Monthly Archives: January 2012

The Dragon Roars

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A Dragon has roared into Singapore. Its fiery breath has spread red and gold beautifully throughout the streets of Singapore.  Chinese New Year which is the most important traditional Chinese holiday began on January 23rd and does not finish until February 9th.  This marks the beginning of the Year of the Dragon which is considered to be very auspicious.  Good things seem to be about to happen everywhere.

A Flower Dragon on Orchard Road

This post has been intimidating to write.  Chinese New Year is such a beautiful and intricate celebration that I feel I can never do it justice.  I will try to communicate a small portion of the beauty we have seen throughout the streets and in lobbies of hotels and builds everywhere.

Two Enormous Dragons With Mandarin Orange Tree at the Sands Hotel and Casino

Dragons like the one above often have balls in their mouths.  This may represent the sun, moon, egg or pearl and is considered very lucky.  The orange also has a prominence in Chinese New Year celebrations and they are given as gifts and eaten at dinners.

Chinatown is of course particularly beautiful.

Temple Wall Decoration

Chinese New Year is a spring celebration and there are many plum tree blossoms and pussy willows.

The markets are filled with red tassels that are to be hung over the door to bring good fortune and hongbao (red envelopes) filled with money that are given out during celebrations.

Beautiful Dragon Puppets

As a proud mother,  I need to include one photo of two other “dragons” that roared into Singapore one month ago now.

We are truly enjoying our Asian adventure.

Dim Sum and Then Some

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Hong Kong is known for many things but among foodies the Cantonese version of dumplings or Dim Sum is king.  The traditional way to indulge in Dim Sum is on a lazy Sunday morning.  Women walk by with carts or baskets of food showing off the foods and with a simple nod you are digging into a tremendously delicate shell filled with gooey sweetness and spice.

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When you ask Sydney if she is hungry she will reply “Chicken-Rice”.  It does not matter the time of day or place be it 10 am by the  the pool if she is hungry it is always “Chicken-Rice”.  When the lady showed us her favorite foods wrapped in a banana leaf we had a happy girl.

Woman cannot live on Dim Sum alone as much as I would like to try so we ventured off to see more of Hong Kong.  Andy’s and my tour guide for our final evening was our old friend Matt.  I met Matt the day I moved into my freshman dormitory at Duke and later he lived in the same “college” which is loosely like a fraternity where  Andy and I were the semester we met studying in Sydney.  It had been over a decade since I saw him in person so it was fun to catch up.

Matt and I Drink Beer from Porcelain Bowls

Matt is a independent contracter who helps companies with web design.  He has lived several places in the world most recently in London.   However, he fell in love with the vibe of Hong Kong and moved here a year ago.  He was proud to show off his adopted city. He   took us to a fantastic restaurant in the Java Road Market.

The restaurant was filled with locals.  There were many people in large groups who appeared to be there for celebrations.  ”Ruby” is the jovial host.  Matt informed us that as the beer flowed more freely his antics became more wild.  At one point in our meal he led the restaurant in a rendition of “We Will Rock You”.  Hundreds of people clapping and stomping in the hall made it feel like a party indeed.

A small portion of the market. "Ruby" can be seen taking orders in the back.

The food was as fantastic as the atmosphere.  We had wonderful spicy crab with vegetables.

Black Squid Ink Pasta with Calamari

Hands down though my favorite dish was the Pepper Crusted Whit Fish.  The crust was an intricate mix of bread crumb, chili and black peppers.  I could have eaten the crust alone all night.  Hmm…maybe Syd’s onto something, my new mantra will be “Pepper Fish”

After dinner we headed to the Happy Valley Racecourse which is a Hong Kong institution.  The track was first built in the current location in 1845.  The city has sprung up around the course which makes for a fascinating sight.

The hour grew close to midnight.  Andy and I rushed back to the sitter.  The kids get up at 6 am regards of what we did the night before.  Matt who leads a much different life thought the night was too young and headed off to the bars for a bit longer.  I was grateful for a while to be part of the Hong Kong scene.  Now to dream of winning big at the race or “pepper fish”….

Hong Kong Pooh!!!

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Personally I find traveling in a busy, crowded Asian city far less intimidating than a journey to  Orlando.   The long lines and expanse of Walt Disney World seem difficult to navigate with two small children.  That said in Hong Kong Disney is easy and I must admit I enjoyed it far more that I thought.  First of all, it is a short walk from our hotel to the subway and after a few stops you board a special “Mickey Train.”  You are there in no time.

