Molecular Gastronomy Food Science Event

Gastronomic Discoveries

The Seletar Mall engaged an event company to create a brilliant molecular gastronomy food science event at their level one Atrium. It started from late July till National Day holiday. Parents from all over Singapore brought their children to attend this fun event.

Participants spend about S$ 30 each to attend the event. And get to learn and taste science in a fun way for free!

Due to the popularity of this innovative edutaining event, the response was overwhelming. Participants had to wait for 2-3 hours during peak hours on weekend.

To fill up the time while waiting in the queue, some smart participants equipped themselves with books and power banks for their mobile games. Most patiently waited for 2 hours to get into the Gastronomic Discoveries event hall. Amazing to see some kids have the good discipline to behave well in the long queue.

It is easy to understand why people willingly waited as this is so much more experiential, engaging and educational than queueing hours for famous Char Kway Teow! :D We could see from their expression participants greatly anticipate to join the event.

 

The whole event journey is about half an hour but it is worth every minute of it! We learn from the mad-scientists the knowledge behind the interesting dishes we tasted and got absorbed in the fun fascinating science lab setting!

1st Station: Xbox Game - Fruit Ninja Game (for children)

2nd Station: Transparent dishes - Raindrop Fruit Desserts & Ravioli

 

3rd Station: Fruit Froth

4th Station: Litmus Test &/ Helium Sweet

5th Station: Spherification

 

Last Station: Nitrogenius Lab making ice cream burrito with pretty fluffy candy floss.

We got a stamp on our card for every station we completed and received a spoon as a reward!
I could see that everyone left the event feeling happy and fulfilled!

The best part about attending this superb memorable fun experiential event? - It is suitable for curious folks of every age! As an event trainer, organizer and designer, I must say the team of the event company – Ooffle – had really set a high bar with this innovative family event!

WeddingRenewal

My parents didn't bump to each other in the library. They were not childhood sweethearts from the same Kampong. Neither did they meet in the midst of war or calamities. Really nothing dramatic like most soap operas. They simply met each other through a matchmaker, exchanged rings on their first meeting and arranged for a simple wedding thereafter. They were not sure about love then but willing to give each other a try. 

Fast forward to more than half a century later— after raising 4 children and having 5 grandchildren; amidst ups and downs, toils and tears— they are now damn sure they are in love with each other. Today, they celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary and renewed their wedding vows— ever more committed and looking forward to more years together as husband and wife. And this is their love story. Love is something that grow with time unlike most movies.

PS: Dad and Mum, I am so proud of both of you. I am glad to be your offspring. Without your boldness to try, my siblings and I won’t be around. Love you both! Muacks!!!

Sunset Marriage

Morning Interview at 958 radio station on
Parental Matchmaking & latest marriage statistic in Singapore.

I was invited for an interview on 95.8 Mandarin radio station on the topic of marriage among the Singapore elderly. Based on the recent Singapore statistics, we see double the number of marriages in people aged 60 and above compared to a decade ago.

Statistics from WHO ranked Singapore number 4 in terms of life expectancy. Most Singaporeans lived beyond 82 years old. As Singaporean singles are living longer, what better way to lead their lives in the silver age than by developing a deeper relationship with someone that they like? Greater awareness on the benefits of emotional health also motivates singles in 60s to find a life partner.

During the interview, the DJ asked if having offspring is the key motivation for my Parental matchmaking participants. From the interactions with the parents that I met in my Parental Matchmaking sessions, surprisingly, their first concern is finding their single adult children a companion; I have not heard any parents mention about getting grandchildren. These parents found happiness in their marriage and sincerely hoped their kids would be able to find love, find someone to take care of them and settle down— just like themselves.

I am very heartened these parents and silver newly-weds see the importance of love and companionship. They didn’t give up searching despite their age. I encourage the silver singles to continue enlarge their social circle so as to meet someone suitable, caring and trustworthy.

We are conducting an event for singles age 35 and above on 15th December 2015. We welcome singles of this age range to join us! Our participants are Singaporeans, Permanent residents and Employment Pass holders. Please click here to find out more!

