Nosh of the Day: Green beans in some kind of sauce

Apparently the sauce is made from tofu and goma (sesame) among other things. You eat it cold, like a salad. Quite nice. It probably has a proper name in Japanese - I'll try to find out!

 

 

Find this dish at: Tampopo Deli, Basement at Liang Court, River Valley Road, Singapore.

Chinese New Year 2013

New Year Snake lanterns, in Chinatown, Singapore

新年快乐 (xin nian kuai le) everyone! Today is Chinese New Year. Or rather, it is the first day, and ONE of the many festival days of CNY. I think there around 14 with significance overall. In Singapore we have the weekend, then this coming Monday / Tuesday as public holidays. (And it's tipping with rain, so I am writing my blog!)

As some of you probably know, this is Lunar New Year (and also Spring Festival) as celebrated by Chinese across the globe (the Vietnamese have Tet around the same day, and there are others). It's probably the biggest festival on the calendar in East Asia. Because of the massive diversity among Chinese communities internationally, there are a trillion different variations on how CNY is celebrated, with some central themes. (A bit like Christmas in the West). So I am going to just stick to Singapore's celebrations for now!

CNY here IS like Christmas in the UK. There are decorations everywhere (usually in lucky red/gold), a big buildup, with stores pushing their wares and deals for CNY. All the big global chains cash in. There are certain traditional foods eaten over the festive period, so suddenly stores are filled with oranges and pineapple cookies; and there are ads up everywhere for abalone. (This is an edible shellfish btw - I hadn't actually clocked this before!) Sinagpore's entire retail hemisphere is encrusted with words like 'Prosperity' and 'Lucky'.

Singapore is a retail and food nirvana, and so despite public holidays, nothing much actually stops for regular New Year (1 Jan) or for Eid, Divali, or Christmas. But it does for CNY. I was rather banking on Japanese and other international outlets being open. Most are not! Last night we visited the bustling (and slightly posh) City Hall mall, to find 3/4 of it shut down. Supermarkets (local and international) are closed too. The only reliable exceptions seem to be MacDonalds, Starbucks, 7-11 and their compatriots. (Fast food dinner today then!) To be honest, just like at Christmas in the UK, I am a bit stuck to know what to do! Friends are around but it's raining heavily and the shops are shut. (Apparently Little India is still alive - we might go there. At least transport still operates in Singapore!)

As an outsider seeing ads and newspapers, CNY appears to be both an interesting ancient tradition, and a joyous time when Asian families get together in magical harmony. Asians are better at the family harmony thing, after all, right? But I am reliably informed by Singaporean colleagues that there is stressful retail pressure to buy gifts (not to mention pineapple cookies and abalone!) And that CNY is the time when families are pressured to be together and often have arguments. The Christmas family argument is almost part of our tradition in the UK now.. it seems that Asian families are no different! (And similarly, watching festive UK ads, Jamie Oliver and the like, probably doesn't give most outsiders such an accurate view of some UK Christmases!)

MacDonalds poster - the Prosperity Double Chicken Burger is a must!

Some people I know are using (or adding) the two public holidays to go on vacation for this period. And of course this is necessarily the case if parents etc live abroad. But perhaps unsurpisingly, plane tickets and accommodation mysteriously triple or quadruple in price over CNY. And, because most of East Asia celebrates it; this applies to most of East Asia! If you are not Chinese, and planning a Spring trip in Asia, check your dates first!

Most of Singapore's traditional celebrations take place in Chinatown. There will be Lion dances, acrobatics, stalls, firecrackers (these are allowed here for controlled and pre-organised displays) and the light-up of hundreds of lanterns. I suspect there might be fireworks too! Another traditional thing that still happens here is the giving of Ang Pao (lucky red envelopes of money) to friends and relatives. Traditionally they are more commonly gifts for children, but some offices offer extra money to employees as a kind of Ang Pao for the season.

 

In Singapore particularly, some Chinese families perform the 'Prosperity Toss' as part of the CNY feasting activities. What gets tossed is Lo Hei or Yusheng (depending on your dialect) - a salad made up of strips of raw fish and shredded vegetables, sprinkled with a special dressing. Locals use chopsticks to toss the salad into the air, symbolising abundance for the coming year. This is partly because the Chinese word for fish is very similar to the one for abundance - and so has come to represent this. I've been told the dish is also quite tasty. (Word-similarity / association is very common in Chinese culture - objects and numbers can bring good or bad luck accordingly.)

The Singaporean 'Prosperity Toss'

Well, the rain has stopped now, so it might be time to go out and explore. Happy New Year! (That's what the Chinese characters mean, btw.)

 

 

Above pix which Blogger wouldn't let me caption: Chinatown's roadside decorations, lanterns featuring the animals of the zodiac. This year's snake is considered difficult in terms of decoration - not cool like the Dragon, or cute like the Rabbit!

