Thursday 31 January 2013

Chinese New Year Preparation

Are all of you prepared for CNY already? Do you have a checklist of dos and don'ts for CNY? My mom is quite a traditional person so the traditional "procedures" have passed down to me to practise. Makes me feel that if I don't/do those things that she has taught me, lightning will strike me..haha...

Let's see if your practice are the same as mine:

Dos

  1. Buy all the auspicious groceries. Abundant of them. Things like mandarins, seafood, rice, soft drinks, sweet snacks, bah kwa (bbq meat), nuts.  
  2. Spring cleaning.
  3. Cut hair way before CNY (hair sounds like wealth in chinese, so nobody will want to cut wealth during the beginning of the year. Of course, it is also because most salons will increase their price during that period).
  4. Decorate the house with auspicious stickers and plants.
  5. Remember all the auspicious greetings.
  6. Buy new clothes and shoes, bras and panties.
  7. Buy red packets (married couples)
  8. Singles, make sure you carry a bag big enough for at least 2 mandarins, lots of red packets, tissue and makeup to touch up the face while visiting relatives and friends under Singapore climate.
  9. Wash your car.
  10. Groom your pets.
  11. Get ready the medicine for sore throat or drink more cooling tea.
  12. Eat vegetarian food if possible.
  13. Pray at 12am.
  14. Everything as red as possible. Excluding blood please.

Don'ts

  1. Sweep floor during CNY period.
  2. Curse people or talk nonsense. 
  3. Eat too much heaty goodies.
  4. Pluck other people's flowers.
  5. Forget to give red packets if you are married and a single has greeted you with mandarins.
  6. Forget to keep your red packets (for singles only).
  7. Wear black.
  8. Kill lives.
So how? Does the list tally with yours? It's quite fun preparing all the decorations and goodies right? I know many people will go chinatown to feel the real thing, but I think it's not for me. Don't like the sweaty people and them walking to close to me..Feel molested and paranoid of being robbed. So I always go to Takashimaya CNY Fair, with aircon and almost all the things I need..except bah kwa, which I will get from ION.


Takashimaya CNY Fair started from18 Jan to 8 Feb. It holds a variety of famous brands and food that are great for CNY.

 I think it will be more appropriate to make snakes instead of rabbits..
 Sugar coated lotus roots.
 I bought most of these sugar coated goodies..whole year sweet sweet nice nice..
 So red
 A lot of seafood available too.
 Bunny soft candies..quite pricey.
Cookies.

10 more days to CNY! Can't wait to eat at grandparents place as usual..although things are never be the same as few years back when everyone was well, we hope that this year will be better for everyone.

I wish everyone healthy, happy and everything smooth smooth throughout the year. 

Huat ah!


xoxo

Monday 28 January 2013

I'm FINished with FINS, too!

Lunar new year is coming, that's when more shark fins are consumed. 13 years ago I was among those typical chinese who eats shark fins during lunar new year, and the days following..I had even poured shark fins soup into my rice and eat for 3 meals a day. It was so tasty and the texture was so unique.

One day during my poly years, Jiayi and I were assigned with a project. If I remember correctly, it was Marketing class and our lecturer told us to pick our own topic to "brainwash" and sell it. Jiayi and I are animal lovers, we wanted to educate our classmates to like animals too..well, at least not to dislike animals if possible..Then we thought of...

Sharks.

Sharks look ferocious, they ambush, hunt and flip the prey in the air. They are super sensitive to the environment and most of all, they hurt humans with their razor sharp rows of ever-renewing teeth.

And then we came across some videos on shark finnings in youtube. I could feel the pain when they sliced out the fin of the shark alive. From then on, I quitted shark fins.

They have been so misunderstood by us all along.

Nobody wants to born to look that way, funny eyes, protruding teeth, long nose and cold blooded..they are creatures created by nature (or rather, by God). I'm sure if sharks have a choice, they will choose to look like dophines. But everything in the sea needs balance, and everything on it has its purpose. Humans have been taking the purpose for granted and destroy the balance.