 

First Muslim Parental Matchmaking

First Muslim Parental Matchmaking in Singapore

After running 4 sessions of Parental Matchmaking for the general public in Singapore. I decided to  organize a similar session for Muslim parents who are concerned about the marital status of their single children.

This is the first time we are conducting this for the Muslims. Based on my research, no one else has done this on a corporate level. I find a need for this session as Muslims are open to the idea of parents introducing potential life partners to them. Very excited to be able to help my fellow Muslim friends. Straits times featured about this event today.

These parents are comforted to  find
fellow parents who could identify with their feelings.

 

The next Parental Matchmaking for general public will be on 30th June, Tuesday, 7pm-10pm at Thr3e Bistro, 6 Raffles Boulevard Marina Square #01-07/08 Singapore 039594(Near City hall MRT). Price is $28 (Price includes GST, facilitation and a 15min talk about parental matchmaking etiquette)

Parental Matchmaking

Took a quick photo at Singapore Turf Club before the parents come

Parental Matchmaking (家长相亲会) is a session for family members to network with each other, and exchange details of their single adults family member. It is up to the singles to follow up and develop the relationship from there. 

When running the 4th Parental Matchmaking session today, I received a pleasant surprise! An elderly lady gave me a big mama hug. Aw... So sweet of her! Ultra encouraging to feel appreciated and loved.

Another beautiful thing about this lady is – her daughter. She signed her parents up to attend today's Parental Matchmaking! Cool eh! Unlike some singles, this eligible bachelorette is very open to her parents joining this event. She is an established busy career women with limited singles in her social circle and industry. And she is more than grateful that her mother could network on her behalf! What a blessed, appreciative and confident lady!

Having ran Parental Matchmaking for years, it is always very heartwarming to see parents enjoy strong ties with their adult children. These wonderful parents could relate so well with their children, that their adult children could entrust them to help enlarge their social circle and hopefully find marital bliss. During the first 3 sessions of the Parental Matchmaking, some of these singles even attended with their parents.

Before this elderly lady left, she has asked me to keep her updated of my singles events so that her daughter can join. Totally adore her loving, positive and proactive attitude!!! She is happy to be able to help her daughter meet more friends. I wish to meet more supportive folks like her.

Qualities of good lover

Often, people would associate a desirable partner as someone young, pretty and well-endowed. Based on my years of relationship coaching and matchmaking, I find that physical attractiveness has little to do with keeping the long term relationship alive. After asking many happy couples on the essentials required to keep their lengthy relationship glowing, I gathered 9 attractive characteristics that good lovers embrace:

1. Faithful 

Adultery cuts the heart deeply. A good lover recognises the drastic effects of betrayal. As they cherish you, they try their best to protect your heart from being hurt. They give you the priority and commitment as their spouse.

2. Assuring

They reaffirm their love through words and actions. When you have done something wrong unintentionally, they are not over critical or condemning. They are gracious to give you the safety net to be imperfect. Besides accepting you for who you are, they make an effort to demonstrate their love, eg: cooking your favorite oxtail stew and giving you a massage after a tiring day.

3. Respect

• Personal choices
  Good lovers respect your choice. They will not force you to change your preference or do anything against your will. 
• Feelings
  As they would listen patiently without passing mean judgemental remarks; you know you could share your views and feelings with ease. They care enough to cushion their words with kindness so as to prevent hurting your feelings. They appreciate the efforts you have put in for them with encouraging words.
• Honor
  They sincerely honor you in their communications with you, they treat you with respect and love; not just in public but in private as well. I have a relative who would smile sweetly and agrees with her husband in public’s eye. Weather would turn completely when others are not around— She becomes cold and demanding toward him.
• Exclusive relationship
  They give you reverence by mentioning you to opposite gender whom they have just met. I've noticed people who evade their marital status so they could flirt around as if they are single and available.
• Ties
  They treat your friends and family with respect. They are supportive to attend social occasions together with you.

4. Trust

Partners with confidence in you would give you space to pursue your hobbies and enjoy some time alone. In the stressful city, you need time out to connect with yourself or your buddies. Good lovers are understanding but not self-absorbed in their insecurities.

