happy 2009 everyone!

i’ve been waiting a long while to say this: i’m finally going to bangkok! by this time tomorrow i would be having a nice sumptuous dinner in the land of smiles, followed by some cheap drinks at a pub. this is a city i’m very fond of. it’s where i chose to make my first solo trip ever back in ‘04. and now, no amount of chaos or riots would turn me off.

that’s why my last food review before the trip is reserved for lerk thai, my favorite thai restaurant in singapore. i think it’s rather fitting!

we have dinner at lerk thai almost every week and the few staples we would order are the fried kang kong with belachan and the ever awesome red curry chicken. but sometimes we do enjoy trying out a couple of new dishes, such as this deep fried fish.

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(if you are like me during this holiday season, your diet probably consists of chocolates, chocolates and more chocolates. that is why i thought throwing in some chinese snacks here would be good.)

have you noticed that in recent years, people have taken quite a liking to handmade pau (chinese buns)? very often i would see long queues forming at hawker stalls selling such handmade pau and eager customers buying them by the dozen.

there’s good reason for such brisk business. a pau that is lovingly made by hand tends to taste better than one made by a machine. its skin may be thinner, its portion more generous, the recipe for its char siew (sweet barbecued pork) filling more perfected.

many of these pau come in bite-sized portions no bigger than ping pong balls. so you have to eat 4 or 5 of it at a time to feel anything inside your tummy. some people like it in such a cute size, but for me i still prefer a regular-sized pau. so i was very happy when i was introduced to hua ji bao dang （华记包档) at bukit merah view food centre.

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for the last in this christmas tree of the day series ‘08, i present to you this utterly lovable christmas tree of love! it’s packed with all things warm, cuddly, cute, furry and fuzzy! love it!

this tree is being displayed at the ground floor of the suntec international convention & exhibition centre. the stuffed toys have all been received in a charity drive.

can you spot your favorite cartoon character in there?

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christmas is always extra special at tanglin mall. year after year, the mall puts up a nightly snow party in december. it never snows in singapore, so being able to indulge in some faux snow merriment is a real treat for kids here, and the adults too, i imagine.

a huge christmas tree forms the centerpiece of the snow party. this year, the tree carries with it an important message: people with disabilities deserve a chance in society, just as if used plastic bottles were given a chance, they can be used to create something beautiful. like this cute christmas tree!

Photo credit: Agnieszka Qetton

this 12 meter tall tree is the result of the christmas tree of life 2008, a project that aims to create awareness of people with disabilities.

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i still remember this time last year, i was busy hunting down beautiful christmas trees in singapore to feature as my “christmas tree of the day“. a year later today, i still very much enjoy doing this. for me it’s just one of the many things i look forward to at christmas :) and for many of you, the series brings much festive joy.

now more than ever a year doesn’t seem that long. a friend recently told me that there’s a theory out there that claims time passes faster today than before. it’s not merely an illusion and it actually is happening (although time itself IS an illusion).

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