In my preferences, I put that I love foreign cultures and cooking. Boy, did my Santa deliver well with two books: Images of Singapore and the food of Singapore: Simple Street Food Recipes from the Lion City.

The photos from all over Singapore are amazing. Coincidentally my giftee is from Singapore, too! So I got to spend some time studying up on it before I even got my gift. Over 9,000 miles away, and some of the photos in the book look like they could be from just down the road. Others are so exotic, it's breathtaking. This city went way up on my to-see list. The image I took shows a devotee of Lord Murugan:

One of the most amazing festivals in Singapore, Thaipusam is not for the faint hearted. In a show of devotion and gratitude to Lord Murugan, devotees carry a kavadi, a heavy steel framework that is anchored to their bare bodies. Devotees also pierce their tongue, cheeks, lips and other body parts with skewers, spikes and similar sharp objects. They then walk barefoot for about 4 km. Other believers join in the procession, carrying milk jars in offering to Lord Murugan.

Think I'll be carrying the milk jars, though.

The recipe book is full of amazing things - some of them I had never considered people ate, like stingray. The recipes are incredibly diverse, just like I'm learning Singapore is. Top on my list to make are Indian mee goreng (fried noodles; pictured) and coconut mango pudding. I'll have to check out my local fish market, too.

All in all, some pretty awesome books :)

Thanks, Santa!