A friend of my mum asked her to visit during Chinese New Year. Hence mum asked me to join along. With the day free, I decided to join in too. It was an interesting experience for me, as this was actually my first time visiting a Chinese house during the lunar new year.
When we arrived, Iris, one of mum’s friends told us that it was a custom to give a pair of mandarin oranges to the oldest member of the house. Oranges symbolises gold as the word orange sounds like gold, in Chinese.
My venusaur protecting my gold
Inside, it was very lively with the chatter of the other visitors already inside. There were a plentiful of food and drinks. I looked around and there were a number of decorations such as calligraphy in bright red parchments. These were pasted on the walls and the doors. These was supposed to bring in wealth and luck.
And that was when the granny handed me the ang pow - little red packets with money inside. Ang pows are given from the married to the unmarried people. I’m not too sure why though. But being given the red packet made me surprisingly happy. I felt like a kid again during hari raya, being given our own green packets :)
After spending a lovely time snacking and talking with mum’s friends, we made our move. Interestingly enough, the host took out a box of oranges and asked us to take a pair. She said, “You’ve given us gold, so we are repaying you back with gold”
Those gold are going to go into my stomach :D
Happy Chinese New Year everyone. Enjoy the wonderful weekends :)
Though we were both worn out by the end of the day, we both enjoyed ourselves immensely and had the loveliest time at the zoo.
That tiger is looking at us like we were food
Sun, 30 Dec 2007
Longtime netbuddy, Geri, whom is a staff at the Zoo, has very generously offered Cart and I tickets there. As the Singapore Zoo is famous for its open zoo concept, I was quite excited to bring Cartcart here. The last time that I was here was in 1998 and I was curious to know what new developments was in there.
We reached the place in the early afternoon after taking a long and leisurely bus ride. By the time we reached there, it was already quite crowded with people.
The place has certainly changed since the last time I’ve been there. It looked much modern with its decor and felt more spacious. I made a quick call to Geri and she popped out to say hello and met Cartcart for the first time.
I was happy to see that they were able to get along with each other so nicely :)
Sang Kancil having lunch
As we entered the animal exhibits, I was pleasantly surprised to see much changes being done all around. The zoo was divided into different segments according to the types of animals they were like primates, the continents they were from.
You scratch my back and I scratch yours
One of the first animals that we saw were the otters. I nearly had a headache when I approached this exhibit at they smelled really bad! But this was the way that they mark their territory. I’m glad that I did not live next to an otter!
The beautiful red fox
As we explored, Cart was very impressed at how natural the surrounding was that he even quipped, “This doesnt even feel like a zoo!” Nowhere were any of the animals were in a cage. Instead, the zoo uses hidden barriers like moats and shrubberies.
The majestic Giraffes
And I was amazed at how close we were able to get to some of the free roaming animals. I was so close that I could pet them if I wanted to, but I dont think thats a good idea. I dont want to risk my hand being bitten :P
Although I have to admit that I am so curious to know how the lemur coat will feel like. Is it soft? Is it rough like steel wool?
While we were in the Australian exhibit, this handsome little emu came over to me so close, as if expecting me to take a picture of it, which I happily obliged :)
The dangerous animals on the other hand were kept in a safe distance using moats and bridges :
For some reason this white tiger was very restless and kept pacing around. Maybe it was thinking of us as food :| Luckily for us, we were separated between a deep moat. But the species were able to climb high, they were kept behind glass displays where we could admire them :
Like this stunningly beautiful Jaguar. By the way, did you know that although both look similar, the difference between the Jaguar and the Leopard is that the Jaguar has a black dot in the middle of its spots. I learnt a new fact :)
Cart and I tried to go to one of the live animal show, but unfortunately for us, by the time we reached there, it was full of people! We could not even see the stage. I felt like we missed a great show.
Thus, when we were determined to see the next show and we headed there early and we were rewarded to a very entertaining elephant show :)
It was very entertaining! The trainers and the elephants (as well as the emcee) had such great chemistry with each other. Everything just flowed and it was apparent that everyone enjoyed it :)
In the end, I think that we did not seem to have enough time to explore the entire zoo. There were still a number of exhibits that we did not go to. And we were so reluctant to leave the zoo, even though it was already closing for the day.
But there is just enough time to pose with a Monkeh!
