January 2018

Singapore has opened up post-pandemic, so the shop is re-opened for business! Sorry for the long wait!

Happy Laba Festival 腊八节 !

The twelfth lunar month is called 腊月 ("la" month) and this festival is celebrated on the eighth 八(ba), hence it is called Laba Festival.

Originally it started as a day for worshiping gods and ancestors, after Buddhism was introduced to China, it also became associated with the Buddha. Some of the most well-known foods associated with this festival are Laba Congee (made with healthy grains, beans and dried fruit) and green garlic. In Northern China, cloves of garlic are pickled in vinegar which eventually turns them bright green.

大寒 (Dahan) Great Cold 20 Jan 2018

大寒 (Dahan or Great Cold) which falls on 20 January in 2018 is the last of the twenty four solar terms under the traditional Chinese calendar. It is time to get rid of the old and bring in the new for the upcoming new year. This is also a period when Chinese companies hold year end parties 尾牙 (wei ya) for their employees and offerings to the kitchen god are traditionally made.

小寒 (Xiaohan) Minor Cold 5 Jan 2017

小寒 (Xiaohan or Minor Cold) which falls on 5 January in 2018 is the second last of the twenty four solar terms under the traditional Chinese calendar. It is a time for eating warming foods like mutton hotpot, exercising/strengthening one's body and starting preparations for the upcoming Spring Festival such as writing spring couplets and buying New Year decorations. Some traditional regional foods eaten during this period include cabbage in Tianjin, vegetable rice in Nanjing and glutinous rice in Guangdong.