Glutton at Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year! Yes, CNY does not end until the 15th day.

This week’s FoodFriday features a special Chinese New Year edition of the Glutton Series.

For this banquet, we’ll have home cooked meals prepared for reunion dinners and a special “lou sang” dish that involved violent chopstick movements.

First course is the CNY eve reunion dinner at my aunt’s place. Every year on Chinese New Year eve, the extended family gathers for a meal.

This year, the table was overflowing with food (as usual) because many brought multiple dishes. I think my family brought the least as we only had my mom’s famous salted duck and a plate of salted vegetable.

Not included in the photo is two types of soups (one without chicken as my dad is allergic to chicken) and steamed fish.

Because the main dining table had limited space, I was assigned to the children’s table. The “youngest” person at the children’s table will be 19 years old this year.

Auntie’s place for lunch

The next day, we were invited to a friend of mom’s place for a lunch gathering. The auntie (a title we use to call an elder woman) is a great cook and she made an amazing lunch.

We had dumplings (a traditional Chinese New Year food). There was roast duck and roast pork which can be found in many Malaysian Chinese outlets.

The fish eggs dish is interesting. The auntie mixed fish eggs with chicken eggs and pan fried it in a rectangular skillet. The tiny fish eggs are snugly wrapped in a coat of eggs. Yummy.

Soup was winter melon soup with meatballs.

We ate all this accompanied with rice. My stomach was stretched almost to the maximum.

Last course: Yusheng

It’s quite alright for adults to have food war during Chinese New Year. The photo below shows Yusheng.

It’s a medley of food, put into a large plate while the server reads incantations (not really, just “auspicious wishes” ). The eaters then violently toss the ingredients with chopsticks.

I’ve never had this dish when I was in Sabah. It was until I began work that I am invited to Chinese New Year luncheons and I participate in the violent act.

After mixing, the dish is sourish with shred of turnip being the main taste.

What’s your favorite Chinese New Year dish? Share it in the comment section below.

Don’t date a girl who travels

To celebrate the upcoming Valentine’s Day, I bring you this post about why you should not date a girl who travels.

This post was inspired by Date A Girl Who Travels but is an antithesis of the original post.

This is a girl who travels, waving goodbye to her love life

Don’t date a girl who travels. Travel is her current love. Perhaps you will share the number 1 position with travel but most likely you will be her second.

Don’t date a girl who travels. Weekends and holidays are best spent on the road for her. If you want to stay at home with the Xbox, then this girl is not for you.

Don’t date a girl who travels. Long distance relationships are not easy. Not even with Skype and Whatsapp.

Don’t date a girl who travels. Her money will be spent on trips but hopefully she has some savings for her emergency fund.

Don’t date a girl who travels. Makeup might not be among her prized possessions so don’t expect her to come out looking like an airbrushed model. Oh, you like women without makeup?

Don’t date a girl who travels. She will be fiercely independent. She might want to settle down eventually but for now she wants to freedom to roam the earth.

Don’t date a girl who travels. The pseudo-motivational quote “Experience is the only thing worth paying for” was made up by people who don’t own a lot of things. (Read point 5 of this article.)

Don’t date a girl who travels. When you both are lost, she will either ask for directions herself or set off on her own to find the right path.

Don’t date a girl who travels. You’ll think her sense of adventure can get her into trouble overseas and doubt that her wits and common sense will keep herself safe.

Don’t date a girl who travels. Authentic food served in the town’s “ethnic” restaurant might not taste as good as the food she ate by the road side.

Don’t date a girl who travels. She will leave town the next day with one of you left with a broken heart.

Don’t date a girl who travels. Falling in love on the road is too easy. Jealousy will drive you mad.

Don’t date a girl who travels. You never know when her next stop will be. If you need to track her every single step, you will not be dating her any longer.

Don’t date a girl who travels. You might not win her heart by impressing her with geographical knowledge. There is no point in reciting to her the population or GDP of a country if she already had mingled with the locals.

Don’t date a girl who travels. Settle for a girl who wants stability in her life: a house, two cars and 2.5 children. It’s much easier to satisfy those needs.

When you do find a girl who travels, ask yourself if you are ready to let her spread her wings. Will you be able to wait for her to come back? Or are you willing to travel with her (if she agrees to)?

