Tharman Shanmugaratnam & Wife Ate Orh Nee To Try To Conceive
With the presidential elections hot on their heels, the hopefuls are working the grounds so that Singaporeans can know more about them.
Though former Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam needs no introduction, he recently showed a rarely seen candid side.
On Thursday (17 Aug), Mr Tharman shared a charming video on Facebook where he spoke about his and his wife’s experience eating orh nee (Teochew yam paste).
Source: Facebook
They had decided to eat copious amounts of the dish when trying to start a family.
Decided to “whack” orh nee after researching Yoruba tribe
In the video, which was taken while he appeared to be speaking at an event, Mr Tharman recounted his experience eating many bowls of orh nee with his wife, Jane Yumiko Ittogi.
The newly confirmed presidential candidate started his story from the beginning, back when he and Ms Jane decided to have children.
Source: Facebook
Their research led them to learn about the Yoruba tribe in Africa, which is apparently known for producing many sets of twins.
Upon more digging, the couple realised that this may be due to the tribe’s yam-heavy diet.
“So Jane being Teochew, we decided to whack orh nee,” Mr Tharman quipped while referring to his gleeful wife.
Source: Facebook
“We didn’t know whether the husband was meant to eat it or the wife was meant to eat, so we both whack,” he chuckled as the audience burst out in laughter.
Source: Facebook
Couple had 4 kids but can’t claim science behind yams
The couple kept visiting Teochew restaurants for orh nee to the point where they had to ask them to make it less sweet.
After eating all that yam, their efforts seemingly paid off when they were blessed with four children.
Mr Tharman and his wife have three sons and a daughter together.
Though they went through all that trouble, he concluded that he can’t say they conceived because of the yams.
“So I can’t claim if there’s any science behind it,” he said. “But the orh nee was good.”
Just last month, Mr Tharman played the role of a proud husband, sharing more about his wife in a rare Facebook post.
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Featured image adapted from Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Facebook.
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