Tag: Singapore

From Teochew To Hakka, How Our Grandparents’ Heritage Shaped S’pore’s Chinese Cuisine

I’m not a foodie. I’m averse to too many types of food, primarily seafood, to be a foodie.

But I enjoy learning about food and different cuisines. I love learning about what goes into a dish, and how it is cooked and prepared.

I’ve spent way too many weekend afternoons watching cooking programs, from Rachael Ray to Jamie Oliver and Curtis Stone.

However, as a Chinese kid, one thing greatly annoys me about western chefs and cooks. Their version of “Asian” cuisine is always wrong. Just because a dish has fish sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, chilli, or sesame seeds, does NOT make it an “Asian” or “Asian-inspired” dish.

It’s a sin that’s committed by almost all western celebrity chefs. So today, with my own knowledge, I’ll educate you guys on the different types of Chinese cuisine, specifically from the different dialect groups.

Cantonese Cuisine

Growing up, I always associated Cantonese cuisine with Dim Sum, mainly because it’s so popular in Hong Kong.

However, Cantonese cuisine is so much more than Dim Sum.

Cantonese cuisine also has very bold and strong flavours and it can be seen in the types of sauces that the dishes are usually paired and served with. Examples include Black bean sauce, Oyster sauce, Sweet and Sour sauce, and even our favourite Shrimp (Prawn) paste.

There’s also a lot of preserved and dried ingredients used to improve or layer flavours in a dish. Ingredients such as Century egg, Salted egg, Preserved radish (better known as Cai Po that we eat with Chwee Kueh), and Salted fish.

Hakka Cuisine

My encounters with Hakka cuisine are mostly thanks to my maternal grandfather. He’s proudly Hakka and we used to visit his hometown back in the Hakka province in China.

While Cantonese cuisine relies a lot on the condiments for flavour, Hakka cuisine has flavourful ingredients. The main ingredients is usually already preserved or braised, which already imparts a lot of flavour into the ingredient itself.

The garnish and condiments are usually to complement the main ingredient. One example of this is Braised Pork Belly with Preserved mustard greens.

One of my personal favourites is Hakka Yong Tau Foo. Unlike the one we commonly find in Singapore, the ingredients in Hakka Yong Tau Foo are stuffed with minced pork or a meat paste and served with a yellow bean stew.

A variant I’ve tried is a dry stir-fried version of minced pork-stuffed beancurd in a peppery, starchy sauce and garnished very generously with spring onions.

Other Hakka dishes you might be familiar with include Thunder Tea Rice (Lei Cha Fan), Salt-Baked Chicken, and the famous Abacus Beads.

Hokkien Bak Kut Teh is the dark, herbal version that’s usually found in Malaysia. I personally prefer the Teochew version.

Another famous Teochew dish is Teochew porridge. In contrast with the thicker Cantonese congee, Teochew porridge has a thinner consistency with loose grains. The porridge is usually served with salted vegetables, boiled salted egg, fried peanuts and salted fish.

Singapore’s cuisine has its roots primarily in Hokkien and Teochew cuisine, with a few influences from Cantonese cuisine. Chinese cuisine is as diverse as the provinces in China, each with its own influences, ingredients, cooking style, and flavour.

So before you go throwing sesame seeds into a dish and calling it Asian food, you might want to have PROPER Chinese cuisine first.

Also read McDonald’s Brings The Popular D24 Durian McFlurry To S’pore – Available From July 5

(Header Image Source: Burppler Denise Ong, Saltalk, Asian Inspirations)

The Singapore Zoo Lights Up At Night This July With A New Luminous Rainforest Trail

Have you been to the Singapore Zoo at night?

I’m not talking about the Night Safari. I mean, the Singapore Zoo. Usually, you won’t. Or rather, you can’t because the Zoo closes at 6pm daily.

From 1 July 2018, you can!

The Singapore Zoo has come up with a new attraction in celebration of its 45th birthday!

Introducing Rainforest Lumina.