Epilogue

This post will brand me as Miss Forever Alone. Yeah, I don’t get a lot of dates.

I don’t remember when I read the original Date A Girl Who Travels by Aleah Phils. It might have been on Facebook or shared by a friend. I think I commented that I need to find a guy who appreciates a girl who travels.

I’m sure there’s one out there who’s not already taken by other lady travelers. Until we meet.

Would you date a girl who travels?

How Singaporeans celebrate Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year in Singapore's Chinatown

It’s Chinese New Year today! 恭喜发财！(Congratulations on earning loads of money!)

We’re back on Day 2 of our Chinese New Years in Different Countries series.

For today, two Singaporeans will share their take on how people in the country celebrate Chinese New Year.

Leaving the country during CNY

First up is Therese from The Nomad Damsel.

A cursory flip of the local newspapers during the month of January reveal that some Singaporeans do start planning for their Chinese New Year trips shortly after the New Year, and local travel agencies are milking it as much as they can. These travel agencies and their counterparts in other countries will come up with 4-day trips to China/Hong Kong/Taiwan for ‘the authentic Lunar New Year feel’ and even a 4-day getaway to 8 different cities in Europe. 4 days in 8 cities – I saw this advertisement on the 2nd floor of the People’s Park Complex in Chinatown. I wonder if it is humanely possible to see anything but greenery while travelling to so many places.

A study by Mercer in 2011 shows that Singaporeans have one of the lowest number of annual holidays in the world – we beat some countries in Asia when it comes to annual holidays, but we have half the number of holidays compared to the Europeans. So it is no surprise that Singaporeans tend to combine the use of their precious annual leave and state holidays so they are able to spend more time in the host country. Chinese New Year is a prime travelling period as everyone gets two days off work regardless of their ethnicity group. One aunt told me, “If I am to spend money either by travelling or by giving red packets to kids, I would choose to travel. I would prefer to spend money on something I like to do better.”

Of course, there are many Singaporeans who do enjoy spending time with members of their extended family during this festive period, but this is becoming a rare situation as parents might prefer to spend as much of their leisure time with their family instead of the former group of people.

Staying in the country during CNY

Next up is Phebe from thetravellingsquid. She also has an interesting post on 10 Reasons Not To Travel During Chinese New Year.

I always love Chinese New Year because I don’t have to go to work and school. I’m not a big fan of visiting relatives as I am an innately shy person, so finding topics to make small talk can be quite a challenge. Nonetheless, I have some relatives who like to debate on government policies. They fall under a different class in society compared to my family, and it is always nice to listen to their point of view of things.

The relatives on my mother side are not as well-off, but they have always welcomed us to their four room/ three room homes with open arms. It may be a little congested and uncomfortable sitting on tiny, foldable chairs squeezing in front of the TV, while trying to balance a plastic plate filled with food on one hand, and a can of soft drink on a coffee table which is almost filled with pineapple tarts and jars of tiny crispy prawn rolls.

What I like best about Chinese New Year is to watch these afternoon matinée at my relative’s house comprising dated Chinese love/ CNY movies. Stuff like Stephen Chow movies or Infernal Affairs allow me to pass time and relax, without worrying that I should be spending my holiday on more useful things. I also like to indulge in bak kwa [Note from YQ: dried barbequed meat. yum yum.]and beer at the same time, which is not the most healthy option. A friend attests to swapping beer for wine. It’s more healthy and goes well together too : )

I have been away during Chinese New Year on a solo trip to India last year, and it’s not the most joyous of all occasions. I remember feeling very lonely, not because there was no festive atmosphere at all in India, but because I was without the company of my friends and family. Scooting off to discover far lands may seem ideal during the CNY holidays, but I rather stay in Singapore to receive the warmth and blessings from friends, family and even from relatives that I meet only once a year.

Phebe's CNY was spent at Jama Masjid in Delhi — Phebe’s CNY was spent at Jama Masjid in Delhi

Do you travel overseas or stay at home during CNY?

How Chinese in Myanmar celebrate Chinese New Year

I don’t usually reblog posts but this topic is timely and from my friend Nicole.
Happy Chinese New Year!

Nini's broadcast station

Chinese New Year is not an official bank holiday in Myanmar but Chinese people normally take leave from school or work to celebrate the 2-day cerebration – the New Year Eve and the New Year Day.

