Spring Festival (The Spring Cleaning)

Spring cleaning is part and parcel of Chinese New Year and in fact, is mandatory for most Chinese families with a fierce or nagging mother.

no, No, nO, NO! I am not complaining!! 

It is indeed a great time to tidy up the house a little bit, making it more welcoming to the visitors. You wouldn't want them to see a dirty pig sty with furniture that have a layer of dust (note, that picture is downloaded from HERE; it's not MY HOUSE!) .

Psst, tell you the truth, i loveeee spring cleaning (quite obvious from one post HERE)! There's always so many:

1) aww-ohh-ahh memories

(cards, presents, poems from ex(s) etc),  

2) lost items you can find

(my long lost blue boxer etc),  

3) things that surprise you

(i thought i had a full series for Crayon Shinchan etc)

The old time walkman (cassette player) and discman (music cd player). I love the brand Aiwa then! Its products were so durable!

My stash of pagers!!! These were the initial inexpensive trackers and portable communication devices 13-14 years back!

This was the catheter used on me when i was going through my medic course in my army days. Yes, practice made perfect.

A tube containing my blood. It was drawn during an annual test for the medics. I was selected for my noticeable and easily found veins. =_=

The already-phased-out weekend coupons that off peak cars can used. Gosh! I didn't know we spent so much on them! One piece cost S$20!!

My first encyclopedia! I learnt so much about a lot of things, including all the presidents from United States (till George Bush Sr)!

Lastly, it is the GREAT satisfaction that awaits you at the end of this chore.

The tidy TV console with a lot of barang barang behind the glasses ande full range of doraemon toys with the chinese horoscopes theme!

The neat 2 doors wardrobe with the same range of hangars!! My wish is to get a 4 doors wardobe this year. I don't have any more space!!! TOTO TOTO TOTO!

The very adorable book cases with my hello kitty collections. Hahaha. So cute!

My comic collections!

My personal space that had my last pack of ciggies, my collections of extracted teeth from my dental orderly days, my last pony tail etc etc etc

If only the tidiness will stay forever n ever.......

Bird's Nest (燕窝) @ ZTP (正中平)

Remember the bird's nest advertisement featuring David Gan, the very very famous "auntie" hairstylist in Singapore, touting ZTP's bird's nest as the best???

Privately, I don't agree.

Of course, it's purely my own opinion and it's true i have my fair share of home made bird's nest (obviously the best) catering to my personal preference of rock sugar without ginseng etc.

Home-Made Bird's Nest (Blood's Nest)

The label itself also stated that it was made in Singapore and contained the usual ingredients of bird's nest, rock sugar and water.

BUT i am adamant that this supposedly premium bird's nest purchased from ZTP as a definitive "far off the mark" from the usual ones we always purchased for six small bottles in one box.

Never had i drank such HORRIFYING bird's nest; the only exception is the fake, gelatin-made one!!!

At an offer price of S$28 for a 250ml bottle, the issue was with the swallows' slobber, not the soup (which was still okay). Though the quantity was there, the quality was obviously not. Even picky Alex agrees with me on this.

I am not sure if Singapore adopts the same food labeling standard from USA, where you have to label accurately the ingredients used in a product. If Singapore is indeed using that standard, something must be bloody wrong with my taste buds.

Or this particular swallow has exceptionally-unpalatable salivary glands.

Hainanese Chicken Rice (海南雞飯) @ Da Jia Lai (大家来海南雞飯)

My mom doesn't understand the obsession both Alex and i have with the Hainanese Chicken Rice in Yishun, which i blogged memorably HERE.  

Her preference stands with this particular stall which always attract a long queue at the hawker centre situated opposite Yio Chu Kang Community Centre in Yio Chu Kang (phew... a non-breather mouthful of sentence!!). Or is it Ang Mo Kio? The segregation of areas in Singapore is really not easy!!! Like Yishun and Khatib!! Khatib is in fact a sub area within Yishun!!

I digress.

About this stall, translated auspiciously as "Everybody Come," i tried once but my memory was pretty fuzzy on the food although i do remember my brother in law queued a long time for them!! That was before the hawker centre was rebuilt, after the big fire that was heavily reported in the mass media.

Not sure if i have said this before but since my teens, i have always preferred roasted chicken, instead of the standard steamed white chicken typical of the Hainanese Style. White chicken skin (also know as oh-my-gosh-eeee fats) looks rather unpalatable and "fatty" compared to roasted chicken skin.

Down at "Everybody Comes" (not for dirty minded people), i tried the roasted chicken rice. At S$2.50 a plate, it's a dollar cheaper than the one i like in Yishun, with an equal serving of chicken meat. 

Unfortunately, the meat was drier and the rice was also not as fragrant as the one in Yishun. And i don't understand the necessity of having half a kalamansi lime there!

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That said, the dish was definitely not horrible bad and in fact, was better than a lot of many other chicken rice stalls dotted around this little red dot. To be more fair for comparison, i shall try their steamed white chicken rice the next time.

