Mrs. Wee’s cooking journey began with lessons from her grandmother at the age of 10. Before long, Mrs. Wee blossomed into a well-admired cook, weaving a tapestry of Nyonya flavors that captivated Dr. Wee’s dignified guests and elevated Singapore’s cultural renown amongst diplomatic and political circles. Mr. S R Nathan, Singapore’s president from 1999-2011, praised her dishes as being “more than inviting.” Although her home-cooked Peranakan dishes were famous, her food was perhaps most cherished by those closest to her: her family. Mrs. Wee’s nutritious dishes nurtured her entire household. Her tapioca cakes were a precious source of income for the Wee family when Singapore fell to Japan in 1942. She meticulously crafted good food in the aftermath of her husband’s illnesses, tending to his recovery with unwavering care. Mrs. Wee’s children embraced her culinary legacy. Her daughter, Eng Hwa, had penned a cookbook of her mother’s recipes titled Cooking For the President: Reflections & Recipes of Mrs Wee Kim Wee.
Mrs. Wee was conscientious in both her cooking and her use of resources. Her daughter, Hong Neo, described her as follows:
"the most eco-friendly… She would save everything from the kitchen as waste. And it was turned into pigswill for somebody who came along on a bicycle and collected it from her house every day. She was also one of the first to recycle. During the war years, she sliced off rubber tires that she found discarded, and nailed them to her clogs so that they would last longer."