CRUST CATALOG

A ZINE THAT GOES BY THE NAME CRUST CATALOG VOLUME 1: FOOD & SEX BY CHIN HUI WEN, THE FOUNDER OF SINGAPORE CEREAL BRAND EASTERN GRANOLA, TAKES US ON A JOURNEY TO EXPLORE ATTITUDES TOWARD SEXUALITY AND GASTRONOMIC APPETITES.

The ability to meet and mingle the flavors of the East and western wholegrain cereal into these strangely delicious tastes is one of the reasons that makes Eastern Granola, the homemade cereal brand from Singapore, stand out from the crowd. But aside from its Thai Mango Salad Granola or Royal Sultana Briyani Granola, a publication that goes by the name Crust Catalogue released one year after the brand was founded is equally interesting.

Crust Catalog Volume 1: Food & Sex by Chin Hui Wen, Photo by Ketsiree Wongwan

With a degree in Food Culture from New York University and track record as a former dining editor for sgnow.sg by Singapore’s SG magazine (run by Asia City Media Group (ACMG), the same creator of Thailand’s free copy, BK Magazine), it comes as no surprise to see Chin Hui Wen, the founder of Eastern Granola, finally publish his first semi-zine. Despite having only 36 pages, the creator’s attempt to put together the thematic content that revolves around relationships between food and people’s everyday lifestyles definitely pays off. With the first issue having Food & Sex as the theme, readers are taken on a journey to explore attitudes toward sexuality and gastronomic appetites for cereals of the Victorians, the sexual fetish driven by food and weight gain of a Feedism couple and the sexy taste of the hot and spicy elements in Thai food from the views of outsiders. Also added into the content is a playlist of dirty jazz music that is full of food innuendos with Don’t Touch My Tomatoes by Josephine Baker and Sam The Hot Dog Man by Lil Johnson among the list. The only downside of CRUST CATALOG VOLUME 1: FOOD & SEX is its articles, which are way too short (almost like reading unfinished stories). But all and all, we are still eager to see how the second issue, Food & Work, will play out and whether Hui Wen will be able to work out the flaws of his publication.