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| Lights
and life of diversity For many of us, Christmas always seems to come with the heavy undertones of romantic snow scenes, snowmen and snowball fights - even for those of us nestled close to the equator. But Singapore dwellers have, over the years, made Christmas their own as they celebrate Christmas in the tropics, transforming their Orchard Road shopping belt, deriving its name from the fact that once there existed fruit havens, orchards, where now a shopping metropolis stands into a veritable fairyland. Up since "sometime in October" as a young Singapore dweller said, the Christmas lights were officially switched on by President S. R. Nathan at the Ngee Ann City, Civic Plaza on November 13, bringing life to the Magical Christmas Garden Light-Up, 2004. The Light-Up ceremony, which came of age this year, as it celebrated its 21st year, has become more than just a much looked-forward to social event. Fifty eight charities and nearly 300,000 individuals, from children who are nurtured through educational, social and counselling services, to the elderly and families responsible for them, to families that need support for the disabled, are supported by the event that calls on the socially responsible to remember to give during a season that encourages the best in everyone. Thus, it's officially celebration time down Singapore's exclusive shop-till-you-drop zone extending from Tanglin Road through Orchard Road and Bras Basah Road to Marina Bay with street performances, carol singing, and overwhelming Christmas decorations creating that magical Christmas garden! The Christmas lights weren't the only lights that shone on the tour. Arriving a day after Deepavali, or Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights, there were more lights awaiting me around Little India. Little India, stretching over Serangoon Road and its connecting byways, is home to Singapore's Indian community, which grew from the first Indian settlers who arrived with Sir Stamford Raffles, founder of modern Singapore, as assistants and soldiers in 1819. Possibly Little India's biggest attraction, Mustafa Centre situated on Serangoon Road is Singapore's 24-hour mall, or rather Aladdin's cave - the bargain shopper's paradise with over 120,000 products to choose from at the lowest prices in Singapore. Walk in at 2 a.m. and you bump into eager shoppers getting in on some late-night/ early morning action. That's not all, nothing prepares you for the floors of gold, silver and diamonds! On the third day into the tour, the lights were by no means dimming; for there was one more celebration in Geylang Serai, where the Malay community dwells. Hari Raya - Ramazan - celebrated with still more lights in Geylang where the Malay settlers have been since the 1840s after the British dispersed the Malay floating village at the mouth of the Singapore River. So it was quite the order of the day to shout out a friendly greeting in keeping with the mood of celebration. In a country with nearly 76% of the population of Chinese ethnic origin and the majority religion Buddhism, what was celebrated with such zest and vigour over that three-day period, and will extend through the season, were minority group festivities. It was a country throbbing with multicultural diversity, best experienced not just through the myriad of cultural celebrations, but also the many dishes placed before me... The Singaporeans' round-the-clock passion for food meant that much of the tour revolved around meals, and was punctuated with the most frequently asked question - Are you hungry? Singapore's cuisine comes into being through the numerous recipes that have passed through generation after generation of Chinese and Indian migrants, who eventually became the settler communities in Singapore, fusing with Malay ingredients and flavours. Singapore food is thus more than just a menu - it's a 'cultural experience' to be revelled in as I learned from my first breakfast in Singapore. Nasi lemak - the breakfast - comprised rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaf (for the lovely aroma that the leaf emits), accompanied by ikan bilis (fried fish), omelette, cucumber slices and special chilli paste. Lots of Malay flavours, I was told. Then before I could breathe came the onslaught of Chinese. Hainanese chicken, rice noodles, bean curd... and soft-shelled crabs that can be eaten in the shell - nothing goes to waste with this crab! A whirlwind of Singaporean Chinese food experienced at a little Chinatown roadside café, the very exclusive My Humble House and Chijmes - a one-time convent for girls turned into a restaurant. And then onto the traditional Singaporean... What makes a traditional Singaporean breakfast? Kaya toast! The highlight of this breakfast is the Kaya that is generously spread on warm toast and served in layers. "Kaya" is really egg jam! Made with eggs and sugar cooked with pandan leaf, to add to the fragrance. And so, the breakfast menu goes... two eggs, toast, globs of butter and Kaya jam... downed with a cup of coffee. Singapore's steaming cups of coffee and tea, known as kopi and the, have come a long way from the early stall-days, diversifying to serve a range of variations like Russian Coffee (with a dash of Vodka in it). Certainly, a long way off from the basic combinations of tea with milk and sugar, tea with sugar only (teh-O), tea with milk and no sugar (teh kosong), and tea with evaporated milk (teh si). But for those who like something stronger - the Singapore Sling is a 'must'. Perched high on a barstool at the Long Bar, Raffles Hotel, (or any bar for that matter) one can call for the 'traditional' Singapore Sling created in 1936, by Hainanese-Chinese bartender Ngiam Tong Boon, which is even today made with exactly the same composition, and without which a visit to Singapore is not complete. Originally the Singapore Sling was meant as a woman's drink, allowing her to subtly sip a little something stronger, containing dashes of Gin, Cherry Brandy, pineapple juice, lime juice, Cointreau, Dom Benedictine, Grenadine and Angostura Bitters, masquerading as a fruit drink. In Singapore, it is possible to experience acutely the term - satiated - as you make your way through dish after dish that reflects all that is positive about multiculturalism, where fusion enriches rather than divides. It is possible to experience a culture through chopsticks, artistically laid out on a dish, thickly spread on a slice of toast and washed down with a hot cup of cha... Sigh. So much to savour so little time to taste and relish the range of cultures through the myriad of experiences that was... Uniquely Singapore! |
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