Christmas Gift Idea

Christmas is just around the corner. And if you are pondering over what to get for someone who, like me, is from the baby-boomer generation, why not get him a copy of my book, Good Morning Yesterday. So far, many of my friends who have read the book have thoroughly enjoyed the trip down memory.

My book should be available at Popular, Times and Kinokuniya (best to call first). It was last seen on the shelves at the following outlets:

• Popular @ Clementi Mall (Tel: 6514-6710)
• Popular @ Toa Payoh (Tel: 6358-1700)
• Popular @ United Square (Tel: 6478-2318)
• Kinokuniya @ Ngee Ann City (Tel: 6737-5021)
• Times @ Centrepoint (Tel: 6734-9022)
• Times @ Plaza Singapura (Tel: 6336-8861)
• Times @ Tampines (Tel: 6782-7017)

Besides these book stores, you can also purchase them at Haf Box and Betel Box. Haf Box deals mainly with lifestyle products for what they call “active agers”. Betel Box, on the other hand, runs a hostel and Bistro in Joo Chiat Road and also conducts heritage tours. Their details are as follows:

HAF Box Pte Ltd

19 Tanglin Road #03-32 Tanglin Shopping Centre, Singapore 247909

Tel: 6235-4560

www.hafbox.com

Betel Box Hostel, Bistro & Tours in Singapore

200 Joo Chiat Road, #01-01, Singapore 427471.

Tel: 6247-7340

www.betelbox.com

Thanks to Catherine Ling for this photo.

Incidentally, the restaurant at Betel Box serves great Peranakan food in a traditional Singaporean ambience. They even have a special corner where you can browse and purchase Singapore heritage-related merchandise like books, dvds and heritage items.

Recently a group of us, heritage and food bloggers, were hosted to a Peranakan lunch by Betel Box’s boss, Tony Tan. Although I am not much of a ‘foodie’ – whenever I go to a food court or hawker centre, I just go for the stall with the shortest queue – I could tell that the Peranakan cuisine here was very good …. at least my fellow bloggers thought so. We were served dishes like botol kacang, ikan sumbat, ngo hiang, hae cho, asam pedas red snapper, nonya yong tau hu and laksa goreng. My favourites were the botol kacang (salad), ikan sumbat and laksa goreng. 

With Tony Tan. Behind us are display shelves of heritage merchandise, including Good Morning Yesterday the book.

Tony giving an introduction to his business and their food

Notice that only Philip Chew and I not taking any photos of the food. We were waiting for the young people to finish their obligatory shots before we could sink our teeth into this delicious salad call Botol Kacang.

Can you guess where this shot was taken? That's me in the toilet mirror. Photo courtesy of Juria T

Back to my book. If you have difficulty getting it from the above places, or if you want to get several copies, you can contact me directly at: cslam@hoshin.com.sg and we will work something out.

Have a blessed Christmas.

Information on Popular’s outlets and locations here.

Information on Times’ outlets and location here.

Traditional bakeries in Singapore

There’s an interesting article in today’s Straits Times about the dwindling number of traditional bakeries in Singapore. According to the report, there are only 8 such bakeries left in Singapore.

But I am a bit puzzled, because, just earlier this month, my friend James Kwok brought me to see one such bakery in Block 39, Teban Gardens; and it is not in the above list. The owner was his ex-neighbour.  Could they have made a mistake; or has this shop closed down since James and I were there just 3 weeks ago on the 5^th of November? 

Do you know of any other such bakeries in Singapore that are not mentioned in this article?  I have seen one at Lorong 6, Toa Payoh; but that was a couple of years ago. Not sure it is still there.

Anyway, I think such shops deserve our support. In you are in the neighbourhood, do drop by and patronize the shop. Don't forget to bring your camera along and take some shots. Even if the business survives, this old building may not escape our government relentless 'upgrading' efforts.

