Welcome the year of the tiger! A whole new year on the lunar calendar. There had been much talk among the Chinese group here in Cambridge with regards to the new year, particularly how it is celebrated in various countries, with experiences of their own, let be in China or Malaysia.

Things here in the UK are very different from what it will be at home- No fancy Chinese new year lighting, blaring music from homeland shops, the endless looping of Chinese new year songs in most public areas, let be departmental stores. Things here are just as it is of a normal work day, not a single piece of decoration on the streets and bummer it’s not a holiday too. Angbaos were literally non-existent.

Though most Chinese new year festive and event lineups can be found in most Chinese cultural clubs in the university, there was an obvious lacking of the fun and joy of Chinese new year we all grew up with anticipating every year back home. The main sizable celebrations closest to us will be the Chinese new year celebrations in London itself- to our dismay an event held smacked right in the middle of our school term, so we can’t do anything much about it. There are of course some exceptional few I was told about from China who literally flew back home just for 3 days so they can have reunion dinner, that’s crazy but I dwell more about that.

Personally I did not have any festive plans lined up over the Chinese new year weekend, with only plans to attend a Chinese new year formal (dinner) in college on the Friday (12th) before Chinese new year. Planned for the actual day with be only a video conference (virtual pai-nian) with my family, wishing them a happy new year and calling it done by rewarding myself with a good home cooked meal in the evening. Little do I know things won’t go quite as intended.

College CNY formal (Fri)
The formal hall I planned on going was quite a bunch. And I am glad my college did have Chinese new year specific plans and a Chinese menu for that day as well and man was the turnout exceptional as well- full house! We had a 6 course meal with appetizers, Peking duck, chow mien (fried noodles) and bean sprout vegetable mix. Though much attempt had been tried to make the dishes as authentic as possible, it still does not taste as good as the ones prepared by Chinese chefs back home. Desserts, coffee and fruits followed after. Free flow of Wine, Champagne and port (dessert wine) was served as well.

Queen’s reunion dinner (Sat)
Just few days before the weekend. I received an invite to an engineer’s reunion dinner on that following Saturday from a fellow 1st year course mate in Queen’s college. Apparently we will be having a steamboat style dinner with all the year one Engineers as well as some 2nd year Singaporean lawyers. The setup was simple: 4 rice cookers (which doubled up as boilers for the steamboat), a spread of food for about 10 persons and lots of Chinese new year songs from a laptop courtesy of Youtube. It was a rather fun informal steamboat dinner all huddled and eating from our temporary “floor table” in the host’s dorm room, which was remarkably large and able to hold over 10 guests with ease. The dinner was simple, but served it’s purpose well as a reunion dinner and I say, a rather proper one.

Steamboat at Queens

Malaysia Steamboat Dinner

Drunk on CNY!

CUMAS Steamboat Dinner (Sun)
Just when I thought 2 events were enough. This 3rd event was held on the actual day (14th) of Chinese new year itself at Pembroke college. I got to attend the event courtesy of my roommate who unexpectedly offered me an invite to the event just few days beforehand. He is a committee member of the Cambridge Uni Malaysian society (CUMAS). There was another small Singaporean cookout which I could not attend as I’ve already RSVP to the latter. I was not disappointed as well- this event was much bigger than the one I went the day before, not to mention with a larger variety of foods and larger turn up as well (about 30 odd people). The food spread was commendably good and comparable to that of commercial steamboat joints. Did we had such a good time, a Chinese new year’s day dinner (aka V day as well) worthy for the occasion itself.

There were yum-sengs and lots of chatter with new friends. With the exception of the absence of yu-sheng not only in this event, but in the other 2 events too, apparently this is something only unique to Singapore and Malaysia. Oh yes then there was the feat of sobering up a few after the event as well.

Seems that my Chinese new year weekend turned out rather more eventful than I initially expected! And I have largely my fellow course and room mates to thank for a fantastic Chinese new year lineup to user in the year of the tigger!

