Lion Dance at the Wuerstelstand

As it is tradition Erich's own lions made their appearance on the 4th day of CNY. Surrounded by many locals and tourists Paul's lion dance group did another great performance.



Erich's own lions: "Backstube und Wuerstelstand"

This year the lions were accompanied by a colorful dragon who should keep away all evil


Very excited viewers cant wait to see the lucky numbers and calligraphy created by the lions

Lucky numbers for the 4D lottery?

Good luck for the year of tiger to all of Erich's friends and customers!

Hope to see you all well and very often at the Wuerstelstand.

GONG XI FA CHAI - HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR

The Year of the Golden Tiger begins on February 14, 2010 and ends on February 2, 2011. The first day of the lunar New Year 2010 falls on the 14th day of February, which is Valentine's Day, the day the West celebrates as a lovers' day, a day of romance.

To the Chinese, it is the start of the Golden Tiger Year. The Tiger is the third sign in the cycle of Chinese Zodiac, which consists of 12 animal signs. It is a sign of courage. This fearless and fiery fighter is revered by the ancient Chinese as the sign that wards off the three main disasters of a household: fire, thieves and ghosts. On New Year's day itself, it is beneficial to celebrate, to be happy, to have smiling faces, and to refrain from scowling, quarreling, or criticizing anyone.

The Tiger is one of the most beautiful creatures on the planet, and is feared and revered in equal measure. It features in many Asian cultures as a manifestation of courage, power, passion and royalty. In Feng Shui, it is one of the four celestial animals where it takes its place as the White Tiger. The other three celestial animals are the Green Dragon, Red Phoenix and Black Tortoise. The Tiger symbolizes the female Yin energy as opposed to the Yang male energy of the dragon. Ancient Chinese believe that the markings on the forehead of tigers resemble the Chinese character for "Wang", or King. In Imperial China, where the dragon is the insignia of the emperors, the tiger is the military emblem of the highest supreme commanders of the army symbolizing fearlessness and victory.

The Tiger also represents earth, while the dragon represents Heaven. The powerful and stealth prowess of the Tiger inspires the martial art movements of manyKung-Fu masters.

Chinatown Nightmarket

Erich's Wuerstelstand ready for the big crowd to storm Chinatown at night

Delicious Bretzel and bread
and the best sausages ever
not to forget Leberkaese (meat loaf) and Semmeln (buns)

Pomelo a traditional Chinese New Year fruit

Helen, Erich's wife preparing sausages

Stanley's all natural juices go well with the sausages

It's getting so crowded that Erich has to remove chairs and tables to make room for the enormous crowd

Chintown Is Vibrant Again: Chinese New Year Celebrations

It's this time of the year when Erich needs helping hands. Too many people are waiting to get his world famous sausages and bread.

His kiosk fully decorated as usual
Don't forget to stop at Erich's Backstuben Kiosk 2 stalls next to the Wuerstelstand to get some of his bread as well.

....and there's always time for a chat
This Chinaman is a real Singaporean already but his heart still got Austrian beats!

Ketchup, Mustard, Chilly????
Mr. & Mrs. Sollboeck

Xmas is just over and soon we celebrate Chinese New Year

Time flies another year has gone, the "Year of the Ox" will soon be replaced by the "Year of the Tiger".


Of course Chinatown is a key focal point for Chinese New Year festivities in the few weeks leading up to Chinese New Year and a few weeks following that. You
can immerse in the entire Chinese cultural experience and experience the festive hustle and bustle simply by walking the streets of Chinatown.


Chinatown with the Night Market plus the festive Street Stalls is also where local Chinese congregate year after year to shop for necessary new year items and to soak in the festive atmosphere.

Find out where and when it is best to visit Chinatown to be part of a fascinating heritage.

Festive Street Stalls, 23 Jan – 13 Feb
• Venue : Pagoda, Smith, Sago, Temple and Trengganu Streets, and People’s Park Complex

Nightly Stage Shows, 23 Jan – 13 Feb
• Venue: Kreta Ayer Square

Chinatown Chinese New Year Celebrations 2010 Countdown on 13 Feb
• Venue: Eu Tong Sen Street & New Bridge Rd

Chinatown Yuan Xiao Jie on 28 Feb
• Venue: Eu Tong Sen Street & New Bridge Road

Erich's Wuerstelstand will again be decorated for the festivities. Stop by to see who's selling sausages this season?

Christmas Lights: Moderate to "Gone Wild" or Are Christmas lights a ‘crime’?

Every community has at least one: a resident who loves Christmas so much that he'll (and most of the time it's really HE) stop at nothing -- not even astronomical electric bills -- to have the most blinged-out Christmas display in the neighborhood
And soon the race is on. Neighbors are competing who'll set up the best house decoration. But it doesn't stop with DIY there are professional companies that will design, decorate your house and after the season take it down again. This task can cost you a 5 digit sum.

They can be wild, wonky, weird, over-the-top, silly -- who cares?! Well some environmental activists are taking a stand against Christmas light displays, saying they waste energy and create needless greenhouse gas emissions.

Electricity-guzzling light displays don’t symbolize holiday cheer. The “ignorance, waste, and hubris” has made Christmas nothing but a “perverted consumer orgy.”

Nothing marks you out as an eco Scrooge quicker than protesting about non-essential festive lighting. So I refuse to condemn a few tree lights, although there's a lot of truth in the idea that the only really green tree is the one with its roots still in the ground.

So if you really need (for your kids sake) and want to decorate your house at least go as green as possible. And you can take your domestic lighting cue from world-famous showstopping displays. These include New York's famous Rockerfeller Plaza tree, which has embraced LEDs (light-emitting diodes)

Not only will new-style LEDs save you money (and energy), going a step better, convert your outdoor illuminations to solar-powered Christmas fairy lights.
You are, of course, master of your own fortune, because the amount of energy used depends how long you leave them on for.

But for now check out some of these crazy wildly decorated holiday homes

Whoever said that less is more when it comes to the joyful holiday of Christmas and decorating your house with a few strands of lights was dead wrong. There are Crazy Christmas lights and then there are Christmas lights times 20. And these are wildly wacky, bizarre, funny, strange, and crazy:

And to top that all check out this video