If You’ll Indulge Me: Charlie Kwok, Tastemaking Baking Enthusiast Chockywoky Exudes a Youthful Vibrance
Having been a prominent member of the Singapore food blogger scene since an unbelievably young age of fourteen, Charlotte “Charlie” Kwok or @chockywoky, is a familiar name to numerous foodies — especially those who adore all things pastry.
Besides capturing some of the most tantalising images of pastry floating about the internet, both as an independent content creator and a freelance food photographer, Charlie also enjoys documenting her ardently honest thoughts on her daily exercises in gluttony.
Perhaps the most impressive addition to her resume? Baking blondies in collaboration with ice cream behemoth Ben & Jerry’s — a qualification sure to add credence to Charlie’s authority on bakes. But her greatest love is still, undeniably, granola. Mere mentions of the hearty breakfast food can launch her into an impassioned TED Talk espousing its countless virtues — in her completely unbiased view, at least.
The person behind Chockywoky is a closed book even to many of her long-standing blogging contemporaries, given that she’s someone who’s mostly private and self-described as “weird”. So we’re here to unveil the real Charlie Kwok, to get the down-low of the quirky wunderkind who’s grown up witnessing the Singapore F&B scene’s transformation in the last decade.
1. Hello Charlie, can you give us a brief introduction of yourself?
Charlie Kwok: Hello, I’m Charlie, I’m 22 this year! The two things I do very often are baking and eating out but other than that, I also enjoy working out by doing some Yoga or Bouldering. I’m in my third year as a student right now at SMU but I also do food photography on the side if anyone wants to hit me up!
2. What would you say are your favourite types of food as someone who admits to eating a lot?
Charlie Kwok: Obviously, I love Pastry but… I love Alcohol! *laughs* (Editor’s note: and here’s where yours truly launched into a long monologue about my favourite bars and drinks in Singapore.)
Ok, I’m kidding. It’s true that I used to frequent bars a lot actually but just haven’t quite had the luxury recently due to other commitments and school workload. Coincidentally, a friend just recently reminded me of Chihuly Lounge (now rebranded as Republic Bar) which I used to frequent since I loved the team there.
I also used to visit Manhattan a lot and have had some pretty wild nights, like that one time where I was five or six drinks in and I tumbled backwards while seated at the bar, then proceeded to take a shot and oafishly destroyed the glass. Now that I say it out loud, I sound like the worst customer possible. *laughs*
For food in general though, I adore Japanese food with the exception of ramen, which I feel often comes with a disproportionate amount of noodles while not having enough soup and misc ingredients to balance it from surfeit.
Interestingly, I actually have this long list of places in my notes called “Charlotte’s Gluttony List” where I note down the best places I’ve been to and there’s a massive section dedicated to Japanese. In short, Oden and Sushi, along with a recent obsession with Japanese Sandos where I’m on a hunt for a good and affordable one, since prices can be on the exorbitant side.
Other than that, I also love Chinese food with a huge shoutout to one of my favourite dishes, the Braised Lotus Root Stuffed With Glutinous Rice at Imperial Treasure Takashimaya. There’s once I ordered a plate and no one else at the table wanted it and finished up the whole thing myself happily!
Oh, how could I forget — I also absolutely love Granola!
3. starting out when you were just fourteen gives you the unique perspective of a coinciding adolescence phase with our F&B scene — any thoughts on its growth in the past decade?
Charlie Kwok: It’s kinda weird because I remember eating out at certain places when I was younger and they were just starting out — and now they’ve got Michelin Stars and have grown into successful, thriving businesses. I think that experience of witnessing these businesses grow and flourish is one of the things that spark the most joy in me.
Not just that, the scene has also become more vibrant and multi-faceted. For example, the cocktail bar scene used to mainly revolve around classic-style bespoke stalwarts such as D.Bespoke but nowadays, you can discover so much diversity with a multitude of well-defined unique recipes that creatively explore flavours.
On the content creator side, the scene wasn’t as developed and foodie Instagram wasn’t as big of a thing back then. Blogs used to be on the top of the food chain but everything has moved to Instagram now and blog readership has recessed, as a chunk of the audience became casual readers hastily rummaging through the myriad of listicles.
I also feel the perspective from the reviewers’ angle has narrowed as the scene expanded since the public’s attention mostly rested on a few industry leaders. Plus the quality of writing has possibly dipped, with a tendency towards manufactured “PR-friendly” content.
Basically, diversity was diluted due to a measured adherence to commercial viability, as more new content creators subsequently entered the scene while familiarised with that tried-and-true blueprint, where they stick to simple copywriting in fear of being excluded from media lists. Nowadays, many of the “indie” voices have moved onto platforms such as Burpple where they are at liberty to preach their honest opinions.
Sure, it’s understandable to want to toe the line but being critical of shortcomings doesn’t mean being offensive or rude. Many times, that fear leads to rehashing press releases almost verbatim — it’s frustrating because I want to read genuine opinions on the food, about its taste or texture! When you research, you’re looking for items worth ordering so creators who essentially function as press release echo chambers don’t help me as a consumer, or as a fellow member of the foodie community.
