The year-end rains seem to have stopped these two days, and I finally went to Orchard Road for the Christmas decorations last evening as I was in town to attend to some matters. With only about half an hour to spare before heading to my final destination for the day, it was a quick walk from Ngee Ann City to Orchard Central.
Lobby of Ngee Ann City, outside Takashimaya
Paragon Shopping Centre
Robinsons @ The Heeren
CentrePoint
Orchard Central – too pinky!
Orchard Gateway
The theme for this year’s Christmas decorations on Orchard Road is “Christmas on a Great Street“. Too bad, the decorations didn’t impress me. If I had to pick one, my choice would be CentrePoint which seems to be a popular photo-taking spot.
On my way down to the Marina Bay area after Orchard Road, I stopped over the iconic Fullerton Hotel briefly and managed to snap some shots of its Christmas decorations.
Red and gold colours, with lots of bears in Fullerton Hotel
I like the decorations in the Fullerton Hotel a lot better! I wished I had the time to stay there long, perhaps over a cup of tea and be soaked in the lovely mood there, with classical music being played at the background!
This Christmas is so super quiet for me that I decided to brighten up my day a bit by making these no-bake mango cheesecakes for dessert tonight. This is my first time making this type of cheesecakes, and I am glad that they have turned out pretty well.
This Christmas and also year-end are actually not so merry for us. Due to a major project implementation, my dear hubby not only had to work today, but also has to be on a 12-hour work shift, plus 12-hour off-site support everyday from now till 1 Jan when the cut-over is expected to complete, with no break at all. Why are the bosses taxing their staffs so much without even a little thought spared on their staffs’ health and welfare? To make things worse, there is no mention at all of any compensating off-days for all the extra work during this period – 4 extra man-days, not considering another 3 man-days working on public holidays and weekends. Unfortunately, there is no way for these people who are not protected under Labour Law or Employment Act, to voice their unhappiness.
Enough of my rantings.
Christmas dinner was a simple one and we didn’t have it until DS got home past 10pm!
I am praying and hoping that next year will be a better year for my dear hubby in terms of his workload and health.
May God’s love and peace with you today and all through the new year ahead.
Today is Winter Solstice Festival or Dongzhi (冬至) Festival. This is a festival observed by Chinese, and other East Asians like Koreans, Japanese and Vietnamese.
For the first time since I left my birthplace, I made some tangyuan (glutinuous rice balls) for this occasion. In the past I used to just pick up a packet of ready-made ones from the supermarket near where I live.
When I was a young kid, there was no supermarket in my small hometown (but there are a few now). Neither was there ready-made tangyuan available for sales. So, it was mostly a once-a-year affair when it came to eating tangyuan.
These days, tangyuan can be easily made using dry glutinuous rice flour. I remember in my late grandma’s time, she used to make them using wet dough available only from the wet market. The dough had to be put in a bag made of cloth, be pressed for many hours (at times, overnight) using heavy-weight materials such as stone mortar and pestel to drain out the water, before kneading and shaping it into small balls. Now, I wonder why she (and most people) didn’t use dry glutinuous rice flour then. Typically, tangyuan was plain, i.e. without any filling like ground peanuts or black sesame, and consisted of white and pink colours (by use of colouring). Sweet ginger soup made using white or palm sugar, was used to cook the Tangyuan.
These days, with so much of creativity out there, there are many variations of tangyuan, like those in the two photos below which I received from a friend.
I think these are too cute to be eaten!
I know I am far from having the needed skills for such creativity. So it is only practical to keep to the typical plain tangyuan (i.e. without any filling) but with a bit of twist in terms of the colours. Instead of using 100% glutinuous rice flour, I decided to use a mixture of flour and other ingredients – purple sweet potatoes, pumpkin, huaishan (nagaimo in Japanese), and green tea powder. This explains my bowl of colourful tangyuan, all from natural colours. 🙂
I made sweet red dates soup to suit DS’s preference.
Instead of cooking the tangyuan directly in the red dates soup which would make the soup look cloudy, I first cooked them in plain water in a separate pot, let them cool in a bowl of ice water, then only transferred them to the soup and bring to boil.
Tangyuan in clear red dates soup
Chinese has this saying, 吃了汤圆又长一岁，meaning one year older after eating tangyuan on Dongzhi. Oh dear, I am another year older now!
I visited the Gardens by the Bay again yesterday evening, with DS this time. I was keen to see the lighting of Yuletide in Flower Dome after dark, and also the Luminarie in Christmas Wonderland which is said to be the first of its kind in Southeast Asia.
It was raining cats and dogs when we were on our way to the Gardens by the Bay in a taxi after 5pm. We thought we could only settle with the Yuletide in Flower Dome which is held indoor, given the poor weather condition. Very fortunately, the rain stopped around 7pm or I knew I would be very disappointed.