I remember a marine biologist said before

"the more we study the dead creature, the more we hope to study them alive, but when we study them alive in the sea, the more we are convinced that we know nothing about them"
Humans should be the upmost species in the planet, we are not barbarians anymore..we should be providing our youngs great knowledge, educating them on what is wrong and right, humane and inhumane. Shark finning is inhumane and should be banned. Shark fins should be banned.
70 millions of sharks are killed a year, and a big portion is endangered, just for the soup that is believed to boost sexual potency, enhance skin quality, increase one's qi or energy, prevent heart disease, and lower cholesterol.

Please. If you want to boost sexual potency, enhance skin quality blah blah blah, see a doctor. A bowl of shark fin won't make you Deuce Bigolo or Rambo..always eat healthily and exercise.

A bowl not enough then take more bowls? Come on... there are so high mercury content, neurotoxins and toxic contaminants in Sharks, they will make you insterile and cause mental disabilities to your babies.

But having shark fins shows my status, it is luxury. No, you are a big fool spending money on a bowl of poison.

The best arguement that my mom gave was "but sharks eat thousands of us!" Sharks are not man-eaters, they are built to touch with their nose and mouth instead of using hands (which obviously they don't have). AND we eat millions of them!

Search through the youtubes for videos on shark finning and see how cruel humans are, to cut off the sharks' fins alive and throw the useless bodies back into the sea. They are either drowned or bleed to death on the sea bed. If sharks have a voice, we would have been deafened by their excruciating screams.



Affected by the marketing project, I quitted shark fins soup, for 13 years. I've seen changes in wedding dinners since then.

First 8 years I was the only one who skipped the shark fins soup and people at the table mocked at me and they happily thanked me for the extra bowl of soup. "Pay so much and never eat the expensive dish. Please leh, one person can't help the sharks in the world la..".

Then gradually, there were 2 strangers who skipped shark fins soup and nobody mocked at us. "Oh, you are one of those who condemned shark fin ah? Then can I have your share please?".

The rest of the years, shark fins are out of wedding dinners' menu. I'm proud to mention that hotels are beginning to offer shark fins free menu officially!

  • Fairmont Singapore
  • Resort World Singapore
  • Shangri-La Singapore
  • Shangri-La's Rasa Sentosa Resort
  • Siloso Beach Resort
  • Swissotel The Stamford
  • The Fullerton Hotel
  • Traders Hotel
  • Xi Yan Private Dining
     
  • I think I should add Regent Hotel, Mandarin Oriental Hotel and Grand Copthorne Riverview Hotel myself because I've attended wedding lunch and dinner that did not serve shark fins soup although their weddings were grand.

    If you are getting married and you have kicked shark fins soup out of your menu, do visit this website, or print out this card and place on the tables to remind your guests about it (*cough* I think the next to wed are Jiayi and Raymond in March). 

    Remember, say NO to SHARK FINS. If I can do it, so can you. Do not have to "give face" to the elders on eating shark fins soup, educate them instead.

    xoxo

    Thursday 24 January 2013

    Egg within an egg!

    This is so amazing..I wonder if the chicken feels weak after laying an egg that big...
     

    Wednesday 23 January 2013

    Tonkichi


    It's Tonkichi day! 

    Do you like Japan curry and always feel that either the rice is too little or you just can't get enough of the curry? Go to Tonkichi to satisfy your curry crave!

    Tonkichi day mostly happens on 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month where they have 10% discount for non-members and 25% discount for members. If it is your birthday month, there is an additional 10% off on top of the discount.


    The next best thing of Tonkichi is:


    Free flow of rice and cabbage!!  Nice right?

    And if you ordered curry, you can refill your curry once. Miso soup also refillable!

    So why not make a reservation and have a sumptuous japanese cuisine there right? Generous amount of rice, veg, curry, soup..and their Saporro beer sometimes have promotion too..

    We frequent the Orchard Central branch where it is located at a quiet and slightly cool space behind the lifts.

    This restaurant does not need its own background music..it is located in such a high ceiling space, the only music you can hear is the Orchard Central shopping mall background music. Makes it a perfect place for couples and small gatherings.