Eating places near Bedok Rest House in 1952 (Updated)

Here are more photos, courtesy of Joe Elliott, of eating places, eating stalls and an itinerant food vendor. Joe recalls in a recent email:

“At the side of Bedok Rest House were stalls on the pavement and behind them on the beach were tables and chairs which you can just see on the photos. The stallholders were cooking various foods which I had at one of tables in 1952.  It was several pieces of meat (not sure what kind) on a thin wooden skewer and a small dish of sauce.  The meat when dipped into the sauce was out of this world - it just melted in your mouth and I've never tasted anything like it since. I knew at the time what they were called but in 60 years I've forgotten. "The memory forgets what they were called but will never forget the taste".

PS – I think Joe must be referring to satay.

Related posts:

This is the way we eat, part 1

Thisi s the way we eat, part 2

Itinerantfood vendors of yesteryears

Eatingplaces at Tian Lye Street 1

Traditional kampong-style breakfast

Recently I visited some friends in Muar. Next to our hotel was a street that came alive on Sunday morning with lots of traditional food that brought back memories of the good old days in Singapore.

First there is the you-char-kway or you-tiao (油条). Watching the hawker prepare the you-char-kway on the spot was such a delight. It reminded me of a stall that was not far from my house in my kampong. As a kid, I liked to watch the hawker fry the yck. It was fascinating to see the yck expand rapidly in the boiling oil. In the photo below, the hawker used a pair of tongs to turn the yck; but traditionally, the correct tool should be a long pair of chopsticks.

 And then there is the putu mayam. Nowadays in Singapore, the putu mayam that I see being sold in the coffee shops are all factory-produced. They come packed neatly in a plastic bag. When I see the hawker remove the slices of putu mayam from the plastic packet, I lose my appetite. The packet resembled a packet of serviettes! Here in Muar, the hawker sold his putu mayam from a huge metallic container just like in our kampong days. Back then, the vendor was an Indian man who came to our village to peddle his putu mayam on a bicycle just like in this photo. Furthermore, the gula Melaka was also home-made and tasted much better than the mass produced type in modern-day Singapore.

 Besides these, there were also vendors selling nonya kuehs as well as fried chye tau kway. The sight of the trays of eggs reminded me of an interesting practice in those days. To save on the cost, we usually brought our own egg and the hawker would be happy to add it in for us. 

To round of the experience, we were served thick black coffee in traditional china cups and saucers. Even the Hainanese spoken by the coffee lady was reminiscent of our kampong days. 

What a delightful breakfast that was in Muar. Like General MacArthur, my Singapore friends and I pledged; “We shall return!”

Ovaltine vs Milo

Did you catch the debut of the tv programme, Mementos of Singapore, on the Okto Channel last week? In this programme, they mentioned several items from our childhood days, such as the Labour soap bar, wooden washing boards, paper bags and the Milo beverage. This last segment of the show seemed to give the impression that Milo was the only chocolate beverage that has been around since our childhood days. This simply is not true.

During our childhood days in the 1950s and 60s, there were two equally popular brands of chocolate beverages, Ovaltine and Milo. Competition between these two very similar beverages was fierce; just like that between Pepsi Cola and Coca Cola. It was only during the last couple of decades that Milo gained dominance in Singapore.

When my children were growing up in the 1990s, we used to buy both brands. But gradually, my children developed a preference for Milo. I asked them why, and they said they liked its creamier taste; which was the very same reason why I preferred Ovaltine. At that time, I frequently drove to peninsular Malaysia for my consultancy work. Often, I would do some shopping in the supermarkets before I returned, because household items were cheaper there. Invariably, my purchases would include a family-size tin of Milo.

For a comprehensive write-up of the history of Ovaltine and Milo, do check out my blogger friend, Laokokok’s well-researched article here.

*Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr.com member, jason0x21

Memories of Toa Payoh (3) – Eating places @ Toa Payoh

Yummy fried Hokkien prawn mee @ Toa Payoh Lorong 6

The year was around 1970 and Toa Payoh new town was already completed. At that time I was still staying in a kampong off Lorong Chuan not far from Toa Payoh. We often had friends who visited and stayed overnight. As our financial position had improved, we could afford a family car and treat ourselves to supper occasionally.

I remember we often went to the hawker centre located between Toa Payoh Lorong 6 and Lorong 7. We liked to patronize the fried Hokkien prawn noodles there. There were 2 stalls side by side selling the same product. Both were good and gave value for money. We often ta-pau (take away) the delicious noodles back to our kampong to enjoy with our friends.

Today this hawker centre has been upgraded and carries the fanciful name Kim Keat Palm. Occasionally, I still go there for lunch.

Best Chicken Feet in Singapore

(I think my UK friends are going squirm when they read this. Just look at it this way. I would react the same way when I think of people eating snails)

In 1978, I join Philips Singapore (Audio Factory) as an Industrial Engineer.  Our factory was located at Toa Payoh Lorong 1. During my five-and-a-half years, there, my colleagues and I used to go all over Toa Payoh in search of nice makan places for our lunch. One stall we often patronized was a chicken feet noodle stall operating in a coffee shop at a Block 165, which was just next to our factory. This block was on higher ground compared to our factory. As we emerged from the side gate at Lorong 1, we would turn left, climbed a flight of steps, and there was our coffee shop.  My colleagues and I referred to this place as “Hilltop”.

 Because of its convenient location, the place was often very crowded with Philips employees during lunch time. Hence, we did not patronize this place as often as we liked to. We did not want to compete with the production operators. Unlike them, we executives had more flexible lunch hours.

I do not know how to describe the chicken feet noodle except to say that it was very different from those that you see nowadays at stalls that sell wanton mee. For one, they served the noodle in a bowl and not a plate, as is the practice today. The chicken feet were cooked to just the right degree so that the skin does not drop off easily. I think they fried it beforehand so that the skin was crispy and yet tender. The gravy was very spicy hot; but I loved it.

Prior to working in Philips, I never enjoyed chicken feet. Unfortunately, after I left Philips in 1984, I never was able to find another chicken feet noodle that could match the one at Toa Payoh Lorong 1.

I returned to Toa Payoh Lorong 1 recently to check out this place. As expected, there has been much change. I was sad to see that our beloved “Hilltop” makan place has disappeared. In fact the entire area has been cleared and all I saw was an empty field (see photo). Once again, I felt that familiar pang of losing a part of my past.

Yummy “goo-yo-hoon” @ Toa Payoh Lorong 6

Another eating place in Toa Payoh that my colleagues and I used patronize was a Hainanese beef noodle stall at the hawker centre located between Toa Payoh Lorong 6 and Lorong 7. Operated by an old Hainanese couple, the beef noodles was wonderful. As one of my colleagues, Mr K C Lee, could speak fluent Hainanese, the couple was very friendly with us.

 One day, whilst we were having lunch at this hawker centre, we witnessed some commotion. Not far from us, in one of the HDB blocks of Lorong 7, we saw a large group of people, including several policemen. This was shortly after the famous Adrian Lim murder case which shook Singapore. Apparently he had been brought back to the scene of his crimes for questioning and investigation. So the year must be 1981.

Dragon Gate Inn in Singapore?

In 1967, there was a very famous wuxia movie directed by King Hu (胡金铨), called 龙门客栈 (Dragon Gate Inn). Did you know that we also had a Dragon Gate Inn right here in Singapore; in Toa Payoh in fact?

It was the name of a kopitiam in near the entrance to the hawker centre and market at Toa Payoh Lorong 6. The shop owner must have been a big fan of the movie. I personally did not enjoy the movie; and could not understand why it was such a big hit. But anyway, I found the name of this shop rather amusing.

The coffee shop is still there today; but apparently the present owner is not a big fan of the Dragon Gate Inn, and I did not see the banner with this eye-catching name any more when I visited the place recently.