Guess what we get to do in the engineering laboratories today, well it’s not everyday where you get to use the words “copper, steel and liquid nitrogen” in the same sentence nor being able to work with them in the lab at a go. But not when you are during destructive testing of material specimens in the materials laboratory. This experiment investigates and studies the metallurgic properties of ductile metals in extremely cold temperatures.

Our lab technician in charge has some crazy whack for liquid nitrogen, not to mention an immunity to it as well, exclaiming his long years of working with the substance had made his skin so tough, he is immune to it’s gut freezing effects even after completely immersing his hands in a pool of liquid at −196 °C. Humorously, he always does the pour and “finger stir” each time comes over to fill our liquid nitro receptacles, much to the gawking of the students I guess he intends to freak out in the first place!

Notably, the tensometers used here in the labs are ancient. I mean hand crankingly ancient (you even have to dot plot the stress-strain curves out while cranking the specimen) amazing! There is not even a single bit of automated machinery in the aid of conducting the experiment. I remembered the lecturer in-charge telling the class that this will possibly be the first and last time you get to touch these (primitive) tensometers, which is rather true too having used digital automated ones back in Singapore and is already an industry standard worldwide in material destructive testing.

Liquid Nitrogen!

Frozen stiff!

Coolingly woot!

Old? and I mean whoa, even the Vickers hardness testing machines are all hand cranked, I remembered the modern industrial ones I use which takes readings at a touch of a button with digital readouts. Even the tensometers as computer assisted which automatically plots and prints a yield stress strain curve upon specimen failure and data collected. I guess that’s what you get studying in a university department almost a few centuries old. So much for an eye-opening whacky experiments, and I think this is just more of such to come.

London is a world class city with much to explore, given the sights at almost every corner. But you won’t be able to call your visit to London complete without a walk by the Thames itself. With the exception of the markets and some museum, many of London’s main attractions and viewing sites are all conveniently located along the iconic River Thames itself, particularly along the stretch from Westminster to the tower bridge totaling about 5km (a 2-3 hour brisk walk). A slow west-bound casual walk between these two locations (with lots of photo opportunities) will take about 5 hours tops- perfect if you wish to spend an afternoon enjoying the sights and sounds of the River.

You can start your journey making your way via the underground to Westminster, just not too far off the Parliament square. You will be greeted by the Westminster palace upon popping up to ground level as well as the iconic Clock tower where the Big Ben resides. Contrary to what most people think it is, Big Ben is actually the bell which lives inside the clock tower, not the name of the tower itself. You can hear it’s iconic loud chimes set to ring at 12 noon daily.

Big Ben

Westminster palace along Abingdon street

Just like the castles in Cambridge

On the Victoria embankment side, you can pop by areas of interest such as the Westminster palace along Abingdon street as well as the nearby Victoria Tower Thames House by the St.Millbank, all within a good kilometer radius from the station itself without straying too far off the intended path. Crossing the Westminster bridge over the Thames will bring you awesome overall views of the palace in the background as well as the County Hall & aquarium across the bankside. There are many eating places around the county hall as well the entrance to the London Aquarium. There are mini-exhibition halls in the vicinity along the embankment where short term displays can be held right in front of the iconic London eye. The eye is surprisingly crowded for a weekday too, it’s always buzzing with tourists hoping to catch a ride on it, but it is not cheap either at £18 per person, it pays to plans your London eye flight- booking online with bundled tickets to other attractions in town or as a group can bring you savings as much as a third the walk in rates.

Westminster bridge

The Aquarium

London Eye

Many renowned bridges can be found dotted along the Thames itself, these includes a vast assortment of vehicular bridges such as The Hungerford, the Golden jubilee bridges and the waterloo bridge to name afew. Iconic pedestrian bridges will include the Millennium bridge found just off the main walk from St Pauls. Personally I’ve lost count of the number of bridges I’ve personally passed along my route by the Thames, but I guess it’s about 20 I reckon? There are river cruises bringing you along the Thames passing through similar start and end points of my walk (from Westminster to The Tower bridge) too, these tours are complimented by audio dialogues which introduces you to the various bridges you see along the way, but nothing really beats walking and being on the bridges themselves.