I crave informative, cognisant thoughts instead of bland, banal statements like “this was tasty” or the tedious repetition of trite phrases such as “xxx had the right amount of umami”. Say something, add some substance to it. While I grew out of adolescence, maybe the grammar and vocab of these reviews still stayed in primary school. In a way, it’s actually deteriorating relative to the ever-improving F&B scene. *laughs nervously*
4. As an accomplished baker yourself, do you think that helps you in your content creator work?
Charlie Kwok: I’m not an accomplished baker… I just make granola in a ratchet setup. *laughs* (Me: Being invited to collaborate with Ben & Jerry’s is a measure of accomplishment, surely?) Ok, I still don’t know why someone like Ben & Jerry’s reached out but that was pretty fun.
Onto the topic at hand, my own kitchen experiences allowed me to be a bit more sympathetic and not as overly critical of forgivable inconsistencies. That’s despite holding strong opinions on many places — like how I would vehemently argue that a certain Three-Michelin-Starred French outfit is one of the worst meals I’ve had due to its prestige and price tag but I really had to force myself to finish, to avoid letting the expensive meal go to waste.
In the case of deliveries and media drops, I’ll happily let it slide when things like Croissants are just not as puffy as they can be — maintaining consistency in baking is a bafflingly hard pursuit, especially in our climate! If you were looking to make money, you wouldn’t go into F&B. Sometimes, there are just mistakes beyond your control and I try to give constructive feedback because I wouldn’t want to be abused for something beyond my own control (i.e. weather, transport, time kept) if it were my own bakes!
5. What are some trends from recent years that you’ve grown to love or hate?
Charlie Kwok: I love how the artisan bakery scene has blossomed with sourdough bread becoming the sensation it is today because I personally have a soft spot for Woodlands Sourdough, where I spent many of my good JC days due to proximity to campus. Their closing even poetically coincided with my graduation.
The other bright spot is how the community for bagels have been growing quite strongly, despite still being a very young scene, but we have many new places and home-bakers besides TMBH that have been gaining traction —such as Able Bagel and Jiababa— and poised to propel local bagels to the next level.
As for my hated trends, I actually cannot fathom many of the bakes that had trended on IG. Burnt Cheesecakes (that intentionally underbaked core is a health hazard waiting to happen), Blackout Brownies (it’s just such a boring trend), Fat Macarons, and Over-the-Top Cookies (particularly that popular brand that tastes unpleasant)… Basically uninspired creations that just lose their charm eventually while only looking spiffy for the gram.
Along with that is the trend of overused fillings that aren’t given the respect they deserve. You know, like mindlessly slapping Mentaiko and Matcha (especially the strange obsession with unnecessarily bitter Matcha, mistaking it for “quality”) on everything. I guess you can say I’m just like a hipster grandma who hates everything trendy. *laughs*
6. Are there any pastry chefs that you look up to and will be keen to collab, and what will be the scope of the collab?
Charlie Kwok: Genevieve Lee from Sourbombe Bakery, of course! *laughs* No, not just because we’re good friends but I actually had this outrageous idea that can only be done with Sourbombe and I think it deserves to be released into the wild. It’s a doughnut made with their soy sauce caramel and the caramelised onions used in one of the Croissants, then jazzed up with some pickled onions and sour cream. That’s the dream.
Or else, it’s gotta be Christina Tosi. I’m actually a big Milk Bar fan and I make the Naked Layer Cake every year for my birthday. Things can get too sweet but ultimately, her vision is fun, quirky, and whimsical without being pretentious. It’s alright to even get a little messy. I’ll probably work on a breakfast box with them, especially with my love for granola!
7. Imagine you set up your own Factory ala Charlie’s Chocolate Factory, what would Charlie Kwok’s Factory be like?
Charlie Kwok: (Editor’s note: In typical sociology major fashion, she really said…) A factory where everything, in totally capitalist fashion, is focused only on making money!
(Me: So no Charlie’s Granola Factory with corgis acting as Oompa Loompas?)
Ok, in honest truth, a lot of people have thrown out the question of my dream bakery but I have to confess, I don’t have any ideas — not even in my deepest, wildest fantasies. I just want to make a lot of money and just continue looking hot (editor’s note: humble queen alert) and…
So basically, yes I will choose to open a Charlie’s Sweatshop Factory with Nike vibes because who needs ethics anyway? *laughs diabolically*
8. Describe yourself in tasting notes.
Charlie Kwok: I don’t know exactly but if I had to pick something to embody myself, it would be Black Garlic because I’m expensive and tasty but also distinctly pungent, in a good way. Also, since it’s as black as my sweatshop-loving heart! *reiterates for emphasis*
9. What are three last-meal-worthy places in Singapore for you?
Charlie Kwok: Sage by Yasunori Doi — Because I love Chef Doi —the love of my life *laughs*— and I will be sure to order the curry rice even though I normally don’t have stomach space for it.
Cloudstreet — I love Chef Rishi! It’s a sentimental place where I’ve brought some of my tutees to after graduation (editor’s note: sign me up for the tuition, sensei) plus they have all the Pedro Ximenez Wine I need in curation, so I can pair everything with it and I love it!
Tatsuya — Well, I love Japanese food and sushi in general and Tatsuya is just such a homely establishment, so it’s a comfortable place for me where I truly enjoy myself.