it's the lunar New Year

It's going to be some time before anyone forgets the sight of this gigantic chicken that marked the entrance of Eu Tong Sen Street. It was one chicken that you could see from far, far away. Proud, bright, cheerful and dignified, that's how she stood this year.  

 

the long, long, long tail

 

And why not? This was her year. Okay, technically, it was the Year of the Rooster, and technically Rooster means the male, but since the Chinese character refers to either, so be it then. :)

 

It makes you forget the decorations of years past.

 

Chinatown lights up every year during the Lunar New Year period and we've had plenty of varieties. We've had huge goats fixed in leaping positions towering over our heads looking like they would gleefully trample us down whilst standing beneath them. We've had lovely flowers that line the space near Smith Street. We've had cute little monkeys looking like jelly beans perched on the trees. And we've had Eu Tong Sen Street decorated with poorly-lit upside-down tissue boxes which swayed eerily in the late winter winds.

 

But Chinatown outdid herself this year.   

 

The Rooster is insta-worthy. Straight up, no doubt about it. The  juxtaposition of colors, the dramatic tail fanning back, the details... If him/her was meant to welcome in Her/His Year, then a glowing ambassador he/she was.

 

bright, colorful, cheery and so festive

 

But I'm not there for the lanterns alone.

 

I'm there for the bazaar. I'm there to squeeze through the crowds and take in the sights and sounds and the joys of being a Chinese. I'm there to immerse myself straight into the fun and celebrations of what makes Lunar New Year Lunar New Year.

 

Which means going to the stalls where the dried persimmons are and I look out for this old uncle who packs the amount you want into neat plastic bags after you've purchased. He's there this year- I can see him at the front of Temple Street near the stall where the pomelos and canned drinks and coconuts are. And I'm going to the Peniwern stall which is just next to his where there're affordable, dressy outfits to look at.

 

I need decorations, so I go to the shops where the decorations are. It's packed. Really packed. Pretty decorations suspend from the ceiling and all sizes of calligraphic banners in bright red hang on the walls. Here and there are paper cutouts that you buy and stick onto your walls and doors and in the shop are life-like carvings of roosters that you can buy and place near your doorstep.

 

banners to greet the year

lanterns!!

 

I get what I need and then cross over to the stalls where they're offering samples of mochi. I take one. It's chewy and sweet. Then I stop by the stall with the sacks of groundnuts and melon seeds. There're the usual reds and blacks but now they've got pretty good varieties in tasty flavors. I never knew seeds could have such flavors. What was it I tried? Garlic? Mixed-flavor? Green tea? And there was this really huge red groundnut which they let me try.

 

On the other side is the stall with mushrooms fresh from the pot and are warm and chewy. Next to it is the cookie stall where red-lidded jars of cookies are arranged in neat, structured sections. Somewhere in between there's the bak kwa stall where coin bak kwa samples are being handed out.

Near the back is the stall where they're selling little purses from Africa and further down are clogs where you can choose the strap and they've got pretty flowers all over it. I cross back to the front. By now I've walked from one end of Temple Street to the other and back again. I've also gone on one side of Smith Street and turned back onto Temple Street. Right in the middle of it all is the stall where the preserved fruits are, cute colorful pieces of carrot, kiwi, mango, papaya, winter melon, coconut and plum sitting pretty in their little bowls.  

 

I take a little sample of winter melon- because I like it- but don't buy much this time. There's still enough time to make a few trips here before the season begins.

 

But I'm not going off without making one last pit stop at the jellies stall.

If you don't have time to walk around, if you don't wish to jostle too much with the crowds, or if you don't know where to start from, this is a good one.

The colors are pretty. The flavors are sweet. The atmosphere is buoyant. The invitation to patronize is fun. The stall guys are polite and friendly to the aunties who crowd around their sample barrel filled with chilled water to keep the jellies cool.

 

They're strategically positioned around the bazaar in any case, and with the guys handing out samples as you walk past, you won't miss them at all. They're easily one of the most popular stalls in the bazaar. Young and old  don't leave without trying at least one sample of the jellies- and they get at least one bagful after. It's just simply fun. People you wouldn't expect to eat jellies are standing around squishing them into their mouths. And with flavors like plum and grape and mango and strawberry, it's a game to see which flavor you get.

 

I got the plum today.

 

I'm going back to buy the lychee next time. :)