Orchid Extravaganza Floral Display at Gardens by the Bay

The biennial Singapore Garden Festival is held in Gardens by the Bay for the first time and the festival end on this Sunday night.I visited yesterday afternoon and thought that I could explore both Flower Dome and Garden Festival, but due to time constraint, I only went to Flower Dome for the Orchid Extravaganza Floral Display.  At Flower Dome you get to see award-winning orchids on display. It's like a beauty pageant for the many varieties of orchids. By the way, the national flower of Singapore is Vanda Miss Joaquim,the first hybrid orchid registered in Singapore. By the way, did you know Singapore is the only nation to use a hybrid for a national flower?

If you want to catch Singapore Gardens Festival and Flower Dome, the last day is tomorrow. For more information, visit Gardens by the Bay website
at http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/home.html

How to get there?
Just alight at BayFront MRT station

 

From National Environment Agency

History

This orchid, a hybrid between Vanda hookeriana and Vanda teres is hardy and free flowering. It was described by the first director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens Mr H.N. Ridley in 1893, who named it after Agnes Joaquim. Ridley wrote that the plant was the results of a cross made by Miss Joaquim.
 

Features Of Vanda Miss Joaquim

A strong inflorescence of Vanda Miss Joaquim may carry up to 12 buds, usually with four flowers open at a time. Each flower is about 5 cm across and 6 cm tall, and as is the case with its parents, the petals are twisted around so that the back surface faces front. The two petals and the top sepal are rosy-violet, and the lateral sepals are a pale mauve. The lip is very large and broad and the middle lobe extends out like a fan. It is coloured violet-rose, merging into a contrasting fiery orange at the centre. Over the orange patch, the lip is finely spotted with dark purple. It is free-flowering.

Overview of Flower Dome 

As usual, I like to explore the cactus and succulents area first

Went to see my favourite succulents and see how they are doing

Lovely flower sprouting from succulent 

Not sure what is the name, but I love the pinkish colour

Orchids, orchids everywhere 

 Award-winning orchids. Congratulations for winning the Gold medal.

Climbing Orchids 

 This orchid is also known as Lady's slippers simply because the pouch at the centre of the flower looks like dainty lady's slippers.

Dendrobium is the largest hybridised group of orchids in Singapore as most are suitable to our hot climate.

 Rare purple colour orchid

 Love this bouquet of orchids

 This orchid looks like butterfly right?

Like this purple blue flowers

 Looking up at the orchid circular structure.

The wall of circular structure is decorated with many variety of orchids

Our National Flower

Singapore Night Festival 2014

If you are visiting Singapore in August, you are in luck as there are many exciting events and festivals celebration in Singapore. This week and next week Friday and Saturday, you get to see many free performances, dazzling light installations and National Museum of Singapore and Art Museum of Singapore facade be transformed to a screen where videos are projected in the annual Singapore Night Festival. 

Tomorrow at Chinatown, there will be the official opening and street Light-up ceremony for the Mid-Autumn Festival light. Abundance of beautiful flower lantern will light up the streets in Chinatown from 24 August to 28 September this year. I will blog more about the Chinatown Mid-Autumn next week and share beautiful photos.

To find out more about Singapore Night Festival, click here.

Image from http://www.brasbasahbugis.sg/SNFPortal/

Divine Tree Image from google.com

Mid-Autumn Festival in Singapore

Although this year Mid-Auturm Festival is about three weeks away, Singaporeans Chinese and Chinese from others regions have already start to shop for mooncakes for their relatives, friends or for themselves. I decided to buy the famous Hong Kong mooncake MeiXin to share with my family. So I brought one box of traditional white lotus mooncake which cost about $50 for 8 small mooncakes and a box of 8 mini custard mooncake. 

Today mooncakes come in beautiful packaging. Sometimes I am tempted to buy the mooncake because of the package design as I can use it to keep things. 

Next Sunday, 24 August will be the Official opening and Light Up ceremony at Chinatown from 7pm to 10pm. There be lion dances, performances and fire work finale. Click here to read more.  

Children and parents will carry beautiful and colourful lantern and admire full moon on Mid-autumn festival.

Popular Hong Kong mooncake MeiXin. The mooncake is really pricey at $49.50 for 8 mini custard mooncake. 

 Really shiny bag for mooncake.

 Shaped like a bag with beautiful motif mooncake box. 

 Another unique design mooncake packaging. 

White Lotus Paste mooncake with double yolks.

Quarry Sand Dunes in Tampines

Did you know that the area at Temasek Polytechnic used to be a quarry sand dunes? Tampines quarry sand dunes is diminishing with rapid development. So I capture this photo cause you never know when they disappear.

Quarry sand dunes in Tampines

Stories of Chinatown :A Humble Beginning

Like all great things, Chinatown had a humble beginning. Following Singapore's founding, migrants looking to make their fortune in Singapore began arriving in droves. To ensure organized growth in the new settlement, Sir Stamford Raffles sat down with Lieutenant Jackson, the colony engineer, to draft out the Plan of the Town of Singapore, reorganising the ethnic groups into functional divisions along the river banks. The Chinese, making up 70% of the migrant population, were allocated the entire region southwest of the Singapore River. Read more here at Chinatown Singapore page. 

Image from Wikipedia

Majesty Hotel, conservation shophouse near Outram MRT.

Time-Lapsed Video of Singapore National Day Parade 2014

Watch the time-lapsed video of National Day Parade at The Float@Marina Bay yesterday by LianHe Zaobao 联合早报网讯 here.

National Day Parade Fireworks

National Day Parade always end off with a grand electrifying fireworks and singing of NDP songs after saying the Singapore pledge. Watch this amazing video by David Loh on last week preview.

