Nuffnang

Saturday, January 28, 2012

~ Sentosa Flowers 2012 (春节花会) ~

Today is the 5th day of Lunar New Year and we finally made our trip down to visit Sentosa Flowers 2012 before it ends on Sunday. The rain has stopped but the sky remains gloomy. Thankfully, we managed to capture a couple of nice photos.

There was still a crowd at Sentosa Flowers and we need to be patient to wait for our turn for photo taking. Alternatively, we took the pictures at a different angle. Denver & Gladys were very bubbly and smiley today and they did many cute poses. Simply adorable! ^_^ 


Dragons of all shapes and sizes can be seen everywhere to welcome the Year of the Dragon! 

The golden majestic dragon at the Bull Ring!

The giant auspicious dragons made up of 200 over lanterns took the sky in the Forum. It lights up brightly as night falls.

Like previous years, fresh floral dragon decorations are beautifully displayed at the FestiveWalk. We were a little disappointed not able to see the 12 Zodiac this year though.



More floral display at Merlion Plaza. We 'entered' the Dragon Gate and was brought into the Sea World with fishes and octopus.

Gladys - confident and cheeky

More floral zodiac dragon displays!

Dragon sandart beautifully crafted and displayed at the Imbiah Lookout.

Since CNY always falls very closely to Valentine's Day, there always seems to have a theme for couples to take photos with their love ones. I also took a picture with Denver. ^_^


The children love Dinoland most and not afraid of getting close to the beautifully decorated floral dragons.


Spring is in the air as we see flower beds everywhere. It would be better to visit Sentosa Flowers earlier as some flowers have started to wither.

Gladys never forgets to leave her wish note at the Tree of Life! She wrote the same New Year resolution on the paper, hoping to be an artist! Daddy helped her to hang her wish high up on a tree branch.


This year, apart from the dragons, Sentosa Flowers also has a theme of Sea World with fishes, crabs, jellyfish being spotted. Maybe this is because it is the year of the Water Dragon. ^_^



Sentosa is blossoming with florals and it would be a great place to enjoy the Spring with your family!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

~ River Hongbao 2012 ~

Event Period: 21st Jan. 2012 to 29th  Jan. 2012
Opening Hours:Daily: 12:00noon to 11:30pm
Location: The Float @ Marina Bay
Admission is free
 
 
It was a rainy evening during our visit to the River Hongbao on CNY eve. The floors are wet and the drizzle has stopped. The evening was cooling with no major crowd seen at the event (probably due to the showers earlier).

We've been here numerous times as it always brings out the festive mood with the pretty lightings and deco.


Phoenix, birds, fish, dragons, lions are commonly found in every year's River Hongbao.

The lanterns are handcrafted by Chengdu lantern masters.


Since it is the Year of Dragon, River Hongbao also showcase the 9 sons of the Dragons. In Chinese mythology, the dragon has nine sons and each of them had a strong personality. Their images could always be found on ancient Chinese buildings and ancient Chinese weapons and vessels. Very interesting if you take a close look at these lanterns. :)




The main highlight of every River Hongbao is the God of Fortune. This year, we have the Martial God of Wealth (武财神) for the very first time instead of the usual fortune god that we often see.

As always, the Chinese 12 horoscopes is not to be miss as everyone wishes to take a picture with their own signs and a peek of their fortune for the new year.



There are also food streets, carnivals and stalls to let you experience the chinese culture on this CNY. 

Happy Lunar New Year! May everyone has a prosperous and healthy year ahead!


Monday, January 23, 2012

~ Ushering into the Dragon Year @ Harmony Square ~

It has been raining through the night as we usher into the year of Water Dragon! Once again, Denver and I stood on the grounds of Harmony Square to welcome the New Year! The residents of Sengkang and Punggol were treated to an eight minutes long of fireworks display! Super Cool!


There was a crowd at the temple and even though it was raining, everyone held on to their brollies as the fireworks blossom in the night.


The twirling fireworks looked just like dragons heading towards the sky.

BPDGTravels wishes everyone a Prosperous, Fulfilled and Healthy Year Of The Dragon!

