Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Yuan Xiao Jie the Chinese Valentine's Day... Or Is it?

Yesterday marked the end of the Lunar New Year celebrations and it was also the day commonly known as The Lantern Festival (or Yuan Xiao Jie). Commonly mistaken to be the Chinese version of Valentine's day, Yuan Xiao Jie is the day where women in ancient China were allowed to roam freely only on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar. Cloistered and kept well away from prying male eyes, young men would then come out in droves to seek pretty maidens as life partners. That is why this special day - Yuan Xiao Jie - is also known as the Chinese Valentine's Day. It is also known as the Little New Year - as it marks the end of the New Year celebrations - as well as the Lantern Festival. How did this festival came about? One version involves a legend in which some hunters killed an animal belonging to the Jade Emperor.
Furious, the Jade Emperor planned to burn down the entire town, but his kindhearted daughter warned the villagers to hang lanterns everywhere to trick her father into believing that the town was already on fire. The ploy worked and till today, people honour her by hanging lanterns at the same time every year during Yuan Xiao Jie. Nowadays, most modern Chinese families observe Yuan Xiao Jie as a simple family get-together, where young and old meet to eat tang yuan - glutinous rice balls made with sugar, red bean or black sesame or peanut. However... the Chinese Valentine's Day falls the 7th day of the 7th lunar month in the Chinese calendar.
A love story for this day is about the 7th daughter of Emperor of Heaven and an orphaned cowherd. The Emperor separated them. The 7th daughter was forced to move to the star Vega (aka Weaving Maid) and the cowherd moved to the star Altair (aka Cowherd). They are allowed to meet only once a year on the day of 7th day of 7th lunar month.
The story began from the good-looking poor orphaned boy living with his elder brother and sister-in-law. After his parents past away, his brother inherited the house and the land. The boy owned an old ox. He needed to work on the farm's field with the ox everyday. So he was called a cowherd. His daily life was just like in a Cinderella story.
The 7th daughter of Emperor is good at handcrafting, especially weaving clothing. So she was called a Weaving Maid. The Emperor likes her skill to weave clouds and rainbows to beautify the world. The ox was actually an immortal from the Heaven. He made mistakes in the Heaven and was punished as an ox in the Earth. One day, the ox suddenly said to the cowherd, "You are a nice person. If you want to get married, go to the brook and your wish will be come true." The cowherd went to the brook and saw all 7 pretty daughters of Emperor came down from Heaven and took a bath in there.
Fascinated by the youngest and also the most beautiful one, he took away her fairy clothes secretly. The other six fairies went away after bath. The youngest couldn't fly back without her fairy clothes. Then the cowherd appeared and told her that he would not return her clothes unless she promised to be his wife. After a little hesitation and with a mixture of shyness and eagerness, she agreed to the request from this handsome man. So they married and had two children two years later. One day, the old ox was dying and told the cowherd that he should keep his hide for emergency purpose.
The Emperor found the sky's not that beautiful as before without the 7th daughter weaving clouds and rainbows. He wanted his daughter's grandmother to find the missing daughter and to bring her back. While the 7th princess was flying to the Heaven with her grandmother, the cowboy wore the ox hide, took his children in two bamboo baskets with his wife's old fairy clothes and chased after his wife in the sky.
The grandmother made a milky way in the sky with her hairpin, which kept them separated. The 7th princess was moved to the star Vega (The swooping - Eagle) in the Lyra (Harp) constellation. And the cowherd with his two children stayed in the star Altair (Flying one) in the Aquila (Eagle) constellation. The star of Vega is also known as the Weaving Maid Star and the star of Altair is as the Cowherd Star in China.
Magpies were moved by their true love and many of them gathered and formed a bridge for the couple to meet in the evening of the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, which is the day the Emperor allowed them to meet once a year. They said that it's hard to find a magpie on Chinese Valentine's Day in China, because all magpies fly to make the bridge for the Weaving Maid and Cowherd. The one thing to prove that is the feathers on the head of the magpies are much lesser after the Chinese Valentine's Day. If the night Chinese Valentine's Day rains, the rain are the tears of the Weaving Maid and Cowherd.
Posted by Unforgettable at 11:30 AM

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Gum paste flowers on cakes are decorative and may not be suitable for consumption but will make delightful keepsakes.

