2013 Lunar Snake Year @ Chinatown, Singapore 牛车水蛇年延庆

Location: Chinatown (牛车水), Singapore

It has always strike me as weird that a nation with the Chinese ethnic as the dominant population would have a place named Chinatown. And it strikes me even weirder that said nation celebrates Christmas with more bang than it does for Lunar New Year. 

Just as Orchard Road strives to be its best in the month leading to Christmas, the same happens in Chinatown during the Lunar New Year. In fact, one may notice that Chinatown is the place where Lunar New Year is celebrated with more festivities than most other areas in the island nation. Chinese lanterns adorn all over an area which borders blurred with its neighboring districts, and this year 2 special guests graced the streets. 

The gigantic Red Snake invaded Chinatown with a message: Happy Lunar Snake Year!

Singapore Food Blog - La Braceria

Location: Bukit Timah, Singapore

Lying hidden from sight in a rather upscale neighborhood is a small restaurant called La Braceria. To those who understand Italian, it is “The Grill”, but to those who don’t, its translation mattered not. Because they would have visited this restaurant anyway, or they wouldn't even know its name or its location. 

We chanced upon a voucher offering discounts and thought we would avail ourselves of the chance for some authentic Italian servings, although we had our share of doubt since there are so many franchises and restaurants out there that unabashedly claimed to have served “authentic Italian meals” as well. A website menu packed full of Italian words helped make up our mind and off we went to explore the gastronomic offers of La Braceria.

Tucked behind a garden is the topic of this sharing: La Braceria.

Singapore Food Blog - JUMBO Seafood Restaurant @ Riverside Point, Clarke Quay

Location: Clarke Quay, Central Business District (CBD), Singapore

Singapore. Even though it is claimed by some to be a hubbub of cuisines, which is not wrong in all sense, most have difficulty to recall what is truly Singaporean, and not some imported taste made local. If you are one of them, look no further than JUMBO, one of the chain of seafood restaurant, and its famed chili crab. 

In truth, even JUMBO could not lay full claim to its food as a truly Singaporean cuisine. The seafood it offers is really a fusion between Hong Kong style cooking and local tastes, but the chili crab it serves is something which Singaporeans are proud to say is their local trademark. 

The restaurant is usually crowded, filled to the sidewalk border. The amber sign beckons diners to visit its confines.

A panoramic shot of the Singapore River, with JUMBO Restaurant to the left of the view.

Singapore Food Blog - Bosses (黑社会)

Location: Harborfront, Singapore

The year 2012 ended with much relief as the world we know still exist and the sun continued to rise and shine on December 22, 2012. With all those doomsday fear being dispelled, the year 2013 deserves to be treated with celebration, and where else to do so than to immerse oneself in some affordable luxury, such as dining in Bosses at Vivocity?

The English name of 'Bosses' is quite different from its Chinese name of 黑社会, the latter being "triad". But then again, the former is not that far away from its mark as well, for how else would you greet the leader of a triad gang than to call him "boss"?

The stark black decor and a dark entrance reminds me of nightclubs, and while it stood in stark contrast against the rest of the restaurant, it may serve as a deterrent to the less daring.

Travel through Philately - Treasures of Malta Series - Fountains

Are you familiar with the country of Malta? I am not, at least not until recently. This country to the south of the European continent may be minuscule compared to most of its bigger sisters, but it held honors which cast no doubt on its significance in history. It is the first and one of only two collective holder of the George Cross Award, the famous residence site of Knights Hospitaller, otherwise known as Knights of Malta, and the summit host for the meeting which signified the end of Cold War. 

Travel through Philately - Singapore Pond Life Definitive 2013

SingPost (Singapore Post) had launched the 2013 definitives with pond life as its title. Both stamps employed plants on their image, and with natural ponds so rare in Singapore, this may become the way for younger generation to get to know the habitat that is shrinking in size and popularity. 

Philately and Numismatics

With a renewed interest in philately and numismatic, I found that I can be writing about such stuff in a blog dedicated to my traveling adventures. I am used to studying the cultural and religious differences of the people, be it a foreign or familiar land, while marveling at the wonders Mother Nature gave breath to as well as that which Man built in defiance of nature, sometimes even destroying it in the process. 

And philately and numismatics are undeniably an inseparable part of the development of a human civilization. Being the branch of study of stamps and postal history, as well as the collection of such items, philately tells the story of how mankind despises loneliness and thirsts for communication. 

Penny Black, the world's first postage stamp (taken from Wikipedia).