新加坡潮州节 Highlights of Singapore Teochew Festival 2014

Greetings everyone :) If you have read my previous blog post, you would have already know that the Singapore Teochew Festival has started on the 25th of Sept at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza . The event is on going and will end this Sunday, 5th of Oct .  on 6 Oct Monday ~~ They have decided to extend by one day due to overwhelming response as well as it is a holiday on the 6th ! yay !!

Have you bought your tickets yet?


If you don't already know, I am a teochew ah nia! It means I am a teochew lady :)

 

Head down to Ngee Ann City to find out more about the cultural and hertiage aspects of the Teochew community :) One of the biggest draw to this event is of course the food! Long queues were form to the entrance of the food section while I was there on Sunday ! Food is definitely a good way to gain more insights to the group  :D

Before I introduce you to the Teochew food selection( yes I know you are a foodie too ) , let me show you some of the vendors and highlights of the festival  =)

Various stage performances

Here's a singer who sang a lovely Teochew tune :)

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Skillful 3D embroidery demo 

Very intricate! 

Some of these arts and crafts are for sale

Clay carving by yet another 

skillful master from China

Wood carved png kueh piece ! 

Beautiful!

Teochews love drinking tea

There are also demo on how to make a teapot 

 

  

learn more about the Teochews who 

helped in the building of Singapore in the 

cultural exhibition hall

Important Singapore Teochews in the past

 Teochew 四点金

given by the mother or mother in law to the bride 

 

Speaking of gold, 

SK Jewelley has launched their latest products at the festival.

This is the 弟子规 gold bar collectible in 999 pure gold

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Ok, let's get on to the food section ! 

Occupying more than 4300 square feet and comprising of 16 vendors, this section has indeed 

stirred up a lot of excitement among passionate foodies for the mouth watering Teochew fare. Some of the vendors have been specially brought in from Swatao China, while the rest are local favorites serving delicious local Teochew delicacies

Jian Ye 建业酒家 

serving us their famous braised duck

  

MiQi 米琪甜品

serving sweet yam paste, roasted yam and sweet potato desserts

You will like this ah bo ling!

 权记Quan Ji 

Wide array of traditional sweet and savory pastries

Swatow Seafood Restaurant

Serving some dimsum, the red bean dumpling is oozing with red bean! 

 Li Xin teochew fishballs noodles stall 

brings us these big her giao! Fishballs are crunchy and nice !

Chui Huay Lim Teochew Cusine 

Have you seen a automated wok that can churn out plates of 

pipping hot teochew char kway tiao!??!

Very strong wok hei!
Amazing machine fried noodles! :)

Thye Moh Chan
Well known for their baked goods such as their tau sar piah, and various biscuits

These are their speical for the festival
Durian and yam paste with yolk tau sar piah
You can only get them at the festival itself :)

 

Wanna buy a png kueh cushion?
you can get one at the souvenir shop!

Specially printed and made for the event :)

didn't get to sit in a sedan when I got married..

Trying out the one at the festival ! LOL

Oh, so the fish maw is also a teochew specialty  !

 


You have 6 more days to go try these delicious food and get to know more about the Teochew culture!

Date:  25 Sept - 5 Oct 2014 
Venue : Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza
391 Orchard Road 

Admission Fee : $5

Stored value ticket: $25/$50
Www.teochewfestival.com
Facebook.com/teochewfest2014
twitter.com/teochewfest2014

Proud to be Teochew - 新加坡潮州节

Hello ~! Wa si Teochew nang! 

Do you know what does that means? It means I am a Teochew. I don't mean to be a disappointment, but I do not know much about my dialect group nor which part of the Teochew districts (in Guangdong ) my forefathers came frome :P

I also have very limited knowledge of the dialect itself ,  hardly speaks it and barely know how to speak Teochew.* head hangs low* Not much of a Teochew I know !! There are many like me out there who really don't know much about the culture .


Come 25th Sept Thursday, you and I can get to know more about our roots and culture !

Head down to Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza for The Teochew Festival - Teochew Me & You 2014

“The Teochew Festival is organised in conjunction with the Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan’s grand 85th anniversary celebrations in Singapore”

“The tagline for this festival broadly translates as ‘We are One Teochew Family’ and the logo is an artistic rendition of a distinctive Teochew snack – the ‘png kueh’ or rice cake. Eight ‘png kueh’ are strategically interlinked in a circle to symbolise harmony, community, union and family ties.”

I like how they use the png kueh as the logo! Food really binds a family together don't you think so?
And the tagline is Teochew is " Teochew nang, ka ki nang" really resonates with me. An elderly ex colleague of Teochew descent always spoke to me in Teochew once he found out that I am Teochew as well. It kinda breaks the ice and makes the work setting less formal :)
 
"The Teochew Festival would be the first time that the Huay Kuan has organised a festival showcasing Teochew culture on such a large scale. The Huay Kuan hopes to give the public a vivid representation of Teochews through enlightening glimpses into their daily lives, and to a larger extent also highlight an important aspect of Singaporean Chinese culture."

Do head down to this festival after you are done with your lunch or hi tea in town. There will be more than 20 vendors at the plaza, offering delectable Teochew delicacies, chef masterclass by renowned connoisseurs, historical artefacts, unique arts performances, cultural showpieces, activities for the young and old .  