5. Affectionate

Hugging is the simplest way to build people up emotionally.  Valuable lovers understand humans physical need to feel accepted and hug their partner liberally. My hubby and I give each other a number of loving hugs every day. We enjoy every magical moment of our embrace. In addition, we feel lighter and happier after each hug.

Good lovers are not detached or distant; they are comfortable to hold your hands or hug you without sex in their agenda.  They are more than willing to show the world their love for you and spend quality time with you too.

6. Stable

Being emotionally healthy; they are able to communicate their thoughts and feelings peacefully without staging any “drama”. In other words, they do not spite, wail, scream, threaten or slam things to get their point across. They avoid actions which are destructive to the relationship.

7. Teachable

They are open to evaluate themselves, listen to feedback, willing to learn new ways to better themselves and try new things to add sizzle to the relationship. Neither stubborn or self-centred, they have good self-esteem and humbleness to know they do not have to win every conversation. They are willing to compromise for the benefit of the relationship. And thoughtful enough to buy you a new wallet when they see that it's worn out. 

8. Responsible

They are involved in the home-making, holiday planning and parenting. They take care of their health and spend within their means. They are mature to carry themselves well and are there for you when needed. 

9. Humour

Humour is a amazing tool that helps people to relax and connect. Good lovers would joke and cheer you up at the end of day. You enjoy their sense of humour and they enjoy hearing your laughter. Most importantly, both of you are able to relax and revel in each other’s presence.

Please note that you do not need to have all these factors to have a wonderful lasting relationship. These are common points that I've found from my observations and discussions with couples. The keys to loving relationship are not exhaustive. 

The Journey (Movie)

2014 movie, made in Malaysia

Movie review from a recently married lady's perspective

I had the honor to watch the preview of this Malaysian blockbuster in Singapore.

Married last year, I could identify with the stress of preparing for a wedding. My hubby and I wanted a simplistic wedding. However our families do have certain expectations on how it should be done.

Even though my wedding is over, I still wish that my family could gave us more space and time to plan the romantic wedding I dream of, at times. It's about hubby and I getting married anyway, why should we let others interfere when, where or how it should be done?

After watching this comedy, I learnt that observing the Chinese wedding traditions (personally hand-deliver the invitation cards) are not just rara to keep the traditions alive or to show off how filial or well-off we are.

As Chinese, we hardly express love. These traditional Chinese wedding rituals are to helps us to convey our love sincerely..

~ Love for our spouse.
~ Love for our families.

~ Love for our relatives.

Preparing Chinese wedding is the teething moments as the couple learn about both families's expectations. As we get to know one another, understand their thoughts, we grow to love them. Along the way, somehow all the ideals of a fairytale wedding fades away. This process is an excellent opportunity to learn about compromise. From this touching movie, I learnt the most important thing about a matrimony is not the banquet or the photos, but to receive blessings and acknowledgement from people who are close to our hearts.

7 Cool Factors:
1. Biking road trip with father-in-law! Need I say more?!

2. Reminds us of Singapore in the 70s and early 80s.  In olden days, people had their wedding banquet in their own house. How meaningful it is to hold a wedding party at the home that we grew up in?! Certainly more memorable and authentic! Perfect movie for kids who are keen to see the Kampong era which their parents had grew up from. Ok.. I am a sucker for Nostalgia...

3. Covers very real prevalent issues – cross cultural marriages with globalisation, old age, parenting, death and even "Pang-dang" taboo Chinese traditions.

4. The giant DIY balloon is truely an icon of Malaysia's unity.  Impressive massive effort is required to collect plastic bags from different parts of Malaysians – no joke in a big country like Malaysia!

5. Achievement for Singapore as we can see the censorship are relaxed for dialects movies. I love dialects as they are colorful languages that connect us with our roots and our old folks. Even ministers connect with the masses through dialects!

6. Captivating cinematography of undulating green farms, beaches and Chinese festivities around Malaysia.

7. I especially liked the fact that the family "U-turned" for their loved ones. They are willing to go off track and go the extra mile to make their loved ones happy. A symbolic scene of love.

