Newsletter #1

If you’re reading this email, that means you’ve recently purchased a copy of Soy Sauce, Sugar, Mirin. Thank you.

Kristen, our sustainable CEO and Bonnie, our well-being CFO and everyone at our Cupertino HQ would like to express a heartfelt gratitude.

Joking. It’s me, Harvard!

I’m just too lazy to change the stock shots. I don’t have the time so I simply went with the first template I see.

I’m just trialing out Squarespace’s free email campaign. 1 down, 2 to go. Disclaimer: this is not an ad for Squarespace. If I were to start again, I would have chosen a different platform. More on that in the future, maybe.

Fake template; real gratitude.

Seriously, thank you again. To date I’ve sold 700+ copies across 25 countries.

I’ve also just ran out of second print. Granted I printed only 120 copies but I did not expect it to sell out in a week. The next shipping date is March.

So Harvard, what’s next?

Bonnie, my imaginary CFO asked me yesterday, as she folds her arm and laughs into the distance. Good question, Bonnie.

To be honest, I don’t know.

I just wanted a personal space to say thank you. I know, I know, there’s nothing personal at all about mass email campaign, but at least I’m not doing a shout out to 300k members in Facebook. Scrolling through the comments isn’t good for mental health too. I can see 2000 encouraging messages but that single nasty one eats my soul for days.

This is also a chance to trim the mailing list. I assumed by buying my book, you’re interested in what I have to say. I have also made many wrong assumptions in my life, so if you feel like unsubscribing, please scroll to the end, sorry about the spam.

Maybe this will turn into a mix of restaurant recommendations, recipes, travel stories, food and cultural stuff. The SAC admins were talking about getting me on a podcast episode. That’ll be a fun car crash to witness.

Wanna know what I did with the earnings of my books?

I upgraded to Spotify Premium.
OMG is this what rich people feel like ALL the time? Fast-forwarding podcasts, skipping and waving songs like the emperor of digital space? My daughter finally gets ‘Let it go’ on repeat?

I even compiled a list of music for cooking. When I say ‘cooking’ I actually mean ‘prep’, because once the exhaust fan and stove is on we can kiss any tune goodbye.

Please click on the button below for my cooking music. I write, cook and photograph. Never said I’m a good DJ.

‘Cooking with Soy Sauce, Sugar, Mirin’ Spotify Playlist.

How to improve your Chinese cooking

Speaking about music, here’s a pro tip to improve your Chinese cooking:

Erhu.

No it’s not a type of fish.
It’s the traditional Chinese instrument.

When you have erhu music playing in the background, anything you eat feels … Chinese.

Don’t trust me? Play this song while you have a sip of water, and tell me that’s not the most Asian cup of water you tasted today.

My point is, don’t underestimate how music and ambient affect our mood. It’s how we allow restaurants to manipulate us into overpaying for meals. Not everything is about the taste.

If you feel like Chinese New Year this year isn’t festive enough, put on some ‘dong dong qiang’ music, chew on some bakkwa / rougan (pork jerky), peel some mandarin, suck on some Chrysanthemum tea in a box.

It’ll come to you.

Allow me to conclude:

Thank you for buying my book.
Sorry for spamming you.
Here’s a list of songs to cook to.
Music can affect our dining experience.
The best Chinese New Year is the one in our hearts all along.

XXOO