A Rainforest Light Show In The Dark

Held in collaboration with Moment Factory, Rainforest Lumina is apparently the first multi-sensory night walk experience in Asia, with more than 10 interactive zones along the 1km light trail that takes you through the Singapore Zoo.

However, don’t expect to see any live animals (they’re off-duty). The only animals you’ll see are on the various light installations or projections.

With zones that look like they’re lifted straight out of James Cameron’s 2009 film, Avatar, this is guaranteed to be a luminescent spectacle.

Stroll on the Luminous Pathway, step through the Shimmering Islands, and marvel at the glowing Lantern Passage.

Check out the trailer for Rainforest Lumina below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_M8WmEeh7Xk

There are 7 timeslots available per night, and ticket prices are $22 for adults and $16 for children between ages 3 and 12.

You may purchase your tickets here.

This is a rare opportunity to experience the Singapore Zoo in the dark so gather the family and take the kids to Rainforest Lumina this July!

Rainforest Lumina
Venue: Singapore Zoo, 80 Mandai Lake Road
Date: From 1 July 2018
Price: Adult: $22, Child (3 – 12 years old): $16
Website

Also read The Longest Lunar Eclipse Of The Century Is Almost 2 Hours – Witness It In S’pore On July 28

(Header Image Source: Jの背包旅行)

Catch Troye Sivan At This Exclusive Fan-Signing Session In S’pore This July

You’ve seen him on Youtube, on The Ellen Show, on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and even at the Youtube Fanfest in Singapore back in 2014!

In order to participate, you have to do the following:

1. Pre-order Troye Sivan’s upcoming album “Bloom” on iTunes.
2. Submit a screengrab/screenshot of the album pre-order.

Upload your screengrab/screenshot in this Also read The Longest Lunar Eclipse Of The Century Is Almost 2 Hours – Witness It In S’pore On July 28

(Header Image Source:

The Longest Lunar Eclipse Of The Century Is Almost 2 Hours – Witness It In S’pore On July 28

28 July 2018.

Mark your calendars because there’s going to be another LUNAR ECLIPSE happening!

And not just any typical lunar eclipse. Set to last 1 hour and 43 minutes, this will be the longest lunar eclipse of the century and will be visible from Asia, Australia, Africa and Europe.

Which also means, we’ll be able to see it from Singapore!

Once In A Blood Moon

If you’re planning to witness this lunar event, be prepared to stay up late.

The eclipse will begin at 1.14am on 28 July 2018, with the total eclipse set to happen from 3.30am to 5.13am.

The last lunar eclipse we had was back in 31 January 2018, which saw a lunar eclipse, blue moon, and Supermoon happen all at the same time.

The next lunar eclipse we’ll be seeing after the one in July, will be on 21 January 2019.

So clear your schedules and get your phones, cameras and telescopes out for this once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event.

Also read King Of Broadway Jungle ‘The Lion King’ Returns To S’pore From June To August

(Header Image Source: Earth Sky)

Creamery Boutique Is Gearing Up For National Day With Chilli Crab And Ondeh Ondeh Flavoured Desserts

If you’ve been to Creamery Boutique, then you’d know that they’re famous for their homemade ice cream paired with lava cookies.

With National Day 2018 coming up, they’ve unveiled 2 Singaporean flavours to commemorate Singapore’s 53rd birthday.

Ondeh Ondeh Cookie With Milo Dinosaur Ice Cream ($8.90)

Creamery Boutique pays homage to the traditional Ondeh Ondeh kuih with a crumbly Ondeh Ondeh pandan lava cookie, filled with gula melaka.

That’s not all, it’s paired with their homemade Milo Dinosaur ice cream and garnished with freshly grated coconut.

If you love your traditional kuih, you ought to give this a try.

Chilli Crab Cookie With Bread Toast Ice Cream ($10.90)

This odd combination is Creamery Boutique’s first savoury lava cookie. The chewy brownie lava cookie is filled with a robust chilli gravy that’s made in-house from scratch.

