Chinatown 2010 - A feast for the eyes.

WARNING - Bumper post.

Let me take you on a walk through Chinatown with me on a learning journey planned for my princess. I wanted her to experience firsthand the colours, sights, sounds and smells of the most significant festival in Singapore... Chinese New Year. She took along with her a notebook and a pen to jot down things she saw and new words which she came across. However, that notebook only saw light once during the entire trip as there was too much going on, and on top of that the heat, not to mention the crowd, which was making both hubby and her irritable. Overall, though, it was a fun outing. I had planned to take her there from a week back, but each day the sun was getting hotter and hotter, so I kept shelving it. However, we had the opportunity yesterday afternoon when we returned from dance class and I seized the day and got everyone out of the house in double quick time, as the weather was really lovely and cloudy. A perfect day for an outing.

As we got off the bus, we were greeted by this sweets stall which had all the sugar laden preserved fruits with auspicious names to them. Chinese New Year is all about auspiciousness.

A very popular stall with 900 years of history selling preserved meats.

Right beside the preserved meat stall is CK departmental store which was packed to the brim with shoppers hunting down bargains on decorations for the home.

I love the bright cheery colours of Chinese New Year, and it is a MUST to visit it each year. Previously I went with my mum and sis as my girl was too young to take along. We usually went in the night, when the streets were all lit up, and the crowd was thicker. I'm glad that she is old enough now and I do hope to make it an annual tradition with her.

As we hadn't yet had our lunch, our first stop naturally, was for food, and I've been wanting to try out this guy's stall... the famous German guy, donning a Chinese outfit, selling sausages which his country is famous for, right in the middle of Chinatown.

Choice of sausages which were pretty limited.

More food choices.

Lovely choice of breads.

The star himself.

Hubby and I had cheese sausages with hard rolls while the girl opted for the frankfurter. She requested to not have hers cut up, and ketchup on the side. I did not try it but the ketchup looked like homemade, although I doubt it.

Right after our (yummy) sausage lunch, the girl spied a sign with the word 'Takoyaki', and knowing that this mummy loves them, she pointed out the stall to me. I didn't want any but she went for the steamed corn niblets and hubby had a waffle dog.

Patiently waiting for my cup of corn.

Beautiful gourds on display as well as for sale.

Some lovely windmills. We got one of these.

We came across our neighbour's family store during our walkabout. The store is famous for their egg tarts.

The nian gao which I wanted to show princess, as she learned it during Chinese class.

This is one of my favourite stalls along the street. I love anything personalised.

It was very crowded on a Saturday afternoon.

Lovely flowers to brighten up the home.

Lots of chopsticks for sale.

I even found them in my family name! These make great gifts at $1 a pair.

More auspicious-naming sweets along the way.

Cute little tigers.

The girl wanted to see some chun lian, so here they are, red papers with auspicious words written in calligraphy.

A Chinese medical hall selling herbal drinks.

Chinese New Year is not complete without yummy biscuits. The prices of these will be slashed down later, on the eve of the actual day on the 14th Feb this year.

Thirst-quenching goodness for a hot day out. Hubby had one of these and said it was very nice. And you need to look around as there were a few stalls selling them for $1 each.

Piping hot roasted chestnuts.

I love these sweet mini oranges. Very cheap too.

My sister loves these, and I love the colours.

Do try to pay a visit to Chinatown this year. We didn't manage to take photos of the main road decorations as my two companions were tired out. We searched for a shop selling Chinese New Year outfits but I got disorientated and couldn't find it. We came across another popular one and found her an outfit. I wasn't too keen on it as it was too red, but both hubby and she liked it so we bought it anyway.

Remember to bring an empty tummy along on your visit and try as many things along the way. It'll be a fun experience.

Tong Heng Confectionery (South Bridge Road)
285 South Bridge Road
Tel: 62230398