More about us Teochews :

"Comprising 20% of Singapore's Chinese population, the Teochews have had a profound influence in the development of Singapore. Prominent pioneers such as Mr Lim Nee Soon, founder of the Huay Kuan were instrumental in the country's early economic growth. They were merchants by trade and also well respected leaders within the community."

Date:  25 Sept - 5 Oct 2014 
Venue : Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza
391 Orchard Road 

Admission Fee : $5

Stored value ticket: $25/$50
Www.teochewfestival.com
Facebook.com/teochewfest2014
twitter.com/teochewfest2014

The one who loves Sync Korean Fusion Bistro

+warning: photo intensive+

Does the follow terms make any sense to you? If you know what does saranghae, oppa , aigoo, ajumma means...then I can safely say that you are a K Drama fan. You should be very familiar with terms such as jiajangmyeon , topokki , japchae and bibimbap!

Many of my friends around me have been bitten by the Korean bug.. from K pop to K drama and of course to K food ! Korean food like Korean dramas are somethings that we can't live without in this day and age.

So yes, I can't live without my Korean food, so I am here to share with you about a new Korean cafe that serves pretty decent fusion korean food ! Don't say I bo jio you hor~ :)


Sync Korean Fusion Bistro is located in the popular Westgate Mall. Located on the third floor, Sync has two different dinning area, one is a informal al fresco setting, and the other is a cosy cafe setting.

Entrance to the bistro

Nice informal al fresco seating

This cafe has areas where you can be kept entertained 

with Samsung's gadgets as you take a break from all 

the delicious food .

 Here's Wei ting, my plus one for the evening , checking out 

Samsung's gadget corner

Worry that your kids will be bored? 

Don't fret! There is also a kids' corner

powered with Samsung's tablets for kids!

So cute isn't it!

Parents can dine in peace while the kids 

entertain themselves with the games :)

You can upload your food pics as you eat..

there is free wifi! and ooh..no service charge!

Big table to cater to large grps :)

Place your orders via a Samsung tablet! 

Saves times and great usage of technology I say!

No need to fret if the staff are busy to serve you :) 

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Ok, let's get down to business!

Time to bring out the food ! :D

Super love this pic! I like the contrast ..

Pity we changed seats after this LOL! 

I had the ice yuzu drink , while Wei ting had the hot version.

I am sure you have eaten Topokki (Korean rice cakes) before..

but don't you find it rather boring just eating rice cakes alone? 

At Sync, the rice cakes are not boring at all! 

They are accompanied by fried bacon bits and soft boiled egg! 

The spring onions add on to the color and taste as well!

Here's another look at the special Topokki with fried bacon & egg $7.90

Thanks to "You Who Came From the Stars"

for making chicken wings such a hip and trendy food! 

These Korean chicken wings ( $6.90 for 3) are slightly spicy
 and so so finger licking good!

(I was licking my fingers ..#truestory)

I am sure they go hand in hand with beer!!

How many times have you seen your fav.korean lead mixing and 

eating 炸酱面 jiajangmyeon? $12.90
The black bean sauce noodles at Sync comes with 

diced meat and pickled veggies combined with a sweet sauce. 
Personally I found this dish too overly saccharine for my taste buds. 
Perhaps this may interest those of you who loves sweet stuff :) 

* don't quite like the reflective steel bowl..lol..quite 
a challenge when it comes to photo taking :P *

I must say this mixture of noodles, dumplings, sausages and veggie 

interest me the most after the chicken wings  ! 

This is fondly called the K Pot Stew $14.90

Best eaten hot! The broth is nice..but I love my stew spicier!! 

Pair it with some of Sync's very own soju infused cocktails!~ 

Jap Chae with Beef $11.90

Jap chae literally means a mixture of veggies

you can add $2.50 for a portion of beef to go with the glass noodles and veg :)

Oh gosh..I almost forgot my other fav. side dish.. 

Cheese fries with Kimchee $6.90

Who would have thought that cheese fries with diced kimchee can taste so so so good!? 

You may think that the taste buds would reject this strange marriage 

but TRUST ME! Everyone at the table was reaching out for this. 

The kimchee seem to offset the coy cheese taste

 and adds on some crunch to the fries :) 

Here's the staple Bibimbap $12.90 for rice lovers 

Mix the sesame oil and sauce throughly with the veggies  . 

What is special here is the soft boiled eggs..

Give it a good stir !

This dish somehow is abit lackluster ..

Taste wise it's just pretty normal.. Order this if 

you must eat rice :) 

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The following pics are gonna cause major 

cravings ..so please be prepared.. 

Presenting Sync's Matcha Lava Cake served with ice cream!!  $7.90

They have two other flavors : White chocolate taro &  Red bean 

These are quite out of the world! 

We enjoyed watching them flow.. and 

all cameras were on them !

The Matcha lava cake is such an eye candy ...

great for those who loves their dessert rich and creamy!

This is my fav. of all three :D

Red Bean Lava cake..

Always been a red bean fan!

* didn't take the a close up of the white choco taro  one .

 but I guess you know how it will look by now :) 

Sync Korean Fusion Bistro would be a good reason for me to travel all the way from the east to the west for!  Do drop by for some munchies if you are tired from all the shopping at the many many malls in this area! 

SYNC KOREAN FUSION BISTRO
Address: Westgate, 3 Gateway Drive, #03-01 Singapore 608532
Tel: 6369 9913
Facebook: www.facebook.com/syncbistro