Wedding Cake and Cupcake

WEDDING CAKES

We find the following information is often useful to our clients in planning their wedding and budgets:

Prices include:

- 1 Hour of Consultation and planning (ea. additional hour is $30.00 per hour)

- Invitation to an open tasting party to sample flavours (a limited number of samples will be available at the private consultation)

- Free top layer of tiered cakes (often suitable for freezing for your first anniversary)

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Additional Charges Will be Assessed For:

- There is an additional charge to have more than two flavours of cake. ($50.00 each)

- Hand-modelled Flowers

- Add an additional 20% for Rolled Fondant, Marzipan or Poured Ganache.

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Your order must be finalized and payment made at least Fourteen (14) working days prior to your event. Failure to do so may result in cancellation of your order.

We have the ability to deliver a limited number of cakes per day to the mainland Singapore area. Delivery charges apply.

If we are unable to deliver, arrangements will be made for you to pick up your cake at our location. We also can recommend delivery services. These delivery companies are independent of Unforgettable so you will be asked to contact them directly.

When fresh flowers are needed for your cake design, you are required to make arrangements to provide them.

We will strive to match your colours as closely as possible when you provide colours swatches for us to use. Keep in mind that colours change somewhat, depending on the environment and lighting.

Please contact us to discuss how we are able to customize your wedding cake to your wedding theme.

WEDDING CUPCAKES

Price range:
*$3.50 to $8.00 for decorated cupcakes, depending on flavours, colours and design

Minimum Order Required:
1 tier = 20 regular cupcakes
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* Minimum 2kg. Labour charge is applicable for extensive decoration work.

* Additional charge is applicable for fresh or silk flowers, wedding figurines and accessories.

* Island wide delivery charge including assembly range from $25 to $30 depending on location, and the size of the cake.

* 2 weeks minimum notice is required. A surcharge of 50% will be applicable for orders received with less than 2 weeks notice.

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Interbank Transfer/Telex Transfer:
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Product Care

How do you store a cake that has been iced with buttercream?
Depending on your room temperature, you can leave the cake (in a closed cake box) in room temperature for about a day.

This of course depends on the cake itself – for instance, cheesecake must be refrigerated. Butter cakes can stay fresh, if refrigerated, for up to 3 days.

They must be taken out of the refrigerator about 6 hours before serving, otherwise the texture will be hard and dense.

Buttercream or Chocolate Ganached Frosted Cakes
Cakes can be chilled or stored at room temperature in a cool and dry place. remove from refrigerator at least 20 minutes before eating.

Mascarpone / Cream Cheese / Fresh Whipped Cream Frosted Cakes
Cakes should be chilled and removed from fridge at least 20 minutes before eating.

Fondant/Marzipan Topped Cakes and Sugarpaste/Gumpaste Decorations
No refrigeration. Cakes should be stored in an air-conditioned or a cool and dry room. Cakes should be stored in an air-conditioned room if the weather turns wet and humid.

Learn the Baking Language

That orange mousseline paired with white genoise and topped with alabaster fondant and miniature lilies sounds beautiful, but what exactly is it? Like all specialists, bakers have their own vocabulary, and knowing their language makes it easier to communicate.

Fondant: An ultrasmooth sugar icing that seamlessly drapes a cake. Its matte finish is an ideal canvas for appliques, royal-icing brocade work, or sugar flowers.

Buttercream: A buttery soft icing or filling that can be blended with anything from apricot puree to burnt caramel. Like fondant, it can be tinted to match your colour scheme.

Genoise: A moist European sponge cake, less sweet than the American version. Usually flavoured with syrup, this cake works best with a light filling and icing, such as whipped cream.

Ganache: A rich frosting or filling, created by the Swiss, that combines chocolate and heavy cream. Ganaches don't usually hold up well in humid weather.

Mouselline: An icing or filling enriched with whipped cream for a light, smooth texture. You could have a mousseline buttercream, for instance, flavouredwith chocolate or fruit.

Marzipan: A paste made of ground almonds, used for edible cake decorations in such shapes as flowers or fruit. Some bakers use a thin layer of marzipan as a filling or to cover a cake.

Creme Anglaise: A smooth custard, sometimes placed under slices of cake. It can be flavoured with Grand Marnier, chocolate, or pistachios, giving it a beautiful pale-green hue.

*Adapted from Martha Stewart Weddings