Millennium bridge

Southwark bridge

London Bridge

The sights are not the only offering of the Thames, lined throughout the embankments are various lively street buskers and performers. These free roaming entertainers usually spend the day looking strange or performing various magic or dance acts, often drawing large groups with can be seen all along the Victoria embankment and queen’s walk. Popular hang outs by street performers will usually by the open spaces by the Jubilee gardens, where break dancing is more evident. Painted standing or cycle statues are also not a rare sight. I always remember seeing this invisible guy who usually makes his rounds around the bankside as well as spots along St Pauls, but hey you got to give him credit, he’s good. More often, these performers usually aim to amuse than to ask for givings, though there are some explicitly performing and asking for keeps for their efforts out of courtesy. After all it pays to keep a good image to visitors in London, considering that most people there are all infact tourists, it’s a pretty healthy mix.

Jubilee gardens performers

Break dancin

Invisible guy

With bridges and entertainers aside, the art scene is also evident with various theaters lined along the route. Heading further west will bring you past the National theater, the Globe theater and Shakespere’s globe. These areas are usually lined with cafes and road shows promoting the various exhibitions adding to the the vibrancy by the Thames walk. The iconic Tate modern stands in front of the Millennium bridge linking the northern and southern banks and forms a link towards St Paul. The Tate is London’s premiere museum for contemporary art, it was previously a bank side power station which ceased operations in 1981 and converted to what it is today. Much of the remnant of the power station still remains, particularly it large cavernous spaces inside the turbine generation halls now used to hold large art exhibitions.

The Tate

Golden Hind Ship

The Clink

Passing by the OXO art gallery building Blackfriars Bridge railway station (Built 1864) will bring you down to the darker past of the city of London. The Clink along the Clink street is a narrow, dark and cobbled road leading to the historic location of the notorious Clink prison. The prison was burned down in riots during 1780, and a small museum and tourist attraction now occupies part of the site telling much about it’s past. The Clink Street is situated rather close to the River Thames itself, but requires a short detour by the bankside to access, as there is no through access under the Blackfriars Bridge.

As with various sights along the Thames, the Clink is also no stranger to buzzles of television. The Doctor Who episode, The Talons of Weng-Chiang, was filmed in this area, as was the final sequence in the 1981 John Landis film An American Werewolf In London. A replica of the Golden Hind shop is moored in a small dock at the eastern end of the street too, offering expected photo opportunities as you carry on your Thames journey.

Overlooking St Pauls

HMS Belfast

City Hall

And once you thought you are done, the sights just gets better. You will get to cross the iconic London bridge, (which is definitely not falling down during my visit). The beautiful Winchester palace and Southwark cathedral greets you along the route followed by the HMS Belfast as you near the end of the walk towards the Tower bridge. Battleship belfast HMS Belfast is a museum ship, permanently moored in the River Thames and operated by the Imperial War Museum, who also have another attraction down at South Kensington. The Belfast was originally a Royal Navy light cruiser and served during World War II and Korean War. Here, Borough market is not too far off a walk, there are several markets in London, namely the Camden and borough market, but they are only open on the weekends.

Further down the queen’s walk past Belfast will be the Tower Bridge, but not first passing by the Hay’s Galleria and City Hall. These iconic glass caded, modern buildings are landmarks in the contrast to all the old architecture near the tower bridge. The Scoop looks like a walnut or giant ant bottom and is also home to the nearby London Telectroscope. This remarkable piece of steam-punk like machinery is a secret tunnel completed in May 2008 (more than a century after it was begun) which runs deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean. It’s essentially an extraordinary optical device which miraculously allows people to see right through the Earth from London to New York (with another Telectroscope on the other end) and vice versa.

