Life in Singapore

Today is Chinese New Year, we begin the Year of the Rabbit. Bye, Tiger! Each of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac correspond to a year. The Year 2011 is the 4708th Chinese year. The Chinese believe that the first king of China was the Yellow King (he was not the first emperor of China). The Yellow King became king in 2697 B.C., therefore China will enter the 4708th year on February 3rd, 2011. Also, the Chinese Year uses the cycle of 60 Stem-Branch counting systems and the Metal White Rabbit is the 28th Stem-Branch in the cycle. Since (60 *78) + 28 = 4708, therefore 2011 is the Metal Rabbit year, which is the 4708th Chinese Year. Read the rest of this entry »

The cuisine of Singapore is indicative of the ethnic diversity of the culture of Singapore, as a product of centuries of cultural interaction owing to Singapore’s strategic location. The food is influenced by the native Malay, the predominant Chinese, Indonesian, Indian and Western traditions (particularly English) since the founding of Singapore by the British in the 19th century. Traces of cuisines such as Thai and Middle Eastern exist in local food culture as well. In Singaporean hawker stores, for example, chefs of Chinese ethnic background influenced by Indian culture might experiment with condiments and ingredients such as tamarind, turmeric and ghee, while a Tamil chef might serve a fried noodle dish. Read the rest of this entry »