Chinese Lunar New Year, Wholesale Food Shopping and The Great Mystery

Another lunar new year, another repetition of things soon to be ossified and thus dignified as "tradition". Yet it would be a queer thing indeed if there were no observable change to the human beings participating in such traditions.

Paul describes the normal Christian life similarly as one of continuous growth and progress. Just like a plant rooted in the soil (cf Colossians 2:7), we are to mature and bear fruit (cf Colossian 1:10). Progress to maturity isn't something just for the spiritually elite, the sort who get headhunted for full-time paid ministry; adding the extra inch to one's Christ-likeness every year is meant to be the usual progression of things for the well-loved Sunday school-teacher, the boring piano-player, the old pastor, the teenager in the pew with Issues, and the aunty who cleans up after morning tea. Any stuntedness would require a thorough check-up and immediate remedial measures.

Just like the curious relatives who keep popping into the kitchen, asking "how did you get the cucumber slices so fine?" (the marvellous mandolin), "how did you make this/that dish?" (an amicable accident) and "how do you perform the Heimlich manoeuvre (j/k), so any one, who though once estranged has now been reconciled to God, would to be eager to learn how to hold on to and deepen that infinitely pricey relationship with God.

How is the Christian to mature and fulfil his/her role as a believer and a human? The answer is, unsurprisingly yet strangely, forgettably - Jesus. For Jesus is everything - he is the full image of God, he created all things, he holds all things together, he has authority over everything, he leads in every way, he reconciles all things (Colossians 1:15-20). Therefore, it is in Christ and not a particular church, teacher, preacher or programme that we will grow.

They who might have leapt out from one of those medical journals on our coffee table: before, and after lack of medical intervention.
Symptom of the diseased world after the Fall.

But this is mere stock Sunday school answer unless we know what this entails. Paul tells us that it is about:

(1) being taught and warned about the truth of who Jesus is - how was God going to deal with a world so mired in sin, a creation so dismissive of its creator? How can a good God forgive wrongdoing without exacting punishment and yet still be just and righteous? How was the God of the ages who gave consistent promises to Abraham, Moses, David and the scattered people of Israel through hundreds of years going to fulfil his promises if his people were never really going to worship him as they should? What is God going to do about this world and where is it heading? A mystery. A mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed - Jesus Christ who disclosed fully the mind and purpose of God and through whom God reconciled all things to himself by Jesus' death on the cross, so that we who were once alienated from God and hostile in mind have now been reconciled to God, being presented holy and blameless and above reproach before him (Colossians 1:20-22).

The proclamation of the mystery that is Christ is God's means of growing the church/Christian (Colossians 1:28). So it is important for a church to have teachers and preachers who make the word of God fully known (Colossians 1:26 - while Paul was on special commission from God to bring gospel to the Gentiles, this method of growth was modelled by, rather than exclusive to, Paul). Since no human mind can adequately conceive the full riches of Christ, teachers and preachers must then be faithful to God's word in Scripture. This means proper exposition of Bible passages. Waffley sermons based on broad concepts of Christian doctrine (good guidelines but ultimately just the theories of humans) applied to present day events will not contain enough nutrients to grow the plants so valuably saved by the blood of Christ.

(2) not just knowing the Bible better and being grounded in sound teaching but all this knowledge and understanding expressed in unity ("being knit together" like threads in a cloak) in love within the church (Colossians 2:2). Love and unity have always been popular themes in religion, politics, social interest groups, patriarchal/matriarchal families and your local football club. Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) demonstrates that there is nothing inherently good about love and togetherness. The social-being-ness of humans is God-designed - whereas sinners abuse community to amplify their rebellion against God, the church whose unity is based on truth of the gospel will reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of Christ, sinking deeper roots of certainty in the self-revelation of God (Colossians 2:2).

Amplification of macha (green tea) and azuki (red beans)

Because this proper sort of love and unity must be based on truth, therefore unlike the flaccid niceness, positive reassurance and ego massages the world would associate with these terms, it is likely that true togetherness would not fail to entail warning (cf Colossians 1:28), admonishment and discipline. This sort of encouragement (and not better music or more responsive-type songs) would generate a more deeply felt and rich assurance of our knowledge of Jesus.

Merely checking-in for a sing-a-long and a talk for an hour every Sunday will result in dwarfism and lack of a normal Christian life. It is only by working together and praying together, that God will grow us. Hence the importance of bible study groups and also one suspects, morning teas and other Sunday meals with the church family.

