Memories of Toa Payoh (5) - Toa Payoh Central

I think, but I am not very sure, there used to be 2 cinemas in Toa Payoh Central. (Hope readers can confirm). One was Kong Chian Theatre located at the junction of Toa Payoh Central and Lorong 4; next to the Library. The other was called Toa Payoh Theatre near the present HDB Hub. It was owned by the Eng Wah Group.

I don’t remember seeing any movies at Toa Payoh.  As for Kong Chian, I remember two movies. The first movie was The Ten Commandments. This was probably in the 1980s and I accompanied my mother to watch it. The Ten Commandments, starring Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner was a very old movie, that I had watched before as a kid. My mother wanted to watch it again. She wanted to enjoy the cool special effects, such as the classic scenes of the parting of the Red Sea and inscription of the 10 commandments onto the two stone tablets by fire. It was a very long show.

The second show that I watched there was Gorillas in the Mist. This was in 1988. I went with my wife and a strange thing happened. Mid-way through the movie she wanted to go home. Do you know why? She was troubled by this scene where the poachers snatched a baby gorilla from its mother. The baby gorilla looked so cute and so pitiful. The scene made her think of our year-old daughter who was home with the maid. Of course we did not (go home), but after that scene she could not concentrate on the movie anymore.

Besides the movie theatres, I remember Toa Payoh Central mainly for the coffee houses which I had blogged about here. There was a hawker centre next to the bus interchange (see photo below; courtesy of National Archives of Singapore) but I did not like to go there. It was crowded, noisy and dirty. Subsequently, after the construction of the Toa Payoh MRT station, they built an air-conditioned food court near the station. I too did not like to eat there for the same reasons. Today that part of Toa Payoh Central has changed drastically.  What hasn’t changed is the noise the and the crowd.

Farewell lunch at Lucky Restaurant

The date was 2nd of March, 1984. It was my second last day at Philips and my colleagues treated me to a farewell lunch at a Chinese restaurant called Lucky Restaurant. It was situated just beside the Kong Chian Theatre in Toa Payoh Central. I believe the building is still there.

 I remember one of my cheeky female colleagues by the name of Mon Yeh, gave me an unusual farewell present. I cannot remember the name for this item. It is small napkin that you hang around a baby’s neck to prevent him for messing up his clothes when he is eating. No need to explain why she chose such a present. They tried to make me put it on, but it was too small.

Unlike many of my friends, I did not like to job-hop. Throughout my career, I have had only 2 big employers, Philips and NPB. The rest of my time, I was running my own business; initially with a partner, and subsequently, until today, on my own. Hence you can see that that farewell lunch at Toa Payoh Lucky Restaurant was a memorable milestone in my life.

Sound of distant thunder

This morning, I woke up to the sweet sound of distant thunder. After a day of sweltering heat and a night of suffocating humidity, this sound was (pardon the cliché), music to my ears. It reminded me of a piece of Chinese classical music that I used to enjoy. The title was; 旱天雷, or Thunder in Dry Season. This piece was in my first Chinese Classical LP record by (I think) the Singapore Chinese Orchestra which I bought in 1969.

旱天雷, as you can probably guess from the title, depicts the excitement and elation which farmers felt when they heard the distant rumblings of thunder during a time of drought. I believe this piece originated in Guangzhou in Southern China; and we used to know it by its Cantonese name, “Hon Tin Loi”. Here’s a version performed by the China Broadcasting Traditional Orchestra (中国广播民族乐团). Please listen to the end to see the sudden switch in mood brought on, no doubt, by the thunder.

Interestingly, this tune was also used to accompany the programmes by the famous Redifussion story-teller, Lee Dai Sor. I remember there was a very funny Cantonese song version titled; “Ping kor wah ngor sor” – "Who says I am stupid?" Maybe that was how Lee Dai Sor got his nickname of Big Fool Lee.

 Yesterday, I posted this photo of a cloudless sky on my Facebook page with this description; Not a cloud in the sky. But with temp at 33 deg C, nobody is singing; "I'm on the top of the world". (Top of the World is a famous song by the Carpenters)

Memories of Toa Payoh (4) - A sea of blue

I worked for five-and-a-half years in Philips Audio Factory from 1978 to 1984. Initially there were only 2 Philips factories in Lorong 1 Toa Payoh - Video and Audio. These 2 factories were separated by a short road called Toa Payoh West. At that time, it was a no-through road. A pedestrian bridge joined our two factories.

At one stage my office was facing Toa Payoh West; and every evening at 5.45 pm, when the end-of-day siren went off, I was treated to an amazing sight. As the female production operators from both factories poured out into Toa Payoh West, the whole area became a sea of blue; blue being the colour of the Philips uniform. Coupled with the waiting buses and cars, the area was quite chaotic. I doubt Philips employees today can ever see such a sight again because for a number of years now, Philips has ceased its manufacturing operations in Singapore. 


But what is even more amazing was the speed with which the crowded dissipated. By 6 pm, the whole area was all quiet and disserted. 


Subsequently a third factory was added just behind ours. It had a very long name which I cannot recall. I think it was called VOSC – Video Overseas Supply Centre. We simply referred to it as Video 2. I remember that from the windows at the rear section of this factory, one can actually see the mortuary of the nearby Toa Payoh Hospital.  I believe today there are a total of 4 buildings in the huge Philips complex at Toa Payoh. 


Taking a shortcut to work


When I started work at Philips, I used to take the SBS No. 153 (I think) from my home in Farrer Road. This bus took a very long roundabout route. It went through the following roads, Dunearn, Whitley, Thomson, Braddell, Toa Payoh Lorong 6 and then Lorong 1. I would get off at the bus stop near Toa Payoh Rise. 


When I first used the bus stop in Lorong 1 near Toa Payoh Rise, I noticed something quite unusual. I noticed that the pedestrian crossing lights made a loud beeping sound. Later I discovered that there was a school for the blind nearby, and the loud beeping sound was for the benefit of the blind pedestrians. I saw them cross the road occasionally and was very impressed by the confident manner that they navigated along the public roads.  


One day, I noticed some Philips employees disembark at a bus stop along Thomson Road, near to the Polo Club. I found out later that they took a shortcut by walking through the Thomson Secondary School. Occasionally I too took this so-called shortcut. I remember walking through their tuck shop. But this wasn’t a very attractive alternative. The distance we had to walk was quite far and by the time we reached our office, we would be all sweaty and sticky. And we didn’t save much time. 


Today, the Thomson Secondary School is no longer there, but in its place I saw a sign saying SJI International.

Gift Ideas for your parents

Don’t know what to get for your parent’s birthday? Instead of adding to his calories with chocolates or an expensive meal, why not take him on a stroll down memory lane?

Get him a copy Good Morning Yesterday. Available at Times, Kinokuniya and Popular at only $18.65.

PS – If you cannot find my book at the book stores, please let me know so that I can feedback to the distributor. Send me an email, and I will do something about it. Anybody who wants GMY should be able to get one!

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?