Notes from September

Celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival, enjoying salt bread and trying to stay present.

I am so tired of waiting
Aren’t you,
for the world to become good
and beautiful and kind?

— “Tired” by Langston Hughes, via Black Liturgies

How is everyone? For me, September flew by, so much so that I struggled to remember what I did during the month. I also feel myself in a holding pattern, as if I feel like by being as quiet as possible, things will get better. But if anything, it’s gotten worse. A part of me has frozen into a silent scream. I had to force myself to shake off the inertia and continue with the tiny actions available to me: sending e-sims, giving to fundraisers, joining a march, and sharing the news so that we don’t try to forget what we are witnessing.

And I try to be as present as possible during the pockets of time spent with loved ones—gathering for meals, and revelling in the longer days of spring. Because what else is there?

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Things I enjoyed in September

Celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival, also called referred to as Mooncake Festival. This festival is celebrated in China and by Chinese communities worldwide, as well as in Japan, Korea and Vietnam. I’m not familiar with the origins of the festival in the latter three countries, but in for the Chinese, the festival has agrarian roots (it was a harvest festival), and it marks the time of the year where the moon is at its brightest and fullest on the lunar calendar. Today, it’s basically an occasion for family to gather, give thanks, eat very specific foods, and play with lanterns. My late mum, who’s Taiwanese, used to prepare steamed crab, drunken chicken, and 盆菜 (a dish for which I have no translation) for family dinners, and this would be followed by mooncakes, best enjoyed with Chinese tea and pomelos. Here in Melbourne, it’s just me and my husband, so I buy whatever mooncake I can find in an Asian grocer, make a pot of tea, and light a candle. Not quite the same but I try my best to observe festivals these days; as I grow older, marking the passage of time feels more important than it once did.

Savouring the details in this profile of Ina Garten and this profile of Francis Kurkdjian in The New Yorker. I only have the vaguest idea of who Ina Garten is, but I enjoyed Molly Fischer’s profile her nonetheless, because it was so precisely and slyly observed when it came to parsing her appeal. Likewise, Rachel Syme’s profile of Kurkdijan was full of little details that made me smile, like this: “At noon, we were served lunch under a portico, at a table set with Louis XIII-style goblets and plates marked with ‘the personal logo of Christian Dior,’ a staff member told me. (In his French accent, the name sounded just like ‘Kissinger.’) It was raining and buggy out, so a server in formal wear presented an aerosol can of insect repellent over his arm, like a bottle of wine, and encouraged us to spritz our pulse points.”

Eating salt bread, or shio pan. Salt bread or shio pan, as they call it in Japan, had a mini-moment in Singapore years ago (before the pandemic) and I think they originated in Japan, where they’re something of an inexpensive staple in mom-and-pop bakeries. But recently, they’ve become a hip, viral, food item thanks to bakeries in South Korea, where the most popular ones draw long lines. My favourite bakery in Melbourne has started making them and their version is ridiculously good. It’s essentially a salted bread roll that is soft and pillowy like a milk bun on the inside, with an unexpectedly crispy bottom, almost reminiscent of a croissant but without the flakiness. Delicious.

Outfit round-up of the month

I’ve been told that spring has arrived, which seems to mean that it’s sort of warm and chilly at the same time. I’m not entirely sure how to dress for this; I often start the day optimistically in a short-sleeved t-shirt and then have to throw on a jumper and socks by evening. The heavyweight cotton of the rugby shirt I bought in August is the perfect weight for these days.

I mostly worked at home during the month, so everything is comfort-oriented (no shoes!). A lot of what I’m wearing are recent purchases and I’m struck by how colourful they are—the striped Polo rugby shirt, the red Babaà jumper, the colourful Dries velvet dress. Last year, I bought a lot of classics-inflected “without fail” pieces to update my wardrobe for my new environment; perhaps that’s why this year, my eye is often drawn towards “accent” pieces that help my without-fails pop.