(3) relying on Christ for energy to do point (1). The goal of maturity was not specific to first-century Christians in Colossae and Laodicea but to all Christians everywhere throughout the ages. So while Paul may have been given special stewardship as an apostle, there was nothing unique in the proclamation-of-Christ part of his ministry. Arguably, if we are all to reach maturity and this is to come by points (1) and (2), then while the aim of every Christian leader is to present everyone mature in Christ, it is likely that every-member ministry would also be on the menu, and so then quite consequentially the hard backbreaking toil of ministering to others (cf Colossians1:29-2:1). While we Singaporeans are used to working hard for our goals in school or at work, the energy to struggle in serving others can only come from Christ who is in us (Colossians 1:27) and not from our own strength.

Had plenty of time to mull over this one while literally driving round half the island to wholesalers for almost a hundred kilograms of cheese, cream, mascarpone, meatballs, sausages, chicken, seafood, mmm streaky bacon, huge bottles of herbs and tins of spaghetti sauce and plum tomatoes. Since we were cooking for 80 one weekend and in the kitchen for the family reunion dinner and then for another 40 the following weekend, the savings from shopping at factory outlets far outweighed the cost of petrol.

(Interesting how large sections of the general public took umbrage at the revelation, when it set up its retail arm, that Kim Joo Guan was actually the wholesale supplier of bak kwa (sliced barbecued meat) to at least 5 retail brands including the popular Lim Chee Guan. Was amused to realise that popular suppliers are the reason food in Singapore tastes pretty much the same in coffeeshops, hawker stalls, food centres and even restaurants all over the island.)

(Listing not an indication of merit nor willingness to entertain retail sales - some have already been chastised by AVA.)

Woodlands Terrace
10 Woodlands Terrace - KSP Food Suppliers - wagyu, kurobuta, smoked duck
16 Woodlands Terrace - ZAC Meat and Poultry - Halal sausages, cold cuts, hummus
26 Woodlands Terrace - Melvados - cakes, frozen food
42 Woodlands Terrace - Thai Sing - housebrand chinese and nonya sauces
46 Woodlands Terrace - Fassler Gourmet - sashimi grade seafood. salmon, tuna, scallop, abalone
48 Woodlands Terrace - Wan Foong - sausages, ham, pork knuckle
60 Woodlands Terrace - Fragrance Foodstuff - bak kwa

Woodlands Link
12 Woodlands Link - Win Sin - bakery, pastry
23 Woodlands Link- Bengawan Solo - nonya kuehs

15 Woodlands Loop
Amongst a block of caterers (including ihostfood for confinement meals!) are the elves who ensure all your mass market meals have that comforting ubiquitous taste.
#01-01 - Zingrill - the guys who run Seoul Garden and Breeks!
#01-09 - Kyo Cake House
#02-17 - Everyday Products - juices, syrups and "cloudy agents"
#02-19 - Harmony Foods - fruit products
#02-22 - Delisnacks - fried dough snacks to go with your soya bean drink.
#02-33 - Tenderfresh - chicken, chops and grills. Suppliers to the "Western Food" stalls in coffeeshops, hawker centres and food centres.
#02-37 - Xi Shi Bak Kwa
#02-50 - Soon Huat Marine Product Trading - fish maw, mushrooms, sharks fin, pig tendon, sea cucumber, gingko nuts, you get the idea.
#03-03 - J&C (Fong's) Food Industry - Halal cakes, seasonal pastries.
#03-12 - Baker's Oven - Halal pastries, cookies. Esp seasonal.
#03-53 - Defu Otah
#04-29 - Choo Chiang - chinese roast meats
#04-33 - e-creative - erm, creative cakes
#04-46 - Unity Foods (BBQ Delights)

Senoko
1B Senoko Crescent - Seah's Spices
6 Senoko South Road - Bee Ching Hiang - bak kwa
24 Senoko Way - Culina
36 Senoko Drive - Indoguna / The Green Grocer

Tuas
24 Tuas Avenue 4 - Frosts Food and Beverage

Pandan Loop
208 Pandan Loop - Boncafe
255 Pandan Loop - Tai Sun Food Industries

Chin Bee
6 Chin Bee Crescent - BH Fresh Food / Best Food
8 Chin Bee Crescent - QB Food
11 Chin Bee Crescent - Rudi's Fine Food
15 Chin Bee Crescent - Santa Boeki - sweets
33 Chin Bee Crescent - Tong Garden
11 Chin Bee Drive - Ann Tat Frozen Food

