ABout

Who i am

Daytime, I work as a registered Pharmacist and Chinese Medicine Practitioner in Australia. In my free time, I make YouTube videos. I also create online courses to teach people like you who are keen to learn but don’t know where to start!

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is something that was instilled in me from a very young age. My father is a TCM Practitioner in Malaysia for 50 years and my brother has become a Chinese medicine practitioner too (picture below).

I grew up in my father’s clinic observing him consult patients, learn to identify herbs and their properties, and studied the philosophy and practice of traditional medicine. I was my father’s daughter and apprentice.

It is my father’s belief in the complementary nature of conventional and traditional medicine that encouraged me to further my studies in the healthcare industry. I first gained the Bachelor of Pharmacy in Australia, and eventually completed my studies in Master of Chinese Herbal Medicine and then Acupuncture in Australia. I also spent three years further my Chinese Medicine training in major Chinese Medicine hospitals in Shanghai, China.

It is a journey I never look back. It is still a very long path of learning and practising Chinese Medicine. Yet I really treasure every single step of this lifelong journey and smelling the roses along the way!

chp Story

Using herbs ‘at home’ has always been my passion. In fact, it is my life. Well, I literally lived at the back of my father’s clinic. My father’s dispensary is my mother’s pantry. Chinese herbal tea and herbal dishes are not special, they are norm on our dining table.

The wisdom and experience of Chinese medicine lifestyle, using herbs at home or food as medicine in everyday life used to pass down from older generations to younger generations. However, with the number of queries I received from my friends or patients, I noticed many haven’t been able to learn this tradition from their seniors. They would tell me, my mother knows how to cook this but I don’t know how to!

Well, in these modern days, who learn anything from our parents or grandparents anymore?! We learn everything from YouTubers and online courses, aren’t we?

I absolutely don’t want to see this ancient wisdom and tradition get lost in the passing of time.

THIS IS WHY I am here to share this art of healthy living based on Chinese Medicine philosophy with a broader community. I hope my channel and my online course will serve this purpose.

I am so excited that you are here learning with me and I will be with you every step of this journey!

fun facts about me

What I am

I am a foodie! Yes, I watch MasterChef too!
I designed & created this website all by myself!
I love travelling and I am a proud global citizen. I have lived in 5 countries (Malaysia, Australia, Canada, USA & China).
I used to blog about food and travel in Chinese language. I gained a small following but I haven't updated that blog for many years!
I once wanted to study film-making. I did eventually self-learnt and made a short documentary that was shortlisted in a competition. But didn't went into final. That was nearly 20 years ago though!
So, creating YouTube videos is another way of achieving this dream!

What I am not

I don't like to eat cold food, except sushi!
I am not a beach person. Maybe because I can't swim (shame!)
I didn't know how to cook until I came to Australia to study!
I dislike putting makeup on. So, going on camera for videos is actually very hard for me!
I don't like ghost movies because I am scared!
I knew nothing about western food until I came to Australia. Fresh milk, cheese, pasta, pizza etc almost never on my family dining table. It also took me a while to begin liking western soup. I still much prefer my Chinese herbal soup which is basically clear bone broth with some herbs and vegetables. No cream in soup please!

Connect with Shirley

Email : hello@chineseherbalpantry.com

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