My Food Lens, Singapore (2026)

Dyutima is an architect turned food stylist, food photographer & the first South Asian woman to run a food photography podcast. It’s called My food Lens, also the name of her food styling and photography business,

Her motto is, ‘put your best food forward’. After 15 years of studying & practicing architecture, designing healthcare facilities around the world, Dyutima found her passion in food st

yling & photography. She is a commercial and editorial photographer and has also done art direction for a gourmet magazine. Her photography style rides on powerful & energetic visual storytelling. The colour and texture of ingredients, complexity of flavors and the sheer joy of cooking, inspire her photography. Her photos instil emotions and evoke nostalgia while bringing a strong sense of movement to the frame. With an architectural background, she creates modern yet artistic compositions of food by turning a 2-dimensional photo into 3-dimension with light, and adding a 4th dimension of emotion.

03/02/2026

My dad officially complained that I was feeding them too much salad.🤭

Kale & tangerine is one of my favorite salad combinations.
I made another version with endive, fennel & orange for my parents when they were here few weeks ago.☘️

After a few days, my Dad officially protested.
He said I eat & feed others way too much salad.
And while that is 100% true 🤭, I also chuckled at how roles had reversed.
As kids we thought Dad ate way too much salad.😅

Infact, My sister thinks I’m a cow.
One day I video called her.
She said hello but I couldn’t speak. My mouth was stuffed with the biggest spinach leaves with the stems sticking out.😜
No one spoke. All we heard were loud leafy crunches. My sister stared at me.
And I had made the call .. not her 😂.

So yep - after all the cancellations, life loss, tears and life shifts, my parents finally visited us last month.
And it was a trip unlike any other..❤️

Unlike past visits, we didn’t pack our days with sightseeing or picnics.
Instead, we spent time at home immersed in stories of life & our childhood.🥹

Instead of adrenaline filled activities, we chose coffee mornings & quiet sunsets.🌤️

We ate out but not as often as before.
We chose hearty homemade meals huddled around the table over heartfelt conversations.🫶🏻

We didn’t go shopping at all.
Life felt so complete that nothing more was needed.
Even the replenishment wasn’t replaced but instead bid goodbye because life felt better with less.✨

This was an emotional trip because of my Nani’s passing but also because I had changed, which changed everything, including my time with my parents.🥹

When we change on the inside, the world outside feels different when actually the only thing that’s changed is us.🌼

I left behind old ways & time with them was even more beautiful. Peaceful. Sacred.🧿

Even if it was filled with way too much salad.🤭

2026 started with life shifts.
Changed relationships.
Healing & realisations.
It started with blessings.
With life coming to a full circle - Dad handing me the torch as the salad eater of the family.☘️💪🏼

I now proudly carry the family kale .. err.. I mean.. family name.😍😜

How has 2026 started for you? 🫶🏻🫶🏻

16/01/2026

I learnt to make this biryani from my mom.😍
Low on heat but high on flavour, floating in the aromas of coriander & mint - it’s definitely going to be on the menu when they are here tomorrow.

Yep, tomorrow! 🥹

My parents were to visit last month & spend New Years with us but my grandma passed unexpectedly and they had to cancel the trip.

My heart broke. I cried.💔

A lost loved one. A cancelled trip. A missed chance to see my parents. And I thought December was supposed to be festive?😞

But I knew the Universe must’ve had a reason for things to turn out this way.
I surrendered to it. Surrendered to the timing. To the unfolding of life. .. or the loss of it.

