Delicious line-up of food stories from the region

Contributing writers at the launch of Telltale Food, which features 31 food stories. — Hikayat

There is no unifying force as strong as food. We all have to eat – it’s a matter of survival.

But food can also bring so much complexity and colour into a person’s life, whether it’s the gleam in a man’s eyes when he takes an eager mouthful of something utterly delicious or the thoughts that play in a daughter’s head when she successfully replicates her mother’s treasured family recipe or even the sense of hopelessness that surrounds a person who has just enough money to cobble together a plate of rice for their starving family.