The story about Chenguin and Pia
Hello there and welcome!
I am Pia, that girl behind chenguins, and nice to meet you! A simple girl born in Malaysia, raised in Singapore and I currently call the Black Forest my home. The picture below will tell you why me and my family love it here.
It has always been a dream of mine to learn a new language, a new culture and a new country. Therefore, I decided years ago to leave everything behind and came to Germany to further my studies. Then, I met this wonderful man and God is so kind to give us two beautiful children.
Prior coming to Germany, culinary was not my area of interests. I did not enjoy cooking and cannot cook well back home (I only cooked in Home Economics classes). To be honest, cooking is not as difficult most think and I believe that anyone can cook, as long as they are willing to put in the effort.
Living away from home forced me to cook because I could not find any authentic Asian food here in the region I lived. Additionally, I did not enjoy German kitchen (deutsche Küche) back then because the German food from canteen just aren’t convincing enough. If I want to eat my favourite comfort food, then I have to cook. It is as simple as that. That was when I first started to try out new recipes and experimenting with food. I realised that I actually enjoy cooking. It can be really fun to cook and bake. However, due to other commitments and I was only cooking for me (I also had to share the kitchen with other room-mates), so I decided not to invest too much time in the kitchen.
After becoming a full time homemaker with a growing family and responsibilities, cooking becomes more fun since I am no longer cook for myself, which was boring. Other than that I want to nourish my family with cook from scratch food using fresh ingredients because they are healthier and better for the budget than take-aways or instant food. In addition, I have a little helper to help me out. Kitchen has become my territory, a place I spend most time in. I also started to learn preparing proper German food and baking from my precious German mum-in-law, who happens to be an amazing cook and baker (her dad was a baker and they had a famous bakery/cafe in her hometown. It runs in her genes, I guess). I am mostly a self taught cook but whenever, I have a question, she is the person I always turn to. Also, I love to try out and experiment with new recipes inspired from other cultures for my family. It is always a satisfaction, when my family enjoys my meal.
This is the birth of chenguins.com. It is my digital food dairy where I record the recipes I have learnt throughout this culinary journey and I am glad to be able to share them with you. It is my little hobby. Being married to a German household and living in Germany for many years now, it is a pleasure for me to introduce the German kitchen to people who are not familiar with it.
This blog reflects my cooking style (4Fs) – Favourites, family friendly, flavourful, fresh from scratch.
Favourite classic recipes with a personal twist prepared with love. I do not own tend to take shortcut in preparation and will provide you a step-by-step guide.
Family friendly recipes inspired by other European culture to impress your love ones at home. I will show you good substitutes (where possible) for a kid friendly meal.
Flavourful meals with no compromise to sacrifice on taste.
Fresh from scratch dishes made from fresh and budget friendly ingredients so that you can whip up healthy and nourishing meals for your family.
What to expect from chenguins.com?
You will find
1. delicious German recipes: Having to live in Germany for many years, I can say that German food is not just about Wurst (sausage) and Kartoffel (potato). There are so much more to it.
2. recipes inspired by other cultures: I love trying new recipes and experimenting with food from other cultures as well. I usually get my inspiration from other European countries.
3. tried and tested family friendly recipes: All my recipes are what I cook in real life for my family (my recipe tasters). I will perfect a dish until we enjoy it. The recipes are truly tried and tested.
4. quick and easy recipes: On a day-to-day basis, you and I have many other commitments. We may not always have time to spend hours in the kitchen. Therefore, I appreciate some quick and easy meal ideas and I believe you too.
5. some hidden gems in the Black Forest (Germany): This has nothing to do with food. However, if we have the time, my family loves to explore new places and there are many hidden gems in the Black Forest yet to be discovered and they are usually unknown to tourists. I would love to share these secrets with you!
What not to expect from this blog?
You will not find
1. trendy recipes: I do not cook according to trend or follow a trend for the sake of it. I cook whatever I like. Even though I prefer cooking old time favourite dishes, I do try out new stuffs.
2. look-much-better-than-it-tastes recipes: We love food with big flavours. If a dish does not taste good, I will either perfect it or not cook it again. I will not sacrifice taste for looks.
3. recipes we do not enjoy: I only post recipes, which my family enjoys. There is no point posting meal ideas we do not like for the sake of posting.
4. recipes that require exact measurements (unless necessary): Feel free to improvise a certain recipe. If you love garlic or onions, then add more of it. Just because a dish calls for one onion that does not mean that you can’t add two. It is also perfectly fine to skip on a certain ingredient. It is all according to your taste and preferences.
Why chenguins?
My husband, Mystery German Man (MGM) and I have always wanted to work together. We dreamt of opening a cafe together. However, as broken students back then, it was impossible for us to do. We talked about it many times and just for fun I drew a penguin logo for our cafe because we both like penguins and it is simple to create.
Every company needs a name. MGM suddenly came up with the name “Chenguin” for the cafe because my family name is Cheng and the logo is a penguin (or Pinguin in German). Since we still do not own a cafe and I wanted a place to record my favourite home-made food recipes. This blog serves as my creative outlet and I decided to use chenguins (which means Chenguin’s) as our blog name.
You might be wondering, what is the edelweiss doing in the logo? Edelweiss does not have anything to do with penguins. However, it is my favorite flower. It reminds me of a childhood song, which I learnt in school “Edelweiss” from “The sound of music”
In a Nutshell
- This blog only shares recipes and products I truly love and my family approves it because my readers that is YOU are the most important to me.
- I welcome critics on recipes and appreciate them, so that we can all learn from each other. However, please do not leave mean comments or send me nasty email.
- You can also expect a new blog post and a video once a month (unless something unexpected caught up). Quality is more important quantity. Currently, I am working on another exciting project and will have to take a little break from this blog. I will be back soon! Join my Email List below to be notified!
- I read every comment and email. I will try my best to reply as soon as possible, unless it is a spam.
That’s all folks and until next time!
Greetings from the beautiful Schwarzwald
Pia 🙂
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