Rice Dumplings

Today, the Chinese celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival which marks the 5th day of the 5th month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. Also known as Duanwu jie, it commemorates the life and death of the famous Chinese scholar Qu Yuan, an upright and loyal minister to the King during the Chu dynasty. When he lost favour with the king due to court conspiracies, he was disheartened and expressed his anger and sorrow through poems. He eventually took his own life by jumping into the river. The local people desperately searched for him in their boats and threw rice dumplings into the river so that the fishes would not eat his body. Thus every year the Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated to commemorate this attempt which comes with the eating of rice dumpings (steamed glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves) .

The Dragon Boat festival is deemed a public holiday in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong though not in Singapore or Malaysia even though there is a sizeable population of Chinese. Like mooncakes, the simple rice dumplings in Singapore have begun to take on a whole new dimension. To attract a young generation , Crystal Jade My Bread outlets in Singapore have rolled out enticing flavours like lychee, chocolate and pulot hitam, in pudding or mousse-like texture. When it comes to food, Singaporeans like to stretch their creative boundaries.

Comfort food - egg custard

Everyone has their own version of comfort food. When my kids are hungry and stressed from school work, hot little ramekins of chocolate fondant or egg custards will perk up their spirits. Egg custards especially are a breeze to make, taking only 10 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to steam. They are also a good source of calcium for kids who don't like to drink milk.

Receipe for egg custard ( fills up 8-9 little ramekins )

4 medium size eggs

4 tablespoons of sugar

500ml of full cream milk

A teaspoon of vanilla essence

Whisk it well together and pour into the ramekins. It is important to cover the top of each ramekin with aluminium foil so that the top of the egg custard will remain smooth. If not, water droplets from the steaming process will fall back onto the top of the egg custard, making its surface rough and uneven.

If chocolate egg custard is preferred, omit the vanilla and add a tablespoon of cocoa powder dissolved in some water into the whisking mixture.

Salvation Army finds

Chairs that can be given a new lease of life

Wedding dresses

Bridesmaid dresses

Ornate Chinese Vases

Wood carvings of Oriental beauties

The Salvation Army has a number of thrift stores all around Singapore. Unwanted stuff donated by Singaporeans (especially after festive spring cleaning or before house moving) lands up at these thrift stores. It makes good business sense, judging by the fact that the Salvation Army raises over a million dollars each year for their social and community services just through collecting and selling . As they say, one man's junk is another man's treasure.

As I 've always wanted to visit a Salvation Army thrift store, I jumped at the chance just a week ago as I was passing by the branch at Upper Serangoon.

It was quite a large building situated just opposite the yet to open Woodleigh MRT station with two floors and a number of rooms. The sign outside each room was methodically labelled - clothes, shoes, bags, toys, books, vases and paintings, kitchenware and even house plants. They had a wonderful collection of old furniture and the Salvation Army certainly know the value of some of these furniture. A fifties teakwood wardrobe that came traditionally with a drawer for stashing jewellery and money ( my mum has one ) costs $800. These kinds of solid teakwood wardrobes could certainly outlast any furniture made today as no plywood is used for any of its parts. My mum once employed a part time maid who unfortunately stole and we could tell that she tried her best to pry open the drawer with probably pliers, a hammer and a chisel but apart from some dents left around it, the sturdy drawer refused to budge. That 's how well made these wardrobes were .

And someone actually donated a beautiful exquisite mirror piece with carvings that are usually placed on top of a dressing table or a chest of drawers. It was all nicely wrapped in plastic, ready to be delivered to the happy new owner. And amidst the more ordinary furniture, there were also gems like a set of classic Chinese furniture with mother of pearl inlay and a dining table with beautiful classic teak chairs costing only $250 for a set. If I could buy furniture all over again, I would love to restore some of these in terms of varnishing, repainting and refurbishing with nice fabrics. Recycling is the way to go today and tomorrow.

As for clothes, there were racks and racks of them which I did not go through but what stood out for me were the wedding gowns and bridesmaid dresses which seem quite suitable for a theme party or even Halloween. And in another room, shelves of the most colourful Chinese vases. If one took the time, you could probably find one that was ...how should I say..... less ornate . The same room housed a number of wood carvings of oriental Chinese beauties which were actually quite beautiful and probably valuable (it was priced at $169 per piece) beneath that layer of dust. I was deciding whether I should get an old oil painting of Moulin Rouge in France for $30 but decided against it as the painting was quite large and the frame was crumbling.

Looking for treasures amidst the junk is really quite fun and money spent here goes to charity as well ! I may come back for the chairs one day just to have a hand at refurbishing it.

Here is a list of Salvation Army thrift stores around Singapore

Upper Serangoon Family Store

Address: 309 Upper Serangoon Road Singapore 347693

Operating hours: 10.00am - 6.00pm, Mon - Sat

Praisehaven Family Store

Address: 500 Upper Bukit Timah Road Singapore 678106

Operating hours: 10.00am - 6.00pm, Mon - Thu

10.00am - 9.00pm, Fri - Sat

Hope Centre

Address: 7 Upper Changi Road North Singapore 507705

Operating hours: 9.00am to 6.00pm, Mon - Sat

Bukit Merah FTS

Address: Blk 133 Jln Bukit Merah #01-1530 Singapore 160133

Operating hours: 9.00am - 6.00pm, Mon - Sat

IMH Pick & Choose Thrift Store

Address: 10 Buangkok View Singapore 539747

Operating hours: 9.00am - 5.00pm

What is your favourite Sunday morning breakfast ?

