#OOTd in a bundle

DAPHNE KANG shows you how to roll your apparel to save space in your luggage!

1. Stack one shirt, a pair 2. Fold the sides of the 3. Stack one shirt, a pair
of jeans and one pair of shirt, such that the sleeves of jeans and one pair of
undergarments in a overlap one another on undergarments in a
neat pile. top of the undergarment. neat pile.

5. Tightly roll the shirt, starting 4. Place one pair of socks on

from the top of the shirt. top of the overlapped sleeves.
Ensure that the jeans and Ensure that the ends of the sock
undergarment are bundled in stick out of the folded sleeves.
the shirt.

Packing Hacks
1. Use empty pill case compartments or an old lip balm container to
keep track of your smaller jewelry, like rings and earrings.
2. Place your shoes inside a shower cap to prevent them from
dirtying your clothes
3. Prevent your toiletries from leaking by placing a cling wrap on top
of the opening of the bottle and screwing the cap on.

VIBE Tianjin Special Issue | 7

 Unwrapping
An Icon
Tianjin has its own version of a pancake roll that is full of flavour and cultural
significance. Bite into the local favourite with LOUISSE LUCENARA as she
finds out why it’s revered by the locals.

8 | Food
Different sauces being slathered onto jianbing guozi.
Mrs Qiu, 56, stands in Ancient
Cultural Street with a glint in her
eyes. She’s talking loudly and
gesticulating, pounding her left fist
against her right palm as if her
enthusiasm and passion were not
evident enough. She continues,
keeping up the infectious energy for
what she is talking about – jianbing
guozi (煎饼果子).
She has an obvious love for jianbing
guozi, a type of pancake roll costing
anywhere from 5 RMB (S$1) to 20
RMB (S$4) that has a prominent
place in Tianjin’s food culture.
During the 2017 National People’s
Congress meeting in Beijing, calls
were made by delegates to promote
more Chinese food as an intangible
cultural heritage, South China
Morning Post reported on Mar 11.
For Liu Yu Shun, 31, the
fifth-generation owner of his family’s
jianbing guozi business, this bodes a
brighter future. They sell more than
400 fresh rolls of jianbing guozi every
day.
The iconicity of what is essentially a
pancake roll is intriguing but for Liu,
it’s simple, “Each place has its own
way of supporting its people,” he
says, attributing jianbing guozi to be
part of the Tianjin identity. He’s not
wrong.
HUNGRY FOR A BITE?
Er Sao Zi Jianbing Guozi Cai Wu & Jing Lao Wei Dang Jia
Find both stores right in the intersection of Anshan Road and Weijin Road in Heping District!
Both stores are in the same building, just a few meters away from each other.
A mung bean grinder creates the mung bean paste.
According to the story “Tianjin and
Its Culinary Pleasures” in Flavor and
Fortune magazine, Tianjin has a
history of being a significant dock in
China. It was already a busy
transport hub during the reign of the
Yong Le Emperor (1402-1424).
Over time, dock labourers needed
convenient foods high in energy.
“The locals can
eat it, the
bosses can eat it
and the workers
can eat it.
Because of its
simplicity, it
becomes
beautiful
overtime.”
- Liu yu shun, 31
Jianbing guozi fitted the bill with its
portability and flavours. Today, it is
known as a breakfast dish, stated by
Serious Eats, a website for foodies.
Taxi driver Liu Jun, 49, who has been
eating jianbing guozi for 20 years
says, “First, it tastes good, I like it and
second, it’s a convenient breakfast.”
The ability of jianbing guozi to
transcend generations should be
attributed not only to its roots in
tradition but to what it is.
Jianbing guozi isn’t an acquired taste,
but for Tianjin’s locals, it’s a
natural one.
“The locals can eat it, the bosses
can eat it and the workers can eat it.
Because of its simplicity, it becomes
beautiful overtime,” Liu Yu Shun says.
Perhaps this is why jianbing guozi
appeals to so many. Made with mung
bean paste, youtiao (fried dough
sticks) or bean curd skin, eggs, soy
sauce, fermented sauce, spring
onions and optional additions such as
meat and chilli paste, it’s humble in
nature but big on tradition.
Tianjin’s love affair with jianbing guozi
is apparent and it’s looking