While this brownie lava cookie already sounds odd, Bread Toast ice cream takes the cake. However, this is an interesting take on the usual Chilli Crab and Fried Mantou pairing that we’re all familiar with.

If you’re interested in trying these unique National Day flavours, do note that the Ondeh Ondeh Cookie With Milo Dinosaur ice cream is available from 14 July to 9 August 2018, while the Chilli Crab Cookie With Bread Toast Ice Cream will be available from 9 August to 31 August 2018.

Whacky or wonderful? We’ll let you be the judge of that.

Creamery Boutique
Address: 139 Tyrwhitt Road #01-03, Singapore 207557
Opening Hours: Mon – Wed: 12.30pm – 10pm, Fri: 12.30pm – 10.30pm, Sat: 12pm – 10.30pm, Sun: 12pm – 10pm, Thu: Closed
Contact no.: 8133 1250
Website

Also read Play And Stand A Chance To Win NDP 2018 Tickets In This New AR Game

(Header Image Source: Creamery Boutique)

Play And Stand A Chance To Win NDP 2018 Tickets In This New AR Game

If you loved playing Pokemon Go, then you’ll love this new app created for NDP 2018.

Introducing NDP Jalan!, a new location-based, augmented reality (AR) mobile game!

This app is the first interactive mobile game that’s launched in conjunction with NDP.

NDP Jalan!

While the name of the game is a little tacky (come on, Pokemon GO and this is NDP Jalan! Tell me you see the similarity here), I decided to download the app to try for myself.

To start off, the default avatar is actually quite well-designed. It’s cute.

You’ll get to choose your gender (of course), skin tone, 12 different colours for your clothing, and even the DESIGN on your backpack.

The designs for the backpack were all designed by students from 18 Special Education schools specially for National Day 2018!

After customising and creating your Avatar, you’ll be directed to screen which is basically a tutorial for the game.

The app will lead players on specially curated trails, with various hidden checkpoints and quests to complete at each checkpoint.

As you pass each checkpoint, the app will reveal the location of the next one.

Here’s the zinger: if you’re a Singaporean citizen or Permanent Resident and manage to complete EVERY quest in each trail, you will stand a chance to win tickets to the National Day Parade 2018!

There are 3 trails available – Arts and Culture, Nature, and NDP.

Every 5 quests completed will allow players to redeem discount vouchers for selected food and beverage and retail outlets.

Every 20 quests completed per theme will give you the chance to win NDP 2018 tickets!

The NDP Jalan! app can be downloaded from the Apple App Store and Google Play store for free.

Watch the trailer for NDP Jalan! below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lFAyHz3sgI

Also read How Many S’porean Milestones Have You Achieved? This Card Game Will Tell You How You Fare

(Header Image Source: NDP Jalan!)

How Many S’porean Milestones Have You Achieved? This Card Game Will Tell You How You Fare

Singapore has long been lauded as the best and safest place in Asia to raise your kids. Even better if you’re an expat.

However, as a Singaporean (born and raised), I can tell you that it’s not all roses and daisies. Singapore has consistently topped the rankings for being the MOST EXPENSIVE city in the world to live in.

Cost of living has increased (because capitalism and globalisation waits for no scrub to earn more money), while our wages have not.

The Singaporean dream used to be owning the 5Cs – Cash, Car, Credit Card, Condo, and Country Club (membership).

Now the millennial’s 5Cs consists of Career, Cheap Everything (air tickets, food, clothes), Connection, Cashless Payment, and Crying. Trust me, I’m a millennial.

Our Singaporean Dream is just to have our place, a heated shower, a decent paying job, and hope to be able to retire before we die from work.

If you’re as “optimistic” as I am about living the Singaporean Dream, you can “sign up” for a trial by playing this locally-made card game aptly named “The Singaporean Dream“.

The Singaporean Dream Is (Not) A Game

This card game will see you pit your survival skills with other Singaporeans, as you pay, steal and sabo your way to being the perfect Singaporean.

Pick Your Avatar

You start with 5 personas to choose from – the Auntie, the CBD OL (Office Lady), the Complain Queen, the NSF, and the Ah Beng.