And went about saying, “The Universe will make it happen when the time is right”❤️‍🩹
.. JLT, suddenly, out of the blue, few days ago I got a message from my dad that they had rebooked their tickets.
They were coming to visit us.
I began to cry. Again.
You know I cry for everything.🥹

It’s been a tough month for them. After completing all the last rites and rituals for my grandma, they need a change of energy.☘️

It’s going to be a short trip and even though 5 days seem short, when every hour is filled with love, the clock stops counting & the heart starts feeling.
Time stretches. It multiplies.✨

I’ve made this biryani many times but this time, I won’t be on the phone with mom asking for directions.😝

She’ll be in the living room sipping her coffee & I’ll be in the kitchen shouting my lungs out asking the same questions… Making her wish she was on the phone 😂

December might have been tough but January is bringing love .. and also biryani… because afterall, biryani is Love. 😍

Any biryani fans here?🤩

23/12/2025

———

〰️ I’m heartbroken 💔 〰️

Waiting to see your loved one breathe their last is one of the hardest things in life.

➖➖➖➖➖
My parents had to cancel their trip. They were to be with us next week to celebrate New Years but life had other plans. 😞

My Nani (mom’s mom), living in the same city as my parents, suffered a stroke last week.
She was rushed to the ICU.
My Dad, a Neurologist, stepped in not just as the son in law, but also as her doctor.

She was over 90 years. The stroke left nothing. The damage was irreversible. She went into a coma, for 5 unending days.

Mom was by her side all the time. Even though Nani didn’t respond, she felt mom’s presence.
Nani was sinking everyday & we knew it was only a matter of time..

No one can fight life. If we had our way, we would never let our loved ones go.🫂

Yesterday morning, mom read a prayer to Nani & stroked her forehead.
〰️ That was Nani’s last breath 〰️

I had pushed myself to go ahead with my strength session & in the middle of the training, my phone buzzed.
I couldn’t believe what I read. Ran out of the gym, crying on the phone with mom.

My grandma’s passing is the end of an era for us 🤍

I know my mom is going through way more but right now I’m dipping into what feels peaceful.
I’m still moving - not in indifference or trying to be strong. I’m moving in vulnerability. Raw emotions flowing & nourishing them. Slow, silent & self soothing.

My Nani lived wholesomely. She left peacefully, giving us enough time for acceptance so that all we felt was an appreciation for her long healthy life.

💔 I’m heartbroken but also know that .. . some departures aren’t a mourning of loss.

They are a cherishment of life
Memories brought alive
A thread of lineage
A legacy left behind
Lessons to remember
A reason to reunite
Tears that aren’t sorrow, but remnants of joy.
Leaving us celebrating what life is about .. ☘️

She lives on in our hearts for showing us what a full life looks like..

〰️ Life must be filled with nothing but love ❤️ 〰️

———————-////———-

18/12/2025

I made this festive Dundee cake. Not 😅
Hey, but my mom did, the last time she visited us over Christmas.

Growing up, I loved Dundee cake & coaxed my mom every Christmas to bake one.🎄

And guess what, we’ll be having a déjàvu experience, baking yet another laborious Dundee cake this year, because my parents are visiting us soon 🥹

I’m the daughter who doesn’t 📞 call that often, who doesn’t respond to messages, or take the lead to organise family vacations, the one who challenges traditions.
I’m “the rebel”.🫢

But I’m also the daughter who turns into a child whenever the parents visit. The one who cares about love more than the norms.
The one who never forgets the sacrifices the parents made all those growing up, and remembers that everytime she says grace.💕

She knows dad & she hold different opinions on life, but unlike debating like before, she creates space for his thoughts, accepting his views with a smile.🫶🏻

There’s an excitement that builds up every time the parents visit.
I slip into being that baby daughter
& then a slip into proud mode to show them the “grown up” life we’ve built.☘️

Parents visits aren’t just visits.
These are portals between the past & present - a wave of nostalgia steadied by what exists today.💫

Whether it’s getting mom to bake a dundee cake, or quibbling with dad for old times sake, I relive every bit of my childhood in their presence, not just turning myself into a child again but making them feel like parents again.✨

I might not be the daughter who calls, but I’m the daughter who recalls ..❤️

What’s your plan for this December?❄️

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Singapore

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https://myfoodlens.com/

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