There are a few different types of Chinese in Myanmar – mainly Hokkien and Cantonese. But we also have some Hakka and Yunnan Chinese. We all celebrate Chinese New Year in slightly different ways – for example, the ritual of worship, the temple that we visit, etc. Since majority of the people in Myanmar is Buddhist, the ritual includes mostly worshiping different god and visiting different temples.

I will share with you how my parents celebrate Chinese New Year in Hakka way.

On the New Year Eve morning, we worship to the heavenly god (拜天神). For this ritual, we have to prepare 1 cup of wine, 3 cups of tea, 3 types of meat

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How Malaysians celebrate Chinese New Year

Today is Chinese New Year eve, the second most important day of Chinese New Year (CNY).

CNY eve dinner is an important time for family to gather together, eat good food and be nagged by elders. [Note to YQ: Do not be a patronizing aunt when you grow up.]

Enough bitterness, I want to share a two-part series of collaborative posts to mark CNY.

Early this week, I asked on Facebook for information on how different people celebrate Chinese New Year in different countries. For the feature, I was planning to have many Chinese folks in different countries to talk about their traditions.

Unfortunately, not many random strangers on the internet took up the challenge. I guess this might also be a good thing since it makes the post more cosy.

How Malaysians overseas celebrate CNY

First up is Max Yam from maxayam.blogspot.sg. Max is a fellow Sabahan who lives just a 5 minute car ride away from my house.

On Facebook, he commented

To wanderers like us, Chinese New Year is about travelling, travelling home, and leaving home again… again and again… we seem to appreciate ‘home’ when we are away, but we are getting blur about the meaning of ‘home’ eventually…

His note struck a chord with me since I felt homeless for a period of time even though I had a permanent place to lay my head both in Malaysia and Singapore.

How my family celebrates CNY

Since CNY is about the family, I will share what my parents, my sister and I do during CNY.

On CNY eve, it’s the obligatory CNY reunion dinner. I am thankfully seated at the children table where there is less drama.

After our meals, my uncle will give his words of wisdom to anyone who’s listening, interjecting his sentences with, “You understand what I’m saying?”.

Other relatives will politely ask me what my job is even though we’ve been through this for many years. At the end, everyone gathers for a group photo.

On CNY proper, my family heads to the Buddhist temple to pray. Based on the traffic jam and the madness of looking for parking, I think it’s really auspicious to visit the temple on the first day.

Next stop is the KK branch of Tzu Chi. My other uncle and his family are devoted members of the charity/group. My family hangs around, eating some noodles and peeling oranges.

There is usually a lion dance as well.

I then spend the rest of the CNY period visiting other family friends or relatives. Oh, we also receive angpow (red packets) from married people. Hurray for the singles!

Chinese New Year is supposed to last until the 15th day. However, in the modern world, we only get two days of public holiday.

How do you celebrate Chinese New Year?

#FoodFri The original Ya Kun Kaya Toast in Singapore

Ya Kun Kaya Toast is a famous chain for traditional toast and coffee in Singapore.

The food and drink there is alright but there are other places where you can get a cheaper deal.

One day D told me about the Ya Kun Kaya Toast branch at China Square. It’s supposed to be really retro (even more retro than the fake-retro which they have in other branches).

Another selling point for the China Square branch is that it’s run by the descendants of Ya Kun the man himself! OK, I’m sold.

The shop is rather difficult to find because China Square is in the middle of the CBD. Google Map’s not really that helpful because the buildings are too tall.

It was raining when we went in search of Ya Kun Kaya Toast. We managed to find it in the end without getting soaked.

Ya Kun Kaya Toast China Square branch deco

OK, the shop was quaint but only because we’re in Singapore.

The floors looked like they were scratched from chairs and tables.

The kitchen was sort of an open kitchen concept.

We ordered the usual Kaya Toast set which comes with two pieces of toast, coffee and two soft boiled eggs.

Mistaken for tourists

When we arrived, I was busy taking photos of the place. I even swirled on my stool to take a panorama shot of Ya Kun Kaya Toast.

When our food arrived, the lady who served us brought the soy sauce and pepper shakers to us. She ordered us to put the condiments onto the eggs and eat.

