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We do! We ate those on the table. But not the ones placed on the floor. Interesting fact: They don’t eat the food offering. Rather, they smell. So when we (human) eat the food after the prayer, the dishes are not as tasty because they’ve ‘inhaled’ the food aroma 😂

Hello! The 中元 prayer (for hungry ghosts) can be done any day during the lunar seventh month. Not necessary to be 1st or 15th. But 七月十五 is the date for household praying to ancestors.

Hi hi. The banner is 福禄寿, but we don't pray to 福禄寿. It's mentioned in the video that the joss pot (directly in front of the banner) is to pray to 大伯公. You are right in pointing out 大士爷 cause some places pray to 大士爷. Praying to 大士爷 or 地主公 is for the same purpose of 'maintaining order when these offerings are made'. But not at the shrine I volunteered to help out as a devotee because the scale of our prayer is smaller. So yah... It's not really about "my comfort level", but am following and sharing the shrine's practice. And yes, families will pray to their ancestors on the 15th as part of Chinese culture. But the belief of 中元节 (ie, the whole lunar seventh month) is Taoism & Buddhism cause of how we also pray to deities. And I am using the word "deities" in a very generic context because strictly speaking (with reference to the video), 大爷伯 and 二爷伯 are ghosts rather then deities. But this be really technical. Will need to ask and learn more from the medium :)

@@thywhaleliciousfay Internet is a sharing platform. All share what they know and together we gain. Agreed shouldn't get too technical, just be open and learn. Prayer tradition is up to the prayers, no right or wrong. I guess you just inherit the tradition from your parents. Cheers

I meant it becomes “technical” if need further explain why 大爷伯 & 二爷伯 are ghosts cause that’s going into history/origin. I am sharing what I learnt from the medium. Not parents. I suggest you watch this with an open mind (as per your own advise) and not against your formed praying tradition. Don’t rob the joy of creating this video to share what happens and what I learnt from helping out at a Taoist shrine.

Not from a shrine doing lunar seventh month prayer. That’s for families who are praying to their ancestors (buried in the cemetery) [Updated with more info!] And there’re a few dates to pray to ancestors - 清明, 五月初五日, 中元七月十五, 重陽九月初九日, 冬至 & 除夕夜.

Graveyard visit is during Qingming. Pray to your own ancestors. 7th month is giving offerings to the lost spirits who wasn’t offered food by their families due to various reasons

Hi hi! Sorry I took a little longer to reply. I am still learning, and had to consult the medium :) I won’t say what’s wrong, but can share what’s the right procedure. There’re a few dates to pray to ancestors - 清明, 五月初五, 中元七月十五, 重陽九月初九, 冬至 & 除夕夜. And households can be praying to ancestors at 1) home, if have ancestral tablet(s), 2) graveyard or 3) columbarium. For the food offering, the quantities should be even number cause it's yin (Even numbers are associated with yin 陰, and odd numbers with yang 陽). So example, if praying to 3 ancestors. It'll be 3 bowls of rice (with chopsticks stick into the middle of the rice), and 2/4/8 dishes of their favourite dishes. Of course some households may be too busy to prepare these. It's okie to get packed economic rice (菜饭) - Rice with even number of meat/vegetables toppings. 1 pack per ancestor, of course 😂 And if 1 of the 3 ancestors was a smoker, can offer cigarettes (like what's shown in the video) but 1 at a time in the joss pot. So if 2 of 3 were smokers, then 2 at a time! As for arrangement, it be joss pot > rice > drink (coffee/tea/beer) > vegetable and meat > fruit and/or snack. Paper offering will include clothes, hell money, gold coins/bars, full-faced gold/silver incense papers (滿面金紙 / 满面银纸), etc. When praying, use 2 joss sticks (per person) regardless of number of ancestors (The most common mistake is most will use 3 joss sticks). And to get permission before burning the paper offerings, one can use 2 coins. Eg, 2 $1 coins. 1 head & 1 tail = Yes! And if the burning of offering is not near where the prayer is done, take 2 joss sticks from the joss pot. The food offering can be consumed after praying. But the above is different if household is doing the 中元 prayer for hungry ghosts. This can be any day throughout the lunar seventh month, and should done outside of the house (typically at ground floor): - Food/drink offerings placed on the floor, - (Optional) 1 pair of candles into the ground. But if sold in bundles at the shop, can use all - Pray with 2 joss sticks (tail end of joss sticks can be red or green) which go directly into the ground. And for this, no need to get permission. Can start burning the paper offering once finished praying. And it's the same process of leaving 1 paper flag along the corridor of one's unit. Don't put it directly on one's door! And then conclude by burning the paper flag with a small stack of incense paper on the last day of lunar seventh month. Very lengthy, but hope the above helps! :)

Yayyy! Such a good meal! But so hard to get reservation. I missed the 1 Aug release 😅

@@thywhaleliciousfay I should start planning when I should next camp for reservations

I do! @thywhaleliciousfay 😊

Hi hi! The first place that comes into mind is Tempura Motoyoshi in Tokyo. Chef is friendly and the vibe/ambience is less uptight/intimidating. So that will be ideal to bring your parents! I have a written review: thywhaleliciousfay.com/eats/?p=7554. And Tempura Motoyoshi is fairly bookable. They open reservation 1 month in advanced. So get your hotel concierge to help! Or maybe visa concierge 😊 Or for a friendlier-on-the-wallet option, you can also consider Tempura Asanuma. He’s an uprising star in Tokyo tempura scene. And his batter somewhat reminds me of Tempura Niitome. Look forward to his shrimp toast and carrot tempura! Hope this helps!

