A cooling tea to wipe out bitter memories

Despite the sun, sea and sand, one of my most painful memories of growing up on a tropical island was the heat.

The dog days are not confined to a few months of summer like here, but the sun glares down on you all year round in Singapore.

It is the high humidity that made the heat stick. It becomes a sweltering mix that parches throats, gives mouth ulcers and causes nose bleeds.