Tower Bridge

The London Tower

Rinky!

The tower bridge opened in June 1894 is a combined bascule and suspension bridge over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, which gives it its name. It’s colour is well preserved and dates back from the 1977 when it was painted red, white and blue for the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. It has become an iconic symbol of the city of London itself. The tower bridge is still very much function today too, and actively raises and lower it’s road bridges which serves both vehicular and sea traffic on the Thames as well. It pays to check the bridge lifting times for the day on the Mayor of London website.

Just of the north end of the tower bridge is the St Katharine’s Docks, one of the best kept secret locations in Central London. The docks is London’s premiere luxury yacht Marina, situated right in the heart of the financial district, next from the former hospital of St Katharine’s by the Tower, built in the 12th century. The London Tower offers great day and night views of the London Thames and the war memorial from the distant knoll. The walk very much ends here, where you can check out the various gift stores around the Tower area or smaller merchant stores for a better souvenir bargain. Thereafter you can link up with the nearby Tower hill underground station for your ride back.

Much more photos of the Thames river walk here.

Cambridge University Malaysia Singapore Association organized this event last Saturday, the 30th of January which is essential and asian food festival where the society gets to prepare unique Singaporean dishes for everyone to come and enjoy.

I’ve signed up as a helper for the food festival since early last term. So that very much grants me “free” entry to the event, which by itself costs £7 for members and £11 for non-members, not that actually was part of the agenda! I was rather clueless when I placed my name down to help. The day started out with some supervisions in the afternoon (yes I know it’s a bummer to have supervisions over the weekend). Little do I find myself prepared for the daunting task ahead to prepare dinner for well over a 100 guests.

Cumsa Asian Food Festival 2010

Food’s out

More cooking to do!

Nonetheless, that Saturday afternoon was spent preparing Chicken rice, as well as cooking all the chicken. Chicken rice is one of the main courses to be served for the event, which goes hand in hand with Pak choy (vegetables) with other local dishes such as Bak ku teh (pork rib spices soup), Loh bak (black sauce meat and eggs), as well as Laska. There were also appetizers, servings of the famous rose syrup bandung as well as bobochaha for desserts. I opened the place up in the late afternoon so that phase 2 of cooking can be done at the hall venue, where they have a kitchen which we can use too.

Besides cooking the rice and chicken, the hard part was myself doing most of the cooking for the vegetable dish, which easily saw me through over 25-30 packets of Pak choy and having to separate, wash and cook over 100 stalks of the vegetable. I guess that will keep me away from it for sometime. We did encounter quite problems ourselves too, such as being unable to reheat the rice, so it was quite a pain to serve all the guest cold food, particularly the rice. But I think everyone received that as OK, with no complains as I know of.

Chicken Rice!

Laska

Bobochaha!

The event was a success, and the guests were all generally happy with the food from the feedback we get as servers. The same can’t be said for all of us though. Sadly, we ourselves as organizers literally have nothing to eat from mid afternoon onwards to late. It’s not until about 10pm where the guests start leaving where everyone started to have dinner.

Well not that we actually prepared dinner for ourselves, but rather savaging-ly dined with whatever food is left in the kitchen as well as those collected/cleared from the guest tables. Not that was bad, but hey at least we get to try what we cooked! We had enough food leftover for everyone (with excess to spare) mainly from the bulk of the leftovers from the last few dishes where many guests could not finish, coining out the term “serve the dishes you want to eat, last”. Much of the the leftovers were all meats and rice, not to mention some half eaten bobochaha, which wasn’t too much of my liking contrary to some who just slurpped them all. There were no left overs of the vegetables I’ve prepared too- they were all wiped clean!

Looking back at what we had prepared, that was really quite some feat we had pulled out, not to mention the number of bowls of food we all went into making for the all the guest. We have pretty much have each other to thank: the committee and the helpers for a job well done.