Not all of us celebrate Valentine’s Day, but the day itself serves as a wonderful reminder to cherish all the love and affection you receive. Whether if it’s from your family, your beloved or your friends, love is precious. Here, the GastroSense team pays tribute to the heartwarming memories that always make us smile.

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BING BLOKBERGEN-LEOW

Spinach Feta Folds from Kwaasong - photo credit: GastroSense

My husband Tino and I don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day. We say that every day is Valentine’s Day: it sounds like a joke, but we really believe it in our hearts. It’s important to us to try and show our appreciation for each other all the time. It doesn’t have to be big gestures. It can be the little things. For example, recently we’ve both gotten a little infatuated with the pastries from local brand Kwaasong. So when I am near one of their bakeries, I quickly pop in to buy Tino a little treat – like a couple of his favourite Pain au Chocolat, and whatever else looks good on their shelves that day. And Tino does the same for me. He always remembers my favourite too – whether he buys a few or a large box, there’s always my favourite Spinach Feta Fold. The bakes always taste better when he buys them!

MERISSA CHONG

My husband and I rarely celebrate Valentine’s Day, so when I think of love, I think of our family unit of four, and how my two sons have come to appreciate the same types of food as us. My elder 9-year-old loves anything spicy – the hotter, the better, and this includes chilli padi and sambal belachan! My younger 6-year-old is an adventurous eater who has been devouring everything from durian to chicken feet since he was three. And all four of us have overlapping food preferences: we share a love for beef steak, K-BBQ, Ramyeon, and curry amongst many other dishes. Not only does this make it easier to find a place to dine together, it also means we all enjoy the food. On our trip to Bangkok last August, we ate our way through the city! But one of our most memorable meals was completely unplanned – we went to dine at Supanniga Eating Room, an oldie but a goodie. We went there because it was convenient (just around the corner of our accommodation), but the spontaneous meal was delicious. It was the perfect way to cap off our foodie family trip!

L-R: Isaan Steak - Beef, from Supanniga Eating Room - photo credit: Merissa Chong; Potato Chips - photo credit: Beyond The Chicken Coop

GLADYS NG

My husband and I both have soft spots for snacks. Our favourites are chocolate and potato chips. When we were dating, he would keep a stash of KitKat in the kitchen and would expect me to finish them. The annoying part – whenever he saw me eating, he would jokingly tease me for snacking. This guilt-tripping has continued to this day, and we’ve been husband and wife for more than 12 years! Now the objects of our snacking desire are Kettle Chips and Coke or Pepsi on our home movie nights. He continues to tease me especially when we are shopping for groceries. While replenishing the chips, he would snicker at my gluttony while dishing out health advice that I should control my snacking habits. How annoying!

NICKMATUL HUANG

Fresh figs - photo credit: 2022 Anna_Pustynnikova/Shutterstock

My sisters and I have a fairly typical Asian family-style upbringing: care and affection was generally expressed through wordless grunts and fruit plates. Now that my sisters are all based overseas, we chat a lot more in our family WhatsApp group chat; I suppose it’s less embarrassing when you don’t have to look at one another’s face! Some years ago, when my third sister had newly settled down in Germany, I went to visit. I wanted to see how she was doing, and told her that I needed to clear my annual leave. I am sure she knew it was an excuse. Every morning, she would get up a little earlier so that she could present a plate of the freshest seasonal fruits, cut and peeled, for breakfast. I guess we missed each other a little!

SHERYL NEO

One of my fondest Valentine’s Day memories comes from my secondary school days. Back then, it wasn’t just about couples—it was a day filled with friendship and sweet surprises. What made it even more special was that no one ever actually planned it and there were no discussions. Yet, somehow, every year, we would all show up with little gifts for each other. Beautifully wrapped candies, homemade cookies packed into pretty gift bags and handwritten cards —it was an unspoken tradition that made the day feel extra special.

The excitement of exchanging treats, reading heartfelt notes, and knowing that everyone had put in effort to make each other feel special made Valentine’s Day something I always looked forward to. Even now, the memory makes me smile because it reminds me that love isn’t just romantic—it’s also the warmth of friendship, shared in the simplest yet sweetest way.