Location

As mentioned above. Search for the words and use streetdirectory.com. Thanks!

Night Market at Chinatown 2010 (牛车水年货市场)

With Chinese New Year (CNY) fast approaching in less than a week, one key attraction for all Singaporeans (regardless of races and religions) is the leisure strolling amongst the temporary night markets for CNY, notably in "where else but" Chinatown.

Though it is well-known as the night market to go before CNY where you can soak in the festive mood with its beautiful light-up, i personally prefer to go during the daytime when the sun is hot and sweat is guaranteed to wet my boxer shirt.

Reason?
It is too BLOOODY crowded at night!!!!!!!

Not being able to move along a street is one irritating thing but being pushed while you are looking at some interesting things (like food etc) is f*cking annoying!!!! And being small sized, i cannot help but to go with the flow~~~~.

Anyway, it was still quite crowded on a Friday afternoon though it was a far cry from the CNY eve i went two years back. Some stalls, though the percentage was rather small, were not open for business at around 1pm.

Some pictures for you!!

*warning: a lot of them*

It's the year of the tiger!! Expect loads of tiger soft toys!!

Makan Makan

Dried Cod Fish Jerky

Dried Nuts

This shop sells nothing but CNY decorations!

Japanese Jelly or are they Taiwanese Jelly?

Glittering windmills toys! I used to play this when i was a kid. It's a pity this thing doesn't operate like a fan. I stank horribly that day!

Festive Biscuits by the THOUSANDS

Dried Pessimons! It's actually a very tasty snack!

Red packets for the kids and er... singles!! Like me!!

Nice, brightly colored cushion covers for sale!

Mochi!! These soft soft snacks from Taiwan have been very popular in recent years!

Dried Fruits

Besides the red red gold gold decorative items, this stall sells sparklers too!! In fireworks deprived Singapore, this is the best we can get.

If i have a niece, i sure buy this! But mine is a nephew and i will risk being murdered by my sister if i ever buy this for him!!

Dried Fruits Again

Anyone fancies a whole leg of ham???

You need someone to write a calligraphic couplets for your door? For a fee, it's always possible here!

It's on a Friday more than a week before the big day (CNY) and the queue was already around 200-300 meters long outside this super popular Bak Kwa Shop; Lim Chee Guan!!

The market has so many things; you can even find a basket of sexy, grandmother-style bras for sale.

Disclaimer:
This is only part of the market!!!

Explore it yourself for the full enjoyment!!

Hong Kong Desserts @ Ji De Chi (记得吃)

Nowadays, it's getting more and more common to have shops naming themselves as a Chinese sentence that feel very warm at heart for commoners (like me); think Wan Dou Sek (搵到食: Found The Food), Sik Wai Sin (食为先: Food Comes First) and now Ji De Chi (记得吃: Remember To Eat).

For Chinese like me, these words centre around the most basic of the Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Food. That, coupled with the many vibrant pictures of desserts, proved to be irresistible for me not to patronise the eatery i am posting today; Ji De Chi!

In actual fact, i reckoned i have resisted long enough but there's a limit to what humans can do to push away temptation!! Especially when it has minimum impact to the people surrounding your life.

Unfortunately, with immense temptation comes not one, not two but three trips to Ji De Chi. Here's some of the things i had.

Mango in Pomelo Sago

Two versions: The first time i had this, the pomelo sago was tardy, slightly saltish and i thought it might be better to stick to the mango.

The second time, the pomelo was better tasting but the mango this time was disappointing. It might look yellowish sweet but it was not to be.

Mixed Ball in Ginger Soup

Age-related; i like ginger soup with its hot, spicy and sweet combination! The tangyuan (balls) here had a sticky dough that sticked between your teeth but the inside was marvelicious!! 

Nothing beats crushed bitey peanuts in a tangyuan!

Mango Baked Puff Rolls

This was hot!!! As in temperature hot!!! In degrees celcius!!!

Double edged sword though! When it's hot; difficult to eat, when it's cold, not nice to eat. The key is to eat it at the optimal temperature!

Water Chestnut Cake

Personally, i think this was the best out of the lot! It was not overly sweet like most desserts we know and was jelly-like with loads of chestnut bits for chewing pleasure! 

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Location

A few branches in Singapore, I know of Jurong Point (the new extension), Chinatown Point and have heard of branches in Upper Cross Street and Liang Seah Street. Go Google please.

Additional Information

If you really want to know, my preference is with the local Singaporean style of desserts like chng tng, ice kacang, chendol etc etc. They feel............ well, more at home in my stomach although food items like tangyuan were pretty customary for all Chinese.

Ji De Chi has an extensive menu and the prices varies; its mixed balls in ginger soup (tangyuan) was in fact price-comparable with some stalls in hawker centres. 

Yet, we all know all businessmen are not stupid; portions i had were not big.

Not that i am complaining for this reduced food intake.