The Train Handle

Two Very Excited Kids

Hong Kong Disney is small relative to its United States counterparts.  The  ”biggest” ride is Space Mountain so for the ten and under crowd it is a perfectly wonderful place.   It is very similar to the American parks but there are distinct differences.  This is Mickey and Minnie dressed up in their finest Chinese New Years costumes at the entrance.

In the Chinese lunar calendar 2012 is the “Year of the Dragon”.  So even the Lion King had another ferocious beast behind him (not to mention the one in front).

Another distinct difference is when you are a light-haired, blue-eyed child in China you actually become an attraction.  It is amazing how many people want to get their photo taken with Aidan and especially Sydney.  In a sense I feel what it must be like to be famous because I could not go but a short distance with her until someone else was wanting to get her in a picture.  Fortunately she is usually a good sport.  Here are a few of my favorites we snapped of the “shoots.”

Aidan’s done with the movie star life and ready for rides

This was my second visit to Hong Kong Disney and each time I was surprised at how emotional I became when my children’s faces glowed as they first spotted their favorite character.  For Aidan it was dancing with Mickey at age 2 1/2 and for Sydney it was spotting Winnie the Pooh in the parade.  She loved it so much that now whenever I say “Hong Kong” she grabs my chin and looks me straight in the eye and says “Pooh” with a nod.  I always have to stand corrected and say “Yes Dear, Hong Kong Pooh.” To her the city and the stuffed, yellow, honey-loving bear are one and the same.

Sydney as she spotted "Pooh"

I must admit at times I had tears in my eyes at the pure joy my children faces expressed…perhaps that does make this magical place indeed.

The Many Markets of Hong Kong

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The reason for Andy’s business in Asia was to learn more about the various Asian investment markets.  Given I am not working and the children are not in school, we get to come along on trips.  Our first stop is to Hong Kong…

This is actually my third trip to Hong Kong.  The city’s beauty never ceases to amaze me every time.  At eight every night they light up the buildings with neon and lasers while music highlights the beauty across the harbor.

While Andy researched the stock market.  The children and I explored a few markets of our own.  First was the bird market lined with beautiful cages…

and birds…

and of course bird food…

Traditional Bird Seed

Bird Food That Wiggles

Jumping Bird Food

Down the Street a bit was the Goldfish Market.  There we dozens of shops filled with fish, aquariums, and aquatic plants.

The Flower Market was busy with everyone buying mandarin orange trees and decorations for Chinese New Year that starts on Monday.

Aidan and Sydney saw many animals they would like to invest in but alas travel and more living creatures to care for does not exactly fit in well to our plans.

Finger Foods in Singapore

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This morning we had a tour with our “relocation expert” Sharm.  Sharm is ethnically Indian but her family has been in Singapore for three generations.  She is very proud of her country and very helpful as we try to navigate our way around a new culture.  Today Sharm wanted to show us sites that were particularly fun for children, so we all piled into a van and were off to explore the island.  Our first stop was Pasir Ris Park.  It was a lovely series of playgrounds right on the beach on the eastern side of the islands.  Aidan of course buried himself in the sand and became filthy at the first stop.

Then we drove a bit more alone the island to the East Coast Park.  This is a lovely place where families will come on weekends to enjoy the ocean.

All the touring made us hungry so Sharm suggested some “finger foods”.  We drove to the “Little Malay” part of town and stopped at a small restaurant called Kim Choo Kueh Chang.  First we tried some Peranakan food delicacies.  Peranakan is the description of the culture of people who are ethnically Chinese immigrants who have mixed with the  Malay culture since the 16th century.  Essentially it is “local” Singaporean food.  Singapore like the US is a blend of ethnicities so it is very difficult to define local.

The first food we tried was Otah.  This is made from a Mackerel fish paste marinated with chili, lemongrass and othe spices then wrapped in coconut leaves and grilled over a charcoal flame.  You take the toothpicks out of the packet, pop off the top and eat out the the middle.  It was very much like eating a tamale.  A little spicy and very good.

Sydney demonstrates eating Otah.

The second food we tried was Bak Chung.  This is a pyramidal shaped steamed sticky rice dumpling wrapped in leaves and boiled.  The one we sampled was filled with minced pork however they can mushrooms, coriander seeds, mung beans  and even melons.  These were more in the family of dim sum.  The sticky rice was gelatinous and a little sweet.  The pork was a bit spicy which was a nice contrast.

Bak Chung on display

We enjoyed our sample of local “finger foods”.  Aidan liked it so much he congratulated the shopkeeper on a job well done.

