A Bum Deal With Mooncakes

Mooncake (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It is the time of year when a double-yolk, lotus paste moon cake dominates my thoughts.  In fact it is a far more tangible reaction than a mere thought; I have consumers four of them in recent weeks.

The Mooncake festival is one of the Chinese mid-Autumn festivals that retains a huge following globally which is god news to those of use not born into the tradition.  Mine is a mere culinary acknowledgement based more on a sense of taste rather than a deep cultural understanding.

That said, I am a 'traditionalist' in the sense that I prefer the older style mooncakes and forgo the more modern variations.

This partiality also applies to shape so I found it somewhat disturbing to learn that this year a Hong Kong company will be offering buttock-shaped mooncakes for sale.  The intricacy of the patterns on traditional mooncakes are part of their appeal and present them otherwise is a bum deal, both in the literal and actual sense.

Cheeky bum-shaped mooncakes created ahead of Singapore full moon festival - Mirror Online

I must also acknowledge that I have been jumping the gun in eating my mooncakes, as the festival itself doesn't officially start until later this week - on September 19. This happens to be the fifteenth day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar.

Not that officials in the Chinese government will be distributing much joy at this time of year.  Their party has clamped down on such gift giving.

It should also be noted that the Hong Kong company who dreamed up this years novel Spring festival treat are the lifestyle label Goods of Desire (GOD for short).  So given the juxtaposition of the doughy hand on the buttock above right, could one rightly refer to it as the 'hand of G.O.D.'?

What ever you call them, the new derrière delights hold little appeal for me.  I re-state this in the full knowledge that my next sampling of white lotus paste, double-yolk mooncakes will be as tasty as the first I tried; the saltiness of the duck egg  a culinary counterpoint to the smooth, sweet texture of the lotus.

Pricey and calorific as they certainly are, mooncakes are a must at this time of year.

Related articles

• China has no appetite for official 'mooncake' gifts
• China bans officials' mooncake buy
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Safer and Cheaper in Singapore

For those of us who have money in a bank it is always somewhat reassuring to find that the bank that you trust, is not likely to fall over any time soon.

Good news then for Singaporeans as OCBC has retained its title as the world’s strongest bank for the second year in Bloomberg's latest research.

United Overseas Bank Ltd. (UOB) comes in number seven and DBS at number eight thanks in a large part to the steady Singapore economy and an aversion to risk.  Mind you, the interest deposit rates for term investments in the Republic are fairly minuscule when compared to other countries, but you can't have it both ways.

Not only are the banks more secure but the cost of living, based on a global index of recognisable US consumables, shows that Singapore is much cheaper to live in than say Australia, the USA or the UK.

Hong Kong has greater purchasing power parity than Singapore.  Mouse over the charts to see the figures.

The Cost of Living

The World is Treating Me Bad - in Singapore?

"The world is treating me bad, misery"  So said the Beatles in 1963, but it comes as somewhat of surprise to learn that the sentiment is alive and well in Singapore.

An excellent article in the South China Morning Post questions why both Singapore and Hong Kong are, despite their wealth, so unremittingly miserable?

I have to say that I never found it so but according to a December 2013 Gallup poll, Singapore leads the pack as Asia's most miserable place, ranking rock bottom in the poll of 148 nations and territories. Only 46% of those surveyed felt positive about the place.

The methodology of the poll is somewhat flawed I feel, as Gallup has tried to standardise a basic human emotion "happiness" across many different cultures and ethnicities and each interprets the term differently.

The time and place when the poll was conducted would also have a bearing. Ask a group of Singaporeans commuters waiting for a late MRT train in the sweltering sun if they are "happy" and the result will be resoundingly in the negative.

Ask the same group in the Robinson's Sale when they have snaffled a bargain then they could express an entirely different sentiment. Happiness is a very subjective thing.

The article went on to quote a teacher in Hong Kong, Alan Lo Tzee-cheng, who believes that that local populace are "too focused on achieving material success, which made them unhappy".

"Money and competition about making more money than others penetrate all parts of people's lives. Their education, the way they raise their children, what they eat. Even to go shopping can be an emotional trial" he went on to say.

I guess only Singaporeans themselves can say whether or not this applies as much in Singapore? Certainly the material occupies many peoples thoughts but I am not convinced that this by itself would be the cause for so much misery.