I think this is the first time I’m mistaken for a tourist in Singapore. I’ve been here 7 year already, lady!

We ate our food in peace. (Almost, we were instructed how to eat again.)

Later, I saw that the shop was selling petit cups as souvenirs. I took photos of them.

Then the lady swooped down with the TOURIST SET.

She looked at us expectantly before leaving us. I took a photo of the set before it was too late.

Have you been to the China Square branch of Ya Kun?

5 places of worship I visited while travelling

I’m not a very religious person although I do visit a Buddhist temple from time-to-time.

Since I am not bounded by a strict religion, I like to visit churches and temples when I travel.

The places of worship are usually peaceful and beautiful. Usually…

Sagrada Familia @ Barcelona

Work in progress. The inside is actually prettier than the outside.

Tokyo Daijingu @ Tokyo

This place is supposedly great for praying for romance. Has it worked for me?

Church of Scientology @ San Francisco

Pretty on the outside…

Candi Sewu @ Prambanan

Candi Sewu is actually nicer than its more famous neighbor.

Masjid Kampung Kling @ Melaka

A mosque with the most unique roof I’ve seen since I was familiar with the onion domes. (Apparently, I’ve not visited enough mosques.)

#FoodFri White coffee @ Ipoh

The best white coffee I ever had was in Ipoh.

The slightly burnt taste with a smooth evaporated milk finish…

Divine.

Find out more about Ipoh:

What to see: Among the ruins of Kellie’s Castle, Ipoh
Where to stay: Stay: Ipoh Tune Hotel review
What to eat: Glutton in Ipoh

Sightsee Paris by boat

View of Notre Dame from Paris Batobus Boat

I love taking the public transport and cycling when I travel.

I had the chance to take the boat on the Seine when I was in Paris. The Batobus (translated as boat-bus) was probably more for tourists than for local though.

Batobus Musee d'Orsay stop — Batobus Musee d’Orsay stop

On the Batobus

Since passengers sat in the boat under a glass cover, I felt like I was in an oven. Most of the passengers looked grumpy from the heat.

I didn’t get the chance to catch the sunset on the boat because the sun was setting around 9pm in Summer but I’ve seen photos of the lovely purple-orange sky.

Should you take the Batobus?

If you have time and a student card, the Batobus packages are quite worthwhile.

The boat is also good for shuttling you from each important site to another. Highly recommended.

Journey to the Tip of Borneo

When I was back home for my 10-day holiday in Sabah, the only tourist attraction I visited was the Tip of Borneo. It is publicized as the most Northern point of the Borneo island.

Getting there was no easy even with our own car. The road signs were very lacking.

3G connection was bad and we had to rely on our inner GPS to guess which road to take when at a junction.

Along the way, we saw a lot of oil palm tree plantations. The plantations were thick with oil palm trees with their evil-looking pointy leaves.

There were also coconut trees which looked like they were beheaded and left with pointy tree stumps.

On our way, we passed by several homestay houses that didn’t look as comfortable as a city person wants. But if you want to be able to see the beautiful sea during evey waking moment (only that and not much else), I suppose staying at the Tip of Borneo area is good.

After several turns and windy roads, we reached the seaside. The weather that day was great. The sun was bright but not too hot and the sky was clear with only some clouds.

The Tip was at the very end of the road and we had to park our car. There was an uphill slope that we needed to climb before we were at the edge.

Visitors of the Tip of Borneo

We reached the Tip of Borneo at around 10am. I was surprised to see that many people were already there and some just about to go back. What time did they leave their house/hotel to come here so early?

We also saw a TV production team with a TV host in a red T-shirt, a couple taking wedding photos (stunning view) and a few lovebirds.

As usual, there was a large globe-thing with words like “YOU ARE AT THE TIP OF BORNEO. NOW GET A COOKIE” so people can remember where they actually were when they look back at the photos. “Hmmm…this stone looks like the one in Sandakan, or was it Kudat?”

The actual Tip of Borneo is a protruding rock surface which is half-heartedly fenced off with a small wooden road block that said: “DANGER” in Malay.

Mom and I played it safe and didn’t walk down, although I would have if I were with friends.

We listened to the waves crash and the cicada sing as we stared at the very end (or beginning) of the Borneo island.

Tag: travel