I watch Marge prepare tinned rice cereal, pre-mixed with milk for little Eva. “I’ve tried it myself,” she says, “it’s not bad. Would you like a taste?” I want to say aloud: No? That’s not real food. But instead flash a polite smile. Lovely Teochew porridge with duck gravy and cilantro, Sg. Bakap. P hoto by Doris Lim Chinese mothers start to prepare rice gruel for their babies when they wean off milk at about 9 months. In the 50s, the rice grains are first wash, dried taken to Indian spice millers to grind into powder. The rice gruel is cooked with water slowly over a charcoal stove in an enamel sauce pan, stirring constantly. A few grains of salt are added for taste. Sometimes a little Bovril is added. As the child grows, the moms would add cubed potatoes and carrots to the rice gruel for colour and variety. Back then, it is not uncommon to see a grandmother feeding a row of little toddlers sitting quietly on small bamboo stools. She would nurse a big bowl of porridge...