My Singapore: July 2008

Singapore-modern civilisation

Singapore, the little red dot, is famous. One of the reasons is the ethnic culture here.

You are going to create an information booklet regarding one of the ethnic cultures.
In your groups of fours, select only one of them to work on. Each of you will work on only one category.

Day 1
Information gathering
Use the entries below to help you with the information you need.
Use the template on Kidspiration to help you organise the information.
You could also do an internet search.

Day 2
Organizing information into an information booklet
Use your information from Day 1 and include the other features of an information booklet.
Use the template given by your teacher. You may also want to include photographs. Do remember to acknowledge the sources.

Festivals

Though people from different religions are staying in Singapore, all Festivals in Singapore are celebrated in peace and harmony. Some of the major festivals in Singapore are :

Chinese New Year

One of the biggest festivals in Singapore is the Chinese New Year falling on January or February depending on the Chinese calendar. It is a fifteen-day long affair where the Chinese take out time from their busy schedules and spend time feasting with their family and friends. A big procession called the 'Chingay' procession comprising traditional characters, music and dance is taken out by the Chinese, Indian and Malay community on the occasion of this festival.The entire Chinatown is decorated and lighted on this day and the festival is welcomed with dragon and lion dances and parades. You will also find colorful stalls selling everything from Chinese delicacies like love-letter cookies to red and gold colored cards as the smell of incense and flowers permeate the festive air.
More information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year

Hungry Ghosts festival

This festival is celebrated in the month of September according to Chinese lunar calendar and is held as a mark of respect for the souls of the dead.The Taoists Chinese believe that at this time of the year the 'Gates of Hell' are opened and the ghosts are free to roam the earth. The festival is a time for feasting and entertaining for the ghosts their only time on earth. The Chinese offer food to the ghosts and perform operas in their bid to placate the hungry ghosts. Children are forbidden to wander around after dusk and fake paper houses, money, cars, phones are burned to send them to the other world for the deprived ghosts.A visit to Chinatown will give a glimpse of this superstitious tradition of the Chinese.

Deepavali

A major festival celebrated by the Indian community in Singapore is 'Deepawali' or Diwali, which is also a National Holiday in Singapore. Though the authorities do not permit the bursting of firecrackers, the Hindu households celebrate this festival of lights in their own way by organizing Laxmi & Ganesh puja's at their residence and by offering prayers at the temples.

Thaipusam

Celebrated mainly by the Tamil Hindu community in Singapore, it pays tribute to Indumban an ardent devotee of Lord Murugan (Kartikeya). Normally falling in the month of October a popular belief is that any devotee undertaking to take the kavadi will have his wishes granted immediately.On the day of the festival a procession is taken out from the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple in Little India to the Sri Thendayuthapani Temple at Tank Road covering a stretch of 3 km. Devotees form the procession hoping to fulfill their wishes, the men carrying kavadis and the womenfolk carrying pots of milk.The devotees offer pots of milk on the trident of the deity and then remove their kavadis. The festival concludes with a three-day fasting by the devotees.

Hari Raya Puasa

It marks the end of Ramadhan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. Muslims give money to the poor and wear their best clothes. It lasts three days and on the day of the celebration, a typical Muslim family awakes very early, does the first everyday prayer, and is required to eat a little, symbolizing the end of Ramadan. They then attend special congregational prayers held in mosques or large open areas. After the special prayers, festivities and merriment are commonly observed with visits to the homes of relatives and friends to thank God for all blessings.
It is a time of giving and sharing, and many Muslims dress in holiday attire.

Hari Raya Haji

It marks the the Festival of Sacrifice The festivities last for two to three days or more depending on the country. It occurs the day after the pilgrims conducting Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia by Muslims worldwide, descend from Mount Arafat. It happens to be approximately 70 days after the end of the month of Ramadhan.

Traditional costumes

Singapore is a land of multitudes of people from many races and cultures. Traditional dress of Singapore can be best described as the traditional attires of the people belonging to various races and cultures.

The Chinese
The traditional costume of the Chinese women is the cheongsam. The attire dates back to the period of Ching Dynasty when the wives and daughters of the royal dynasty used to wear the tight-fitting costume. The design of the dress is extremely simple and adored with ornamentation at the side of the collar.

The Malays
The most popular costume of the Malay woman is baju kurung. The loose tunic is worn over a long skirt. One side of the skirt is pleated and the tunic reaches up to the mid-thigh. The two-piece costume of sarong kebaya is another popular costume among the Malay population. The scarf popularly known as the selendang is sometimes draped over the head and at times even slung across the shoulder. Tudung is a headscarf purposely used to cover the women's hair.

