Mochi

The soft glutinous rice ball with a sweet filling and powdery exterior from Taiwan are making a big scene at Chinatown again. And the competition among the pasar malam stores here are just heating up. Last weekend when I was here the price was $1.80 per 100g. Last night, the usual was $1 per 100g. But this store, right in the center of all the action, was going at 80 cents per 100g. I am quietly confident the price is going to be further depressed today. The other Taiwan product which is popular this year is the Konnyakku fruit jelly. Its also going at the price of the mochi. Hear the perspiring vendors shouting "Jin Tian Lao Ban Bu Zai" (Boss not here today) and "Hao Chi Cai Mai" (Buy only if it's nice) into their loudspeakers to entice customers.

Bottle Gourds

A must for some chinese families during the lunar new year. This year, there is a huge abundance of this ornamental fruit in Chinatown and even some bigger supermarkets like Giant in Tuft City. If you are looking for an environmentally friendly, bio-degradable water bottle, this fruit, when dried, may be helpful. You just cut off top of the neck and improvise with a stopper to keep the water from flowing out. Some sources say this fruit may be eaten like squash, but I think I'd rather be safe and stop at admiring the sexy hour glass figure of the Hu Lu!

New Blooms for the New Year

Nursuries around the island of Singapore are making brisk business selling pots after pots of gold kumquats, gold marigolds, gold cosmos, etc. Chinatown allows you to immerse into the festive, loud, sweaty atmosphere of the chinese lunar new year. But it is at the nursuries where you feel the warmness and freshness of the natural thousand blooms, the happy families choosing their pots of flowers that symbolises new life, fortune and good luck, that completes the experience of lunar new year. This is a ritual I go through annually. The picture shows the nursery opposite the Clementi Camp. Prices here are slightly lower than the nurseries over at Thompson Area.

Chinatown Lights Up

The crowds have decended on Chinatown again. The other time I came here was in the afternoon and I scouted this nice vantage point from above the old chinatown wet market. The latter is unfortunately is presently under renovation, and that's bad news for the tourists who come here to catch a glimpse of the real Singapore. Though it was really tiring at work on Fridays, I came tonight so the offices in the CBD would be lighted, and this strikes a contrast with the noise and excitement along the streets of Chinatown. I wished my canon camera had a wider angle on its lens...f4.5 at 4sec exposure.

Sunset at Marina Square

The foodcourt at Marina Square offers diners a free view of the Singapore Skyline with the Esplanade at the foreground. If you reach this place before 7pm on a clear evening, you'll be treated to a fantastic sunset such as this one. (It has been enhanced though...it wasn't that dark, but you get the feel right?) When I was there on Sunday, the wind was very strong and the surroundings was kind of blanketed with a light haze, creating a feeling of heaviness.

Ole Ole Ole Ole....

Singapore 1 - Thailand 1. That's the score at the soccer match held in Bangkok this evening. On aggregate, Singapore wins Thailand 3-2! It is just exhilating. Singapore retains its position as having the best soccer team in ASEAN. :) Thanks to the controversial penalty awarded to Singapore last wednesday, plus Amri's fantastic shot at goal with just five minutes left in the game. This is great entertainment! Watch out for more Singapore soccer!

Moon

It's the first day of February and the moon is approaching its fullness again. This was the full moon roughly a month ago and it was shot using the zoom function at f8 at 1/50s. But you'll have to shoot it at a higher resolution so that after you crop the photo, you'd still have a moon that does not appear pixelated. When I have time, I'll superimpose this moon onto a night scene of the skyline to achieve the surreal feeling.