to stay relevant. Song Xin, 34, an
accountant for another jianbing guozi
family business that’s been around
for four generations, says, “I think
that it definitely will because it’s part
of tradition and for some locals, it’s a
must-have for breakfast.”
Ask any local and they’ll tell you that
jianbing guozi anywhere else won’t
be as good. Mrs Qiu proclaims that
“When you think of Tianjin, think of
jianbing guozi.”
Food | 9
 A Bowl of Variety
Follow LUVANNA NIIKKO KANNAN as he celebrates noodles from its
ancestral home.
Skillfully stretching the dough and
whipping it across his working board, and oil, giving the noodles a
the chef crafts up a new batch of
handmade noodles from scratch.
He repeatedly hits the board,
making sure each strand is even
before gently slipping it into the
boiling broth.
Throughout 4000 years, the Chinese
have mastered the art of making the
perfect bowl of noodles. In northern
China, noodles are a staple. Tianjin,
the northern maritime gateway
of China’s capital, Beijing,
offers an array of noodles that
succinctly capture the essence of
Chinese cuisine.
From the skinny and flat meepok to
the famous hand-pulled noodles,
Singaporeans are no strangers to
noodles. However, China has a
staggering variety of more than
20 types of noodles across the 31
provinces and over a hundred ways
to cook them.
Laomian is a delicacy unique to
Tianjin. The thin wheat noodles are
served alongside four different
vegetables and four side dishes such
as fried eggs and tofu skin dipped in
soy sauce. The noodles are served
separately from the sauce,
10 | Food
which consists of shrimp, chestnut
sweet after-taste.
“I prefer our Tianjin
zhajiangmian to the
Korean jajangmyeon
as it is not drenched
in sauce and does not
overpower the
vegetables.”
-Ms Da Ti, 20
Mr Zhao Zeng Guang, 40, says that
the auspicious laomian is a must-have
during every special occasion. The
owner of the acclaimed Jiang Jiang
Mian Restaurant adds that laomian is a
speciality that is integral to their culture.
Zhajiangmian, or jajangmyeon in
Korean, originates from China. Like our In Tianjin, noodles are regarded as
rojak, zhajiangmian has a nutty
fragrance. Its thick, flat wheat noodles an art form.
are topped with a sweet jet-black sauce
and simmered with savoury beef or
ground pork and bean paste. It is
topped off with a generous amount
of cucumbers.
Ms Da Ti, 20, says, “I prefer our
Tianjin zhajiangmian to the Korean
jajangmyeon as it is not drenched in
sauce and does not overpower the
vegetables.”
The fried-sauce noodles from Tianjin
has its own distinctive taste as sweet
bean sauce is used instead of yellow
soybean paste that other regions like
Beijing use.
Lamian is another dish that, although
not created in Tianjin, is served with
its own local twist. La literally means
to pull or stretch.
Popular among locals, the
hand-pulled noodles are served in
a flavourful yet refreshing broth with
hints of chilli and coriander. Beef and
lamb are used instead of pork in the
dish, so most restaurants specialising
in lamian are halal.
more than a part of their diet, they are
As the chef continues, expertly
stretching, twisting and folding the
lump of dough into the thinnest
of strands, it is clear that
while times may change,
the craftsmanship and
taste of traditional
noodles will always
symbolise Tianjin’s
culture.
 Traditional
paper
cutting PAMELA LEE shows you how you can effortlessly
snip up a butterfly in 4 easy steps!

1. Fold a square piece of paper in half. 2. Draw the outline of half a butterfly.

4. Continue to cut the inner outline of the butterfly. 3. Cut the outline of the butterfly.

Chinese Tea Know how

Jasmine tea – Feeling sluggish? Refresh yourself with this fragrant tea and while
you’re at it, bask in its antioxidant properties to beef up your immune system.

Tieguanyin – A type of oolong tea that is lesser known compared to jasmine tea, but
is as good for you with its detoxifying powers and unique fragrance that will put you
in a better mood!

Black tea – The fountain of youth may just be made from this tea, as black tea is
believed to have properties that maintain beauty and preserve youth!