The Indians
The Indian population in Singapore in special occasions is found to wear saris, which is a popular traditional attire. Saris are worn with matching or contrasting blouses. The fabric of the saris may range from cotton to high quality silk. Designer salwar kameez is also a popular traditional costume among the Indians living in Singapore. The dress generally belongs to the Punjabis but now has been widely accepted by the people of the other regions as one of the most comfortable and respectable wears.

Do you wear your tradiational costumes?

Food in Singapore

Here in Singapore, we are able to sample the dishes from all cultures and we learn to appreciate them.

Malay dishes
Many Malay dishes revolve around a Rempah, which is a spice paste or mix similar to an Indian Masala. Rempahs are made by grinding up fresh and/or dried spices and herbs to create a spice paste which is then sauteed in oil to bring out the aromas.

Typical festive fare during Hari Raya Puasa or Hari Raya Haji includes beef soup, nasi himpit (compressed rice cubes), beef rendang and sayur lodeh.

Kangkung belacan' is water convolvulus wok-fried in a pungent sauce of shrimp paste (belacan) and hot chilli peppers. Various other items are cooked this way, including petai (which is quite bitter when eaten raw; some older generation Malays still eat it as is) and yardlong beans.
Keropok lekor, a specialty of the state of Terengganu and other states on the east coast of Peninsula Malaysia, is a savoury cake made from a combination of batter and shredded fish. Sliced and fried just before serving, it is eaten with hot sauce.
Kuih is usually a cake eaten during the morning or during midday.
Ikan Bakar, grilled fish with either chilli, kunyit (turmeric) or other spice based sauce.
Ketupat and rendang is served normally on Hari Raya festival .
Nasi Lemak - a rice cooked with coconut milk and served with anchovies, roasted nuts, cucumbers,a slice of egg, a chili paste known as sambal and a choice of curries & rendang
Nasi Goreng Kampung a type of fried rice, traditionally flavored with pounded fried fish (normally mackerel), though recently fried anchovies are used in place of it.
Lontong is a yellowish creamy soup mix with mee hun and ketupat.
Soto Soup with mee hun or ketupat
Apam Balik - a bread like puff with sugar, corn, and coarse nut in the middle.
Pulut- Glutinous rice serve with either rendang or coconut and brown sugar
Serunding - Shredded meat in a form of meat floss with spices.
Nasi Berlauk - Plain rice served with different variety of dishes
Ayam Percik - grilled chicken with spicy sauce

Indian dishes

The Indian cuisine of the ethnic Indians here is similar to its roots in India. Hands are washed before and the right hand is used during the meal.

Banana leaf rice is white rice served on banana leaf with an assortment of vegetables, curry meat or fish and papadum.
Thosai is a batter made from lentils and rice blended with water and left to ferment overnight. The batter is spread into a thin, circular disc on a flat, preheated pan, where it is fried with a dash of edible oil or ghee until the dosa reaches a golden brown colour. Then the thosai may optionally be turned over on the pan, and partially fried. The end product is neatly folded and served. Thosai is served with sambar (vegetable curry) and coconut chutney.
Idli is made from lentils (specifically black lentils) and rice — into patties, usually two to three inches in diameter, using a mold and steamed. Most often eaten at breakfast or as a snack, idli are usually served in pairs with chutney, sambar, or other accompaniments.
Putu Mayam (String hoppers/ Idiyappam) is a sweet dish of rice noodles with coconut and jaggery as main ingredients. It is served with grated coconut and jaggery, or, unrefined block sugar. In some areas, gula melaka (coconut palm sugar) is the favourite sweetener. Putu piring is a version of putu mayam in which the rice flour dough is used to form a small cake around a filling of coconut and brown sugar.
Biryani is a rice dish from the made from a mixture of spices, basmati rice, meat/vegetables and yogurt. The ingredients are ideally cooked together in the final phase and is time-consuming to prepare. Pre-mixed biryani spices from different commercial names are easily available in markets these days, which reduces the preparation time though the taste differs considerably.
Chapati is a type of bread. It is made from a dough of atta flour (whole grain durum wheat), water and salt by rolling the dough out into discs of approximately twelve centimeters in diameter and browning the discs on both sides on a very hot, dry tava or frying pan (preferably not one coated with Teflon or other nonstick material). Chapatis are usually eaten with vegetable curry dishes, and pieces of the chapati are used to wrap around and pick up each bite of the cooked dish.
Indian curries uses a lot of spices, coconut milk, and curry leaves. Some of the most popular curries include Chicken Curry, Fish Curries, and Squid Curry.
Prata is a thin bread with a flaky crust, fried on a skillet and served with condiments. It is sometimes referred to as roti kosong. Some are with eggs or even cheese!
Mamak rojak is a variant of rojak consisting of substantial ingredients like boiled potatoes and hard-boiled eggs.
Teh tarik literally meaning "pulled tea", is a well-loved drink. Tea is sweetened using condensed milk, and is prepared using out-stretched hands to pour piping hot tea from a mug into a waiting glass, repetitively. The higher the "pull", the thicker the froth. The "pulling" of tea also has the effect of cooling down the tea. Teh tarik is an art form in itself and watching the tea streaming back and forth into the containers can be quite captivating.

