An excerpt of a sharing by Head Chef, Ariff Zin and Chef-Restaurateur Violet Oon
Published: 25 Aug 2025
Duration: 05:15
Capturing stillness frame by frame at Esplanade
Published: 25 Aug 2025
Duration: 03:32
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Salon: From Grandma’s Kitchen
05:15
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Telling Time | Behind the Scenes with Chua Yang
03:32
Time taken : <5mins
TEDxSingapore Salon: From Grandma's Kitchen was held at Esplanade Black Room on 27 Jun 2025. This video is an excerpt of the event.
Through an intimate panel conversation reflecting on food, recipes, storytelling and heritage, Head Chef Ariff Zin and Chef-Restaurateur Violet Oon discuss how memory, identity and culture are preserved and reimagined across generations.
Ariff Zin
Ariff Zin is Head Chef at Rumah Makan Minang, who preserves Minangkabau culinary heritage while using technology to reimagine how tradition is cooked, scaled, and savoured.
Violet Oon
Violet Oon is Chef-Restaurateur at Violet Oon Singapore. A pioneer of Singapore’s food scene, Violet is a celebrated food critic, cookbook author, and culinary ambassador who will share insights into the stories and evolution of Singapore’s food culture.
TEDxSingapore Salon: From Grandma's Kitchen was supported by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay.
TEDxSingapore: Telling Time was held at Esplanade’s Singtel Waterfront Theatre on 4th December 2024.
Through a captivating lineup of talks and performances, including Chua Yang, Rebecca Toh, Khir Johari and more, TEDXSingapore's flagship event explored the flow of time. From the echoes of the past, to the realities of today, and the possibilities of the future, the event delved into what time truly means to us.
We all spend our time in different ways. But in the end, are we telling time, or is time telling us?
Go behind the scenes with obstetrician, hobbyist photographer and storyteller, Chua Yang. This intimate offstage moment reflects on how time, memory and connection shaped her passion and photographic journey.
Chua Yang’s TEDxSingapore talk was a deeply personal sharing on how photography became her liberation, through grief, caregiving and stillness. When illness struck her family, time seemed to pause. Through the lens of her camera, she reclaimed this stillness, documenting grief, love and quiet resilience one frame at a time. Her reflections invite the audience to consider how one uses their time to create meaning and keep memories alive, leaving a lasting imprint for generations to come.
“For me, photography liberated me from a stillness and set me on a path of intense, energising moments and movements. A journey to utilise my time for good.”
Watch Chua Yang’s full TEDxSingapore talk here.
The venue for TEDxSingapore: Telling Time was supported by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay.
