Swee-Eng Chia comes from Singapore and has lived in Australia for many years. She completed her tertiary education in Sydney, worked as a secretary then a publishing editor for several years until she found her niche in life - doing what she loves, teaching Nonya cooking. She is fourth generation Straits Chinese. Her great-great-grandfather came to Singapore from China in the 1800s. Ann Siang Hill in Singapore is named after her great-grand father, Chia Ann Siang, who was born in Malacca and later came to trade in Singapore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swee-Eng learned the techniques of Nonya cooking from her mother who inherited it from her grandmother. Her mother instilled in her a passionate understanding of the complexity and richness of Nonya culture and cuisine. The success of cooking good Nonya is in the paste or rempah, which is made up of fresh herbs of turmeric, galangal, lemon grass, red shallots, ginger, leaf flavouring such as kaffir lime leaf, pandanus leaf, fresh curry leaves, both fresh chillies and dried chillies, candle nuts and blachan (dry roast shrimp paste) which are either pounded in a pestle and mortar or food processed.

As Nonya cuisine is relatively unheard of in Sydney, Swee-Eng decided to teach Nonya cuisine at the Sydney Community College and has been teaching for several years. Her students have found Nonya cuisine to be quite special and both rewarding and satisfying in the cooking and eating of it. 

As part of the cooking experience, Swee-Eng conducts a tour of Asian grocery stores in Sydney's Chinatown with Sydney Community College, Mosman Day and Evening College and Convivial Times for those interested in identifying and learning all about Asian herbs and spices and on how to use them, as well as food tours to Marrickville, Cabramatta, Petersham and Concord - see Food Tours. She also runs cooking workshops with chefs for various corporations in Sydney - see Cooking Workshops and Corporate Programmes.

Her work on Nonya cuisine and her tours of Sydney's Chinatown and Marrickville have appeared in Australian House and Garden, April issue 2001, Australian Good Taste magazine, November issue 2001, The Weekend Australian magazine 9-10 February 2002 and Marrickville Matters Vol. 18, No. 2, May 2002.  She was interviewed by Steve Murphy of Radio 2GB in January 2001 on her gourmet tour to Singapore and by Simon Marnie of ABC Radio in April 2004 on Nonya cuisine. On 6 September  2002, Swee Eng was awarded The Stephen Lardner Memorial Award in recognition of continuous outstanding commitment to adult teaching at Sydney Community College.