Chinese food

Chinese food is derived from mainland Chinese cuisine but has been influenced by local ingredients and dishes from other cultures though it remains distinctly Chinese. Most Chinese meals have pork as their sub-ingredient, but due to the popularity and unique taste of the actual food, there are chicken options available for the local Malays (most Malays are Muslims, and Islam forbids them from eating pork). Some Chinese food restaurants nowadays can be found serving halal food i.e. food without ingredients that are forbidden by the Islamic religion. Chinese restaurants serving food in Halal can introduce a wider range of customers to it.

Bak Kut Teh (Chinese : 肉骨茶) (pork ribs soup). A soup cooked with herbs, garlic and pork ribs which have been boiled for many hours. In some , there are additional ingredients which include sea cucumber and abalone. Bak kut teh is believed to have medicinal properties.
Bak Chang. Chinese Rice Dumpling made from glutinous rice wrapped in leaf along with pork, Shiitake mushrooms, nut and salted egg yolk of a duck's egg.
Bakkwa (Chinese : 肉干), Known also as barbecued pork and it literally means dried meat. This delicacy is especially popular during the Chinese New Year celebrations period.
Pao (Chinese : 包) also known as bao, is a steamed bun made of wheat flour, with fillings of various types of meat. It is usually a menu item found in Dim Sum places, although these days it can be seen in most coffee stalls.
Cantonese Fried Mee. (Chinese : 廣府炒, 河粉, 鴛鴦) Deep fried thin rice noodles served in a thick white sauce. The sauce is cooked with sliced lean pork, prawns, squids and green vegetables such as choy sum.
Chai tow kway (Chinese : 菜頭粿) is a common dish in Singapore, also known as fried radish cake, it is made of rice flour and white radish.
Char Kway Teow (Chinese : 炒粿條，炒河粉). Stir fried rice noodles with prawns, eggs (pork or chicken), chives and beansprouts. Usually, with an option of cockles as well.
Chee cheong fun (Chinese : 豬腸粉) is square rice sheets made from a viscous mixture of rice flour and water. This liquid is poured onto a specially-made flat pan in which it is steamed to produce the square rice sheets.
Hainanese Chicken Rice (Chinese : 海南雞飯). steamed chicken served with rice cooked in margarine or chicken fat & chicken stock and chicken soup. The rice is usually served in a bowl or a plate.
Hokkien Mee is a bowl of yellow mee and meehoon (rice noodles) served in soup boiled from prawns, boiled egg, kangkong vegetable and chilli.
Kaya toast or Roti bakar is a traditional breakfast dish. Kaya is a sweet coconut and egg jam, and this is spread over toasted white bread. Traditionally served with a cup of local coffee/tea and soft-boiled eggs in light/dark soya sauce & grounded white pepper.
Kway chap (Chinese : 粿汁), Teochew dish of rice sheets in dark soya soup, served with pig offal, tofu derivatives and boiled eggs.
Loh Mee (Chinese : 滷麵). A bowl of thick yellow noodles served in a thickened soup made from egg, flour, prawn, pork slices and vegetables.
Popiah (Chinese : 薄饼), Hokkien-style rolled crepe spring roll style , stuffed mainly with stewed vegetables, usually shredded tofu, turnip and carrots. Other items may also include egg, Chinese sausage ("lup cheong").
Rojak (Malay Influenced: 水果囉喏). A fruit salad with a topping of thick dark prawn paste and some sliced fried 'yau cha kwai'.
Tau foo fah or Dau Huay (Chinese : 豆腐花 or 豆花) is a curdled version of soya bean milk and is flavoured with syrup. It looks much like Tau Foo but it is very tender. Sold in many places. It is a popular dessert .