Smooth bean curd (tao huay) in a sweet syrup

Lontong ( rice cakes, cabbages, long beans and bean curd pieces in a rich coconut gravy )

There's never really enough time during weekdays to have a nice, leisurely breakfast and I look forward to the weekend mornings, especially Sunday to sip my coffee slowly and indulge in local breakfast fare. Not British breakfast of eggs, sausage and bacon or American breakfast of ham and sausages, bread and jam or pancakes and syrup but a very Singaporean kind.

The Singaporean breakfast ranges from Chinese congee, yam cakes, chee cheong fun (steam rice flour rolls ), chwee kuey ( little rice cakes with dried turnip toppings ) to Malay dishes such as mee siam (vermicelli in a sourish sweet gravy), mee rebus (yellow noodles in a savoury sweet potato gravy) and nasi lemak (coconut rice with anchovies and chilli) just to name a few. Some of my favourites include smooth Chinese bean curd (tao huay) and Malay longtong (rice cakes cooked in a savoury coconut gravy). I can go on waxing lyrical about local Singaporean food and I miss it most when I go on holiday abroad where there are only breakfast options of American or British /continental breakfast. One or two days is fine but on the third day, it starts to get a little to me. As they say, you can take the Singaporean out of Singapore but you can't take the Singapore out of the Singaporean , especially when it comes to food :)

Escape to Sex and the City

The highly popular series and movies Sex and the City are credited for allowing women to have fun with fashion and I can't think of any city that is more appropriate as a setting than New York City. The city and its people have a natural flair for style and fashion and of course the willingness to experiment. I love the way New Yorkers mix vintage with couture and pull it off with such aplomb and energy. Carrie Bradshaw, the lead protagonist, played by Sarah Jessica Parker epitomises the New York girl, independent, spirited and down-right fashionable. My friend bought a coffee table book that features the stories, the fashion and the adventure in Sex and the City 2 and though I am not a fashionista, looking through the pages gave me a truly enjoyable escapist feeling. If only......

Art Nouveau Tiles

Art Nouveau is a style of art that became an international movement from 1890 to early 1900s and was popularly applied to architecture as well as decorative arts. Though it was most strongly felt in Europe, its influence was global. It is characterized by organic, especially floral and other plant-inspired motifs, as well as highly stylized, flowing curvilinear forms.

I have a thing for art nouveau tiles from this era and Peranakan houses built during the 1900s in Singapore, Malacca and Penang used such art nouveau tiles imported from England for decorative purposes. Although there are reproductions available today, you can still see some old and original art nouveau tiles on the facades of Peranakan houses in Keong Saik Street and Ang Siang Hill in Singapore. And of course along Jonker Street ( Jalan Hang Jebat ) , the heart of Peranakan culture in Malacca.

My favourites are the ones with rich greenish, turquoise hues with bright reddish and pink accents and was absolutely delighted to come across beautiful tile pieces framed in the form of a mirror. The seller was someone who ran a vintage second hand store and he was in the process of selling off some possessions in his personal collection as he was moving. I haven't quite decided where to put it but it should soon adorn one of the main walls in the living room.

Gone too soon

The National Theatre (1963 - 1986)

The first National Library (1960-2004)

Was looking at some print drawings of old Singapore at a little stall run by an elderly couple and had that warm nostalgic feeling again. Some of these old sights have been thankfully restored and live on gloriously amidst the Singapore landscape but sadly, some have disappeared completely.

Bought prints of two buildings which I remember well and are now completed gone. The first was the National Theatre situated at the junction of Fort Canning and Clemenceau Avenue. It was officially opened on 8 August 1963 to commemorate Singapore's self-government and was the first and largest theatre in Singapore back then with a capacity of 3240 seats. Designed by a local architect named Alfred Wong, it had a striking huge cantilevered steel roof with a 5 pointed facade representing the five stars of the Singapore flag while the outdoor fountain was supposed to represent the crescent moon. Another unusual feature or lack of it was that it had no side or rear walls. Only the huge roof provided some form of shelter from rain which didn't help if it was pouring cats and dogs and the rain came in sideways. Of course, it was a simple beginning for a young nation and though it wasn't air-conditioned, that didn't stop a lot of great names back then who came to perform and Singaporeans from all walks of life who came to be captivated.

My biggest memory of the National Theatre was when I was around 5 years of age. After a dance performance which I don't quite remember much of, I spotted a familiar fresh face at the top of the spiral staircase within the theatre. She was the legendary Taiwanese songbird Teresa Teng who was regular feature in variety shows on our black and white television in the 70s. Sadly such a historic and beautiful building was demolished in 1986 as defects were found in its roof. Think they should have made a bigger conservation effort to preserve it as it was Singapore's first theatre, funded publicly from donations. Trishaw riders in 1960 donated their day's takings while some even donated bricks. With such stories behind it, it was definitely a worthwhile heritage site. Besides, architecturally, it was a memorable building unlike many of today's nondescript looking ones. Even the Van kleef Aquarium which was situated on its grounds was demolised along with it. As a child, I was captivated by the legend of the man eating pirannas that were a major exhibit at the aquarium. Ah ...simple times and simple pleasures.

The second was Singapore's first National Library at Stanford Road. Built in 1960, it was demolished in 2004 to make way for the Fort Canning Tunnel. To demolish this grand dame which held so many fond memories for Singaporeans just to make way for a short tunnel was totally unnecessary, a sentiment felt by many Singaporeans. However, the controversy surrounding the building's demise has been credited for sparking greater awareness of local cultural roots and heritage conservation among Singaporeans. But it is sad that this building had to be sacrificed before the realisation.

I remember the days when a trip to the old National Library with my classmates was such fun. Giggling and yet trying our best to keep it under control in the library and the simple delight we shared while tucking into the delicious wanton noodles at the little eatery right in front of the library. Somehow food always tasted better while we were growing up. Down the sentimental lane once again.