Monday, December 22, 2014

Amazing Singapore Part 3 – Country Standards

Here in Japan, the year-end snap election brought Prime Minister Abe his victory after touting his “Abenomix” mandate, but the voter turnout was low. It was 52.66%, the lowest rate since the end of World War II. Almost half of the Japanese population did not vote. In Singapore, non-voting is illegal, so you have to pay a fine if you do not vote.

Singapore is notorious as a ‘fine bound’ country, but I find it rather affirming and motivating. They are designed for good causes and help enhance morals of the general public. For instance, smoking is banned (only three locations are designated for smoking in the state). As a non-smoker, I like the strictness of the law. I understand they have come a long way to become acknowledged as a non-smoking country. Their smoking population should be less than that of Japan (one out of six Japanese smokes). Japan Tobacco has advocated that smokers use designated areas only or vapor break rooms to little or no avail. I give a big applause to the Singapore Government, especially for reducing risks from despicable secondhand smoke (SHS). Japanese roads would be much cleaner without cigarette butts.

Regarding other laws, I can appreciate Singapore laws on gum. I heartily agree on Jay walking. I had some trouble with taxi stands. I’m one of the Japanese spoiled with the ease and convenience of hailing or by finger snapping on the street, inviting risks in traffic flow. In Singapore, you definitely need a smartphone and a location map of taxi stands. Singapore traffic flow is greatly controlled by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) with an Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) scheme used throughout the entire island. The LTA overhead gantries collect tolls and parking fees from all the cars equipped with electronic tags (IU) on the roads. The pay-when-you-use principle helps make motorist more aware of the true cost of driving. Thus the road usage can be optimized. They are one of the few traffic gridlock-less countries in Asia!

My stay in Singapore was just one week, and my island destinations were limited to areas where I could travel by bus and MRT. But as I previously mentioned, my Singapore host kindly drove me to the old Ford Motor Factory (the historic surrender site of the British to Imperial Japan) and Lim Chukan Jetty, where you view Malaysia across the Johore Strait. This Lim Chukan Jetty seems to be one of the last few surviving wooden jetties used as docks for the offshore kelongs (seafarers' villages built on stilts) and aqua-farms. We drove through an intricate maze and rows of cemeteries to reach the jetty and narrowly exited out of the tangled waterways and the army training camp. I was reminded that Singapore has a draft mandate.

On this trip, I picked up a new word “Kiasu", which I thought was antiquated as in Singlish, if not anachronistic. Kiasu comes from Chinese “Pah Shu” (Mandarin) and “Kia Su (Hokkien), meaning “fear of losing” or "hate to lose." The competitive spirit beyond the fear factor is referred to as one of the top values and behavioral traits of Singaporeans. No wonder economic prosperity and political stability are associated with this national mindset. This philosophy has helped guide them in competition and negotiations, and led to success in getting the most out of every transaction. The per capita GNP exceeded Japan’s long ago. Perhaps it also made them immune to criticism. I would like to see their Kiasu curbed slightly and shift their focus toward altruism for their neighbors.

I started to read Catherine Lim’s novel “Rice Bowl” (first edition "Times London" in 1984), the winner of the first Singapore literature prize. The story is about politics, imperialism and race, set at the time of the Vietnam War. I found her book equally exciting as reading Lee Kuan Yew's autobiography. The names of venues are all very familiar to me now. 'Rice Bowl' per Singlish dictionary is a lifesaver, the source of man’s survival.

Monday, December 15, 2014

Osechi For Sale

A question raised at a recent Toastmasters meeting was “How do you sell Osechi (celebratory New Year's food specialties) if you are an Osechi salesman?"

Hmmm, a very good question. I was out of the country for many years. I felt guilty seeing my wife struggling to prepare Osechi when materials were hard to obtain.

Osechi is very different from everyday Japanese meals. It is not even listed in the restaurant menus. I vaguely know what Osechi is, as my family has always set it up for the New Year’s. I belong to those who might have 'Osechi-phobia'. I picked up a couple of Osechi items, like Tazukuri, which is candied sardines, Namasu, which is sliced Daikon pickle with Ozoni, the rice cake, but I stay away from the rest - all the sweets and goodies.

Osechi should represent UNESCO approved Japanese Washoku dietary culture. If you explore Osechi, you could get the essence and soul of Washoku. However, the weight is more on tradition and rituals, all dishes necessarily devoted to auspicious expectations. In other words, materials and seasonings are selective consisting of kelp, abalone, sea urchin, herring-roe, prawn, fish paste, chestnut, lotus root, burdock, black bean and mixed veggies.

As a Noh song student once, I’m familiar with the word “Sechie” from the famous “Tsuru Kame, Crane & Tortoise” song. Sechi or Setsu taking off honorific O, is seasonal divide days, such as 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 5-5, 9-9. The Imperial Court started “Sechie”, religious rituals during the Nara period, during the 8th Century, for prayers and thanksgiving for the season’s harvest and foods found from the mountains and sea. As time passed, this celebration permeated into the Samurai class in Kamakura and Kyoto and into the Edo period, down to the general public, with particular emphasis on 1-1, the New Year’s celebration.