VIBE Tianjin Special Issue | 11

 China’sMillennial CEOs
LUVANNA NIIKKO KANNAN speaks to two people with two different experiences,
but with a common purpose; to be successful entrepreneurs.
Tianjin is home to the second
highest per capita GDP (growth
domestic product) in China. With
such economic prowess, the
youths of Tianjin aren’t afraid of
venturing out into the open rather
than remaining in their comfort
zones for a career, giving rise to
a large number of SME’s
(Small to Medium Enterprise)
cropping up.
The owner of MoMo Café, Ms
Wang Yi Jie, 25, precisely
measures the coffee powder,
increasing pressure upon the
apparatus, making sure that her
cup of cappuccino has the perfect
blend of coffee.
Being an avid coffee drinker, Ms
Wang found that her passion lies
in coffee and made it her life goal
to run her own café.
She decided to open MoMo Café
when she graduated from
university at the age of 23.
Beaming with pride, she did not
hesitate to give a tour around her
humble creation.
12 | Lifestyle
From her vigour and enthusiasm,
one would think it was a breeze for
her to open her own business.
However, she says, “It was not easy
for me. I had little to no experience in
managing a café. My parents wanted
me to just get a stable job and did
not support me. In the end, I had to
fund everything myself and it
was challenging.”
She persevered, saying that it’s her
passion that keeps her going. It’s
what makes her happy and she’ll
never think of giving up. This
confidence from the youth of the
Chinese comes from the successful
campaign initiated by the All - China
Youth Federation (ACYF) called the
Youth Business China.
This campaign aims to promote
youth entrepreneurship by
providing one to one mentoring
and seed money, anywhere from
S$2000-$5000, to give youths a
head-start in their business. This
provides them with the knowledge
and the know-how to run their
own business.
“After this policy was established, I
received financial assistance from
the government and the risk of my
business failing was significantly
smaller”, says Ms Wang. This
implementation inspired millions of
youths across China.
“It was not easy
for me. I had
little to no
experience in
managing a café.”
- Ms Wang Yi Jie, 25
The face of business in China has
constantly changed and it’s taking
a much younger form.
Mr Xiang has been in the art scene
for more than 10 years, opening
his own gallery in 2017. Unlike
the new generation of youth
entrepreneurs, Mr Xiang did not
receive such benefits from the
government. According to him, he is a “self-made” man.

“Youths of today will not understand the struggle of having

to stand on your own two feet with no one to support you
in your endeavours, not even the government,” Mr Xiang
says. He adds that youths should consider themselves
lucky that such opportunities are given to them.

“As long as you operate your

business lawfully and you’re
sincere in your business, you
can make it big in whatever Mr Xiang’s private work station is an organised mess.

industry you want to.”

- Mr Xiang

10 years back, China did not have an initiative to boost

youth entrepreneurship. Instead, it supported its youth to
find a stable job to support the government’s endeavour in
becoming a rising superpower.

When Mr Xiang graduated from university, he did not have

the means to start his own business. Renting a 20
square metres space, he began selling paintings at a
mere 100 RMB (S$20), where others could sell their
paintings at a 1000 RMB (S$200). One piece of artwork takes weeks to complete.

“I had to start small first. Like any job, you don’t expect
to become the CEO once you just enter,” says Mr Xiang.
Since the Youth Business China initiative, young
entrepreneurs are able to get a bigger space without
having to worry about insufficient capital.

Mr Xiang has an advice for aspiring entrepreneurs,

“The biggest problem with youths of today is the lack of
persistence. They give up too easily. If what you are doing
is lawful, it’s your passion and you’re sincere, give it your
all. Never do things in the spur of the moment.”

With the rise of youth entrepreneurship, the private sector

is also becoming the greatest boon to China. Over 40,000
SME’s are being registered in China everyday, making the
campaign a successful one. Ms Wang, cafe owner, making a cup of cappuccino.
“As long as you operate your business lawfully and you’re
sincere in your business, you can make it big in whatever
industry you want to,” advises Mr Xiang.

When stepping into a new industry, always have an

open mind and never stop learning. With these in mind,
Mr Xiang says that there is nothing that can stop you from
achieving what you want to achieve.

With the spur of youth entrepreneurship in China, the next

generations give new hope for China to continue
booming as an economic superpower.

Latte made by Ms Wang.

Lifestyle | 13