is make a fresh batch of chicken soup.”It has been proven that chicken soup has medicinal properties which do indeed help to alleviate discomfort caused by the common cold.

A North American medical website I came across presented findings from a comfort food survey. The findings suggest that women tend to gravitate towards foods such as ice-cream and chocolate, while men preferred more savoury meals. Women are generally more prone to turning to comfort food when feeling down, though a large portion of individuals indulge when they’re happy and want to celebrate. It also states that choices of comfort food vary between age groups.

Researcher Brian Wansink, director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab, explained in his book ‘Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think’, the correlation between gender differences and comfort food preferences.

“Many [men] said that when they ate these foods they felt ‘spoiled,’ ‘pandered,’ ‘taken care of’ or ‘waited on.’ Generally they associated these foods with being the focus of attention from either their mother or wife,” the book stated. 

Women, on the other hand, seem to have the opposite preference for a similar reason.

“Although [women] liked hot meal comfort foods just fine, these foods did not carry the associations of being ‘spoiled,’ ‘taken care of’ or ‘waited on.’ In fact, quite the opposite. When women thought of these foods they were reminded of the work they or their mothers had to do to produce them. These foods did not represent comfort, they represented preparation and clean up. For women, snack-like foods — candy, cookies, ice cream, chocolate — were hassle-free. Part of their comfort was to not have to make anything or clean anything up.”

Those highly valid points aside, I can only speak for myself and a few friends I regular chow down with. For example, after a heavy night of making merry and imbibing liquid libations of the Bacchus variety, something hot and soupy is usually in order for the first meal of the day. I can think of nothing that makes me happier that what I regularly refer to as ‘a bowl of awesomeness’ – a rich, thick and creamy santan (coconut milk) laden portion of Curry Laksa at Restaurant Yuan Li along Jalan Pantai. This place is so famous that they’ve even been featured by food paragons Robyn and Dave of international powerhouse Eating Asia, as well as a national publication.

When I’m in a good mood and feel like rewarding myself I’ll very often head over to Moon Bell, a Northern Chinese restaurant located across the road from Wisma Yakim here in Kota Kinabalu. Moon Bell has quite easily the best garlic coated Storm Sand chicken I have ever tried, served with a mixed combination of local Sabah wild rice and garlic oil. And Karen, the helpful and chatty owner, is always on hand to offer menu recommendations to newbies.

Should Peking duck be the meal of choice, said eating buddies will be rounded up for a visit to King Hu Restaurant in Tanjung Aru town. The duck, served with pancakes, spring onion and something that resembles a plum sauce, followed by a duck stock soup, is a real treat. I think that many would agree with me and this would probably explain why it is next to impossible to get a table without prior reservations for dinner.

An old high school friend of mine visited Kota Kinabalu two weeks ago. Coming from the highly cosmopolitan city of Tokyo, where food from some of the best restaurants in the world are easily on hand, my friend Kayo made one small request. She wanted local food. The sort that she grew up with while we were both in boarding school in Singapore many years ago. With the exception of Moon Bell, she ate everything that I’ve listed out so far, and loved it. I personally watched the lady polish off three servings of belacan during our laksa fest. It was impossible to get good Malaysian food in Japan, she insisted. Hence, the copious amount of hours spent in face stuffery of the local kind. This was her comfort food, she kept reminding me.

For her last meal here in KK I asked Kayo if she had any special food requests before we made our way to the airport. “Toast and kaya with a half boiled egg,” she replied with a grin. “And Kopi-O”.

Resources: CNN.com/cornellsun.com

Images: Shan Sandhu