KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 24 -- When I was growing up, family meals felt like a tug of war, since my parents tried to iron out their differences at the dining table.

My father was used to robust flavours since he was of Hakka heritage.

On the other side, my mother's taste buds veered towards lighter, cleaner dishes, since she had a Cantonese and Hokkien lineage.

Hence, Hakka food never found its way into our meals. That was my aunt's domain since my father deemed her cooking worthy of his heritage.

While I appreciated those hearty dishes with flavours dialled up to the top, my palate was tempered towards lighter flavours as a child.

When I tried Restoran Eight Treasure's Steamed Yam Pork (RM60 for large), it felt very much like a dish suite...