Additional pic credits: tnp.sg, Reuters.com

Shopping in Singapore Part 1: Orchard Road

OK, this series applies to tourist shopping, but also to day-to-day shopping for people who live here but are new to Singapore ways. It also summarises a couple of previous posts on the retail subject. I will start with the most obvious:

Orchard Road               

This is the main drag – the Oxford Street of Singapore.. but with Bond Street shops on it. The busiest part lies between Orchard and Somerset MRT stations. And yep, all the megabrands are here in abundance in a huge array of glittering (and a few slightly less glittering!) malls. There are nice cafes, restaurants (mostly chains, but if you dig deeper into some malls, you can find more interesting, independent ones). And you will also see some very impressive decorations here over festive seasons, as well as wild, colourful retail displays you might not find in Europe, at least. On a reflective note, Orchard Road kind of symbolises the rampant consumerist culture in Asia – so many Gucci, Prada, LV shops.. and yet they’re all seemingly profitable! It’s definitely worth a visit as a tourist or as a resident.

Reaching your retail destination

The problem with this place is it is a complete nightmare to navigate. OK, malls are their own navigation challenge, if you are not used to them (see Malled to death from Feb 2012). But this is a town-planning issue! Orchard is just one long road, but you can only cross it at a couple of controlled points. J-walking is generally not encouraged here, but on Orchard Road, they have actually put fencing up so that you can’t do it. To add to this, there are endless building works going on, meaning that half the thoroughfares are boarded up and crossings are closed. “So what? A little walking never killed anyone,” I might hear some of you pout! But actually, walking outdoors in Singapore is NO picnic – there is 60-95% humidity and the sun can be merciless.

The Orchard Road scenario often goes like this:

“Oh look, there’s the bank / shop / restaurant we want to visit… but it’s a couple of metres across  the road. Oh no, I can’t cross the road!” Cue schlepping three blocks, dripping with sweat, to the nearest crossing point, then schlepping the three blocks BACK on the other side of the road to reach your destination.  It can get frustrating!

 

 

Underground walkways and the ludicrous interchange

Right by Orchard MRT station, there is a crossroads (to other prime sites such as Shaw House, the Marriott and Hyatt hotels..) which we are not allowed to cross. (And yes, for the past 12 months at least, it has come with ample building works!)

There is a series of tunnels supposedly helping us to reach our (extremely close, but nevertheless inaccessible at street level) locations on the other sides. But this is possibly the most complex and badly signposted setup I’ve ever come across in a modern city! My first experience was trying to go to meet friends at the Shaw House cinema. Which is clearly visible and very close to the main MRT exit! But of course I could not access it there. I was 25 minutes late.. as I got stuck in this claustrophobic tunnel system.

A lot of the escalators up to desired locations are quite well-concealed, so – especially if you are new to Singapore – you can easily miss them and just go round and round in the tunnels getting vexed. Add to this the fact the tunnels are packed, and you have to contend with the slow, chaotic Singapore Shuffle, and you can see why it took 25 minutes to, effectively, ‘cross the street’.

There are also airconditioned tunnels between certain large malls (not all of which allow you to cross the street, however). Unless you know these well, they are like the crossroads system – packed, slow to walk along, and most of all, confusing with signage and exits.

Don’t visit Orchard Road on weekends or Singapore public holidays!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tips for visiting Orchard Road (if you make it on a working weekday)

You have two options here as I see it!

1. Ambling

If you have time and just want to mooch around, do this. It’s by far the most pleasant option, as on Orchard, intention = frustration!

·         Stay at street level for getting from A-B

·         Take a bottle of water with you as well as sunglasses, sunblock and I’d recommend a cheap paper fan

·         Make sure you have money from a ATM in advance

·         Take frequent breaks at cafes to relax and rehydrate (it will be nice and cool in the malls anyway)

·         Maybe start at one end, go up to a crossing point of choice, then work your way back.

2. A planned trip with purpose

·         Work out in advance where your desired destinations are

·         Plan so that you can do all of those on ONE side of the street together. Then, if you have to – find a crossing point and work your way back along the destinations on the other side of the street

·         Take a map of the area

·         Don’t think ‘I’ll have a look around then, go back’ if it requires crossing

·         Stay above ground, carry the fan etc as above

·         If you have to attempt the tunnel system, allow lots of extra time and treat it as an adventure, knowing in advance that it will probably drive you nuts. Look very carefully for small signs and concealed escalators!

·         If you have just one key destination and/or have a time-limit: take a cab.

Enjoy!

Guide to pix: (blogger won't let me caption them!) The CNY fan and flower decorations at Paragon; Apple tree decorations at Orchard Central (which is not, actually, central to Orchard, btw, but at the Somerset end!); Giant ice-creams somewhere near Somerset.