Thank you so much Geri, Cart and I really enjoyed our trip to the zoo, very much! :D
I took Cartcart to Little India to for the Indian vegetarian food. Ever since the first time he ate here, he has enjoyed eating Indian food alot. I think that it is rather convenient since we have a peace of mind, without having to worry about the food containing any meat.
We headed to a little place called Komala Villas where they served Indian food in a sort of fast food restaurant. Cart ordered the North Indian set while I had the Naan set.
A slightly eaten Naan bread before I remembered to take a picture
Cart’s meal had a piece of deep fried dried chilli in the middle of his meal. He started to pick up the chilli and ate it! I was horrified! I’ve never seen anyone eat an entire chilli before. And I stared at him with my mouth open as he muttered out a satisfied mmmmm.
What? He ate an entire chilli? Unbelievable!
We took the bus to head to the bnb where we caught on tv mobile, news about the assasination of the ex Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto. The first thing that came in my mind was how unreal it was.
Fri, 28 Dec 2007
After Cart’s Islamic studies, mum, Cart and I headed to the Geylang Food Center for a spot of lunch. There were so much things to eat here. There were rows and rows of stalls selling wonderful local fare.
Mum and I ate Ayam Penyet.
A slightly eaten Ayam Penyet before I remembered to take a picture
This was one of my favourite food. Ayam Penyet is deep fried marinated chicken that you eat with raw vegetables and chilli paste. The hotter the better! Granted that it was a much different variation of the Ayam Penyet that I was used to, with the chicken being drizzled with soya sauce, it was still very good :)
Mum asked me to let Cart try the Serabai
This was a traditional Malay dessert made up of glutinous flour and eaten with gula melaka (palm sugar) Yum!
Mum decided to show Cartcart a couple of the everyday things that we had in Singapore so we walked to the wet market that was nearby.
And she showed the local vegetables, and foodstuff like spices, pandan leaves, tempeh (fermented soybean) and others, while she amiably chatted up with the ladies that were manning the stalls. That was when Cartcart spotted out some babas brand curry powder and said, “I want to make curry!” and proceeded to buy all three types that he saw in front of him.
As mum had prior engagement, Cart and I proceeded to go to the furniture shop called Barang-barang. In Malay, Barang-barang is a plural form of stuff. Henceforth, its a shop that sells stuff :P
Actually Cart needed some respite from the hot sun, while I just wanted to have fun and then take a nap after our lunch. I spotted a chair that looked almost like the one I saw in Secondlife.
Cool stuff!
We reached our aunt’s place later in the evening where she was already waiting for us. My aunt has been looking forward to meeting Cartcart that she’s been trying to make me feel guilty for not introducing him to her when he came last year.
My aunt’s colourful house
But I was glad that we came over this time because Cart seemed to enjoy himself. He commented that my aunt had a great personality - very friendly, hospitable and a great cook.
It was funny because just a few moments ago, my aunt told me that she was a little worried as she has never cooked vegetarian food before. She had to crack her head and wondered what to cook. And in the end, she made Omelettes, Chap Chye (stir fried mixed vegetables) with mushroom sauce and some fried Macaroni.
And it was all good! :D
My aunt, having already been to Italy some years back, started to talk about her experiences there to Cartcart. And one of the topic that they talked about as seen in the video below, was about coffee :
We then quickly said our goodbyes and went up to say hello to my parents since both my parents were home.
Cart started to ask about my dad, whom was hurt during the accident and was surprised to see the well made prosthetic fingers that the doctors made for him. It looked natural, he said. And my dad seemed happy to hear that and even invited Cart to touch his fingers.
Cart handed some chocolates (which was the first and last time I saw, since my siblings were all chocolate monsters) as well as this very interesting thing :
This was a Panforte. I guess its a sort of hard pie which is made up of spices and dried fruit. Mum couldnt wait to open and try it out.
I’ve always had fond memories of the Science Center. Back in school, we’d have rather regular excursions to see the exhibitions or omnimax films or to participate in their science courses.
It was probably in 2003 when I last been in the science center. Even so, it was for a robotics competition rather than for leisure.
Last year, I thought that I’d bring Cartcart to go to the science center as he loves maths. But it has been an unusually heavy downfall of rain the entire week that he was here last year. Hence, when the weather appeared to be fair this year, I dragged Cartcart to my stomping ground, Jurong East :)
The entrance to the Science Center was already crowded by the time we reached there in the early afternoon. There were a plentiful of people around, kids, parents, tourists as we walked down the corridor past the waterworks.