🤣🤣🤣

Oh, nice! Which part of Japan? My last visit to Tokyo was Feb ‘23. So I am probably not quite updated with the sushi scene now. But definitely: 1. Sushi Shinsuke: Bookable, funny chef 2. Sushi Hashimoto: It’s a case of fastest-fingers-first if trying to book for the 1st time on Omakase. After you get your first booking, subsequent booking gets easier 3. Sushi Take: Bookable, chef gives me female-warrior vibe (in a good way) 🤣 And go for lunch! 4. Sushi Nakamura: Bookable, ambience is more zen My friends also recommend Sushi Ishiyama. I haven’t tried his sushi since he left Sushi Ya, but I trust my foodie friends!

@@thywhaleliciousfay thank you for the list. omakase website is such a terrible ordeal though. used to be so much easier to book restaurants, nowadays the button is always greyed out.

🤭🤭🫶🏻🫶🏻🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️

Hahahaha! YES! 🙌🏻

Burnt Ends attract quite a fair bit of tourists too! The pairs seated on my left and right were holidaying in Singapore. But BE do have a strong base of regulars. I won't be surprised if they have a separate booking platform for regulars. But that's speculation now. lol.

@@thywhaleliciousfay did you get invited into their separate booking platform? lol

Hahahaha. You see me too up 🤣

@@thywhaleliciousfay sorry what's "too up"?

My bad. It’s a Singlish phrase for “you think too highly of me” 😂 And nah, I definitely didn’t get any invite!

You do realise the chopsticks were used in lieu of a crab fork? And prepared to get my fingers dirty? Oh yeah. Did you watch 03:21 and 03:42? The annoyance was because the meat was sticking to the shell and the pincer/claw meat was coming out in small pieces.

LOL! I am not sure after watching this: instagram.com/reel/C6BHv2COYzg 😂

Hi hi! $380 will be per person. Eating Japanese cuisine can be pretty expensive in Singapore. At some restaurants, the menu starts from $500 😳But $380 was money well spent for me at Suzuki Omakase ($380 hasn't included GST). I hope you'll enjoy the meal, and your time in Singapore :)

Leave her alone. She didn't ask for your critique. Her videos are really well done and you get a very good sense of what the food is like and the pros and cons.

@@Lucy00111 Thank you for the kind words!!! I am still working on my storytelling and editing to make my videos more engaging. And I'm relieved to know I am on the right track 😊

Hi. Thanks. The channel may be not growing or growing very slow, but I am happy with how it's going. And hey, at least my video somehow got to you. :)

@@thywhaleliciousfay Your videos are great! Love how you at times put labels for what is in the food. That really helps to understand the dish more!

I am sorry I spoiled it for you. :( If you really really really wish to give it a try, probably stick to the a-la carte menu. That way, you have control over your orders! Since you know now what dishes to avoid. 🙊

Both hard. Both cannot book without advanced planning 😅

Definitely! I will see you soon, Chef! 😊

Hi, hi. Are you referring to the seating arrangement? There’s counter and table seats. I personally prefer counter, which is suitable for group no bigger than 2 pax. The counter seats nearer to the front has unobstructed view (I got the back counter seat). Hope this helps! 😊

Thank you 😊

I have! But some time ago now. Back in Oct 2021 🙊

Hi hi! He uses Sri Lankan crabs. And he doesn’t let us choose the size. He will decide on the portion for us based on how many pax we have. And he’s quite spot on with his portion estimation. We tried requesting for more beehoon. But don’t think he added for us. 😅 My friends and I enjoyed the crab beehoon. In fact, my friends are heading back next week! I can’t join them cause I be out of town. Let me know how the meal goes for you, if you do go 😊

@@thywhaleliciousfay oh.. so he will decide for us and we cant choose 😓 Been tempting to try this but whats holding me back is the high price point😫 Maybe your friends can try requesting for more bee hoon and see he if add this time round? "Maybe" that time he forgotten OR he totally ignored the request 🥲

LOL LOL LOL!!! I CAN FEEL THE LOVE THROUGH YOUR CAPS. lol lol lol. Go to Suzuki Omakase! I went recently, and it easily comes out top for me. Everything was perfect. Suzuki san is approachable and humorous. The place is beautifully done up. And the food is on point! He markets his restaurant as omakase so that he doesn't limit himself to just sushi or kappo, which is brilliant! Gives us the best of both worlds. My next video is going to be on Suzuki Omakase. 😬 And soon soon, I will resume writing. I still trying to have better time management. 😂