Many have called him a Makan Guru. Singapore has even proclaimed him their Ambassador of Food. Makansutra, his food guide to Singaporean hawker food (which is in its 7th edition) has been touted as a must-have foodie's bible. But if you ask KF Seetoh, he considers himself a simple storyteller and his guidebook, a mere roadmap to the joys of eating and a celebration of Asian food culture. Brash, outspoken but definitely passionate about food, KF has many, many stories to tell:

KF, tell us a little about yourself.

I took the non-academic route through this world. I was a photojournalist with papers in Singapore. I went on cold money, high profile kind of commercial photography work. After 15 years or so in that business, I wanted to move on to something else. I decided to do something with food because food, especially Asian food, has a story that has not been properly told. I used to tell stories through a camera, a pen and a laptop. But I thought, it is so much more interesting to tell a story through flavors.

What is Makansutra? Where did it all begin?

Makan is the Malay word for food and eating. Sutra is [the] Sanskrit word for guide. So if you string them together, it [Makansutra] really means food guide. No rocket science there.

I coined the word Makansutra when I was arguing with a French [acquaintance]. It was in the early '90s. He was a foodie who loved Asian food. He was talking food and he was going on and on about the French culinary heritage. I said, "Bullshit...You guys are not fit to tell us Asians what is good." We have our own palate. I thought that we need a food bible–a Makansutra. I came up with [the] name first then I started to think what hell was I going to do with this name? Let's begin with a food guide–that began in 1996. At the time, there were no food guides that gave credence to the rich, street/comfort food culture of Asia.