Movie Synopsis:
SPG (without the sexy sarong) seeks permission and blessings from stubborn farmer dad to marry clueless Ang-mo boyfriend.


Cast:
Organic !
Most of the casts are not professionally trained in acting. They are just typical Malaysian Chinese who speak fluent colloquial dialects – which retains the original flavour of the multi-racial country; comfortably.

My impression for the lead male character grew as he grew up. Ben Pfeiffer is a promising actor who could develop the character with depth.

The lead actress, Joanne Yew, is a very sweet, fair lady. Her lushious hair reminds me of the Korean actress, Gianna Jun, in My Sassy Girl. What attracts me about her is her outstanding screen presence. However, I would hope to see more soulful expressions than her rolling of XL black contact lens.


Date-friendly:
Yes, teens and family friendly too! A movie without the Hollywood glamor but will capture the audience's heart.


Tips:
Bring tissue along.


Lydia's Ratings:
8 out of 10 stars.


Release Date:
Singapore - 20 Mar 2014. Cathay cinemas.


Trailer:
Please click here to view.

Herbivore Men

It was my honour to be invited to the mandarin morning talk show 早安你好 at MediaCorp again. This time, we spoke about 草食男, Herbivore men or grass-eating men. Here is the content that I've prepared for the show:

草食男 is a term to describe a group of urban young men (age 30 and below) who are fashionable, well-groomed and neat. They are gentle, polite, prudent, image and health conscious. Besides being nice, educated and attuned to emotional needs, they treasure their personal time and love to spend it with their loved ones, hobbies and grooming. They will not hesitate to get a gym membership but turn passive when it comes to relationship and career.


Causes of  "Herbivore men" in Singapore
Usually Herbivore men stay with their self-sufficient parents, and need not strive for survival. Like tigers in the zoo, these men grew up in a well-fed and protected environment. Hence they lost their hunting skills, aggressiveness and motivation to expand their territory.

Caged creatures could not activate their prowess.

Herbivore men are comfortable and contented with their current state of life. In Singapore, due to high cost of apartments, inflation and tougher competition for jobs, these men become more careful when making long term financial commitments. Herbivore men are not used to risks and thus, more cautious to take up challenges.

I have spoken to many local bachelors who fit the description of Herbivore men. But they are not totally adverse to relationship, marriage or having their own kids. As new-age sensitive guys, they recognize the need to have a life-partner, the importance of family and the joy of having children. Deep down, they sincerely wish to get married eventually. However they may not ready to face the uncertainties and burdens of marriage.


Do Herbivore men make a good life partner?
Yes. They make a good husband as they respect women, willing to listen and value family time. They are excellent shopping, cooking and travel companion.


4 As for ladies who are interested to date a Herbivore man:

Approachable
Be friendly, pro-active yet not forceful. Feel free to initiate and ask him out based on activities that he is interested in. Eg: shopping at a new boutique. During the show, 2 concerned mothers of Herbivore men called to encourage ladies to approach these passive men. Even mothers support this idea!

Appearance
Since he is mindful of his own image, it is only logical that he wants to be with a presentable lady. Being spiffy will leave him a good impression plus wanting to date you more!

Acceptance
Accept his lifestyle, spending habits and career choice. Adjust your expectations when you love a Herbivore man. If both of you are working and planning to wed, be ready to support the house, wedding and family expenses together. He will appreciate your understanding. Being too princessy, materialistic or demanding will not make anyone a good life partner.

Assurance
Be patient, supportive and encouraging. Give him the courage to take the new responsibilities in life confidently. Avoid criticizing or comparing him with other men. Be a committed partner who can wave the storms and smell the roses with him. Once he has the confidence in you, he will consider asking you to be spend the rest of his life with you!   

I will share about Carnivore women next week.

Simplified-Chinese-Betrothal

During my Chinese engagement party (过大礼), my boyfriend came to my home with the gifts to ask for my hand from my parents. Few older relatives from his family came with him to represent sincerity and respect towards my family regarding this marriage.

