I have expressed quite a number of regrets in my post on the festive street bazaar at Chinatown for the Year of the Rooster and decided to return after a relatively early reunion dinner at Orchard today!
Craziness is in my blood as it is the eve of the lunar new year and massive crowd is to be expected! I sought solace in the fact that it was not even 8 pm and my intention was to cover just one street; Temple Street.
Upon arrival, i already noted there were changes to the composition of stalls; this vendor selling lighted candies wasn't there previously! On the lighted candles, they were marketed as an alternative to candles used for praying. They don't come cheap at S$5 apiece and 10 for S$35.
This wasn't here two weeks ago too; the confetti guns would come in handy when the clock strikes midnight to herald in the new lunar year. If i recollect correctly, i ever bought before at S$5 each and the promotion price at the bazaar was 3 for S$10.
Joo Chiat Kim Choo Traditional Dumplings - a fortnight ago, it was a stall selling six flavours of lemonade. Anyway, the market real demand would shift the push and pull factors for products and in this case, the traditional products prevail.
It was people mountain people sea (人山人海) but it was definitely manageable as compared to the one or two hours before midnight. By then, it would be more a human jam / people pushing.
Some vendors had already started slashing their price! Those offering festive decorations related to the rooster year would likely be the first to start the price war as it would be another twelve years before the same zodiac animal appears.
My first stop - buying the aromatic instant kopi o from Coffee Hock! I honestly need to cut down on my sugar level and it would be good to transit from 3-in-1 coffee to 2-in 1.
Garlic decorations - no, it's not because vampires would come visiting. The pronunciation of garlic in Chinese is "suan" which sounds like counting and in this case, symbolizes the counting of money!
This was another new item and one that threw me into a dilemma; should i buy or should i not? Even though it was branded as a basket for mandarin oranges, the operator said it could also be used to store eggs!
I really do need one and had in fact contemplated buying one off from Taobao.com. It didn't help that there were quite a number of designs for me to choose from and the price was reasonable.
Eventually, i pushed off the thought to purchase; my main worry was whether it would be lasting as i am not looking for something just to last me through the 15 days of celebration for the new lunar year and it did seem like the gold paint would drop after a while.
Ants have returned to my flat (no doubt the result of too much baking) and i couldn't wait to chase them out! This product had been seen on quite a number of occasions and i guess i should give it a try; 30 pills for S$14. Hope they work!
I was on the lookout for this store as it would normally be at Chinatown street bazaar but i didn't see it two weeks ago! Glad to find it again as the air revitaliser at my parents' place was too dirty and a replacement would be necessary! Promotion: revitaliser plus concentrate at S$22 a basic set.
Peanut and melon seed operators were busied apportioning their goods into ready-to-go packages as a price reduction would be inevitable and by then, customers would just grab, pay and go!
With so many pomelos, i can understand the reduction from S$12 to S$8. I never crave for pomelos as i don't know how to choose and many a time, they were more sourish and bitter than sweet, even the ones i had at Ipoh.
Promotion from the King of Melon Seeds - not attractive enough for me to fork out my money!
Remember the Korean mushroom store that's at Chinatown every year?! They started selling almond nuts in addition to the shitake mushrooms and mushroom seasoning powder.
Another mainstay for the festive bazaar - the mushroom's next door neighbour that offered a long line of Chinese New Year biscuits and snacks. I am surprised to see that they had cleared so much stock!
My surprise was to be expected when i saw the cardboard placard held on the operator; even i am tempted to buy 7 boxes since it would only cost me S$10!
Carnation flowers at 3 bunches for S$10; i was thinking if i should get some for mum as she uses flowers for the altar and decided not to as she would likely have purchased some earlier in the morning.
Pretty right?
There was a long queue at the Taiwanese jelly stall and i wonder why as pricing was still quite high at S$1.20 per 100 grams (usual price was S$1.80). I was thinking of one plastic bag for S$10 and for customers to fill as much as they want.
Certain stalls seemed to be rather cleaned out already; maybe the price slashing had already started much earlier? I did hear from the radio station that the rain in the past few days had resulted in very bad business and some stalls were already slashing the prices.
I think the canvas shoes were S$10 a pair previously.
Personally, i disagreed with the priority for shops to rent the bazaar space in front of their shop as it merely became an extension for an activity that has nothing to do with the festival.
Wow! Buy 500 grams of peanuts / melon seeds and get 1,000 grams for free; that's a ridiculous 66% discount! The uncle shouted that no phototaking is allowed; hello, camera phones are everywhere and sometimes, their photo taking capability is much better than conventional cameras!
I went to my usual stall instead to buy 3 packs of 500-gram phoenix eye melon seeds at S$15. By the way, i checked with the store owner on the expiry date and the seeds can last for about six months; long enough for my mom and i.
Barbie dolls lookalike.
The picture brightened up the dark alley a lot more but i had to take the shortcut as i wouldn't want to endure any squeezing through the super crowded Trengganu Street!
Walked past this shop and started remember i had to buy red packets. Even though i am unmarried, i have made it a point to give my parents ang pow as a blessing for them to remain happy and healthy.
Traffic control for Chinatown MRT station had already started for the entrance at Pagoda Street! I didn't want to join the queue and opted to walk further towards Chinatown Point.
Entire road was closed for pedestrians only and there was ample space at that time for me to slow down my pace and enjoyed the light spring breeze.
Of course, who can miss the humongous rooster?!
Hereby wishing all my readers happy lunar year and hope that the rooster year will give you plenty of happiness, no illness / ailment and overflowing wealth! Huat ah!