Very local archetypes here.

Live, Collect, Win

There are 3 types of cards in the game – Action Cards, Cash Cards, and Dream Cards.

So the main goal of the game, is to accumulate and amass as many Singaporean Dreams (Dream Cards) as you can before the pile of “Dream Cards” runs out.

There are 2 ways you can collect Dream Cards.

1. Buy Dream Cards with Cash Cards.
2. Gain Dream Cards with Action Cards.

It’s quite an accurate depiction of the Singaporean life though. You’re either rich enough to accomplish a Singaporean Dream, or you work towards achieving the Singaporean Dream, like the rest of us.

Some of the Action Cards include “Getting A Seat In A Crowded MRT”, “Dating An Angmoh”, “Kena STOMP-ed”, and “Cutting A Queue”.

Each turn, you draw 2 cards from the Action Cards pile, and you can play up to 2 actions per turn.

Repeat until the pile of Dream Cards runs out! The player with the most Singaporean Dreams wins the game!

There are 104 illustrated cards in a deck and each card is hand-drawn by the creator, Theresa (She’s a millennial).

So don’t tell me millennials don’t work for anything because I’m sick of it.

If you’ve been to Mind Cafe recently, you might’ve been one of the few fortunate ones to play the game when it was on trial there.

You can pledge an amount for their Kickstarter campaign if you’re looking to get your hands on a deck.

In the meantime, how are you really faring in your real-life quest for the Singaporean Dream?

Also read Popular Filipino Fries Chain Potato Corner Opens A S’pore Outlet At Orchard

(Header Image Source: The Singaporean Dream)

Popular Filipino Fries Chain Potato Corner Opens A S’pore Outlet At Orchard

The best thing about eating Cheetos, is the Cheetos dust that stains your fingertips. You’ll face the same “issue” when eating the fries from Potato Corner.

For the uninitiated, Potato Corner is a popular fries snack chain from Philippines. According to our filipino colleagues, Potato Corner can usually be found in airports in the Philippines.

They even have outlets in multiple countries such as New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Panama, Sydney, Jakarta, Cambodia, and Hong Kong.

And on 24 June 2018, Potato Corner opened its first outlet in Singapore at 313 Somerset basement!

One Potato, Two Potato

If you’re sick and tired of your fries being under-seasoned, then you’ll love the fries from Potato Corner, because EVERY SINGLE FRY is thickly coated with the seasoning powder, thanks to a special “shaking” method used to coat the fries.

There are 4 core flavours at Potato Corner – BBQ, Chilli BBQ, Sour Cream & Onion, and Cheese.

The most popular ones are the Sour Cream & Onion and the Cheese. We also heard that they’ll be introducing a NEW FLAVOUR in August this year.

That’s not all, there are 5 sizes available, depending on how many people are sharing. In increasing size –  Large ($2.90), Jumbo ($4.30), Mega ($5.70), Giga ($9.90) and Terra ($10.90).

If you’re alone or in a company of 2, get the “Large”, which ironically isn’t the largest. The largest size, Terra, easily feeds a family of 4 or more.

While their fries are popular, that’s not all they serve. Other snacks include Jojos (a type of potato crisp) and hash browns.

So if you’re in the area and you’re looking for a snack, then Potato Corner is the place to go.

Potato Corner
Address: 313@Somerset, 313 Orchard Road, #B3-45, Singapore 238895
Opening Hours: Mon -Thu: 10.30am – 10pm, Fri – Sun: 10.30am – 11pm
Website

Also read Martin Zwerts Opens Its First Store In S’pore – Offers Classic Dutch Frites With 13 Different Sauces

(Header Image Source: @potatocornerph)

MapleSEA Celebrates Its 13th Birthday With A Carnival And Secretlab Chair Giveaway

Launched in 2005, MaplestorySEA (MapleSEA) is one of the biggest games to come out of the previous decade.

It overtook Gunbound and Little Fighter 2 as the coolest game to play at the time. Truth be told, the Primary 5 kid in me was enamoured with it.