L-R: Floral Gift Box - photo credit: Cassia Canelés; Chicago Cheesecake - photo credit: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf MY

MATTHEW DE JESUS

My parents' anniversary is on 11 February, just three days before Valentine’s Day. So in my childhood, I spent most Valentine’s Days with them in a double celebration of both occasions. My dad has always gotten a burnt cheesecake for this celebration because it’s my mum’s favourite cake, but he usually tries to get them from a different place every year. One year, however, he left work very late and had to get one at the last minute from Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf as it was literally the only place open nearby. It was only a simple cheesecake – nothing fancy, but my mum and I enjoyed it very much. Somehow, we felt really moved: even though there was a small mishap, my dad still managed to keep to the cheesecake tradition. Now, every time I'm at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf by myself or with friends, I end up ordering a cheesecake, and the memory always puts a smile on my face.

MICHELLE LIM

Some weekends, my husband and I cycle along East Coast Park. Our rides always lead us to East Coast Lagoon, where we share a plate of smoky, caramelized BBQ chicken wings from Ah Hwee BBQ Chicken Wings — my absolute favourite. He knows I live for these little indulgences, just as I know he finds joy in spending time together. Some weekends, I secretly hope for rain, imagining the cosy alternative of staying in. But as soon as we’re on our bikes, side by side, I realise how much I appreciate these moments.

CLAIR ONG

Picture this: me and my girlfriends, armed with ambition, a questionable social media recipe, and absolutely zero cooking skills. We decided to tackle carbonara because, according to the internet, it was “so easy, even a toddler could do it.”

The first attempt was… well, let’s just say it was more “scrambled egg noodles” than carbonara. We forgot to temper the eggs (because what even is tempering?), and the cheese clumped together like it was staging a protest. But did we give up? Absolutely not. We had extra ingredients, a stubborn streak, and a playlist of early 2000s bops to keep us motivated.

By the third attempt, we were basically carbonara warriors. Was it the best carbonara ever made? Probably not. But did we feel like celebrity chefs? Absolutely.

What makes me smile about this memory isn’t just the food—it’s the chaos, the laughter, and the fact that we turned a kitchen disaster into a delicious victory.

L-R: Spaghetti Carbonara - photo credit: NYT Cooking; Korean Pot Rice - photo credit: Ee Jia Hui

EE JIA HUI

The first time I went to Seoul was with a close friend of almost 10 years, in August 2023. We tried this popular Korean restaurant named Solsot Pot Rice, and I was amazed by the flavours and texture. I loved it! I especially loved how the rice, cooked in an iron pot called sot, forms a crispy crust on the bottom known as nurungji. When we returned to Singapore, I was still dreaming about the pot rice. My sweet friend learnt of this, and secretly found a Korean restaurant specialising in pot rice, then took me there. Incredibly, it tasted exactly like what we had tried in Seoul. I was really touched; and we’ve made a date to go back to that restaurant together!

NATALIE WAN

One of my favourite Valentine’s memories is the evening I spent with a group of girlfriends wrapping dumplings together. The kitchen was filled with laughter as my girls and I tried—some successfully, some not—to fold the perfect pleats. Flour dusted our hands, and the occasional misshapen dumpling earned playful teasing. It wasn’t about perfection but the joy of making something together, sharing stories between folds, and sneaking bites of the filling. The warmth of that moment, the togetherness, and the simple act of creating something with love makes me smile every time I think of it.

L-R: Handmade Dumplings - photo credit: Natalie Wan; Picnic with pastries - photo credit: Isaac Wong

ISAAC WONG

Love doesn’t always need to be grand declarations or extravagant gestures. Sometimes, it’s in the little things like sharing our favourite pastries at sunrise. One Valentine’s Day, my partner and I decided to do just that. A quiet morning picnic at Dempsey Hill, just the two of us.

Armed with our cups of coffee, we laid out our little spread: a gula apong kouign amann, charcoal chicken sausage roll with garden herbs, pain au chocolat, kenari nut twice-baked croissant, sourdough croissant, and a mushroom XO and cheese toast.

As we sat on our picnic mat, sipping and munching away, she took the time to sketch out the scenic view we had in front of us whilst I went back to reading an old book that I’d yet to complete. It was peaceful, a rare pocket of stillness illuminated by the soft glow of the rising sun.

Stolen bites, playful teasing, and a quiet morning spent with the right person. It truly was, dare I say, perfect.