Mooncakes (月饼) for 中秋節

You could have either stumbled onto this page while blog-surfing or purchased our Magnetic mooncake. In either case, THANK YOU!!!

The Mid-Autumn or Mooncake Festival or in Chinese, 中秋節, falls on the 15th day of the Chinese eighth month. Mooncakes have played a central role in Mid-Autumn traditions. These traditional pastries are usually eaten with chinese tea during with friends and family members while appreciating the fullness of the moon. Lanterns are also carried by the old and young on this very important day of the Lunar calendar.

The practice of appreciating the moon dates back to 3000 years in Chinese history. But what about eating mooncakes? It began in the Mongol-ruled Yuan Dynasty. At the end of Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) the oppressed Han wanted to overthrow the rule of the Mongols, so they planed a revolt in secret. To keep the uprising clandestine, the Han military commander asked his soldiers to spread the rumor that there would be a serious disease in winter and eating mooncakes was the only way to cure the disease, then he asked soldiers to write "uprising, at the night of Mid-Autumn Festival" on papers and put them into mooncakes, to be sold to common Han people. When the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival came a huge uprising broke out. From then on, people eat mooncakes every Mid-Autumn Festival to commemorate the uprising.

Mooncakes are a major part in the Singapore culture. Many Chinese people buy them to eat or as gifts. Due to the creativity of the makers, the mooncakes of today come in more shapes and flavours.

Png Kueh (饭粿)

You could have either stumbled onto this page while blog-surfing or purchased our Magnetic rice cake or png kueh. In either case, THANK YOU!!!

We love our local heritage and we would like to share more about this local snack with you.

This snack (picture, left) is popularly known as Png Kueh, 饭粿
The typical filling in this local heartland delicacy is glutinous rice with mushrooms and dried shrimps.

The Teochews also called these dumplings Poong Tor which literally means "rice peaches". In Mandarin, they are known as 桃粿 which means "peach dumplings". The peach is regarded in Chinese folklore as a symbol of longevity.
Dumplings like the Png Kueh that is made in the shape of peaches are as offerings to dieties during religious festivals. Both of these items have the familiar pink hue to make them look more like peaches.

There are two common colours to the png kueh but not many know the reason behind it. The red ones are used as an offering to the gods who dwell in heaven, while the white ones are used as an offering to the ancestors who dwell in hell.

Whatever the case may be, this handmade png kueh can be used as a fridge magnet or a paper-clip organiser, or both. It looks pretty on your table and also contains a big filling of the heritage of Singapore as well!

Happy Holidays for the Muslims: Ketupat Decor

Singapore is a multi-racial society and we do celebrate quite a number of holidays here :-) For the Muslims, 18th of August is the end of their fasting month and it is also followed by a time of forgiveness, both horizontally and vertically. It is marked by improved family ties and feasting with friends, A culural symbol is the ketupat decor - ketupat is a type of rice packed in a palm leaf and specially woven in a distinct manner. Ketupat is frequently eaten with grilled meat - known as Satay in this region. I made this ketupat decor and pasted it (without the bird) at the corner of my TV and friends say it is nice.

++++++++++++ How to do ++++++++++++ How to do this ketupat? It is easy. Just take two colors from your Paulinda clay container, yellow and green. These are Colours which Muslims like very much - it's their cultural colours. Green represents the unviversal colour of nature and life. Yellow is a nice complementary colour. Once you hear the secret you will be surprised: Roll out a line of green and yellow of equal size. Cut the clay into equal sizes and roll them into spheres. Round balls. And join them in alternate colours. Tada!!! Just add a simple ribbon on the top and bottom. Easy? Now get out your craft mat ;-)

More on Elephants

GOOD MORNING WORLD! i'm born on 18-08-12 @ 0938 hrs. I weigh 5 grams and my doctor says i am born sociable. Cos i already made a friend. Mom says he looks like a bird from some social networking site. Says something like: he's a twit. :-) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ How to do this: You know, to do an elephant in clay is not difficult - a bigger droplet for the body. For the head - manage a round ball such that one end becomes the trunk. This is followed by two flappy ears which are of the right proportion. Then four roughly equal-sized lines to become the limbs. However, to do a cute elephant is another thing. For the advanced learners, show your skill by doing another figurine of a much smaller size, like the blue bird here. I really like this one. Do you? :-)

The continuing saga of the TOILET SEAT

The toilet seat is a good subject and prop for many funny clay pieces i'm sure. Rodin's "The Thinker" started that. I'll leave the rest of the imagination to your good self!

Ingenuity strikes when we are in a reflective mode, where we take time to see life in a measured pace. Take this white toilet seat, made of two materials - plastic and clay, for example. A leisurely breakfast in the morning caused my eyes to see another use for a non-recyclable item. Guess where it is taken from?

Well, no prizes for guessing it right as i have already done the work for you. I have also recycled many things in the process of creating my clay works - either as armatures or props. I want to drive home the message that a reflective life is a creative life ;-)

What Babies are Made of