Fishery Port Road
1 Fishery Port Road - Ben Foods
19 Fishery Port Road - Song Fish Dealer
Jurong Fishery Port - fresh(er) fish and seafood

Pasir Panjang Wholesale Market
Blk 12, #01-587 - Chan Kok Hon Vegetables
Blk 13, #01-600 - Yong Hup Heng
Blk 14, #01-23 - Friendly Vegetarian
Blk 14, #01-25 - Zenxin Agri-Organic Food
Blk 17, #01-11 - FRESHdirect
Blk 17 #01-108 - Yew Ming - dried fruits, nuts, seafood

Henderson
Blk 217 Henderson Road, #01-08 Henderson Industrial Park - Classic Fine Foods
Blk 219 Henderson Road, #01-03 Henderson Industrial Park - Euraco - "purveyor of the world's finest food, beverages and pastries"

Ubi Ave 2
Blk 3020, #01-121 - D’Pastry - durian puffs, strudel, tiramisu
Blk 3020, #01-103 - Yap Chai Luck - roast meat

Bedok North Street 5
Blk 3015 - Montreaux Patisserie - cakes, pastries
Blk 3017 - Vismark Food Industry - Asian pastes and frozen dim sum

BBQ
ezb
Chun Man Yuan - satay, otah
BBQ Wholesale

Pitstop at Nonya Deli, Bukit Timah Plaza to refuel and listen to David Jackman

All Creation Sings. It's Your Fault They're Off-key.

Once in a while, thankfully, the smogasbord of auditory enjoyment becomes so overladen that one is hard put to deny the lush manifold beauty of God's universe:

Across the shopfloor of Best Denki, a familiar tune, menacing but chirpy, a call to harvest the energy of the sun against the determined grunting undead - Plants vs Zombies! Laura Shigihara's soundtrack is pop console chiptunes, funky melodics, big band swing, "macabre yet goofy" piano tinkling. The music video is but a poor sample of the enjoyability of the music:

A few hours later, in a K-BOX karaoke room, there was the insistent demonstration of the ease at which one could quickly pick up and sing any of the many predictable Mandarin ballads (assuming the ability to read Chinese).

But though formulaic (shy earnest boy + true love lost), not all eyes were dry after 古巨基 (Leo Ku)'s great mash-up of loads of love songs/brilliant way of prolonging the end of a de-stressing session, 情歌王*.

And the next night at Heineken Green Room's's 8-bit Blitz, minimal techno in the microhouse of old Kallang Theatre called forth by the hirsute Robag Wruhme and the fancy Superpitcher - probably describable only in Kerouac-ian prose. Best listened to with friends nursing a couple of cold beers, or, erm, while doing work - the repetitive stripped-down beats really clear the mind and the sound-sample layering keeps it fresh! Sadly the crowd voted for fags and chats outside, instant noodles and ice-cream at 7-eleven and after-parties at Home (Club).

The end of the noughties is a bit late for theory-mongering, but in the midst of the current post-post-modern Mustafa-like music offerings, can even "pop" be defined (not to mention the ever-expanding sub-categories of techno, house and that all-encompassing term, "indie")? If all music is expression, to some extent of ideals, values, cultural identity, political mindsets, how, if at all, does the seeming lack of demand for minimal techno interpret Singapore society? All enjoyment of music must, at least in part, be mediated through conceptual assumptions of what constitutes good music. If interpreted on a scale of sophistication and progress (cf Adorno's "regression of listening"), then on what basis should we measure legitimacy in musical taste?

French at Le Bistrot, Singapore Indoor Stadium

Japanese at Kaiho Sushi, Cuppage Plaza. The uni (sea urchin gonads), fugu mirin boshi (grilled puffer fish) and Japanese chestnut ice-cream are especially good.

Similarly, prandial diversity. It's been great to have been able to stand and watch the starched-linen sushi and French food era being swept away by the deluge of mass market gastronomy. But does the provision and appreciation of such global victualling necessarily assume a concurrent consumption of attendant culture and values? What is the significance of the popularity of raw fish with wasabi or tabouleh and olive oil bread? Is such consumption merely representative or also communicative? Again, are foods subject to hierarchy - eg. traditional and artisan vs mass-produced, and if so, on what basis?**

Celebrating early Thanksgiving with turkey in Singapore

Faced with such delicious diversity of delights (sorry), one might extol the virtues of a Creator who is happy to bring forth such frivolities for our pleasure; after all, none of this beauty seems critical to our survival. Yet, doesn't music exist so that we can sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to teach and encourage each other with God's word, and to praise and worship God? If music is, in part, expression of ideals, values, identity and mindset, then it's not about the brand of CCM that forces "Christian" lyrics into popular tunes but that the natural outflow from a Christian is necessarily God-centred.