For many of the parts, the Science Center was quite familliar as how I’ve remembered it the last time that I was there. There were still a plentiful displays that I still remembered. But at the same time, there were a number of new displays that I saw for the first time.
Like this painting of the President of Singapore, Mr SR Nathan
But as cool as the painting was, I dont think I would like to be in the same room with this painting, alone (especially at night time) And I think you’d feel the same too!
And there were plenty of other cool stuff around too, like these display made up of laboratory created pills in the Biology Segment :
As well as this interesting interactive game where one goes in front of a green screen :
And when we walked to another area, I very nearly kicked myself for not coming to the Science Center before my examination period as there it was, the ecology section where everything was very useful for my geography knowledge!
Humph!
There were so much things to see that it seemed indredulous when we found out that we did not have enough time to see everything! We had a an omnimax film to catch at 6pm. I thought for sure that two hours would be more than enough time to look around Science Center. But we did not even get to explore the second floor -_-”
We did however had just about enough time to pose with a little friend :)
—
Since the first time going there, I’ve always enjoyed going to the omnimax theater. It was, and still is the largest theater that I’ve been in. With the screen being about five storey tall, it was an immersive experience that it was easy to feel like being part of the movie itself.
It was an arduous climb to the back of the theater as the way up is alot of stairs. And one may feel vertigo if they stood up and look down as it was quite steep. But I think the best seats are the ones at the back. The poor latecomers would have to crane their neck up.
The show that we were watching was the secrets of the pharaoh. It was like watching the BBC’s walking with dinosaurs where current scientists explore how mummies were preserved and using the evidences that they had, pieced up the clues.
And like all the times that I’ve been in the omnimax theater, I was very drawn to the beautiful, lush and rich visuals.
I almost half expected Brendan Fraser to appear in the screen.
—
After the movie, I decided to take Cartcart to IMM, which is probably one of the largest shopping center in the area, for dinner.
We were standing there at the directory for a full five minutes, wondering what to eat when Cart decided that he would like to try to go to Spagetti Too and try their pasta.
Me : Huh? Pasta? You come all the way here to have pasta?
Cart : Yes, so that I can rate your pasta here :P
Spagetti Too was a relatively new cafe in IMM. Everything in the menu looked so tempting. The front counter was so colourful that it seemed as if it was beckoning us to come closer.
What a nice surprise when I saw that there the cafe had a halal certification (it didnt carry it the last time I saw it)
Behind the counter was an enclosed area that diners could sit in, the decor was clean and simple.
We made our orders by taking the paper menu which is provided by the side of the table and mark a tick to the items that we wanted. And then we hand it to the front counter and then make our payments.
And I was doubly surprised to see that the food was affordable. I think we spent less than $25 for full set meals for the both of us. I’m impressed!
As I still had a craving for chicken chop, I decided to order that, while Cartcart had Vegetarian Pasta. We had the Garlic Bread with Cheese ($1.70) as an appetizer.
Cart liked this bread alot. He said that it was nicely cooked and perfectly crunchy. But I thought that it was a little bland. I looked around for the (non existing) tabasco sauce.
Nevertheless, we didnt have to wait long for our food to arrive. By the time we are done with our appetizers, in about 10 - 15 mins, the helpful crew handed over our main meals.
This is my yummlicious Grilled Chicken Chop with Mashed Potatoes ($6.90) I do love my chicken alot. The meat is tender and juicy and was just a delight to savour. The sauce tasted more like black pepper sauce than mushroom sauce, but it was still really good.
Initially, I complained pointed out to Cartcart that there should have been some gravy on top of my mashed potatoes. But once I took a taste of it, it was just love. So smooth, so savory, so creamy. Yum!
It may look plain, but it sure is full of flavours.
This is Cartcart’s Vegetarian Pasta ($5.90) Cart said that although the dish was more of a fusion dish than true Italian pasta, it was still cooked well enough with the pasta not being overcooked - something that he is very iffy about.
And in the end, I was surprised to see that he even enjoyed his pasta :)
And for dessert Cart had the Chocolate Brownie while I had the Apple Cobbler ($2.50 each)
What can I say? We both loved our desserts. They were both inviting and both had a huge dollop of ice cream on top of it. My only mini issue is that I dont like my apple cobbler to be heated up. I think it was nicer to eat at room temperature or cold, unlike brownies that taste good heated up. But its not such a big deal, being such a value for money :)
If you are anywhere in Jurong, give this place a try. Good food, cheap prices. Go. Just go :D They dont have a website yet, but click here to see the yummilicious menu.
