Jul 2023, Guangzhou I walked past Starbucks at the Guangzhou Airport and my mind started drifting back to 2009. I had just relocated from Singapore to Shanghai at that time. For the next five years, whenever I needed a break from being in China, I had always stepped into a Starbucks. It was my comfort... Continue Reading →
Nov 2014. Shenyang There was never a strong necessity for me to cook in my Singaporean life. That changed when I moved to Shanghai in 2009. Then when I moved to Shenyang in 2014, cooking really became a necessity. So I started cooking more. On some weekends, I would invite friends over, cooked the curries... Continue Reading →
Sep 2014. Anshan We are truly a melting pot of culture in Singapore and Malaysia. Whenever I followed my mum to the wet markets in Singapore in the 1970s, the market vendors measured the weight of things in catties. One catty is 604grams. And the catty is actually a Malay word for the traditional Chinese... Continue Reading →
Aug 2014. Shenyang One day I was in downtown for my weekly shopping when I came across a crowd looking at a long banner on a public road. A guy was apparently airing his grievances in public which is not something you do or can do commonly in China. I was surprised that the authorities... Continue Reading →
Aug 2014. Shenyang We used to joke in Singapore that Singaporeans love to queue. Longer the queue the better, because it only means that something great must be happening on the other end. In China, it was the opposite. Unless enforced, queuing is not an automatic public behaviour in China. People do queue in Beijing... Continue Reading →
Jul 2014. Shenyang Singapore was a Malaysian state until 1965 when Singapore become independent and therefore both countries share a common past and culture. In both countries, night markets are called "Pasar Malam" in Malay. One of my earliest childhood memories is my mum bringing me and my brothers to the "Pasar Malam" in Singapore... Continue Reading →
Jul 2014. Shenyang Raising a glass with an alcoholic beverage to toast in public is rare in Singapore and Australia but for different reasons. It's not culturally accepted in Singapore because people don't drink wine there and also because there could be a Muslim on stage or in the audience and Muslims don't drink. In... Continue Reading →
A small town in Henan. 2016 Confucius was an ancient Chinese philosopher famous for his teachings on ethics, good behaviour and moral character. Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, whom we deeply respect, used the Confucian values for Singapore's nation-building process in the 1980s. Even though Singapore is a multicultural society, it had a large Chinese majority... Continue Reading →
Shanghai. Aug 2013 The Chinese have used seals for government and private affairs for thousands of years. A seal is a printing stamp used in place of signatures in contracts, art, currency or other items that needs authenticity. The Chinese seal is made of stone, metal, wood, plastic or ivory and uses ink, unlike the... Continue Reading →
Shanghai. Aug 2013 This is sardine sambal my Singapore auntie made when she visited us in Shanghai back in 2013. It feeds 4-6 people and here's the recipe. Step1. Chop one medium-sized onion. Cut 2-inch ginger into slits. Smash 6 garlic cloves. Slit 2 large chillies lengthwise. Grind a tablespoon of pepper. Step 2. Mix... Continue Reading →