And God gave us good food not just to gather friends around: sweaty cooking and sharing repast should also be about practising hospitality (by cooking for other than one's pals) and making opportunities to speak words of eternal life. Whereas Jewish dietary restrictions were meant to emphasis the holiness/set-apart-ness of the Israelites wrt other nations, the food laws were set aside by Christ's death. God's buffet is now open to all. WWJD? Sup with sinners and tax collectors, most likely.

Lovely manmade lines at Stadium MRT and Changi Airport MRT

The overarching foundation (oxymoron?) of all this is that the whole of creation, its unparalleled intricacy and magnificence, exist so that we humans can clearly perceive God's eternal power and divine nature, and in so knowing him, honour him as God and give thanks to him (Romans 1:20). Yet, we stubborn fools persist in our ignorant theories that the world must have come about of its own accord, and insist that there is no Creator; we run around obsessed about saving the world from greenhouse gases and dolphins from being clubbed, refusing to see that this world came about by the word of one person and by his word this world will be swept away. We fancy ourselves rather advanced and sophisticated monkeys when we define right and wrong, not realising that all this is actually a sign of our impending destruction:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. (Romans 1:18-32)

and

...first of all, ...scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation." For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:3-13)

*the list of songs, thanks to martin_tamb:
王力宏 Wang Lee Hom - Forever Love
黎明 Leon Lai - 兩個人的煙火
張學友 Jacky Cheung - 如果．愛
光良 Michael Wong - 童話
劉若英 Rene Liu - 很愛很愛你
古巨基 Leo Ku - 好想好想
周華健 Emil Chow - 明天我要嫁給你
潘瑋柏 Wilber Pan - 不得不愛 (feat 弦子)
莫文蔚 Karen Mok - 陰天
陶喆 David Tao - 飛機場的10:30
黃品源 - 那麼愛你為什麼 (feat 莫文蔚 Karen Mok)
黃品源 - 你怎麼捨得我難過
張震嶽 - 愛我別走
周華健 Emil Chow - 讓我歡喜讓我憂
張惠妹 A-Mei - 原來你什麼都不要
張宇 Phil Chang - 用心良苦
張學友 Jacky Cheung - 祝福
張學友 Jacky Cheung - 吻別
陳昇 Bobby Chen - 把悲傷留給自己
那英 Na Ying - 征服
張惠妹 A-Mei - 聽海
辛曉琪 Winnie Hsin - 味道
孫燕姿 Stefanie Sun - 我懷念的
辛曉琪 Winnie Hsin - 領悟
張宇 Phil Chang - 月亮惹的禍
飛兒樂團 F.I.R. - 我們的愛
黄大煒 David Huang - 你把我灌醉
范曉萱 Mavis Fan - 眼淚
庾澄慶 Harlem Yu - 情非得已
梁朝偉 Tony Leung - 你是如此難以忘記
任賢齊 Richie Ren - 心太軟

**none of this will make sense when current sleep-indebtedness has been redeemed and Words with Friends stops cameo-ing in dreams.

PS: Someone just sent over Sara Groves' You Are The Sun from her O Holy Night Tour: Live the Prison Show. Nice melody, wish the lyrics had more meat on.

Your Kindness Is Like A Farewell

Portents of peripeteia, perhaps?

Overwhelmed by well wishes and the generosity of friends and thankful for their lives.

May He who has given us life be so kind and generous as to find us faithful for the rest of our days.


Saint Pierre (1 Magazine Road):

Tatsuya Japanese Restaurant (Goodwood Park Hotel, 22 Scotts Road):

Beng Hiang (112-116 Amoy Street):



KHA (HortPark, 33 Hyderabad Road):


A "surplise!", hugs, inappropriate instigation with regard to smooching, a Goodness it's Guinness cake!, cheese! (Morbier, Double Creme, Comte) from Le Bénaton:


Ocean fish head curry (Telok Ayer Street):


Frog leg porridge at post-tennis supper fav, Tiong Shian Porridge (265 New Bridge Road):


Followed by a Mao Shan Wang (Mountain Cat) and Red Prawn durian party at King of Kings 101 Durian:


Now back to work in the midst of "retro-chic", where the coffee is decent, electrical sockets are freely available and the red velvet cake is moist (black - coffee. dessert. bar., TripleOne Somerset):

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God. (John 3:14-21)