I've finished the pictures for this year's Lunar New Year.
Finally.
It's been too long- five months actually, I'm heartily embarrassed to say- and whilst this long delay is not something I'm proud of, the good thing about this super long time lapse is that you get to be absolutely sure what it is your first impressions were, and what stays with you the most.
Food seems to have taken precedence over everything else this year.
Not sure if that's a good thing especially when you consider I have had for many years immersed myself in the atmosphere of Lunar New Year, whether it be in the 'hood or at the OG of Lunar New Year bazaars in Chinatown.
But life sometimes overwhelms, and better it is that I capture what is of significance to me than of scenes that speak nothing to me thereafter.
One of the first things about this year's celebration that I remember- even till now- is this box of fresh persimmons that I'd gotten from a stall at the Lunar New Year bazaar in Chinatown.
Unlike the preserved ones coated with a dusting of white powder (sugar?) which I used to get, these ones had to be kept in the fridge and the man said they could last a few months.
Which was good.
I intended to remember this Lunar New Year for a long time to come.
There was, too, a collection of cookies and snacks on the top of the storage fridge that we had this year.
Simple they might appear to be, but pineapple tarts made out of solid butter, and buttery, salty sugee cookies are a staple for us and blessed are we to be able to have them year after year after year.
Doesn't matter if pay good dollars to the confectionery shop opposite Hong Lim Market in Chinatown.
Doesn't matter too if we carry back this huge heavy jar of cookies plus other bunch of stuff either.
We've made it to another year.
I was thankful this year to have the addition of a red bean sachima snack that a loved one had brought over all the way from Taiwan, as well as a box of salted caramel sachima, which, I have to say, made really great snacks for a sugar-managed diet like mine.
I had thought they might be hard, or sticky on the teeth.
But no, they were incredibly soft, easy to eat, and best of all, individually wrapped, which made them so easy to bring around.
It wasn't only the snacks that I smile at the memory this year.
There was, no doubt, the food.
We had two buffets, thank God, and whilst I'd love to write about them (again) maybe it's better that I just put the pictures and we appreciate all the food that we had this year.
At one buffet I had a lot of prawns prepared in different styles.
At the other I had quite a bit of fresh oysters and seafood and had to remind myself to save room for dessert.
After that there was this one evening where we went to Marina Bay Sands for Peking Duck, and shall I say that the fat, the crisp of the skin and the tender chew of the meat made it one of the nicest roast ducks I've ever had?
Their signature sauce plays a part too.
Of course, it wasn't just hotel buffets and Peking Duck from contemporary restaurant Mott 32 that we had this year.
On New Year's Eve, or was it the eve before, we went down the traditional, homecooked route with dinner at Beng Hiang in Jurong East Central.
Now, I may not be familiar with Hokkien cuisine, I may also not have grown up with these dishes around the table, but even till now I've not forgotten the soft, melty, savory taste of kong bak pork belly in the bao.
Neither have I forgotten the chew of (exotic) sea cucumber served with tender fall-off-the-bone braised duck in a gravy containing Five Spices seasoning and more.
What with it being a surprise, a last minute reservation even, let's just say that it did make for one of the more memorable meals to be had this Lunar New Year.
Despite all the great snacks and the great meals we had, it wasn't all only about the food, I'm glad to say.
We had the decor.
And because we had a vase that had been (painstakingly) brought to Steppyhouse this year, we went full color with the pussy willows, lugged them back on the bus, and they're now on the balcony.
