Experience Titanic the safe way

This afternoon, I visited the ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands to experience Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition. The exhibition lends its visitors the opportunity to relive the grandeur and the tragedy on the Titanic ship.

The exhibition begins with a photo-taking opportunity with the Titanic ship. Visitors then learn about the construction of the ship. I learnt that White Star Line, the highly prominent British shipping company in those days, was the owner of RMS (Royal Mail Steamer) Titanic. In the first gallery of the exhibition, visitors can learn more about the story behind Titanic's conception, design and construction.

Luxurious was possibly the word to describe the design of Titanic. It was very apt that the next gallery brings visitors to experience the full-scale re-creation of a First Class passenger's room. Nearby, the Verandah Care is a one-of-a-kind alfresco dining area on the Titanic where the dining passengers could enjoy the ocean breeze.

The majestic Grand Staircase follows. Its design somehow reminded me of the Neo-Baroque style of art. It was grandeur and dramatic.

Soon enough, visitors to the exhibition would travel to the quarters of the Third Class passengers. I could clearly hear the continuous rhythms from the ship's engine ringing away at the Third Class quarters.

One of my favourite sections of the exhibition was the Promenade. It replicated the Promenade of the Titanic, which appeared to be an ideal place to gaze the stars of the romantic night skies.

At the following Iceberg Gallery, visitors are allowed to touch the interactive iceberg to experience the freezing climate of the North Atlantic.

The Memorial Gallery was quite well conceptualized in my opinion. Before entering the exhibition, each visitor will be given a boarding pass at random. This boarding pass includes the name of one of the selected actual passengers onboard the Titanic and some facts regarding the stated passenger. With the boarding pass that was issued, visitors could check against the memorial at the Memorial Gallery to find out if that particular passenger whose name was stated on their respective boarding pass was saved or was lost when the Titanic met with its tragic end on 14-15 Apr 1912.

The Discovery Gallery provided visitors with a glimpse of the discovery of the wreck of the Titanic. This gallery also offered insights to the recovery and the conservation of artifacts from the Titanic.

Perhaps the most disconnected part of the entire exhibition was the gallery named Singapore 1912. While the idea of showcasing how the sinking of the Titanic had resonated in Singapore was brilliant, I felt that the presentation of the gallery seemed too disconnected with the rest of the exhibition galleries. Nevertheless, I have had an enjoyable visit. It was definitely a safe way to re-experience Titanic.

This exhibition will be held at the ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands from 29 Oct 2011 - 29 Apr 2012. For more information, please visit http://titanic.sg and http://www.marinabaysands.com/Singapore-Attractions/ArtScience-Museum/

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Please also see the following brilliant reviews of this exhibition by fellow bloggers who were invited to the media-preview of this exhibition. These reviews include interesting photographs on the exhibition.:
http://thelongnwindingroad.wordpress.com/2011/11/02/step-on-board-the-titanic-in-singapore/
http://leonefabre.blogspot.com/2011/10/titanic-artifact-exhibition-in.html
http://leonefabre.blogspot.com/2011/11/titanic-sails-into-singapore.html

Mid-Autumn celebration at Marina Bay Singapore

A delightful home, a playground, a dynamic place to work, Marina Bay is envisioned to be a thriving place in Singapore where people from all walks of life come together to explore, exchange and entertain. As the Chinese festival of the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, how do people celebrate this traditional festival at Marina Bay?

During the second weekend of the month of September 2011, Mid-Autumn Festival Celebrations at Marina Bay brought families and friends together to share special moments. Many of the festive activities were held at the Marina Bay City Gallery. These activities include Chinese calligraphy demonstration, Taiji performance, free balloon sculptures give-away, lantern walkabout and more.

A special guest named Walter, the curious colossal bunny, appeared at the Marina Bay City Gallery. Walter appeared to be adored by people of every age, both the young and the old. The charming Walter seemed to draw out its admirers' creativity.

I was at the Marina Bay City Gallery to participate in the Mid-Autumn Festival events on 10 September 2011. I saw visitors to the gallery having fun taking photographs of the balloon sculptures of Walter with various exhibits and displays at the gallery.

Walters with orchids.

Walter at Marina Bay.

Visitors to the Marina Bay City Gallery enjoy free guided tours that enable them to better appreciate the vision and plans behind Marina Bay. After the tour of and the visit to the Marina Bay City Gallery, I could not help but feel thankful for the visionary and thoughtful urban planning that has been put in to make the Marina Bay development possible.

