chinese Archives - ET Speaks From Home

Chinese Table Manners To Observe

Once a month, I go out with a group of Chinese friends who come from different countries. We are Chinese people from the PRC, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore of course.

One of their habits that annoys me the most is that they place/poke their chopsticks vertically into their food or rice bowl. For me, it is a No-No. Let me tell you why! My mum and most elderly folks would say if you do that, it means the rice is an offering to the ghosts. The chopsticks are positioned like joss sticks used for a funeral. If you eat the rice, it will bring you bad luck. Besides Singapore, places like China, Japan and Korea also believe this. Therefore, it is best to avoid placing chopsticks vertically into the food or rice. Now let me tell you more about other Chinese table manners you should observe.

5 Easy and Fun Chinese Activities for Kids At Home

If you are looking for ways to keep your kids entertained at home while also teaching them something new, look no further than these 5 easy and fun Chinese activities for kids. With these activities, your kids can learn about Chinese culture, practice their Mandarin language skills, and have a great time in the process.

The Traditional Chinese Grave

A few months ago, I blogged about my Singapore trip to Haw Par Villa Hell’s museum and the 10 courts of Hell. One of the highlights of this trip was also learning about our dying cultural heritage: The Traditional Chinese Grave. This made me research Chinese tombstones and my uncle managed to provide me with my maternal grandfather’s tombstone photo, which is no longer around. They had exhumed his tomb and placed him along with my grandmother at Toa Payoh Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery in 2013. I will tell you more about why we needed to exhume him in a minute.

Haw Par Villa Hell’s Museum 10 Courts of Hell

One of the highlights of Haw Par Villa Hell’s museum in Singapore is their infamous 10 Courts of Hell. We Chinese believe that in the afterlife, we will get judged by our sins and punishments evolved as ancient civilisations shared their cultures across time and space.

What is Kopi – Coffee

What is kopi? Or do you mean ‘copy’? No! Kopi means coffee in a Hokkien dialect. If you are a coffee drinker, then you should know the different types of kopi meaning, especially in Singapore and Malaysia.

The Don’t Dos during the Ghost festival

A few years back, I wrote an article about the Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival but I didn’t elaborate on the don’t dos during this festival. Now, I would love to share some tips and hope everyone stays safe during this period. Even if you aren’t superstitious or don’t believe in ghosts, it is best to show respect to the Chinese culture and people who do believe while you are in Asian countries.

Sichuanese Wontons in Chilli Oil Sauce with SousChef

Of all varieties of dumplings, wontons are the easiest to make. There is not much folding or pleating required. You simply fold them in half and seal it with just water. It is also very easy to cook in minutes as you don’t need to stuff too much filling in it. There are many ways to cook and garnish the dumplings. You can boil them and add sweet soya sauce, or deep fry them and dip with mayonnaise, or steam and mix with chilli. Either way, they taste great!

A User’s Manual for the Human Body

A User’s Manual for the Human Body: How Traditional Chinese Medicine helps the body heal itself is out to buy now in good book retailers, online, Hammersmith Health Books and Amazon. This book is a transformative guide to the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for the 21st century, showing how these differ from those underlying Western medicine, what that means in practice and how we can help our bodies to heal themselves and thereby achieve a longer, healthier life.

Make your own Chrysanthemum Tea

Drinking chrysanthemum tea has been a part of my life since young, especially whenever we are ill or eating at dim sum restaurants in Singapore. Drinking chrysanthemum tea in the UK is not common practice at all and not even in Chinatown Chinese restaurants. It is one of my favourite teas that I missed when I moved to the UK.

Chi Kitchen Birmingham Review

******** Please note – Permanently closed ********

Chi Kitchen is a contemporary Pan-Asian restaurant created as an exclusive departmental brand for Debenhams. Currently, there are two restaurants opened in London and Birmingham. The ground floor in Debenhams Oxford Street can accommodate up to 68 guests. While the third floor of Debenhams in the Bullring, Birmingham, can accommodate 108 guests, with both sites also featuring a welcoming champagne bar. Their menu, offers a great variety of tasty and exotic food influenced by Thai, Chinese, Malaysian, Japanese, Vietnamese and Korean food.

Chinese Glazed Salmon

This Chinese Glazed Salmon recipe is found in Katie Chin’s Everyday Chinese Cookbook: 101 Delicious Recipes from My Mother’s Kitchen, which will be available to buy on 26^th April 2016 on Amazon. This book pays homage to Katie’s late mother, the legendary chef and restaurateur, Leeann Chin. Sharing a collection of beloved family recipes, Katie weaves a compelling tale of Leeann’s life and her pioneering role in popularizing Chinese cuisine in America. From Chinese classics like Kung Pao Chicken and Shu Mai, to Chin’s signature Firecracker Shrimp, recipes defy the intimidation factor often linked to Asian cuisine.

Easter Chinese Character Activity

This is my third challenge as a Bostik Blogger and this month’s theme is Easter. I have received a crafting box packed full of Easter theme crafts. So I decided to adapt this craft into a learning craft for my children. This Easter craft is great for decoration and for teaching your children to recognise Rabbit in the Chinese word. This is very simple to make.

Miaomiao’s Chinese New Year Review

As a Chinese family living in the UK, it can be easy to lose touch of Chinese culture especially during the Chinese New Year times. So it is very important for us to teach and enlighten our children on our Chinese culture. Each year when it is near CNY, I would teach my children CNY crafts and also the story/meaning behind it. I am really pleased to come across this app called Miaomiao’s Chinese New Year (iTunes £2.29).

Chinese New Year Paper Plate Drum

This is my first challenge as a Bostik Blogger and looking through the crafting box, I decided to make a Chinese New Year Paper Plate Drum as part of the Chinese New Year theme.

Almond Meringue Cookies

I have always wanted to make meringue as they only require a couple of ingredients and should be easy but I’ve always been put off by the long baking time. Now that the children are at school, I feel like I have the time to tackle it.

This is another recipe inspired from The Secret of Cookies by Gu Huixue but I have altered the recipe slightly. This is a very light Almond Meringue Cookies with a lovely light crunch.

Chinese Table Manners To Observe

5 Easy and Fun Chinese Activities for Kids At Home

The Traditional Chinese Grave

Haw Par Villa Hell’s Museum 10 Courts of Hell

What is Kopi – Coffee

The Don’t Dos during the Ghost festival

Sichuanese Wontons in Chilli Oil Sauce with SousChef

A User’s Manual for the Human Body

Make your own Chrysanthemum Tea

Chi Kitchen Birmingham Review

Chinese Glazed Salmon

Easter Chinese Character Activity

Miaomiao’s Chinese New Year Review

Chinese New Year Paper Plate Drum

Almond Meringue Cookies

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