Next : Meeting Tstar and the beautiful sounds of handbells!
I was out with a couple of my blogger friends in clementi on thursday night. There was a pasar malam in that area and at the same time, I thought that it would be nice to show my friend Attilio what a night market here was like.
In larger pasar malam, one could even have rides such as a viking ride and feris wheel.
I like pasar malam because of the atmosphere and how festive it felt with the bustling of crowds. You could buy almost anything here - cds, clothes, even household appliances.
But personally for me, the highlight of a pasar malam would be the delightfully sinful food that is sold there.
One of these food is the ramly burger. One of these burgers would probably choke your arteries with the amount of condiments that is added in, but I think that its something that one should try at least once.
Here is a clip on how a ramly burger is being made :
If you have never been to a WOMAD concert before, you should seriously put it in your to do list.
Having never been to a WOMAD concerts before, I decided to join Geri and Ntt who were coincidentally heading there on that night.
For one of the rare times in my life, It didnt feel like I was in Singapore that friday night. Majority of the people that I saw were foreigners. But it was nice to see all sorts of diverse lifestyles here - groups of friends, a family with their toddlers, Ntt even spotted his professor from Uni.
Many were dancing and moving lively to the different bands. The first one that we watched was the Mahotella Queens from South Africa. It was impressive to see these ladies in their 60s, shaking their ‘thang energetically! They have been performing for the past 40 years!
We were supposed to have Sheila Chandra perform afterwards but as she had a sore throat that night, there was the one man band, Muntu Valdo from Cameroon who played the harmonica and the guitar to replace her.
He asked the audience to sing along with him the song, Di Mala. I chuckled to find out that most of us got confused, till he had to repeatedly slow down and remind us to keep our tempo.
We then headed off to the main stage to listen to Clube do Balanco from Brazil. I really liked the sound of this band. It was groovy latin sound which I dig. I looked with amazement at low voice of one of the female singer. But she was great, along with the rest of the band.
Their songs made me start to tap my feet and finally put me in the mood to dance along with the other lively people! I want their CD :)
Later, we went to see the Shooglenifty from Scotland perform. Its an awesome combination sounds of the Irish fiddle and dance. I tried to do a jig, but it was hard to do that as I had no space.
It was impressive to see inhibitions down, with everyone dancing, no one caring if the others had two left feet.
And finally the segment that Geri has been anticipating, the Asian Dub Foundation. It had a electronic, punk sound and uses Indian drums. Ntt tells me that the band had a strong anti racism message which are delivered in their songs. But both of us couldnt make out the words from the blaring sounds.
Nevertheless, they had the crowd jumping up and down, cheering, asking for more. One cant help but to jump along to the beats. It was awesome!
I seriously enjoyed myself that night. No regrets!
Friday night at WOMAD was great. Being live, the music was raw and energetic. You can really feel the music and you cant help but to absorb the happy vibe.
Just go. You wont regret it. Serious! The worse case scenario is that you could possibly be surrounded by perspiring, stinky people but the music and atmosphere will more than make up for it!
On monday evening, I saw the flickering orange flames from the burning of hell money and joss-sticks. As I walked back home, I noticed a red and white tent and a platform being erected.
By tuesday night, I could hear the loud singing of the getai. And I knew then it was the Hungry Ghost Festival.
The Taoist belives that during the month of the Hungry Ghost Festival, the gates of hell opens up and the spirits of the dead goes back to earth to seek food and visit their living relatives.
As there isnt much food and entertainment in hell, Taoists will burn paper articles such as paper clothes and leave plates of buns and fruits for their deceased loved ones.
A getai is a stage performance, meant to entertain the spirits during the Hungry Ghost Festival. These performance are loud, with jokes and singing. The entertainers would typically wear garish outfits.
Traditionally, instead of getais, I remember that the Chinese Opera was a very popular event during my childhood days of the 80’s. It seems to be dying art form now though. I can hardly find one anymore.
On wednesday night after my night class, I managed to catch a getai performance. Here is a short clip :
Sidenote: Yesterday, a respected colleague passed away on an accident in Kuala Lumpur on his way back to Singapore. Today, Juli told me that two of our ex-schoolmates passed away recently. Gone too soon.
I know that we are mortals. But it still shocks me. I cannot imagine how I will cope when my loved ones pass on.