    Then we ordered our usual food:
    Chicken Katsu Curry ($24.90). The curry is homemade!
     They are so generous with the chicken and rice...feels like home..

    Saba Shio Set ($24.90). The cutting on the Saba looks quite creepy right?!..gives me goosebumps..but it tasted really good....together with steamed egg and salmon sashimi as sides.
     Love to mash the steam egg into my rice..I know I'm not a pro but I really love to eat it that way..
    The salmon melted in my mouth...hmmmmmm..

    Everything seems so homely with the free flow of rice and refillable curry and soup...really love to laze in the restaurant and eat until full full..we came out rubbing tummy..no need supper already!

    It's my pleasure to share my views on Tonkichi:
    Ambience 4/5
    Food 4/5
    Service 4/5
    Price Slightly steep but worth it!
    Toilet Availability 0/5 (please use the very clean Orchard Central toilets)

    Address:
    181 Orchard Road, #07-06
    Orchard Central
    Singapore 238896
    Tel: 62387976
    Fax: 62387312
    Operation Hours: 3.00 pm to 6.00 pm (closed)
    11.00 am to 3.00 pm (Last Order: 2.30 pm) 6.00 pm to 11.00 pm (Last Order: 10.00 pm)
    Check out their website..http://www.pokkafood.com.sg/ I was surprised that they belong to Pokka group.

    Hope you will try their food..but remember to starve yourself first to make your trip worthwhile..hehe..

    Time to watch my favourite Cesar Millan!!



    xoxo

    Thursday 17 January 2013

    D.I.Y.

    When I was a kid, I always bugged my mom to buy me colorful beads and fishing line so that I can make my own bracelets and necklaces and then wear them with pride..and then few years later when I got more advanced in handicraft, I made friendship bands with threads and my name on it..didn't have many friends but I still made and wore them to pretend that it was given by my friend..pathetic right?

    Anyway, I grew up and can afford to take accessories making workshops held in CC. There were classes for beginners, intermediate and advance..I am able to make alot of simple earring, necklaces, bracelets and ring out of beads and wirings after attending beginner and intermediate..Like all d.i.y. fans, I have my own toolbox and collections..I normally buy the parts from People's Park Centre as they have wholesale as well as individually..very organized and have many varieties. Every time I have to drag myself out of the shops because I want to buy everything!

    Share with you some of my d.i.y. accessories..
     Angel necklace. I bought the angel because I find her very sexy :p
     Bracelets and ring
     Earrings..easy and fast to make.
     
     Another necklace. Didn't have chance to wear it yet.
     Remember I've posted this earlier that I'm doing a project after reading a magazine? The magazine is "Beads style" and I'm always motivated by those pieces introduced in the magazine. You can look for the magazine in library.

    So, I re-worked the piece with bigger and more expensive swarovski cystals..and it turns out sooooo beautiful..I can't stop admiring it..it took me 1.5hrs to complete the whole piece.




    And then I decided to wear it to one of my BFFs' wedding lunch last Sunday to "burn in" the necklace! As requested by some of my friends, I'm uploading my photos with this necklace :) :) So bear with me..

    It was a beautiful Sunday and I made my way to Grand Copthorne Waterfront hotel...
    Romance filled the air
    And I caught the bride to take a picture with me! She's so busy, standing there as a model to take picture.
    So how do I look with the necklace huh? The necklace nice right?

    The BFFs since Poly times..We all have seen each other going through different stages of life..I hope we will continue to be like this until the end of time..Thank you Raymond for taking photos for us..he's our new recruit soon!

    According to one of the BFFs who was the bridesmaid, the groom gave US dollars as gatecrash ang baos..who knows..they are actually tissues..duh..

    So the next to wed are *drum*:
    Jiayi and Raymond! *clap clap clap*

    Hope all wedding couples have blissful marriage and have kids soon!

    xoxo

    Saturday 12 January 2013

    C-Jade HK Cafe In

    My mom and I are regular customers of Crystal Jade at Toa Payoh, most of our dinners are taken there. Sometimes we have steamboat buffet (especially during rainny days), sometimes we ordered ala carte ('cause we got abit sick of steamboat). Now, we have one more choice: Hong Kong Cafe! We have to try!

