Jeremy Fernando, ‘a meditation of fine curved edges’, 2018

Crimping

“Start from the bottom”, she said
As I fold and flute the pastry
To form half-ellipsoids.
The edge of my thumb and finger coaxes
A meditation of fine curved edges, that will crisp and burnish
In a simmering bath of oil.

I think of thousands, millions, billions of men and women
Who have trod this path of
sambusak
samosa
turnover
hand pie
pasty
empanada
pastel
epok-epok
pastizzi
curry puff.

Who likewise listened to the injunction of an elder
Mastering the ritual of the crimp
Forked, rolled, fluted, pinched.
I stand in solidarity with them.

A quest to seal deliciousness in soft pastry
To be then rendered into shatteringly blistered flakiness
For each greedy mouthful.

Ling Teo
Pine Grove, 2017

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Lawyer, educator, author, culinary enthusiast, super-caffeinated HIIT addict with a black belt in tsundoku, Ling Teo attempts to channel the voices in her head and her observation of the everyday into coherent bits of creative writing. In her spare time, she keeps one eye on the goings-on in the technology and media law space, one on the arts and culture scene in Singapore, and her third eye (at the back of her head) on her students in the classroom. If she had time for a pet, it would be a Little Owl.