SINGAPORE – This National Day, Ms Trishna Goklani, who has lived in the United Kingdom for the last five years, will be having a celebratory meal of chicken rice.

“If I don’t manage to cook it from scratch, I’ll head straight down to Mei Mei London, one of my favourite places to have a taste of home,” said the 27-year-old, who works as a digital and social lead at an online independent marketplace, referring to a restaurant serving Singaporean cuisine.

She first arrived in London in 2016 to pursue a degree in fashion journalism at the University of the Arts London.

Asked if the idea of home or being Singaporean has changed for her since the pandemic, the former Temasek Polytechnic student said that home has always been more of a feeling rather than anything tangible.

“So I don’t think anything has changed since moving abroad. But that being said, nothing can take away the pride of being Singaporean.

“I do miss the little things about being in Singapore, like the supper culture and, of course, all the incredible food we have.”

She was last in Singapore in December 2019 to attend a cousin’s wedding, but has not been home since because of the pandemic.

Her wish for Singapore this year is for racial relations to improve – an issue that has made headlines lately. She said: “As a minority who has spent a good portion of her life in Singapore, I think it’s about time we discuss the issues of racism, which has always been there, and giving minorities like myself a safe space to share about these things, instead of sweeping them under the carpet under the guise of ‘keeping the racial harmony’. I think we can do much better.”