The recipe and ingredients of Osechi dishes vary a little by district but basically they are the same, handed down for generations. They should feature proactive and forward looking life values, such as happiness and fortune, prosperity and wealth, success and promotion, security of property, health and longevity, perpetuation of descendants, strong family bond and solidarity, all authentically cooked and served in a fancy lacquer Jubako, the multi-layered boxes. The Japanese believe that luck comes in multitude by box layering.

I used to see three layers, but learned that four layers are formal and often five layers (the top often left empty to beckon future happiness), depending on circumstances. Normally, the festive and sake companion dishes are at the bottom, grilled, stewed, or vinegared side dishes in the second, sea or river produce in the third, mountain produce in the fourth. Arrival of these boxes are rather new, right after World War II perhaps with advertising commercials from department stores.

Today, I saw the relevant newspaper survey polls; 52% yes, 48% no, to the question - "Do you prepare Osechi?" Now those who said "no" were questioned "why". 42% of men and 26% of women answered "felt no need to make it special even for the New Year." Hmmm, again! They are from a different generation.

Osechi had a great meaning when shops were all closed for 10 days or so, and when fridges were novelties in most homes. Housewives made everything by hand, making them to last longer; baking and adding vinegar. Now they are nostalgic scenes of the past, because ready-made Osechi is available at nearby convenience stores. I understand the competitions had become keener with the participation of the Post Office sales force.

With the increase of part-time laborers, many stores are open now even during New Year's holidays. There are people who don’t take holidays. It means households need not prepare preserved foods for the New Year celebrations any more.

I hope I have given you some 'food for thought' with New Year's Day approaching quickly.

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Amazing Singapore Part 2

He who plants a tree, plants hope. (Anonymous)

Upon sending my e-mail inquiry, the Singapore Botanical Garden (SBG) replied almost immediately "Greetings from the Singapore Botanic Gardens and thank you for writing to us. The distance between Bukit Timah Gate and Tanglin Gate is approximately 2.3 km if you follow the blue dotted route marked in the attached map.” I was impressed with the speed and sincerity of the reply. The dotted line is a meandering road inside the garden. If a straight diagonal line is drawn, I figured it was about a 2 km stretch between north and south ends of the park. The Bukit Timah (tin hill in English) Road runs into the north gate and the MRT stop and is the longest road running from north to south of the island.

The Bukit Timah pamphlet I picked up at the old Ford Motor factory, the historic surrender site of the British to Japan (my host drove me there on the 4th day), offers quite a lot of information. The 163 meter Bukit Timah Hill is the highest point in Singapore and it was where the Shonan Shrine was built. Today the area is a nature reserve along with the neighboring Bukit Batok Nature Reserve.

One of my hobbies is to visit old trees. I visited many exceptional trees - redwood, sequoia and Moreton Bay Fig in California and others in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Taiwan. The Bukit Timah pamphlet read: "The number of plant species growing in the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve is more than in the whole of North America and at the same time, Singapore's oldest tree, a 400 year-old Seriya Shorea curtisii Tree is also found here. This tree is possibly the Temak tree that gave Bukit Timah its name."

My visit to SBG was through the Nassim Main Gate, mid-point on the east-side right by a taxi stand where the sightseeing bus stops, and near the Visitor Center and National Parks Board Headquarter. Luckily I got the "Tall Tales book" at the visitor center that had the well documented heritage trees trail guide. There are about 30 numbered trees and I just followed the directions. The names were new to me. They are Temak, Kapok (National Tree of Puerto Rico), Saya, Jelaw (47 meters tall, currently the tallest tree at SGB. common in Malaysia) and "Tembusu." Tembusu is a distinctive tree to Singapore, not found in Malaysia. The tree is featured as part of the Garden City on the back of SG 5 dollar note. (See photo). I know the orchid is the national flower of Singapore but decided to forego seeing the flowers for more exploration of trees of palm valley, around the lakes, with fancy names like Swan and Symphony.

There's one more tree I loved at SGB - the Senegal Mahogany. On June 1963, Lee Kuan Yew, the Father of Singapore, launched a national tree planting campaign. It marked the beginning of five decades of greening efforts that have built Singapore's reputation as a city in the garden. To commemorate Tree Planting Day on November 2, 1980, he took a hoe himself and planted a Senegal Mahogany Heritage Tree. I was seeing it 35 years after Mr. Yew's planting. It grew to be a huge tree.

I managed to take a hurried tour of the Chinese and Japanese Gardens in Jurong on the west end of Singapore. Jurong is a man-made island (connected to multiple small islands), based on the Jurong District Master Plan to bring together port, shipyard, chemical plant complex, and light and heavy industries. Two gardens are on Jurong Lake. The first is a Chinese Garden partially completed with pagoda and tortoise / turtle sanctuary and rows of statues of Confucius, Qu Yuan, etc. The neighboring Japanese Garden was closed but I saw many stone lanterns and Bonsais laid out in the distance, probably still in the preparation stages. The flat and open gardens were surrounded by high rise apartments. It was quite a sight. The two gardens will surely become a breathtaking park when completed.