One of the activities of the Mid-Autumn celebration at Marina Bay that had captivated my interest was the Chinese calligraphy demonstration. I personally find it an art to master Chinese calligraphy. The Chinese calligraphy master who was giving the demonstration on 10 September 2011 gave the visitors a pretty good introduction to Chinese calligraphy. I have learnt how the seals were used. I have also learnt a bit more about how a single word in Chinese could embrace many profound meanings.

The most exciting part of the celebrations was the Marina Bay Waterfront Walking Tour held on 10 September 2011. A picture says a thousand words so here is a snapshot of one of the lanterns that were carried by the participants.

When I had thought that the lantern walking tour was the climax of the celebration, I was happy to be proven wrong. When the tour led the group to Marina Bay Sands, we were treated to "Wonder Full". Wonder Full is Southeast Asia's largest light and water show. The use of electric light and lasers in this show provided visual entertainment. For more information of Wonder Full, please visit: http://www.marinabaysands.com/Singapore-Attractions/WonderFull/

This beautiful and dream-like photograph of Wonder Full is contributed by Ms Belinda Tan.

With a thoughtful team working to make Marina Bay a place to live, work and play, Marina Bay is gradually becoming a place where people will go to to embrace modern living as well as to celebrate traditional festivals.

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Marina Bay City Gallery
11 Marina Boulevard
Singapore 018940

Opening hours:
Tuesday - Friday*: 10:00am to 8:00pm
Saturday, Sunday, Public Holiday: 10:00am to 9:00pm
Free Admission

For more Marina Bay related events, please visit the following sites for more information:

Walter, adventures of a curious colossal bunny (1 - 30 Sep 2011): http://www.marina-bay.sg/walter/activities.html
Marina Bay events: http://www.marina-bay.sg/

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Acknowledgements:
Special thanks to Marina Bay Singapore, Urban Redevelopment Authority for the invitation. Many thanks to Belinda Tan for facilitating the linking up.


About Mid-Autumn Festival:
Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month of the Chinese calendar. It is a popular harvest festival celebrated by the Chinese. To read about Mid-Autumn Festival, please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/Festivals/78311.htm

Singapore Food Trail: Reliving the good old 1960s once more

The Singapore Food Trail, which is a 1960s themed food establishment located at the Singapore Flyer, was one of the eating places that I have been wanting to visit ever since I have read Second Shot's post relating his experience at the Singapore Food Trail enjoying his first ice-ball in Singapore!

It was my good fortune to visit the Singapore Food Trail after six months of procrastination. The 16000 square-feet food-haven serving popular local hawker-fare was official opened on 25 Feb 2011. There were many times when I was so near to the Singapore Flyer but yet did not make my visit to the Singapore Food Trail. Admittedly, I had mistakenly thought that it was just a food court with a superficial 1960s decor.

Thankfully, I was proven otherwise during my first visit to the Singapore Food Trail on 2 Jul 2011. I was welcomed by a temporary outdoor opera stage during my visit. The Thau Yong Amateur Musical Associaton (陶融儒乐社) which is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year put up music and Chinese opera performances that night and two nights before. I later learnt that performances and events such as the Teochew Opera staged by the Thau Yong Amateur Musical Association were part of the Singapore Food Trail's thoughtful efforts to recreate a realistic ambiance and atmosphere of the streets of 1960s.

Backstage.

A dedicated musician tuning a dulcimer (yang qin).

I thought it was a wise idea that the Singapore Food Trail invites worthy amateur art and cultural groups in Singapore to perform at its premises. Such efforts could help encourage these groups to continue their good work and passion in preserving important traditional art forms.

As the gigantic observation wheel moved at a distance, I felt time was spinning back to the post-war period when itinerant hawkers served cheap and convenient meals along the streets. Interestingly, Singapore Food Trail has creatively romanticized street hawking in many ways. Unlike the street hawkers of the 1960s, the hawkers of Singapore Food Trail have proper water supply, clean cooking equipment and sanitized conditions. What is more, the hawkers enjoy shelter from the rain and the sun.

Dragon Beard Candy.

