#MumStory: Family Meals Are Non-Negotiable For Her

#MumStory is a series by The Singapore Women’s Weekly to uncover the underrated and underreported moments in motherhood, parenting and everything in between — because we believe every mum has a story worth telling. Got a story to share? Email us at sww@sph.com.sg or slide into our DMs on Instagram.

Elin Soo had a somewhat atypical childhood. With her mother running a beauty salon and her father helming a shipping business, Elin spent many hours at her parents' workplaces. Home-cooked meals were rarity; instead, the family frequented zi char stalls for dinner. Those nightly gatherings cemented the 38-year-old's love for family meals.

"Even though we mostly ate out, my mum still wanted to give us the homely Chinese vibe with san cai yi tang (three dishes and a soup). And she made it a point to cook during Chinese New Year," shares Elin.

Today, as a mother to two girls aged 12 and 10, Elin continues to perpetuate the love of family meals with a fully kitted kitchen where she cooks for her family twice week despite running Cook With Love, the official distributor for home appliances brand Teka.

But she concedes that it is hard for working parents to prep warm nutritious meals for the family every single day. "After everyone knocks off, there's still commute time to factor in. But we have the weekends to do up simple meals. To me, it isn't about the food we cook, since no one is expecting restaurant standards. It's about the time we spend together in the kitchen or gathering at the table," she says.

Read on for her #MumStory, as Elin shares how food has become a central part of family bonding moments, the ups and downs of being business partners with her husband, and how she's balancing the demands of work and family with the support of her village.

How did you learn to cook?

I started to cook a little bit when I started working for Teka, the German appliance brand about 15 years ago. I used the appliances in the showroom and then practised at home. Balancing work and family life can be challenging, but home-cooked meals have become a way for me to foster family time. On a typical week, I aim to cook at least two days, while on other days, our helper takes charge so we can focus on work. We also try to eat out once a week and spend the weekends with the grandparents. Though finding time to cook isn’t always easy, I believe in making these family meals moments to connect and unwind.

What do you like preparing at home?

While I’m comfortable with simple Chinese dishes, my real passion lies in Western meals — mainly because my family loves beef. My daughters are big fans of steaks and burgers. My go-to recipes include steaks, steak sandwiches, and burgers, often paired with baked or mashed potatoes — my personal favourites.

My go-to cheat meal at home is a simple yet satisfying steak with baked potatoes. My younger daughter Cyan likes it with rice while my husband needs his side of steamed greens. I enjoy experimenting with different cuts of beef. The best part? It all comes together in about 30 minutes or less, making it perfect for those hectic evenings.

A family tradition I hold dear is making mee sua soup with two hard-boiled eggs on my husband's birthday, symbolising longevity. It’s a dish his mother lovingly prepared for over 20 years, and I’ve taken over this tradition.

Where are your favourite places to eat out as a family?

Eating out can be quite an adventure! I’m a strict carnivore — no vegetables at all — while my husband is the opposite and loves his greens. Our eldest, Magenta, gravitates toward Western dishes, while Cyan is cuisine-agnostic but likes her rice with sauce. To keep everyone happy, we often opt for air-conditioned food courts since they offer a variety that caters to all our preferences. We have started a family tradition of taking turns to pick dining spots that satisfy everyone's palate. This has been a fun way for us to explore new places as a family.

Your girls cook and bake as well. What do you enjoy making with them?

Yes, my girls are quite comfortable in the kitchen, especially when it comes to baking. They’ve been practising with my mum’s help.

Cyan has a knack for baking cookies and, interestingly, frying scrambled eggs (probably because she loves having eggs with rice). Magenta, our 12-year-old, enjoys making spaghetti and mac and cheese; she has become quite good at both.

They’re still a bit hesitant around open-flame cooking, so we use induction hobs which are safer and easier for them to handle. We try to make simple dishes like cookies, easy pizzas and pasta. It's fun to buy the ingredients, and then follow the steps in a recipe. It's more enjoyable when we do it together, rather than alone.

What advice do you have for parents who want to cook more nutritiously but don't know how?

They can start with something simple like desserts, since kids love dessert. We enjoy doing yogurt with steamed apple or pear slices. Just pop the fruit into the steamer for 15 minutes and add yogurt on top. It used to be ice cream but we switched to yogurt as a healthier option.

For our family, after dining out, we often come home and bake treats like lava cake, to end our family bonding time on a meaningful note. Sharing conversations over dessert has become one of my favourite pastimes — otherwise, everyone tends to drift off to their rooms.

Did you set out to become an entrepreneur?

I never had any grand plan to start a business. I joined Teka as a sales exec in 2009. Before that I was a dog groomer! Around 2018 or 2019, Teka wanted to exit Singapore and was looking for a distributor to take over. The opportunity was floated to me and I decided to seize it. I set up the company Cook With Love to run the distributorship. Many of my colleagues then are still my colleagues now. They gave me the courage to take on the challenge. We recently moved into a 6,000 sq ft Teka Singapore Experience Centre at Kaki Bukit.

What is it like to run a business with your husband?

My husband Francis joined me two years ago. Even before he became part of the company, I would often seek his advice on marketing because he has a background in advertising. His creative and strategic mindset balances my sales-driven approach so we complement each other very well.

It's fun to work with my husband, and comforting to know that there's someone supportive of you personally and professionally. We haven't had any conflicts so far, hopefully never! The only challenge is that we tend to talk about work all the time, even during meals!

How do you and your husband balance work and family?

My husband and I don’t follow a strict clock-out schedule since we both manage our own business, but we always aim to wrap up by 6-ish in the evening. I continue any remaining work after our daughters go to bed, usually around 9pm or slightly after.

Taking a leaf from my parents, we always have dinner together whether it's at home, outside or at the grandparents' homes. This is when the kids share about their day and we share ours. On weekends, we make it a point for the children to spend time with their grandparents on both sides. Since the kids were as young as one or two, they have been spending Friday nights over at either my parents' or my husband's parents' home. My parents have even taken the girls to Kuala Lumpur on their own, and are planning a trip to Beijing next year. My husband and I then get our own time every Friday.

Public holidays are sacred family time for us and we go out together then. Since we don't have a lot of time together during the weekdays, we prioritise quality. We’ve found that casual conversations — about anything and everything — help us connect. The girls naturally open up about their day, whether it’s school, their interests, or the latest trends. It gives us insight into their world and helps strengthen our relationship.

Your daughters are interestingly named after colours, Magenta and Cyan. Why is that so?

My husband is a designer so the idea came naturally. We both colours and thought, why not? We also have pets with colour names. Our poodle who passed two years ago was Brown Brown. Our cats now are named Whitey and Amber.

Do you hope that your girls take over the business one day?

Kids these days have a mind of their own. You can't talk them into their future jobs. They want to do a lot of fun things, like maybe being an air stewardess because they want to travel. We'll let them work things out on their own.

What's your parenting approach?

Both my husband and I grew up with fairly traditional "no-nonsense" parenting styles, but we try to take a different approach. We aim to be more like friends to our daughters. We share moments from our day, joke around, and even talk nonsense with them, which has really brought us closer as a family.

Right now, the girls and I are really into Labubu (The Monsters), and we often share new discoveries about it — it’s one of our fun ways to bond. My husband tries his best to join in, but for some reason, he just can’t seem to get into the Labubu craze... which gives us all a good laugh!