Disgusting memory of at Coffee Shop

Another place that my colleagues and I often had our lunch was this coffee shop in Block 124 which was across the road from Toa Payoh Rise. Today this area has been upgraded with a new multi-storey car park and a fanciful name called, Toa Payoh View II.

One day, when we were having lunch here, I witnessed something very disgusting. There were a group of Ah Peks, and one of them was eating live, newborn mice. He swallowed the mice with some liquor and dried longans. They claimed that  this had good health benefits.

Out of curiosity, we joined the group to watch the action. I can never forget the sight of the baby mice. They were pinkish-grey in colour. I wonder if Singaporeans still indulge in the disgusting practice?

Not-so-instant noodles

What do hungry teenagers do at a time when there were no fast food joints or instant noodles? Why, we cook our own not-so-instant noodles of course!

Browsing through the supermarket shelves recently, I came across a product that had remained practically unchanged since the 1960’s …. this can of Ve-Tsin (msg). In Cantonese, we call it “mei cheng” (See photo 1). It reminded me of the time when my siblings and I used to cook our own dry noodles at home to fix our hunger pangs. The noodles we used came in rectangular slabs like those in Photo 2.

What we did was to take a plate, add some light sauce and msg; plus some chilli sauce and oil and “chu yau char” – cubes of lard. We then boil some chye sim and cook the noodles. I am not sure what we used for meat; maybe some ‘bak chor’ or minced pork.


Interestingly, the Ve-Tsin design looked exactly the same as it did before except for a difference in the lid. Can you spot the difference? In the old design, there is no lid or cover. To open the can, you needed to use a turn-key like the one in Photo 3 below. I seem to recall that the sardine cans of old too came with this type of design. Such design is quite rare today, and after much searching I found this can of luncheon meat. Wasted another $3+ because the meat tasted horrible. Likewise, had to discard my $1.90 can of Ve-Tsin after taking a few photos as MSG is practically banned in our home nowadays – my wife’s bias, not mine.

Foodage debut @ Okto Channel, Thursday 28 July, 10 pm

STOP PRESS

We have been informed by the producers that the telecast of the first episode has been postponed to next Thursday, 04 August.

Dear Readers.

Do tune in to Okto Channel this coming Thursday, 28 July at 10 pm for the debut of Foodage, the Food Heritage Documentary. My fellow nostalgia bloggers like Dick Yip, James Seah, Philip Chew, Peter Chan, Jerome Lim, Hong Eng and I, and maybe others will be appearing in the first two episodes.


For more information about this documentary, please go to their Facebook Page here.


Here are some photos that I took during the location shooting.

Philip and James Seah acting out the Lor Arh scene.

Peter @ Adam Food Centre. Peter and I were talking about the location of the original Adam Road Hawker Centre.

Myself at Dunearn Road. Peter and I talking about Singapore’s first fast food restaurant.

This is the way we eat (Part 2) by Peter Chan

After the P.A.P came into power in 1959, the Hawker Department was amalgamated into the Ministry of Health until in 1972 when it was hived-off to the Ministry of Environment. Licensing started in 1968 but implementation was slow because of the British Military Pull-Out. Although the government intended to contain the street hawker problem, this could have been political dynamite. In many P.A.P “Meet the People Session”, the top two most sought after “needs” were getting a hawker licence, and public financial assistance.

Photo 1: Beef Kway Teow at Empress Place Hawker Center. It was built next to the present Asian Civilization Museum ( c 1972).

Getting hawkers to be re-sited into hawker centres and/or action by way of arrests, fines and demolishing structures usually draw the attention of Members of Parliament (MPs). This is because each constituency had its own peculiar hawker problems. For example in new industrial area like Redhill and Jurong, there were always business opportunities when there were factory workers. Lower-income families living within HDB estates took to illegal hawking to supplement income. Testimony of the “bureaucratic intelligence” when adhering to a public policy, the result was hawking licences were issued in places far from homes and inaccessible to public transport. Thus MPs appeal on behalf of their constituents by petitioning the Minister in charge of the Hawker Department, a Mr. Yong Nyuk Lin.

