Happy Chinese New Year!

How was your reunion dinner weekend? The Bloesem Team spent our Friday going on a little day trip around our vibrant city to soak in the Chinese New Year festivities and getting some shots for Condé Nast Traveler, as we're guest posting about this festive season in Singapore over on their Instagram at @cntraveler! 

We had a high start to our day with the Prosperity Toss, better known as Yee Sang or Lo Hei at the Imperial Treasure restaurant. As with all their other usual dishes, this was absolutely delicious! If you're in Singapore I'd definitely recommend giving Imperial Treasure a visit..  Personally, I think it serves the best Chinese cuisines here, hands down! We took a walk down the streets of Chinatown after. The bustling atmosphere is definitely not to be missed during this period.. The brightly coloured lanterns, intricate paper cuttings, endless variety of treats.. And of course, the people. You'll find both locals running their last minute errands here and the tourists looking to explore Chinatown. 

As we joined the crowd down the streets of Chinatown, the Bloesem Team explained the reasons behind the various practice we saw and also shared their own stories of celebrating Chinese New Year with me.. For instance, did you know that many of the popular festive dishes came about due to their names and what they represented? The glutinous rice cake, or Nian Gao in Chinese, can be directly translated to "year-high", signifying wishes for a great year ahead. How amazing! Always fascinating to learn about other cultures, isn't it?

Very happy to have the girls share with me what this holiday is all about. As we take a short break, I'm wishing them, and all those you celebrate a prosperous year ahead. Happy Chinese New Year!

.. Learn more and see our photos on @cntraveler
.. Condé Nast Traveler