Happy 49th Birthday Singapore

Yesterday, I was delighted to finally get the National Day Parade Preview ticket from my friend. I will blog about the National Day Parade Preview with lots of awesome pictures. Meanwhile, I'll just share about upcoming performances at the Esplanade Theatres by the Bay for next long weekend as we anticipate National Day on 9 August! 

On the way to National Day Parade via the Esplanade Theatres by the Bay

Free performance be it indoor or outdoor theatres at Esplanades theatre by the bay.

Walkings towards the venue at the Floating platform for NDP preview.

The Best Tau Sar Piah Thye Moh Chan in Singapore

Everytime I visit Chinatown Point, I will buy a box of traditional Teochew pastries at Thye Moh Chan which is established since 1943. My favourite tau sar piah is the traditional sweet tau sar piah with flaky skin filled with silky smooth mung bean paste. Though it is expensive at about $1.60 per piece, I still find it worth it as others tau sar piah don't taste as good as Thye Moh Chan even though its cheaper. Eating the traditional sweet tau sah piah reminds me of home. Of course, if I buy 8 tau sar piahs, it cost $10.80. I realized that some Toastbox cafes are also selling the tau sar piah which make me happy as I don't have to travel all the way to Chinatown, Vivocity or Paragon to buy. 

Of course, just to share that the awesome taste is partly because of the pork lard in the tau sar piah. It just make the pastry so fragrant and delicious. 

I'm glad Thye Moh Chan is still around and is still around selling traditional and delicious Chinese Teochew pastries. It is important to preserve traditional heritage.

For more information, you can visit their website here.

 They also sell pastries for wedding gifts.

 Besides traditional sweet tau sar piah, there are also different filling like salty type, yam, cranberries and many more.

At Chinatown branch, it is about 5 minutes walk from Chinatown MRT station.

Ya Kun Toast and Laksa

Ya Kun Toast is my favourite shop for good kaya toast and half-boiled egg. Now they also offer other Asian dishes like laksa and nasi lemak. Though the laksa is quite decent, their kaya toast is still the best. Now I also love their healthy silky barley.

I prefer the laksa here compared to Toastbox as they are using mee tai mai.

French toast with kaya (pandan coconut)

Add light soya sauce to the soft boiled eggs

          Silkyz Barley taste great with silky egg white? This is my favourite drink. 

They offers other Asian dishes like chicken curry noodles and nasi lemak. 

How Display Booths are Constructed

Ever wonder how exhibition booths are constructed in Singapore Expo for computer fairs? I always wonder how long it take to build the display booths and turn out it only take 7 days. The video below shows how display booths are built from scratch. 

Happy Hari Raya!

This coming Monday is Hari Raya, a public holiday in Singapore. I wish all Muslims Happy Hari Raya and all Singaporeans happy holiday! 

Hari Raya Light Up at Geylang Serai. Image from Today Online.

Image from news.xin.msn.com

Stephen Wiltshire's aerial tour of Singapore

Gifted UK artist Stephen Wiltshire, a 40 years old autistic has finally completed an aerial view of Singapore's landscape. He is known for his photographic memory and after viewing Singapore via the SAF helicopter, he spent the next few days in Paragon drawing Singapore's panoramic city view from tourist attractions like Singapore flyer to blocks and blocks of heartland flats.

His work will be in displayed at the Urban Redevelopment Authority Singapore City Gallery until September.

 Image from veooz.com

Image from google.com

Stephen Wiltshire's aerial tour of Singapore

Happy Monday, from Singapore!

Happy Monday from Singapore and May your day bloom like the beautiful waterlily! 

A Walk in Bugis Street

Bugis Village and its vicinity feel like Taipei Ximenting, as it appeals to the youths. There are some unique and architecture and colonial shophouses around. There are also many popular steamboat eateries. 

Fu Li Shou Complex is a place that sells Taoist and Buddhist religious items. 

 Bugis Village

 Arts Deco inspired Park View Square designed by an American consultants James Adams 

Four men holding balls symbolizing globes?

What a Beautiful Sky in Singapore!

Guess where I took this lovely sky in Singapore?

Esplanade Presents Visual Arts: Minor Cities

Just in case you miss, here are the visual arts: Minor Cities by Visual artist, Farizwan Fajari, known as Speak Cryptic on display at the Esplanade. 

Jersey Boys Showing in Singapore on 17 July 2014

You know, I only watch one or two movies per year as I'm not exactly a movie fan. Moreover, movie ticket is not so cheap. The first movie I watched this year is Transformer as my friend gave me the free ticket. 

One thing for sure is I'm going to watch Jersey Boys movie 18 July! I still remember the awesome Jersey Boys broadway musical performance by Jarrod Spector whom I think is the best performer besides John Lloyd Young. Jersey Boys is the story of the band Four Seasons and how the four youths rose from rag to riches and stardom. Some of the songs by the Four Seasons include Can't Take My Eyes off You, Sherry, Oh, what a night. Anyway,Tony Award-winner John Lloyd Young is reprising his role as Frankie Valli in this movie.

In 2011, I went to New York solo for 12 days because I was really impressed by Jarrod Spector broadway performance from internet and was determined to watch his performance live. Well, I'm glad I did as Jarrod Spector stopped Jersey Boys performance in 2012, after performing as Frankie Valli for the past 7 years. When Jerseys boys cast from Australia came to Singapore, I still find Jarrod Spector is the best singer as he hit all the right notes. Also he came with the full package; talent and looks.  Also its not exactly easy to sing Frankie Valli's songs with his false falsetto. 

   

I'm quite disappointed that the movie didn't ask Jarrod Spector to reprise his role as Frankie Valli. Meanwhile, do watch Jarrod Spector performance in the following videos.