OR DO YOU NOT THINK SO FAR AHEAD
It's almost mid-March! Can you believe it?! Time goes by soooo fast! Just a month ago, we were ushering in the Lunar year of the Horse and now, I doubt you'll still find new year decorations. Two years in the little red dot, I have come to learn that Chinese New Year is a very serious matter. It's like how we Filipinos go all out on Christmas - food, reunions, gifts (red packets), decor, superstitions, etc. However, since I'm neither Chinese nor Singaporean, I've always looked at CNY as a time for travel (long weekend!). This year though, I stayed in the city and for the first time in my whole life, I actually celebrated it. Needless to say, I had a blast. ;)
Days prior to the new year, my coaches (aka colleagues) were already drilling me on my new year script. "Gong xi fa cai, hong bao yi ke lai, xin nian kuai lei!" Although hong bao yi ke lai isn't really something you tell people coz it basically means give me my red packet but it was fun teasing my colleagues as it's customary to give unmarried folks hong baos. I got my oranges ready and my red dress prepared, coz yes, I was a little bit of the eager beaver. I spent the actual weekend with my boyfriend and his lovely family wherein I got to try some hakka dishes and join in on my favourite part of CNY - the lo hei. The festivities did not end in that 3-day weekend though! As long as there's lo hei, it's still considered new year. Thus, in those 15 days, I couldn't refuse the second or even third serving coz I knew I had to wait another year to have it again. Aside from the lo hei, I really like the sense of togetherness and the sense of tradition Singapore displays during this time. It really puts you in a cheery holiday mood - even if you're not Chinese.
xx
Days prior to the new year, my coaches (aka colleagues) were already drilling me on my new year script. "Gong xi fa cai, hong bao yi ke lai, xin nian kuai lei!" Although hong bao yi ke lai isn't really something you tell people coz it basically means give me my red packet but it was fun teasing my colleagues as it's customary to give unmarried folks hong baos. I got my oranges ready and my red dress prepared, coz yes, I was a little bit of the eager beaver. I spent the actual weekend with my boyfriend and his lovely family wherein I got to try some hakka dishes and join in on my favourite part of CNY - the lo hei. The festivities did not end in that 3-day weekend though! As long as there's lo hei, it's still considered new year. Thus, in those 15 days, I couldn't refuse the second or even third serving coz I knew I had to wait another year to have it again. Aside from the lo hei, I really like the sense of togetherness and the sense of tradition Singapore displays during this time. It really puts you in a cheery holiday mood - even if you're not Chinese.
Below are some pictures from the lunar new year that was. Hope even the tiniest speck of my holiday mood reaches you wherever part of the world you are.
Lo hei at Moi Lum on the third day of CNY. It's basically a really yummy salad you toss for abundance.
my red CNY dress
Office Lo hei lunch from Tung Lok. Also really good, but is there lo hei that's not good?! (Although I still think the homemade one by auntie is the best, no bias.)
after the lion dance at the office lobby, this fellow went around giving oranges and fortune cookies
aren't red and circles supposed to be lucky? :p yummy stuffed crust pizza after the festivities.
lanterns and cherry blossoms at the office lobby
Japanese style lo hei from Kushi. Also yummy but I prefer the chinese style.
can we talk about how pretty these red packets are?! I'm used to the ones in the Philippines with just a gold chinese character in the middle that I was really astounded as to how beautiful these are.
here's a collage from my instagram: lo hei in action. Yes, you toss the salad up. The higher the better luck!
xx
Awesome pictures...it seems you had a great time and the good looks amazing!
ReplyDeleteHugs
Andy
theblacklabelblog.blogspot.com