Cuisine & Culture the Chinese Family Way
It is not every day you get to step into a First Class Lounge! Luckily for us, my sister is a Solitaire PPS Club member and she was allowed to bring a guest. We were so fortunate to be flying with her and her girlfriend to Hong Kong and enjoying all the privileges that came with it.
After three months of transformation, the Singapore Oceanarium – formerly known as S.E.A. Aquarium – officially reopened to the public on 24 July 2025 at Resorts World Sentosa. And wow, what a comeback! The Oceanarium is now three times larger than before, featuring 22 immersive zones and housing over 40,000 marine animals. Even cooler, the…
This year, Singapore celebrates its 60th year of independence, and in true creative style, Play Nation joined in the fun with a nostalgic pop-up stall at Marina Square. The pop-up features a range of kopitiam-inspired plushies, quirky collectibles, and other local treasures.
My son was the one who discovered it on Instagram and insisted we check it out. So off we went—and sure enough, as soon as we reached the foyer on Level 2, we were greeted by a charming, old-school kopitiam-themed setup that instantly transported us back in time.
Chinese culture has always been closely tied to prosperity. During Chinese New Year especially, many people pray for good fortune and visit the God of Wealth (Cai Shen Ye). Even at temples like Thian Hock Keng, you will often find wishing wells where visitors toss a coin, ring a bell, and make a wish for health, wealth, or success.
Earlier this month, I wrote about different types of Chinese New Year goodies including Nian Gao! Nian Gao is always one of my favourite foods during Chinese New Year. So this year I decided to make my own. After much research from various sites, I decided to use this recipe from my friend.
We all know how important it is to regularly clean your home, but it’s definitely much easier said than done. With the long hours that we spend in the office at work, as well as our other commitments and plans, it feels kind of impossible to find the time for some cleaning tasks, but it’s definitely worth getting into the habit of.
In my previous post, I mentioned about exhuming my grandfather and the contractors would then take his cleaned remains to the crematorium to get cremated. Do you know what usually happens next? This is solely based on my uncle and friend’s experiences. This is part of their Chinese ritual after cremation. It is solely for your reference. This procedure of bone picking does not apply to everyone around the world or for any other religions. Furthermore, each religion and country has their own rituals after cremation.
This year Qing Ming Festival/Tomb Sweeping fell on the 4th April 2024. It saddens me that yet again, I have not been able to pay my respects to my dad and my grandparents on this festival. There are a couple of reasons for this: my family are in Singapore so it takes some preparation to plan a long haul trip from Britain. Also, it is not easy to fly over due to school term and travel costs.
There’s a place in the very heart of Singapore, where little hands hold small spoons and big dreams sizzle on fire ranges. This is no ordinary classroom; it’s a gourmet paradise for the kids, famous world-over as Singapore’s best children cooking school.
Singapore takes on a magical quality as the holiday season approaches, exuding a delightful blend of tropical allure and joyous celebration. The Christmas Camp (https://maker.sg/christmas-camp), a well-known location for its joyous festivals, is located in the middle of this lively metropolis. Not any old destination, but a thrilling excursion that captures the essence of Christmas with a Singaporean twist just right.
If you are visiting South Korea for the first time, besides eating their delicious street foods and kimchi, you have to try out their barbecue at least once! Depending on what you order, it can be quite expensive, but it’s a great experience!
Whenever I visit Singapore with friends, I will often take them to Chinatown. Not only to get a feel for the vibe but also to visit the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum.
Last month, I went back to Singapore and one of the first things I wanted to try was this food court style TaiWan Night Markets at Cineleisure Orchard. This is a Taiwanese street food concept that opened on the 28th July 2023. I hoped to bring back memories of visiting Taiwan (2016) 7 years ago and trying out their street foods.
If you head to any Chinese supermarket, you’re likely to find a range of different flavoured mochi in the fridge section. I love plain mochi without any filling, especially in pandan flavour. I tend not to buy the mochi with red bean paste or green bean (mung bean) paste or with the skin coated in coconut flakes.
I hadn’t heard of this taboo of never hanging clothing out overnight until I heard from Mr Zhou’s Ghost Stories podcast. Some people believe that hanging clothing at night will attract wandering spirits to get attached to the clothing. It will cause us to have bad luck. I will list a few examples later in the post.
