DONALD AND CATHY'S WORLD ADVENTURE

the lion dance and salad toss

 

The celebrations of the New Year continue.  Monday we enjoyed the lion dance and the salad toss at the embassy.  To read about this event, click here to visit my art blog, ma vie trouvee.

 

Happy Chinese New Year - January 23, 2012

 

Happy Chinese New Year -  January 23, 2012

2012 The Year of the Dragon

 

 

To learn all about this fun and interesting holiday,

 click here to visit my art blog - ma vie trouvee. 

Happy New Year!

What and where are we eating?

 

At hawker stands!

 

A hawker center is the name given to an open-air complex that has several small booths or hawker stands that sell a variety of inexpensive food.  

Each dish is made to order, so it arrives hot and is delicious.  You can add additional peppers or spices if you like it hot.

 

 

Hawker centers sprung up in urban areas in the 1950s and 1960s and were considered a venue for the less affluent.  They were primarily built to reduce the unhygienic food preparation by unlicensed street hawkers.  

Over the years, hygiene standards have vastly improved and the food stall operators are given cleanliness grades (A,B,C) by the National Environment Agency (NEA) to help customers make an informed choice.

Today the hawker stalls are becoming mainstream and are popping up in food courts in shopping malls.  They are still independently owned by the family - no McDonald's or Burger King in these food centers.

 

All meals are served with rice or noodles.  They predominately serve pork, chicken, and fish.  And eggs, lots of eggs.  Beef is not very popular here.  

 

The one below has dried fish on the top - I think this is an acquired taste.  Luckily I tasted it before I mixed it in the soup. 
 

 

 

Oh and the very best part of the hawker stands is they are CHEAP!  We have never paid over 5 Singaporean dollars ($3.85 USD) for these meals.

 

 

The restaurant in the photo below is one step up from a hawker stand. They seat you and take your order, but it is still very casual.  This one was located in the part of Singapore they call Chinatown.

 

This restaurant served chicken only and you could have it on noodles or rice.  Look at that beautiful crispy skin.

 

 

We picked noodles.  This meal was twice the price of the hawker stands, 9 SD ($7 USD).  The owner told us they have been in business since 1963!  It was very good.

 

 

 

 

If you want to see what a rambutan is - hop over to my art blog, ma vie trouvee.

 

What's In - What's out list for 2012

 

 

Donald and Cathy’s

What’s in / What’s out list for 2012

  

In                                          Out

 

Singapore                                                    Brussels

 

sandals and flip-flops                                         boots

 

shorts                                                                skinny jeans and tights

 

casual short sleeves for work                            suits  for work

 

English                                                               French

 

bubble tea and fruit juice                                  beer and wine

 

iced coffee                                                        hot coffee

 

hawker stands                                                   Michelin restaurants

 

chop sticks                                                        forks                                           

 

ice cream sandwiches                                        waffles

 

fish                                                                   beef        

 

rice                                                                   potatoes

 

broth-based meals                                            cream-based meals

 

ice in drinks                                                      never ice in drinks    

 

Asian décor                                                       Paris décor                                  

 

full-sized refrigerator                                      tiny refrigerator

shoe lockers                                                      coat closet

 

marble floors                                                    wood floors

 

cold (air conditioned ) apartment                      hot apartment           

  

Singaporean dollars                                           Euros

 

all stores open on Sunday                                 all stores closed on Sunday

 

most stores open until 11 PM                            all stores close at 7 PM               

 

buses                                                               trams

 

right-hand drive                                              left-hand drive

 

muggy heat                                                      muggy cold

 

green outside                                                  gray outside

 

tissue sellers                                                  street bums      

 

tweeting birds                                                honking car horns

 

customer service                                            indifferent clerks

 

This is from our first four days in Singapore!  We are enjoying it all - learning new things by the minute.  

 

Our new grocery store in Singapore

 

Singapore Begins Now!

 

We are settling into our new apartment - well,  with three suitcases full of stuff.  We have been out and about and have explored the neighborhood.

 

The closest grocery store - about a 5 min walk across the main street is what they call a wet market - which is an outdoor market with very local food.

 

Beautiful fresh fish.

 

 

 

 

Unusual fruits and Vegetables.

 

We bought these - sweet and interesting - some what like a lychee.  They are called Rambutans.

 

 

And the very smelly, icky durian fruit.  We have not tried them yet - but will soon!

 

 

2011 year-end review

 

 2011

 

 

Here's to 2011!  We had a great year of travel.  We had the opportunity to visit eleven countries, including four that we visited for the first time (Turkey, Cambodia, Thailand, and Romania).  France was our most visited country, we hopped over there four times.  We have selected a favorite photo from each trip for this post.  To see more photos and read about our adventures, just click on the country name and it will take you directly to the post.

 

February/March

Bangkok Thailand

 

 

 

 

Cambodia - Temples of Angor Wat

 

 

 

Cambodia - a village in the water

 

 

 

 

Cambodia - Sojourn Village

 

 

 

Belgian Countryside

 

 

 

May

Istanbul Turkey

 

June

Berlin

 

 

 

 

Hamburg

 

 

July

Romania

 

 

 

Alsace, France

 

 

 

August

Loire Valley, France

 

 

 

 

October

USA

November

Singapore (D)

In De Wulf - Heuvelland Belgium

 

December

Alsace France - Christmas

 

 

 

 

Paris - Big 50

 

 

 

 

Singapore!

 

And our new home, our new country - Singapore!

 

Thank you to everyone who visits our Blog!  We are thrilled that you leave comments and come back often.  The new year, 2012, is going to be an exciting time for us as we pack up our apartment and move to Singapore.  We hope you stay with us for another year of exciting travel and please drop us a note every now and then - we love to meet the people who read our blog.

Happy New Year to you and your family!  

Donald and Cathy