A few days back, my family and I went to the Chinatown night bazaar for some last minute shopping for the Chinese New Year.
Anyway, we parked somewhere near Ann Siang Road（安祥路, and walked to Maxwell Road Food Centre to satiate our voracious appetites. The time was 8:30pm and two thirds of the stalls there were already closed, however we still managed to find some stalls to our liking. And I have one thing to say.
Maxwell Road Food Centre really lives up to its name. If you are a food lover (like KF Seetoh of Makansutra fame), you would have heard that Maxwell Food Centre is quite reputed for its excellent hawker food. Most stalls had some form of write up and certification proclaiming the yumminess of their food. When in doubt, just join the stall with the longest queue.
After a very satisfactory meal, we perambulated around Chinatown, starting from a nondescript pasar malam (night market) just across the road from Maxwell Road Food Centre.
It wasn't even the heart of Chinatown, but it was already quite packed.
We wished we had reached there earlier. People from all walks of life, tourists included, flooded the streets of Chinatown. North, South, East, West... you could lose your sense of direction once you step foot into Chinatown. I lost sight of my parents a couple of times during this outing. Thank goodness for mobile phones!
Stall selling New Year decoration.
Can you spot something familiar? ( hint: inflated)
I also saw some traditional New Year goodies and snapped some photos.
Pineapple tarts. They come in many different shapes and sizes, but this is the typical one you would see.
Kueh Bulu. I don't know what it means, but hey, it's good.
Kueh Bankit. Kueh means cake in Malay, but this kueh bankit isn't really cake. It more of a biscuit. I don't really like it as I dislike the "floury" texture.
Finally, love letters! This is the plain traditional option. A variant is the pandan coloured one folded in quarters. I prefer this variant as I don't like the sesame seeds in the quartered variant.
After this pasar malam, we went directly into the heart of Chinatown. Loud Chinese New Year music blasted through unlocatable speakers and visitors were shoveling and elbowing their way through a pathway where stalls lined both sides. A picture speaks a thousand words. Look.
Crazy, isn't it?
The crowd got so bad, we were stationary at the same spot for a few minutes. As we walked along, we saw some pretty colourful merchandise.
Small pretty cheongsams for girls.
Colourful mua chi. These are the Taiwanese variety. The Japanese also has another variant, called mochi. The main difference is that the mochi contains assorted flavours of ice cream (strawberry, vanilla, black sesame, matcha ice etc) whilst the mua chi has assorted flavours of pastes. ( i.e pandan, red bean, lotus paste, yam, green tea etc).
Another shot of the crazy, crowded street. Refuge is on the right !(haha)
We went into a shop selling souvenirs and my parents went to browse for some display ornaments.
My sister browsing at some merchandise.
After this shop, we went back onto the five foot way. There were many promoters selling interesting merchandise. They put up a good demostration and my parents were so impressed they bought the items.
My sister and I, however, were more interested in the snacks! As we walked, food samples were shoved before our faces. We partook everything that was offered. We also tried this instant popsicle made from soft drinks. Coke, F&N Orange, Grape - you name it, they've got it! The vendor poured softdrinks into a cylindrical contraption with a stick in it, then within seconds, he pulled out the stick and the softdrink froze into a popsicle. The downside was the popsicle melted as quickly as it froze. For 80 cents a pop, it was worth a try!
After 2 hours or so, we were too tired to walk anymore. We dragged ourselves back to the carpark and drove home.
Family outings can be really fun. Not only do you grow closer, but you also learn more of each other's likes and preferences. Familial ties are unique. Kinship should not be taken for granted, but instead be valued and kept close to the heart.
To me, Chinese New Year celebrations is to celebrate kinship, customs and tradition. As modernisation engulfs Singapore today, many of our rich heritage and customs have been eschewed. Not lost, but eschewed. Avoided. Shunned. Take yesterday for example.
It was the first day of the Lunar New Year. As I went visiting relatives, I overheard an old Chinese lady chatting with her neighbour at the void deck of a HDB flat. She was lamenting that her children decided to give the reunion dinner a miss and took the opportunity to go for a holiday instead. She spent her New Year alone at home.
I felt sorry for the old lady.
As we go visiting, we sometimes bump into relatives we seldom meet (read: once a year). If not for the tradition of visiting, we probably won't know that these relatives existed.
If you think Chinese New Year is just for red packets and food, think again.