龍馬精神,吉祥如意,
身体健康,岁岁平安,
年年有餘,滾滾財源,
歲歲平安,天天開心,
工作舒心,薪水合心,
家家幸福,事事顺心,
祝大家龍年行大運。

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

~ My favourite Pasar Malam in JB ~

One of the main reason why we drove in to Malaysia on a Monday is because of the Pasar Malam (night market) located near KSL City Mall. The street behind Grand Paragon Hotel is cordoned off, lined with mobile vendors and it stretches all the way to the back of KSL.

Stalls are set up in the late afternoon (around 4pm) and through the night selling all kinds of assorted food and items! From live seafood, chicken to cooked food, kuehs and dessert! You will be over-whelmed with its variety and probably won't be able to catch this scene in Singapore.

Based on our previous experience, we learnt our lesson and went there with an empty stomach! Be prepared to squeeze your way through the crowd as it is a very popular spot! (Strollers are not advisable in the night market!)

We settled our dinner by munching our way through the various stalls! You simply cannot resist the temptation to try out some of the local food. Just the thought of it now still makes me drool.... The roasted duck and meat is not to be missed! Our favourite and a MUST-eat whenever we are there!

Fried carrot cake - eating it while it's still hot! You will probably guess which stall sells tastier carrot cake by looking at the number of people waiting for their food. :)


Another one of our favourite! Dou Hua (豆花) in brown sugar! Smooth, sweet and cheap!

We tried the Hong Kong Salt Baked Chicken but I didn't find it to my liking as it was too salty. :)


Freshly baked buns and assorted kuehs. The children's favourite!

Our desserts for the day - Yummy, delicious cakes!


Apart from the local delicacies, you can find clothing, toys, watches, utensils, shoes and live fishes. It looks like a combination of wet market and hawkers all gathering together along this street.



You can easily spend hours at this pasar malam to have a feel of the local culture and try out all kinds of food at a very economical price. It is a very interesting sight to see, especially the mobile vendors setting up their stalls just outside other people's home and none seems to be complaining. ^_^

Currently, the night market operates every Monday (near KSL City Mall). If you are touring or shopping around the area, it will be a great idea to drop by to feel the heat and taste the food!

Saturday, January 14, 2012

~ Pre-CNY prayers in Nanting Temple ~

Date: 26th December 2011

It's that time of the year again where we will make our yearly trip to 南亭寺 (Muar) to return our prayers. Waking up early on Boxing day, we engaged a van and drive-in to Malaysia. I always look forward to having my breakfast there as it is economical and good! A big bowl of wanton mee only cost RM4.50. Slurp!

After a heavy breakfast, it was followed by a 2 hours power nap in the van before we reached the temple. We still remembered our first trip there where we lost our way as it was situated in a rather remote area.

We were welcomed by the little dogs. :)

The surroundings of the temple looks pretty much the same, but I notice a new, small pavilion at the side yard. It seems to be neater and cleaner compared to our previous visits.

Two stone sculptures stationed at the front of the temple.

After our prayers, we would buy some assorted goodies back. Surprisingly, they are also selling yummy, delicious spicy otahs! Thumbs up!


Nanting temple is situated near a river and it was the first time the tide was high when we arrived. We can see little fishes swimming and boats anchoring at the side of the river bank. It was a windy day and one could just sit by the side and spend a quiet afternoon, away from the city buzz.

The driver directed us to Yong Sheng Confectionery 荣成礼坊 after our prayers. We went to the other outlets before but this is the first time we patronise it's head office.

Address: Lot. 1965, Batu 3 ½, Mukim Jalan Bakri, 84000 Muar, Johor, Malaysia.

Yong Sheng banquet hall is located on the second level where many weddings are held. It's store and shop is located at level one. The shop space is pretty big and spacious, with many samples to try and taste. We purchased some of our CNY goodies here before leaving for our lunch.


It was a hot afternoon and we were glad that the van was hired to spare Hubby from the torture of driving all the way back to Johor Bahru. ^_^