THE pandemic has turned many households upside down and also brought many businesses to their knees. But there’s always a silver lining at the end of the storm and this is how Eddie Chin and his wife Chidchanok Leebut discovered their rainbow when they started their home-based food business – A Taste of Siam.
Eddie was a Grab driver during the early stages of the pandemic but as luck had it, his car broke down and he could ill-afford to pay for his car insurance. Having to care for his wife and two-year-old child, he was at the crossroads on what he could do to earn a living.
“Like many who were hard hit by the pandemic, I encountered many challenges. I quit my job as a Grab driver a few months back as I couldn’t afford to pay for my car insurance and the car repairs.”
“Then, one of my family members was down with Covid-19. That got me thinking hard on how to keep my family safe. Alarm bells rang as back then none of us had been vaccinated,” he said.
Eddie said his financials went downhill with his savings all depleted and he could no longer pay for his house rental and even his car installment.
“I was the sole breadwinner. My wife and I were depressed as at one point we could not even buy milk or diapers for our daughter. Thankfully a friend helped us out with some basic necessities and it was during this time that we did some soul searching.”
“My wife who is Thai could cook and that’s when we started our home-based authentic Thai food business,” he added.
A Taste of Siam has over the past two months brought mouth-watering delights from the Kingdom of Thailand to our neighbourhood.
Eddie and Chidchanok have been diligently cooking in their kitchen dishes which we normally enjoy when on a trip to Thailand. These include the signature Clear Tomyam Seafood; Green Curry Chicken; Deep Fried Siakap with (Homemade Sauce); Lime Steam Grouper Fish; Thai Stew Pork Leg; Chilled Cold Salad Chicken Feet; Fried Squid; Grilled Cuttlefish; Cockles; Herb Chicken Lemongrass; Steam Fresh Crab With Homemade Dipping Sauce and Stir Fried Flower Crab With Egg & Thai Curry to name a few.
“We are only able to take small pre-orders for family meals. Presently we are opening up orders for weekends and public holidays but with the encouraging response we’ve been getting, we may consider cooking more often.”
“We have been fully vaccinated and with the income that’s coming from this food business, we are now able to slowly settle our rental arrears with our landlord,” he said.
Are you interested in trying out some of Chidchanok’s cooking? Give them a call at 016-222 9895.