[caption id="attachment_35426" align="aligncenter" width="491"] Image Credit: Image Credit: Image Credit: Anniversary Sales page.

The CM Astrea VIP pack ($55) comes with a free goodie bag that includes an event T-Shirt, a random plush, an event scarf, a stress ball, and 3 in-game items.

[caption id="attachment_35430" align="aligncenter" width="703"] Image Credit: Image Credit: Also read Attention NSMen and NSFs: Here Are 20 Deals And Promotions For You To Enjoy This SAF Day

(Header Image Source:

Attention NSmen and NSFs: Here Are 20 Deals And Promotions For You To Enjoy This SAF Day

With SAF Day approaching on 1 July, it’s time to show our appreciation for all SAF national servicemen.

Pretty much the SAF’s equivalent of GSS, this special day is definitely worth spending two years of your time serving the country. Time to treat yo’self this SAF Day because you guys deserve it!

Get your wallets ready for these SAF Day promotions!

1. Shaw Theatres

(1-For-1 Weekend Movie Tickets)

You can’t go wrong with free movie tickets. Shaw Theatres is offering 1-for-1 Weekend Movie Tickets to all existing SAFRA Card Members.

But head down as early as you can because tickets are limited to the first 1,000 on both days!

2. Wildlife Reserves Singapore

(Buy 1 admission ticket and get the second at 50% off)

If you’re bored of seeing the same ol’ snakes and wild boars during your outfields, you can now see all the animals you want at 50% off!

If you’re looking for a fun day out with bae, Sentosa is offering the “Happy 2 Joyrides” promotion ($48/Adult or $39.50/Child) which includes:

1. One-Day Cable Car Sky Pass Unlimited (Unlimited cable car rides on Mount Faber Line & Sentosa Line
2. Free Sentosa admission pass
3. 2 attractions of your choice
4. 40% off Good Old Days* Buffet (U.P $29+ Adult and $24+ Child) with the above purchase.
   *Operating House: 5 pm – 10 pm daily (Last seating: 9.15 pm)

This promotion is valid from 1 Jun 2018 to 31 Aug 2018.

Check out the attractions you can choose from Image Credit: Salutensmen.sg[/caption]

Best part, enjoy 15% off selected merchandise such as t-shirts, bags, shoes, sunglasses and more!

This promotion is valid from 22 June –  31 July 18.

Swee lah, outfield barang settled!

5. Caltex

(20% Discount Petrol & Diesel)

If you ride or drive to camp, Caltex got your back.

From 29 June – 3 July 2018, enjoy 20% of fuel (Petrol & Diesel) at all outlets! The more you pump, the more perks you enjoy with SAFRA!

All you have to do is present your SAFRA card upon payment to qualify for this discount.

6. Futsal Court

(50% Booking Fees)

Gather all your soccer buddies for a futsal session at SAFRA Jurong or SAFRA Mount Faber and enjoy 50% off booking fees.

This offer is valid from:

30 Jun – 8 Jul 2018 (Booking Period)
30 Jun – 8 Aug 2018 (Usage)

Book your futsal court Image Credit: Sony Singapore[/caption]

If you love anything tech then you’ll be pleased to know that you can get cameras, headphones, speaker and even a TV at discounted prices!

This offer is valid from 1 July to 31 August 2018.

Check out what’s on sale Image Credit: Topman Facebook[/caption]

This offer is valid on selected regular-priced items (tee, hoodie, swear, casual jackets) with any purchase of a casual bottom (jeans, chinos, shorts) and limited to a maximum of 2 pieces in a single transaction.

Check out the T&Cs https://goo.gl/CkkFdA by applying the promo code: UAXSAFRA and enjoy additional 20% off min. 3 regular-priced and sale items.

From 29 June – 31 July, enjoy additional 20% off min. 3 regular-priced and sale items. This offer is not applicable on top of other promotions or flash sale.

Check out the T&Cs Image Credit:

Promotion 1: Valid from 1 Aug to 31 Aug 2018