Photo 2: Left to Right – Eating on stools at a Ho Chi Minh City roadside; Bak So Mie Push-cart in Jakarta.

As part of the hawker development projects, 16 hawker centres by 1972 were under various stages of planning/construction. These hawker centres were meant to house re-sited street hawkers. Zion Road Hawker Center was completed in my second-year at the university. When I went dating, Esplanade Satay Club opened in 1972, Empress Place in 1973 and 7 mile Bukit Timah Hawker Center cum wet market was completed by the time I graduated. By the time I went to work Cuppage Center was opened.

By 1986 there were no more street hawkers and all stallholders in hawker centres were licensed by the Ministry of Environment. Since 1996 all the ENV market and food centres underwent upgrading works. Today, Singaporeans are very selective as to where they eat.

If we miss the ambience of street hawkers, we can always try our ASEAN neighbours. Rest assured this is very sedap man (aka Mo Tak Teng). When I was based in Hong Kong, I would take “short-cuts” through the alleys of Hong Kong to get from point to point. Not too far back, I revisited one of the routes (photo3). It looks like things don’t change that fast in Hong Kong.

Photo 3: Ah Chan and Luk Siew Fung at their stalls on Hong Kong Island.

Hmmmm ... maybe this is one of the reasons why I enjoyed Ipoh food. They have lots of roadside foodstalls. They also have lots of push-cart type food vendors at the wet market. Chun See

This is the way we eat (Part 1) by Peter Chan

Since Chun See kicked-off the blog on street hawkers, I thought it interesting if I look back and follow Singapore’s progress from street hawkers to air-conditioned food courts. Thanks to my old university Economics term paper submitted to a lecturer (with a PhD as a salutation to his name and also a P.A.P MP then) I am able to pluck information from therein. By the way this lecturer never made us male undergraduates happy; he graded most of us with a B minus.

Photo 1: Ngo Hiang street hawker operates in front of a “5-foot-way”. Little glass cups in the foreground contain chilly and sweet sauces. You pick the skewed food items from the plates and dip into the sauce and dispose the skewer on the road. Just remember you are never the only one doing it (c 1970).

Singapore cultural and food streetscape used to be a myriad of hawker stalls that filled the wet markets and alleys. Living in the city you just took up space along the “5-foot way” shop-houses and in the rural area you built a tent, perhaps under a tree. There were few barriers to entry to begin with; small capital, simple cooking skills and cheap family-supplied labour. Hawking licence? Not really necessary - those that needed one operated in government-built wet markets or pasar malams. Although there were licensed street stalls, unlicensed hawkers out-numbered the former by 8:1 at the time of separation from Malaysia.


There were different types of hawkers, generally categorised as cooked food, cold drinks, fruits & vegetables, sundry goods, and fresh meats. Even the neighbourhood Cold Storage and Walls Ice Cream seller was included but under a slightly different definition. The Chinese were more open to the idea of street hawking as a form of employment than other races. Hence large concentration of street hawkers was found in Kreta Ayer, Teluk Ayer Street, Queen Street, North Canal Road, and Tanjong Pagar.

Photo 2: Feeling thirsty? Try this push-cart for coconut-water. 10 cents one glass (c 1967).

During the British colonial rule, the hawker management came under the purview of the City Council and the Ministry of Health. Prosecution was seldom practised and this could be attributed to rampant corruption or because hawker inspectors were frequently assaulted. If the arm of the law works, confiscated perishables were forcibly removed by hawker inspectors and foodstuff s donated to charitable institutions.

This is a 1967 photo of a shop selling roast meat in downtown Singapore. Russ Wickson remembers seeing hordes of flies take off as he walked by.