“The City That Never Stops Eating”

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Anthony Bourdain premiered a new series in November called The Layover. In each episode he lands in a new city and explores the food culture in less than 48 hours.  For his first show he chose Singapore.  His reason, “Singapore’s the city that never stops eating. For a gastro-tourist, somebody who travels to eat, any kind of serious eater, Singapore’s probably the best place you can go for maximum bang in a minimum period of time.”

The quickest and best way to sample food is to go to the Hawker Centers.  This is one of the oldest ways of eating in Singapore.  There you will find a collection of food stalls. Some are very rustic with picnic benches and no AC, others are in fancy department stores.    They all have samples of the dishes either lying out, in plastic replica form or by picture.  You point to what you want and you are on your way.

A Fancy Hawker Center at the High End Takashimaya Department Store

A few more stalls...

This was my lunch today. I have a Thai Green Curry Addiction.

My children happen to love sushi and Japanese food.  Especially Aidan who claims he will eat 10,065 (or whatever big number he throws out at the moment) pieces of tuna when we go to Tokyo in June.  Fortunately for him he does not have to wait that long.  There is a wonderful hawker center literally across the street from us called “The Food Republic”.  He already has his favorite sushi stall and has made friends with the locals.

He also discovered a love for prawn tempura

Sydney Loves the Udon Noodles

In addition to the above mentioned cuisines almost anything else you want you can find.   Last week when walking in a mall Aidan smelled something that smelled so good.  ”What’s that smell, Momma?”  I look up and it is a restaurant that makes Rosti, a potato pancake dish famous in Switzerland.  He chose the Rosti with ham.  He and Sydney ate the whole thing and left me with the salad.

He loves Rosti. Now he wants to go to Switzerland too.

After a particularly good meal the kids are prone to break out into their “Happy Dances.”  Their shoes are already nearly worn out.

Aidan's "Happy Dance" after eating the food

Not to be outdone...here is Syd's Happy Dance! Bon Appetit

Local SIngapore food is a mix of what the immigrants from China, Malaysia, Indonesia and India have brought.  The names and variety of food are mind boggling.  We have a guide that has 300+ pages of food descriptions and locations to eat them at the hawker center.  It will take me the entire six months of blogging just to scratch the service.  I promise to try as many as possible.

Hiking Singapore Style

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Our family loves to hike.  Yesterday we did a trek around the MacRichie Nature trail.  The location was only about a 15 minute cab ride from our apartment but it felt quite remote when we arrived.  One unique attraction is the TreeTop walk.  This is a 2.5 km trail that has a suspension bridge in the trees so you can see the view from the canopy.

A beautiful view of the canopy

Sydney on the Suspension Bridge

I think the hike was an excellent metaphor for how I feel in Singapore.  The surroundings seem familiar yet there is are objects which are so foreign and exotic it constant reminds you that you are not home anymore.  For example here is a leaf Aidan found…Seems ordinary enough until look at it and hold it up.

Aidan and the giant rainforest leaf

It was almost as big as him!  Also the animals are a bit different.  They do have your typical squirrels but we also saw a whole troop of monkeys.

Long Tail Macaque

Aidan and Sydney were amazed by the long rows of ants.  The rows of ants seemed to go on forever.  Aidan also found a snake. He found it first and picked it up so fast.  ”Don’t worry it’s not poisonous because it did not bite me.”  Great deductive reasoning from my five year old.

The Non-Poisonous Snake

It was lovely adventure.  So far I am enjoying the excitement of our journey here in Singapore.

Our Singapore Fling

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We have arrived in Singapore!!

We have actually been here for  a week getting adjusted to our new environment.  This has proven to be an  exciting but challenging task.  Reflection has been given  little attention.  It is time to start sharing experience with friends and family at home and documenting the adventure for Aidan and Sydney who are too young to completely understand or remember what this all means.

Andy’s work has brought us here for six months.  We have a start date of December 27 and an end date of July 14, 2012.  In between we will live in a city that is growing at a mind boggling rate.  Singapore has only been an independent nation since 1965.  There are no obviously valuable natural resources.  Regardless this country is exploding with growth, development and wealth.   In the span of  practically one generation it has gone from a third world to a first world nation.  Singapore in Malay means “City of Lions”.   There were likely no lions ever living on the island but the power of the people here seem to make the name fitting indeed.

Our First Photo in Singapore

This post will be brief.  I need something to proverbially get the ball rolling.  I hope in the coming days to try to capture a bit of the experiences we will have that have already proven  intense and vibrant.   Should be a fascinating “fling” indeed.