The only paper cuttings that I know how to cut must be the chinese character "Shuang Xi" which means double happiness. I did that long ago during my wedding.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Chinese Paper Cutting Crafts
Saw many chinese paper cuttings on sale in Chinatown. They are beautifully cut. Chinese Paper Cuttings is part of chinese culture where they are either cut by scissors or paper cutters.
The only paper cuttings that I know how to cut must be the chinese character "Shuang Xi" which means double happiness. I did that long ago during my wedding.
The only paper cuttings that I know how to cut must be the chinese character "Shuang Xi" which means double happiness. I did that long ago during my wedding.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Ang Pow Lanterns
Ang Pow (hokkien language) or Hung Bao (mandarin language) also known as "red packets". The ang pow contained gifts of money. They are considered extremely auspicious to receive as a gift. They are commonly used for Chinese New Year, weddings, birthdays or happy occasions.
These are made by me. I am not very good in making them. There are prettier ones make by others. You can view them in here.
Ang pows can also used to make handicrafts. It is very common to find DIY ang pow lanterns in most chinese homes in Singapore. Only staples and glues are used to form the shapes of the lanterns. Accessories are then added to make them prettier. Ang Pows lanterns can only be found in Singapore and Malaysia but I have no idea who started this trend. The person is a genius who started this.
These are made by me. I am not very good in making them. There are prettier ones make by others. You can view them in here.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Koi Fishes
Koi is the Japanese word for carp.
Keeping Koi is a very expensive hobby. You need a good and big pond to keep them if you want your koi to grow to a huge size and healthily. The value of Koi depend on the colour of the fishes. The price can vary from a few dollars to thousands of dollars.
The kois you see here are not worth much because their colours are not very pretty but then I love them as much. Seeing them so huge and swimming about minding their own business is a joy.
Keeping Koi is a very expensive hobby. You need a good and big pond to keep them if you want your koi to grow to a huge size and healthily. The value of Koi depend on the colour of the fishes. The price can vary from a few dollars to thousands of dollars.
The kois you see here are not worth much because their colours are not very pretty but then I love them as much. Seeing them so huge and swimming about minding their own business is a joy.
But alas these Kois dont belong to me. The only koi in my home is the koi mould which I used to make "agar agar"....hahaha. You can view them in my food blog
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Palm Tree
This photo was taken during my walks in botanic garden. The place was quite shady and when I looked up I saw this huge beautiful palm tree shading us. It looked like a huge umbrella.
Although we are 2 degrees north of the equator, Singapore is a garden city with many huge trees shading us.
You might like to know that we will have another huge garden in the city beside botanic garden. It will be known as Gardens by the Bay. It is still under construction (will be completed around 2010) and when completed will be very beautiful.
Gardens by the Bay will consists of three different gardens. It will grows flowers that are not able to grow in Singapore with the help of technology. In fact some of the flowers are already booming in nursery. For more photos of our future garden:Click here
Although we are 2 degrees north of the equator, Singapore is a garden city with many huge trees shading us.
You might like to know that we will have another huge garden in the city beside botanic garden. It will be known as Gardens by the Bay. It is still under construction (will be completed around 2010) and when completed will be very beautiful.
Gardens by the Bay will consists of three different gardens. It will grows flowers that are not able to grow in Singapore with the help of technology. In fact some of the flowers are already booming in nursery. For more photos of our future garden:Click here
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Samsui Women
Today my post will be dedicated to a group of strong and independent woman. When I was very young, I used to count the number of samsui woman in Chinatown that I saw when my mom's car passed by them. The red hear gear is outstanding that caught my eyes.
The statue in front of Chinatown heritage is dedicated to a group of Samsui women in Singapore.
They are a group of mostly cantonese women from Samsui (means three water) province in China to travel to Singapore during their teens or mid twenties to work on construction sites in the early 20th century.
Some came here to work to escape poverty in China while some came here to gain independence.
Samsui women worked on construction sites alongside with the men. Their trademark being the red headgears that they wore. There was another group with blue headgears from Sun Yap another province of china but they were few compared to the Samsui women.
Most of them lived in cramped shophouses in Chinatown and most of them vow not to marry and usually tied their hair in a bun. They choose to work in hard labour rather than to be prostitutes.
The following is a newspaper cutting(from the Straits Times) few weeks back about a late Samsui Woman. You may pity her for picking up cardboards to sell but she is one independent and proud woman to accept any help from the government. There are many who are like her and share her attitude. Today there are about less than 100 of them still alive and they are in their 80s and 90s. They are being cared for by the Samsui Association in Singapore.
This is a restaurant advertisment with the Samsui Woman as its icon. The owner's grandmother is a former Samsui Woman. The signature dish for this restaurant is the Samsui Chicken.
The statue in front of Chinatown heritage is dedicated to a group of Samsui women in Singapore.
They are a group of mostly cantonese women from Samsui (means three water) province in China to travel to Singapore during their teens or mid twenties to work on construction sites in the early 20th century.
Some came here to work to escape poverty in China while some came here to gain independence.
Samsui women worked on construction sites alongside with the men. Their trademark being the red headgears that they wore. There was another group with blue headgears from Sun Yap another province of china but they were few compared to the Samsui women.
Most of them lived in cramped shophouses in Chinatown and most of them vow not to marry and usually tied their hair in a bun. They choose to work in hard labour rather than to be prostitutes.
The following is a newspaper cutting(from the Straits Times) few weeks back about a late Samsui Woman. You may pity her for picking up cardboards to sell but she is one independent and proud woman to accept any help from the government. There are many who are like her and share her attitude. Today there are about less than 100 of them still alive and they are in their 80s and 90s. They are being cared for by the Samsui Association in Singapore.
This is a restaurant advertisment with the Samsui Woman as its icon. The owner's grandmother is a former Samsui Woman. The signature dish for this restaurant is the Samsui Chicken.
The Samsui Women saved and ate very thrifty in order to remit monies back to their home in Samsui, China. During Chinese New Year, they would steam a chicken and dip in shredded ginger marinated in some stock and seasame oil. Today that chicken is known as Samsui Chicken.
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