    Crystal jade restaurants has got many different concepts all over Singapore, mostly Cantonese cuisine. They do have fine dining, korean ginseng and BBQ, Shanghainese, Teochew etc...I do not doubt their standards, the only problem is whether you have big appetite to try out their food.

    This time with only 2 (small) mouths, we could only order 2 drinks and 2 dishes.

    Chilled Hong Kong milk tea ($3.90). Tasted just like those I had in Hong Kong, thin but yet fragrant. Look, they even bother to use a nice flask and put dry ice in the hole..so delicate..Question: how do you drink that? Answer: pour it into a shooter glass and drink. Something new.

    My mom's favorite: Iced red bean with ice cream ($5.90).

    Mixed grill with spaghetti (fish fillet, chicken chop, pork chop and hotdog - $16.80). This is like when you have no idea whether you want to eat pork, chicken or fish, this platter has all of them. The pork is slightly tough to chew, but the chicken and fish were good..I love their cauliflower and hot dog :p They are very generous with the spaghetti, I was glad we only ordered 2 dishes..If you frequent other HK cafe in Singapore, you will notice that they always have noodles/rice with egg and hotdog/luncheon meat right? This is part of HK culture..people there do take that for breakfast everyday, it's fast and cheap and you don't need a good chef to cook that.

    Steam rice with minced meat and salted egg in wooden pot ($7.80). This is good also, but how come I feel like a beggar..hmm...must be the wooden pot.

    Look! They also have this D.I.Y braised rice which you can cook the rice yourself in 20 minutes..very suitable for lovey-dovey couples..haven't tried this one because I was too lazy and too hungry..

    Overall, here are my views:
    Ambience 3/5
    Food 3/5
    Service 3/5
    Price Reasonable and affordable
    Toilet Availability 3/5 (clean and have lots of toilet paper!)

    Check out their website: http://www.crystaljade.com/?locale=en_US

    xoxo

    Sunday 6 January 2013

    Siam Kitchen

    Went to waterloo to run some errands and ended up eating Siam Kitchen at Bugis Junction when on the way back. The restaurant is at 2nd floor, along the stretch with other restaurants like Ma Maison. There is no crowd at all, normally it may mean that the food is not nice..but with passion of Thai food, we went in to try.


    We ordered Tom yum hor fun and fried glass noodles.
    Yes, you will get what you see from the picture..the tom yum gravy is not very thick and not spicy at all..quite funky because my dictionary only has tom yum soup, never seen tom yum hor fun.
     Fried class noodles are quite sweet, very appetizing for the first few mouth..

    We ordered "Phuket Citrus" and Red Ruby thai dessert too.
    Well, this tasted like ice blended orange mixed with lime/lemon..very plain..quite expensive for such ordinary drink.
    Traditionally red ruby is soaked in coconut milk, but they are creative enough to put coconut milk ice cream instead, with some jack fruit..hmmm...i still prefer coconut milk rather than ice cream.

    The waitresses can be more attentive to the consumers in this kind of "crowd" (see 2nd image), e.g. refilling of water..I got to bring the flask myself to refill mine.


    So here are my views:
    Ambience 2.5/5
    Food 3/5
    Service 2.5/5
    Price Affordable but should be lower
    Toilet Availability 0/5 (you have to go upstairs to use the food court's toilet)

    200 Victoria Street
    #02-46, Parco Bugis Junction
    Singapore 188021
    Tel: 6337 3777

    Opening Hrs:
    11.30am-10pm daily

    Check out their website http://www.siamkitchen.com.sg/

    Project - Crystal pearl necklace

    Big project coming up! I want to make myself a crystal pearl necklace (learn from magazine)..Will keep everyone updated once it's re-done and completed!

    Tuesday 1 January 2013

    Enjoy your rest day!


    Have a good rest day!

     Synchronized sleeping..