When they arrived,  my family accepted some the wedding goodies to show we have accepted the marriage proposal. In addition, my parents prepared some gifts as their blessings for us-the couple. My parents also gave Ang Baos to his relatives who helped to deliver the gifts.  My family cooked a feast to celebrate this joyful occasion, my mum prepared her famous Nonya Chicken Curry and Wuxiang.

Betrothal Basket - the essential icon for Chinese Engagement Ceremony
It can be purchased, borrowed or rented in Singapore.

We have simplified some of our Chinese engagement gifts so as to make it more practical for our lifestyle. We are sharing our Guodali list to encourage more Chinese couples to keep the Guodali tradition. Traditions do not have to be cumbersome or inflexible. It can be modernized while retaining it's original good meaning.

Gifts from the Groom's family.
They are presented inside the Chinese Betrothal Basket.

Bethrothal Gifts (Guo Da Li) Prepared by Groom’s family

• 8 - 24 cans of pig trotters (replaced Roasted Piglet, since we do not know how to cut it)

• 12 - 22 oranges (Oranges sounds like Gold in dialect)

• 2 bottles of red wine (we prefer to drink red wines than hard liquor)

• Boxes of wedding cakes (As the wedding cakes will be given to the relatives with the wedding invitation card, the total number of boxes required depending on the number of the relatives and families)
  Please refer to my post on Chinese Wedding Pastries for more details

• 2 Ang Baos

• A set of Gold Jewelleries that consists of 4 items (bracelet, ring, necklace and a pair of earrings)

Gifts from the Bride's family.
To be put in the Chinese Betrothal Basket and return to the Groom's family.

Hui Li (Return Ceremony) Prepared by Bride’s family

• Portion of the pig trotters, oranges, 1 Angbao and some boxes wedding cakes (to show the Bride has accepted this marriage proposal)

• 2 bottles of honey (wish that the couple's love will forever be healthy and sweet)

• Sweet food like Red Dates, Lotus Seeds and Longan (hope the couple's new life together will be sweet)

• Pants for the groom (pants sounds like good fortune in Cantonese)

• Red Bed sheet (wish the new family grow in numbers)

• Sewing box complete with needles, thread and scissors (wish the Bride to nurture the family)

• Ruler (wish the new family manage their new life together with prudence)

• Mirror and comb (wish the Bride and her family to be well-groomed and presentable)

Please note that all items are given in even numbers for auspicious sake.

Chinese Wedding Pastries

My fiance and I wanted to maintain Chinese traditions in our wedding. These traditions hold significant meanings and are part of our heritage.

Guodali  (过大礼) is a meaningful tradition in Chinese Betrothal custom.  The purpose of this custom is to show respect for the bride's family and sincerity in the proposal of the marriage.

Chinese wedding pastries (喜饼) are given to the bride during Guodali. Usually both families will compile the number of boxes of wedding cakes they need and order from the cake shop in advance. The groom will buy and collect the Chinese wedding cakes. He will bring it to bride's home along with other essential engagement gifts and 2 Angbaos.

As a gracious gesture to accept the marriage and reciprocate the kindness ( 回礼 ), the bride's family will keep some boxes of the wedding cakes and return some boxes back to the groom's family with betrothal gifts and 1 Angbao. The Chinese wedding pastries will then be given to the couple's relatives with the wedding invitation card. I will cover more details on the gifts for Guodali in my next post.

We ordered the Chinese wedding pastries (喜饼) for our marriage at one of the most popular Chinese bakery shops in Singapore.

Tai Thong Cake Shop 大同饼家

Address: 35, Mosque Street, Singapore 059513.
Opening hours: Mon- Sat, 8.30am - 6pm.
Closed on public holidays, 1 week for Chinese New Year holidays and moon cake festival.

Tai Thong is famous for their traditional moon cakes and Chinese wedding cakes. There are not many such traditional Chinese pastries shops left in Singapore. Tai Thong have evolved with times and bake western cookies like Cashew nut cookies, Whole Almond cookies and Macadamia nut cookies too. These cookies are available at S$4.50 per packet.

We chose to buy Tai Thong pastries as they do not use pork or lard. Tasty, light and healthy for our family and relatives!

