Father's Day 2022: A Tribute to the Dads in My Life

Ruyi & Lyn's Lyn Siew pays tribute to the two most important men in her life: her father, Dato' Sri Phillip Siew, and her fiancé, Chef Joeri Timmermans

I owe so much of my upbringing, well-being and who I am to my dad, Phillip Siew. The leader of our family 'wolf pack', dad worked incredibly hard all his life (and still refuses to retire) to ensure that we always have basic securities throughout our lives—although he had never spoilt us with his strict Asian parenting style. His firm 'no flattery, no favouritism' demeanour had instilled so much of discipline in our upbringing that I don't anything for granted. Instead, he taught us to be grateful, be kind and be generous to others. Dad is the epitome of that all his life and his career.

Dad also taught me that there is no harm in over-feeding friends because no one would ever complain of being overfed! When we were younger, my dad would drive us to a fried dumpling stall at an abandoned carpark on Jalan Imbi to take away a bagful. I will always remember his profound words in the midst of the vast construction that were then taking place around the area: “We're here because one day these wontons are going to disappear—please eat all you can!”

He was right; the stall is sadly no longer there today.

Above Dato' Sri Phillip Siew and a young Lyn (Photo: Lyn Siew)

Dato' Sri Phillip Siew and a young Lyn (Photo: Lyn Siew)

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Becoming a mum last year also brought another father figure into my life, Joeri Timmermans, who is my fiancé, my life partner and the father of our daughter, Pixie. Parenting presents an entire league of challenges but having a supportive partner by my side makes motherhood easier. Joeri’s dedication to being hands-on when looking after our daughter makes me truly appreciate the value of fatherhood. It takes equal hard efforts by both parents to make parenthood truly enjoyable, even if it means changing a mountain of dirty diapers every day!

Embarrassingly, Joeri, being Dutch, has more Asian eating habits than I do. He eats intestines, hearts, kidneys and every bizarre delicacy with no qualms. I just can’t. If there’s anything he would teach our daughter it would be to NOT be a food snob but to try everything. There is often a surplus of food in our house. I can’t pinpoint a specific family recipe he would pass down but Joeri loves caviar. He would top all his dishes with caviar if he could, especially on fried chicken. Our 8-month-old Pixie eats caviar too!