Yeoh Lam Keong, vice-president of the Economic Society of Singapore, believes the survey has pin pointed something important - that Singaporeans work some of the longest hours globally and have a very poor work-life balance. "They are overstressed and do not have enough time for family and recreation."

As the gap between the wealthiest and poorest Singaporean grows wider so does the range of feelings. The wealthy get happier and the poorer Heartlanders less so. Hong Kong is experiencing something similar.

Chua Kheng Kok, Asia Pacific president of Mary Kay says "I find Singaporeans more envious of each other and therefore less happy." She may well be right, but wanting and getting "more" of something doesn't necessarily equate to "happiness" in one's life.

Achieving the 5C's ( car, cash, credit card, condominium and club membership) may be one mark of success in Singapore but it should  not the only one that society or the education system promotes.

As for me, I find music raises my spirits so here is the Beatles' rendition of the song I mentioned above (and keep smiling!)

Related articles

• Are Singaporeans least happy?

Book Worms

Image via Wikipedia

Two things that Singaporeans love used to be a sale and good book.  While the first remains true the second is now a matter of some debate.

The large book selling chain Borders closed its Wheelock Place outlet in Singapore and the sale attracted thousands, looking for 50% off bargains. People stood in the pay queue for up to  two hours.

Wheelock Place is a strangely designed building on Orchard Road, largely overshadowed by its newer and flashier neighbour, the Ion Mall.

Wheelock is one of those places with confusing levels of escalators so a visitor finds it difficult to navigate to the lower levels but once there you can enjoy the subterranean walkways under the main thoroughfare, escaping the fierce midday sun.

Border's closure in Orchard Road leaves it with one remaining outlet in Parkway Parade but it too is reportedly up for sale.  Its demise is symptomatic of the decline of print with the modern generation choosing to read from their digital tablets.

Wheelock is named after the Hong Kong development company that bought over the property from the original failed owner.

Also buying up property are the Chinese but they are doing so globally. A Mr. Huang Nubo is hoping to purchase a large chunk of Iceland and transform it into a high-end resort. Losing 300 square kilometers of their small country to an overseas developer is not going down too well with Icelanders but given the parlous state of that country's finances they may have few options left.

At least in Iceland they will have built in spa possibilities with the odd volcanic eruption doing away with the need for imported theme parks.  The spa business in Singapore by comparison is going through a rough patch with creditors lining up to get their money back from the failed True Spa enterprise.

Meanwhile the new president of Singapore, Dr Tony Tan has been sworn in and apart form being "deeply honoured, humbled", has pledged to protect the country's financial reserves.

One would sincerely hope that this is so, although there remains disquiet in some quarters about the President's former role as Chair of the GIC and the corporation's bad choices of investment in 2006 & 2007 under his stewardship which wiped millions from the fund.

This observation needs to be balanced by the GIC's fund management over a wider period of time.  According to an entry in Wikipedia, over a period of 25 years to March 2006, the annual rate of return on the foreign reserves managed by GIC averaged 9.5 percent in US dollar terms, and 8.2 percent in Singapore dollar terms. The average rate of return over global inflation was 5.3 per cent per annum.

To the new President's credit he was one of the few in power at the time who vehemently opposed the building of casinos in Singapore.

Commerce in Singapore is always in a state of flux and as Borders closes its doors a new chain, Swedish retail fashion giant H&M, are opening theirs. Needless to say there is a queue forming some 20 hours before opening.

And last but not least; Singapore's own answer to the Yeti has been spotted once again. The "Naked Man of Sengkang" has reappeared in a lift lobby much to the consternation of the residents of Block 124. The citizen journalist who captured this rare sighting is on record as saying "Not sure if there was something wrong with him or if he was an exhibitionist".

My theory is that he was in such a hurry to join the  H&M queue in town that he forgot to dress.

Chilly In HK

These past two days I have been revisiting Hong Kong. After the very hot and dry weather in Singapore it has come as quite a shock (and a thermal shock at that) to experience an unseasonal cold snap here.

Hong Kong Grey Day - Roger Smith March 2010

Regrettably I came little prepared for this eventuality and according to a gleeful cabbie, tomorrow will be even colder. The prediction is a minimum of 8 degrees and a maximum of 14.

This is entry has been made in the comfort of my hotel room, with the airconditioning gauge set at a balmy 26 degrees to thaw out my outer extremities.

A drop of 25 degrees in the ambient temperature between the two countries sure puts a dampener on things.