4 varieties of pastries in a wedding box

The above Betrothal gift set includes: 1 Doushabing (豆沙饼) , 1 Longfengbing (龙凤饼) , 1 Lianrongbing (莲蓉饼)  and 1 Dourongbing  (豆蓉饼). Cost S$5.80 each box.

I hope more wedding couples will integrate this tradition in their wedding to keep our Chinese culture alive and support local traditional businesses.

Save Money & Your Life: DIY Air Purification Against Haze

DIY Air Purification Against Haze 

Even since the haze started and gotten dangerous. The air purifiers went out of stock. Price of mask has reached all time high. Even spa salons offer the precious N95 mask for free with purchase of their spa package. We are told to stay indoors to prevent exposure to the polluted air.

But what can we do when we have no air conditioner or air purifier indoors?!

After much research, my boyfriend and I discovered that we can fix up an air filer with household items while keeping ourselves cool. Concept of Air purifiers is to trap the particles in the air on the filters paper. This means lower concentration of air pollutants will get into your body. We applied this theory and we used a fan cover to attach the filter papers to an electric fan.

DIY Home Air Purification System with fan cover and floor cleaning sheet.
Place the suggested air filters between the fan cover and the fan.

These materials are cheap and easily available.
A low income family can afford it.

For those who cannot find a suitable fan cover,
here is another version of DIY Home Air Purification System. 
Use a chair as the frame of the filters.
Stick the suggested air filters on the back support of the chair. 

We can use the following as filter papers:
1) HAPA filter papers for air purifiers
2) Dry disposable cleaning towels that homemakers use for sweeping the floor (Magic clean, Scott Brite)
3) Kitchen towels
4) even used N95 masks


The other important key to reducing the air pollutants in your house is to keep the windows closed. When there is an opening, use a wet towel or masking tape to seal the area. Put few pots of plants indoors to generate oxygen.

Hope these simple ideas helps to relieve us from the discomfort of the Haze and make the air in our home more breathable. It will be fun project for parents to engage their kids in too.

Parental Matchmaking

As a singles event planner, whenever I meet parents with adult singles children, they would not hesitate to share with me 3 common things.

1. How worried they are over the future of their middle aged kids and how they wish their children would be able to find someone to take care of each other.

2. How their kids seems too busy or disinterested to look for a life partner, even though they have the intention to settle down.

3. How they wish their children would be more proactive in their search for a life partner. 

Their children are usually white collar workers with established careers. They spend a lot of time at work and taking care of their parents. They are confident, filial and wonderful people, but just lack the opportunities, time and energy to meet other singles.

Most of these parents are retired and have more time on their hands. They wish to do something positive to help their children suss out compatible friends. 

My company– Clique Wise has conducted 3 Parental Matchmaking/Parental Connections sessions so far. The most recent one was held at the Singapore Turf Club on 2 Feb 2013.

Parental Connections/Parental Matchmaking is a session for family members to network with each other, and exchange details of their single children. It is up to the singles to follow up and develop the relationship from there. To increase the likelihood of finding a good match for singles, family members are encouraged to provide as much information about their single children as possible. 

Every event, parents would thank us sincerely for running the Parental Connections. They are grateful that they could do something for their children's happiness through our events. These parents simply wish happiness for their beloved kids. Some children prepared a neat resume for their parents to attend this session. 

I'm especially delighted to see parents attending this session with their single children. It shows that they have very close kinships. They value each other's opinion in the search for life partner. 

During the last 2 Parental Matchmaking, I gave a short seminar to manage the expectation of the parents on these sessions. I shared that the objective of these networking events is to assist the singles to enlarge their social circle, not for parents to find their preferred daughter-in-law or son-in-law. Ultimately, the singles are the ones who make the chemistry sizzle and the commitment to be together. I also touched on tips to enhance relationship between parents and adult children.

We sincerely hope the singles children will be more open-minded to meet new friends and proactive to follow up with one other after these sessions. Why waste the kind efforts of the elders? If friendship blossoms to marriage, it's a bonus! If not, they gain new friends!