Ariyani Tedjo

A Peranakan dish of fish ball soup from southern Sumatra regions called Tekwan.
The fish balls are accompanied with glass noodles, jicama, tree ear fungus and clear fish broth enriched with minced shrimp.

Fresh brown oyster mushrooms are uncommon to find. So when I saw these in the supermarket, it did not make me think twice before grabbing them. I truly admire their beauty; their juice, meaty flesh full of umami is a true delicacy.

I photographed the mushrooms first before cooking them. I put them in a deep bowl usually used to serve ramen, sprayed them with some water then garnished with some curry leaves. I also used artificial golden branches set close to the lens to create a blurry, curvaceous frame for the mushrooms.

Zongzi or also known as Bacang, is one popular Chinese rice cake dumpling. Heaps of glutinous rice filled with meat, sausage, salted egg yolk, mushrooms, water chestnut then wrapped with bamboo leaves into tetrahedron shape.

I like to imagine the zongzi among traditional Chinese or Oriental props. So I styled the zongzi traditionally with vintage china and bamboo containers. The vintage china and stacked bamboo basket were passed down from both my grandmothers.

Egg noodles with minced chicken, mushrooms, barbecue pork, fried fish ball, beansprouts and choy sum in rich chicken broth. A noodle dish is a must have for a birthday celebration, as according to Chinese belief noodles symbolise longevity. This one is a homemade one, made to celebrate my husband's birthday a few days ago.

Eihire, a Japanese delicacy of grilled stingray fin. The cut strips of the fin are served with Japanese mayonnaise and dried ground chili.

An auspicious food to have for Chinese New Year: Layer Cake. The cake batter is baked layer by layer, a labor-intensive delicacy. The one here is a variation with the almond added.

Gingerbread cookies in house shape of various designs, which later would be decorations for a Christmas theme cake. The houses' windows are made of melted candy and lights will be inserted behind the houses to make them glow.

While visiting Europe a few months ago, a dear cousin of mine gave me a bottle of Schnaps that she and her husband brought from Austria during their travel. It's one of @feinbrennerei.prinz. Truly an exquisite drink perfect for this holiday season; either on its own or mixed for a cocktail.

A cocktail of Austrian schnaps and Korean peach milk soda, garnished with cranberry and fragrant rosemary. A new creation just wonderful for this holiday season.

Fresh Cherry Tomatoes sprinkled with fresh water. Some droplets are captured while still in the air above the tomatoes. After the photoshoot, the tomatoes were taken to the kitchen for making Marinara Sauce.