The rain has subsided a little when this shot was taken. This giant Christmas tree with Cloud Forest at the background, bears the logo of Gardens by the Bay on top, and is decorated with lots of artificial dragonflies
Yuletide in Flower Dome, after dark
Reflection on the glass ceiling
Obviously the heavy rain earlier did not stop many from visiting the Gardens by the Bay. The outdoor Christmas Wonderland event was packed with even more visitors which was not unexpected since there was no entrance fees required. I saw that many of them were foreigners. Many also went as a family, young and old, or with their groups of friends, and were busy snapping away with their cameras or smartphones. The mood was just great! I would say this is one event not to be missed in Singapore this Christmas, especially for those who have yet to see a Luminarie like this.
Christmas Wonderland
Mini Frontone of 14.4m at the entrance to Supertree Grove
4 Arches of 10m leading into Supertree Grove
Solo pieces of 9m each
Supertree with OCBC Skywalk. The lighting was simply enchanting!
Marina Bay Sands seen from Supertree Grove area where the Luminarie is held
Cassa Armonica, a mini capola of 7.5m wide and 9m tall. Choirs etc. are held here but we didn’t manage to catch any when we were there
Spalliera, a crown of lights, is the masterpiece in Christmas Wonderland. It is some 17m tall and 31m wide. Very impressive piece of work!
Blizzard Time is held 3 or 4 times a day at the Spalliera. I managed to catch the one at 9:05pm from outside the Spalliera (see video below). Many entered into the Spalliera to have a more up-close view of this magnificent luminarie, and also to be soaked in the fun during the Blizzard Time. We had decided not to do so. The ground was still wet, soft and muddy, and we did not want to dirty our shoes. It would have been better if the ground was temporary paved before building the Spalliera, considering that year-end is a rainy season in Singapore. This is one thing the organiser can improve on if a similar event will be planned in future.
Many people were still arriving when DS and I made our way out after 10pm.
Frontone, the Arrival Arches consisting of 1 Frontone of 15.65m & 6 arches
Thanks to Gardens by the Bay! The events make this Christmas a little bit special for me because it was my first time seeing such Luminarie!
I have yet to see the Christmas lighting on Orchard Road. With only 4 days to go before Christmas, I still can’t make up my mind to go.
When it comes to cooking, it is mostly a case of the chef’s (my) choice or omakase (in Japanese, meaning I leave it to you) as DS normally leaves it to me to decide what to cook. This actually makes it very easy for me in the kitchen. 🙂
However, there is one particular dish that DS had requested me to cook, for some time now. It is a dish with simple ingredients and does not require long preparation time but somehow, for whatever reason that I couldn’t even explain, I didn’t cook it until this week.
Oyakodon (親子丼), literally a parent-and-child donburi (Japanese rice bowl)
Half a big onion, thinly sliced. I used Australian brown onion (a.k.a yellow onion)
200g of chicken meat, cut into bite-size pieces (I used breast meat with its skin removed)
Chinese parsley (instead of Mitsuba, Japanese parsley)
1/3 cube of (Maggi’s 50% less-salt) chicken stock in place of Japanese dashi stock. (Dashi stock was to be prepared from boiling dried kelp, water and dried bonito flakes but I didn’t have the ingredients in my fridge. Neither did I have a bottle of ready-made dashi from the supermarket)
100ml of water
2 tbsp of mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine for cooking)
1 tbsp of soya sauce (this is only half of the amount used in the original recipe as I prefer a lighter flavour)
3 eggs
The cooking involves boiling only. There was no need for frying/stir-frying at all.
Season chicken with soya sauce and mirin for a short while before cooking
In a small saucepan, add water, chicken stock and onion and bring them to boil. Then, add in chicken and continue boiling for a few minutes until the meat is thorough cooked, and the onion is soft.
Break 3 eggs onto the top of the chicken-and-onion mixture, spread them out to cover the mixture, sprinkle parsley on it. Cover the saucepan and continue boiling for a few minutes until the eggs are set
Lastly, serve the cooked rice into a bowl and top it with half the mixture.
Sweet and yummy. I have used short-grain brown rice instead of white rice which is a common version.
This is really one very simple recipe. It is very ideal for those who want a quick fix for lunch or dinner, or even for the newbies in the kitchen.
I was really happy the DS was satisfied with the meal. He even suggested that I cook it for my parents the next time we visit them. What a brilliant suggestion! I will surely be happy to do so if my parents are interested. They, especially my dad, can be quite particular about food!
There is one more dish that DS wants me to cook. I will get down to it, hopefully before the year ends. 12 days to 2015!
QING Moments 