To recreate the 1960s atmosphere, the stalls generally looked like push-carts and make-shift stalls commonly used during the post-war years. Secondly, the floor was laid with tar to give an impression of the stalls selling food by the side of the road. Thirdly, the management went down to the details by providing the stall-holders with older models of refrigerators to use. Nostalgia-evoking items were put on display at various sections of the food-street. I will give Singapore Food Trail lots of good scores simply for the meticulous thought that went into recreating the romanticized charms of the 1960s.

"Delicious" is the word to describe the food that I have had at the Singapore Food Trail. I learnt that the hawkers who serve food at the Singapore Food Trail were all specially hand-picked. Many of the hawkers have been in business for more than 30 years. In order to operate at the Singapore Food Trail, each stall-holder has to agree to the condition that only the owner or the owner's family members do the cooking. For myself, I am less insistent that the food must be cooked by the owner or the family members. What matters more is the good effort that goes into preparing the food.

Charcoal-grilled dough fritters for the rojak!

Interestingly, I learnt that charcoal-grilled dough fritters are used in the rojak dish served by Lagoon Kampong Rojak. This method of preparation meant that the dough fritters are crispy and chewy, minus much of the oily texture.

Colourful ice-ball!

I cannot miss checking out ice-balls. There are delightful treasures that can be found inside each ice-balls. Try eating one!

What impressed me greatly was the pride and dignity that can be easily seen on the faces of the people who prepare the food. Perhaps the ambiance of the Singapore Food Court has brought them to the good old days when the value of the food was enhanced simply because it was cooked with pride and mindfulness?

The Katong Keah Kee fried oyster omelette in the background.
Cereal prawns in the foreground.

The broth of the Sin Ming Road Rong Chen Bak Kut Teh is simply lovingly made.
On the right is the Old Airport Road satay beehoon.

Freshly-squeezed sugar cane juice in nostalgic looking containers.

My personal favourites are the Katong Keah Kee fried oyster omelette, Sin Ming Road Rong Chen Bak Kut Teh, Lagoon Kampong Rojak and the Changi Village Fried Carrot Cake. The sugar cane juice is wonderful too. Most of the other food are good too.

The night concluded on a high-note with the last scene of "The Fragrant Handkerchief" (折子戏：《香罗帕》). The last scene showed the male and female lead characters of "The Fragrant Handkerchief" finally getting married after several trials.

Although I could not understand the language that the opera performance was sung it, it was possible to make out what was being performed on stage. All that was needed was for the audience to pay attention to the music, the singing, the manner of recitation, the acting and the various gestures used by the performers (different mouth shapes, hand gestures, expressions in the eyes, body movements and steps represent different moods). The costumes and the accessories worn by each of the characters also gave good clues to his/her status and the personality.

The heritage corner.

In short, the Singapore Food Trail is one way to relive the good old 1960s. Good food, an interesting theme that evokes memories of the wonderful old days and a touch of sincerity in bringing its guests to relive the 1960s. These are the elements that will entice me to visit the Singapore Food Trail with friends and relatives for affordable food and a time for nostalgia.

Kachang Puteh (assorted nuts) that brings good memories of my childhood.

The adorable fortune-reading parrot found directly opposite the Kachang Puteh stall. It visits on weekends only.

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Acknowledgments: Lots of thanks to the Singapore Food Trail and Marina Bay Singapore for giving me the opportunity to enjoy delicious local hawker-fare as well as a wonderful Teochew opera staged by the Thau Yong Amateur Musical Association. Many thanks to Chloe and Jonathan from Select Group Limited for their hospitality. An extra special thanks to Ms Belinda Tan for facilitating the invitation.

I was very glad that I have learnt a bit about Chinese opera and have finally visited the Singapore Food Trail.

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Singapore Food Trail
Singapore Flyer
30 Raffles Avenue
Singapore 039803

Opening hours:
10.30 a.m. to 10.30 p.m. from Sunday to Thursday,
10.30 a.m. to 11.30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Description: http://www.singaporeflyer.com/food-trail/
Stall profiles and listing: http://www.singaporeflyer.com/food-trail/stall-profiles/
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/singaporefoodtrail

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Thau Yong Amateur Musical Association

Description: http://www.chinatownology.com/Thau_yong_directory.html

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/thauyong

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Related posts by other bloggers:
A night at the Opera by Jerome Lim
Nostalgia ++ by Leone
The invite and the Teochew Opera street performance by Leone
The amazing transformation!! by Leone