East Coast Park, Sands Skypark, and Gardens By The Bay

Saturday, 17 February 2018

Pokemon Go is still very popular in Singapore and Bren has started playing again since we've lived here.  People here are really quite into it though.  We often see people with multiple phones playing.  Bren beat a gym across the street from our apartment, and then this guy rolled through with 3 phones...

After getting crushed in Pokemon Go, we headed down to East Coast Park becuase the weather was beautiful today. 

 

 

We got ice cream cones and watched lots of families playing games of cricket or bocci ball and games we didn't know that involved bound ankles and versions of rock-paper-scissors.  And the weather was so breezy and nice!  After exploring at East Coast Park we headed to the Skypark rooftop at Marina Bay Sands.  After taking the elevator up 54 floors, we reached an amazing view of the city skyline and Gardens By The Bay.

 



 

 

The view was incredible and I'm glad we decided to buy the tickets to go up there.  It was a pretty neat experience seeing a 270 degree view of the city and surrounding parks.  After the Skypark, we walked around Gardens By The Bay.  We ate dinner at an Indian Curry House that had happy hour $5 beers (the cheapest we have found yet in Singapore).  The nan and curries were delicious, and I definitely want to come back here.  We stayed for the light show at Gardens By the Bay and it was awesome! We had not been to it yet, and I can't believe this happens for free every night.  It was really a beautiful light show.  And there was a "spring surprise" on the stage to the side of the gardens afterwards with dragon and lion dances. 

 

 

 

MacRitchie Reservoir, Riverside Dinner, and River Hongbao

Friday, 16 February 2018

We got lunch at Roti Prata today with Eddie and Kara and then set out to hike around the MacRitchie Reservoir through the TreeTop Walk.  And saw some chill monkeys!

We ate some snacks and then headed to the city.

 

 

We went to dinner at a touristy spot on the river that was overpriced, but my thai green curry was spicy and delicious and the view was great!

 

 

After dinner we walked down to Marina Bay and the River Hongbao.  The River Hongbao has been on Singapore's festive calendar as part of Chinese New Year celebrations every year since 1987.  It is held at NS Square, the Marina Bay floating platform, and this iconic event has become an integral tradition of Singapore's Lunar New Year celebrations for locals and tourist.  The festival offers a special Chinese Cultural experience--from giant lanterns to tradition food, to giant inflatable "year of the dog" displays!

 

Haw Par Villa, Korean BBQ, and Chinatown Chinese New Year Celebration

Thursday, 15 February 2018

Kara and Eddie stayed at a hotel in Little India last night, but for the rest of their visit they are staying at our apartment.  They met us at the apartment this morning and we planned out our activities for the day:  Haw Par Villa (Bren's favorite place in Singapore), Korean BBQ (across the street from Haw Par Villa), and then Chinatown this evening for the Chinese New Year (eve) celebrations!

 

We went to Ju Shin Jung Korean BBQ Restaurant for a late lunch/early dinner before heading to Chinatown.  It was delcious!  Bren had eaten Korean BBQ many times while he visited Korea back when he lived in Japan.  It was interesting to hear about the different dishes from him--there were so many dishes! 

 

We headed to Chinatown after our filling meal.  It was so crowded on the narrow streets so we decided to watch the crowds and festivities from the hawker food center second floor.  It was a great, aerial view for everything going on below on the streets.  For midnight, we decided to walk to Marina Bay where there were fireworks at midnight to ring in the New Year!

 

 

Such a fun day exploring and celebrating with our friends!



Celebrating Chinese New Year wtih Academy of Singapore Teachers

Wednesday, 14 February 2018

The Fulbright group was invited to celebrate Chinese New Year with the Academy of Singapore Teachers staff.  The celebration took place from 11:15am - 1:00pm and we were encouraged to come in red or Chinese ethnic costume.  A few weeks ago, I found a traditional Chinese outfit at the Lucky Bazaar thrift store for $4 and some fun Year of the Dog earrings. 

At the Chinese New Year celebration there were lots of traditional activities and some silly, "dog themed" games. 

The most exciting part was sharing the "Fa Cai Yu Sheng," a popular Singaporean New Year delicacy.  Here is some information I learned about it:

Origins
Today's colorful version of Yusheng and the practices of eating it on the seventh day of Chinese New Year appears to be unique to Malaysia and Singapore.  Four local chefs are credited for developing Yusheng as we know it today.  They named the dish "Lucky Raw Fish" and popularized as a New Year delicacy.

Ingredients
Arranged on a large serving plate, the colourful array of ingredients include raw fish wich is traditionally ikan parang or "mackerel," although now other fish/seafood is used, shredded green radish drained of liquid, shredded carrots adding a bright orange tinge to the dish, pickled ginger, crushed nuts.

The ingredients are topped with various condiments including deep-fried flour crisps, crushed peanuts, sesame seeds, cinnamon, pepper, and other spices.  All at the table would then jointly toss the salad with a generous portion of plum sauce and cooking oil to add sweetness and taste. 

Rituals and Meanings
Yusheng plays on the homonyms where yu means "fish" but pronounced appropriately, it also means "abundance"; and sheng means literally "raw" but enunciated appropriately, it means "life".

Thus Yusheng implies "abundance of wealth and long life".

In Cantonese it is known as lo sheng with "lo" also meaning "tossing up good fortune."  The tossing action is called "lo hei", which means to "rise" (hei), again a reference to a thriving business and thus its popularity with businessmen during the New Year. 

I received a step-by-step guide to "Lo Hei"-ing the right way...

Step 1: All at the table offers New Year greetings.
Words: "Gong xi fa cai" meaning "Congratulations for your wealth" or "Wan shi ru yi" meaning "May all your wishes by fulfilled."

Step 2: Fish, symbolising abundance or excess through the year, is added. 
Words: "Nian nian you yu" and "You yu you sheng"

Step 3: Pepper is then dashed over the ingredients in the hope of attacting more money and valuables.
Words: "Zhao cai jin bao"

Then oil is pooured out, circling the ingredients to increase all profits 10,000 times and encouraging money to flow in from all directions.
Words: "Yi ben wan li" and "Cai yuan guang jin"

Step 4: Carrots are added to the fish indicating blessings of good luck.
Words: "Hong yun dang tou"

Then shredded green raddish is placed on the fish symbolising eternal youth.
Words: "Qing chun chang zhu"

Step 5: The condiments are finally added.  First, peanut crumbs are dusted on the dish symbolising a household filled with gold and silver.  As an icon of longevity, peanuts also symbolise eternal youth.
Words: "Jin yin man wu"

Sesame seeds quickly follow symbolising a flourishing business.
Words: "Sheng yi xing long"

Deep-fried flour crisps in the  shape of golden pillows is then added with wishes that literally
the whole floor would be filled with gold.
Words: "Pian di huang jin."

The Fun Part!-Enjoy!!-Blessings!!!

Step 6: Toss the salad an auspicious 7 times with loud shouts of "lo hei" and other auspicious New Year wishes. 
Words: "Lo hei" which is Cantonese for "tossing luck."

 The food was all delicious!

It was such a fun time celebrating Chinese New Year with the AST staff!

 

 

When I got home, Bren and I exchanged notes/cards (since it was also Valentines Day) and Bren got me a "heart" pastry :)

 

 

To make the day even more exciting, Kara and Eddie arrived and we met up with them for dinner (at a hawker stand) and drinks at Haji Lane.  It's so fun having friends here!  I have Thursday, Friday, and Monday off from school so I can't wait to show them around Singapore and partake in Chinese New Year celebrations with them.