It is modern tradition to let the camera eat first to give onlookers on social media a peek at everything we eat. But for student artist Tam Ka-yan, a photo is not enough to capture what she loves most about food.
The 19-year-old Hongkonger crafts vibrant and warm illustrations of familiar Cantonese dishes, East Asian festival foods, and more treats from around the world. She shares her drawings with more than 76,000 followers on her Instagram account, @nomkakaii.
“I draw food from our culture, Hong Kong, because there’s always a story to share,” she said.
Drawing out the noise
From a young age, Tam had been enrolled in art classes, and the youngster enjoyed drawing as a way to “tune out the world”.
“[My mum] bought me a lot of comic books, and I would find myself sitting at the coffee table, copying the same pretty pictures, for ... hours,” the artist recalled.
Even in noisy environments, Tam had no problem expressing her creativity. “When people are so loud in Chinese restaurants ... I can’t hear anything else while I’m drawing, so it’s just me and my art,” she said.
Artist who left Hong Kong for Britain illustrates her nostalgia for the city
During her secondary education at Harrow International School, Tam created a hand-drawn recipe book for a project for her A-levels qualifications.
“What’s so important about the recipe book is that it shows your story and your taste,” she shared. “I kind of wanted to make my own recipe book that would pass down [to someone else].”
It took about two years to finish the 50-page book. Not only did this include illustrating each entry, but also waking up at 6am to perfect each recipe.
The experience inspired the artist to open her Instagram account in 2019 to share her food art, from watercolour paintings to ceramic sculptures.
“I will just draw what I ate ... kind of do a food journal,” she said, explaining why she started her account.
More than a tasty snack
Ever since Tam left her hometown to study in the United States, she has felt a stronger need to share about the city’s food culture.
“As someone from Hong Kong, it is also a duty of mine to show what we have,” said Tam, who is studying art and East Asian culture at the University of Southern California.
To introduce her audience to the Mid-Autumn Festival, she drew different types of mooncakes. She also illustrated her favourite childhood snacks, such as honey lemon tea candy, as well as cha chaan teng menu items like the Hong Kong-style French toast.
Posting about Hongkongers’ home-cooked food to record city’s memories
Amid the pandemic, she also realised that her art had taken on new meaning for Hongkongers abroad.
“There is a Hong Kong diaspora ... that couldn’t come back during the pandemic, so maybe I could draw something that made them feel more connected and remind them of home,” she explained.
In June 2021, the artist launched her online shop on Etsy, an e-commerce platform. She sold an illustrated beginner’s baking cookbook and stickers of her popular food drawings. She hoped these would give a taste of home to Hongkongers abroad.
Around the world on toast
The artist also uses her food illustrations as a way to connect with people from other parts of the world.
Last October, she introduced Everyday Toast, a project in which she draws a slice of bread with different toppings every day. Many of the toast sketches take inspiration from her followers around the world. From Dutch hagelslag, chocolate sprinkles on toast, to Welsh rarebit, a cheese-based sauce on bread, Tam’s work brings together a variety of culinary backgrounds.
“Toast ... is a canvas within the canvas,” she said, adding that bread had always been her comfort food and art inspiration. As a kid, Tam loved eating egg toast and listening to her mum discuss the origins of her favourite local buns and tarts.
“Whatever you put in your toast is reflective of your historical background – where you come from – the ingredients that you can source from your country ... It’s almost like a global study project.”
Ultimately, Tam’s goal is for her food art to give warmth and comfort to others. This is how she feels towards Studio Ghibli, the famous Japanese animation studio that inspires her style.
Looking ahead, the artist wants to collaborate with food influencers and other local artists, such as Little Thunder. She also hopes her Everyday Toast project can have its own exhibition one day – “just toast everywhere”, she envisioned.
For now, she will continue drawing slices of food culture. “When you are enjoying what you are doing, people will see and they will enjoy it too,” she said.
Additional reporting by Sue Ng
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