Henan, 2015 For dinner, there was more food and more Chinese baijiu. The dishes included tofu, pork meat balls, fish balls and egg and tomatoes soup and many other vegetable dishes. This time my neighbour's wife also joined the table. There were a lot of loud conversations and laughters. I kept quiet because I was... Continue Reading →
Henan, 2015 The farmer's house was made of bricks and concrete, three storey's high and huge. They gave me my own room to sleep on the first day. On the second day, they downgraded me and I had to share the room with his grown-up grandsons who arrived. These boys were amused to share a... Continue Reading →
Henan, 2015 About twenty relatives arrived at Mr Liu's farm house to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Some of them were from the same farm but others arrived from other cities. I felt very fortunate and honoured to be included into their annual reunion gathering. They cooked a huge amount of food for the festive... Continue Reading →
Henan, 2015 There are no farms in Singapore but I have visited some farms in Malaysia and Australia but not in China. This was my first time in China. The farm fields offered breathtaking views of greenery and was beautiful. There were a few old mud brick houses and many two to three storey houses... Continue Reading →
Henan, 2015 One day, I gave a hot pot dinner treat to my neighbours to say thanks for hosting me. I can't recall what kind of a hotpot was this because it was bloody hot. Just look at the assortment of red chillies and Sichuan peppercorns I had to scoop out of the hot pot... Continue Reading →
Henan, 2015 I recall a dish from a small nondescript restaurant while in the small Henan town. It was a slurry soup with tofu strips, tomatoes, eggs and coriander leaves. Absolutely delicious and felt warm in my tummy during that cold winter. It was also a wonderful appetiser before moving to the bok choy, fried... Continue Reading →
Henan, 2015 My father used to tell me that when it rained during the Chinese New Year holidays in Singapore, the streets would turn into rivers of red. He was talking about the 1960s before the time when firecrackers were banned in Singapore. I finally understood what he was saying after so many years later... Continue Reading →
Henan, 2015 Fire crackers are a big part of the Chinese New Year celebrations. In fact if you don't hear fire crackers, you don't really feel like its Chinese New Year time. Sales of fire crackers are a big business during Chinese New Year season. Normally you don't have a dedicated fire cracker shop selling... Continue Reading →
Chinese people will normally stick red good fortune banners and signs during the Chinese New Year, especially on their front doors and windows, regardless if its their home or business. This is also something that I started following in my later years in China and in fact continue to do so even now in Australia.... Continue Reading →
Henan, 2015 Normally it is easy to find more pop-up shops than usual during the Chinese New Year time. This gives last minute shoppers an opportunity to buy what they need to celebrate the Chinese New Year. My Chinese friends told me that its usual for the prices of vegetables and meat to go up,... Continue Reading →