Katong’s Peranakan Culture

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Rachel

To learn more about this neighborhood I call my home since Feb this year, I spent some time exploring Katong the last few weeks.

Katong, being the area associated with the first Peranakan community in Singapore, has retained some of its Peranakan heritage. Located on the stretch of Katong Road, are three shophouses with distinct Peranakan architecture; Rumah Bebe, Katong Antique House and Peranakan Inn.

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Ornate and intricate patterns lined the walls and floors at the shop. The beautiful architecture of the shop house intrigued me…

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Until I stepped into the shop.

I was greeted by a scowling-face middle aged lady, whose first words were,”No photography allowed!”, when she saw that I was holding a camera. It wasn’t a pleasant experience for the rest of the time K and I were in the shop. She hovered around us as we browse through her merchandise, her ‘menacing’ presence made me almost afraid to ask her any questions about the $500 Kebaya-s and $300 beaded slippers on display.

I felt pressured enough by the lady in the shop to eventually buy something before leaving; a slice of Kueh Lapis. Which incidentally gave me very bad diarrhoea for the next 4 days. This was one of the worse experience I ever encountered from any retail shop in Singapore. So enter Rumah Bebe at your own risk!

It seems I am not the only one that experienced this from the shop assistant, found these bad reviews about Rumah Bebe from Trip Advisor.

I have learnt never to trust the write-ups from Singapore Tourism Board.

I can’t help but peek into the shop as I walk pass Rumah Bebe almost daily in the early evenings, and I am really not surprised to see the shop without customers every time.

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Now, I had a totally different experience from this other location. Which made me wonder if Katong Antique House is ever opened for business, for those times I visited. Maybe I should have called to make an appointment?

Interesting facade and exterior, but my experience ended there. I visited the place thrice but never had an opportunity to venture beyond the hall of the place. So no photo opportunities either. If Peranakan antiques and artifacts interest you, Peranakan Museum will be a better place to view these things.

Just look at these lovely Peranakan tiles then,

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I wonder though will I be warmly welcomed into these places, if I was of a native of another country, other than a local Singaporean. Or are these just examples of bad customer service?

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For a friendly and tastier Peranakan experience, venture next door to Peranakan Inn.

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So will there be more to discover from the Katong neighborhood? Likely so. But not till this’accidental tourist’ sets aside some time the next few weeks to find out more about this neighbourhood.

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Photo Heart Fridays – Nostalgia

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Rachel

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Behind these dusty window panes is a medical shop manned by a middle aged lady and her aged mother…

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Taking a peek through the windows of these shophouses, I see dark, dusty rooms, now abandoned. Once homes to residents living along Katong Road.

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The former Red House Bakery, once a landmark on Katong Road, used to be famous for its Swiss rolls and curry puffs. The“Red House” Bakery was the first in Singapore to bake three-tier Western-style wedding cakes in the 1920s.

It will become residential homes very soon, to be sold to affluent house buyers.

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Katong, whose history is filled with vacation homes and mansions for the wealthy in the 19th century, still retains some of its charm with its quaint cafes, eateries and glimpses of its Peranankan heritage. What other nostalgic finds will I discover in this neighborhood? Do read the upcoming posts to find out!

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Eclectic Peranakan Heritage in Joo Chiat

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Rachel

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Take a walk with me down the streets of Joo Chiat, and there we will discover glimpses of a bygone era, a hybrid of Chinese, Malay traditions with a touch of Portuguese, Dutch and Indonesian influences.

A street once known as Lorong E East Coast Road, this road was named after a man, who was a wealthy 2nd generation Straits born merchant from Malacca.

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The two rows of pre-war terrace houses along Koon Seng Road are a distinct part of Joo Chiat’s identity and are one of the finest examples of Peranakan architecture in Singapore.

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The most outstanding feature of the late styled (1900-1940) houses is the narrow and intricately embellished facade of the entrance.

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The main face of the house is decorated in plaster and tiles, often, these fine ceramic tiles with floral or geometrical designs were imported from France, England and Belgium.

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The external walls of these houses are decorated with Chinese couplets of good fortune, health and happiness adorning the front windows, similar to the traditional residences in China. These motifs are derived from mystical dragons, deer and dogs, symbols of good fortune and long life.

Other motifs like flowers are bird act as accompaniments to the decoration, which reflected the wealth and status of the owners.

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With its rich architectural heritage, I can only imagine the many intriguing stories behind these homes and their old owners who used to lived there.

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I will be taking a walk down Katong Road next to discover more of the Peranankan culture in this part of Singapore, look out for my upcoming posts!

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The Accidental Tourists in Little India

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Rachel

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Did you know that the ethnic quarters of Little India was not assigned to the Indian Community in Stamford Raffles’ town plan? It was only when Chinatown became overcrowded that Little India became populated with Indians. So the first Indians that came to Singapore resided in the areas of Chinatown, and not in Little India.

There were many other snippets of facts about the place that Pauline and I learnt along with our kids as we took our walking tour down the streets of Little India.

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While walking through the Tekka Market towards Buffalo and Kerbau Roads, we came across many goldsmith shops. Gold is symbolic to the Indian community, and is never worn on their feet or toes.

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Not considering to get any gold?Then how about these pretty glittery bangles for a couple of dollars?

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If your budget allows, take your pick from the bright colors and luxurious fabrics to make a sari for yourself.

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Amid the rich colors of fabrics , pungent fragrances of spices, we spotted blooms of jasmine, roses, chrysanthemums strung together in flower garlands. These flower garlands have a traditional role in every Hindu festival, where the Indians will use to worship their Hindu gods.

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The kids were fascinated with the garish and intricate details on the buildings at the side of Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple, where they spotted images of the HIndu goddess Kali, with her many hands (who is known as the destroyer of evil in the Hindu religion) spearing her foes and a lion feasting on her enemy.

Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple is one of the oldest Hindu temples in Singapore built by Tamil laborers. Apparently the interior of the temple has various scenes of goddess Kali in vicious acts of punishments, so we figured looking at the details outside the temple was more than enough for the kids to take in.

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A trip to little India is not complete without a visit to Tekka Centre, which is located at the junction of Serangoon Road and Rochor Road. We had our lunch of local fare and got a set of Indian costumes for the kids to be decked up for their next Racial Harmony Day to be celebrated in their schools.

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And what was the other souvenir the kids got from Little India?

A temporary Henna tattoo!

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Henna is a paste made out of crushed leaves and twigs of henna plant, the paste is drawn on the skin by the henna artist, left on for about 10 minutes to dry and then washed off with hot water. What’s left on the skin is a orangey, dark maroon stain which fades away in about 1 week.

We got the henna art for the kids at about $5 each, a steal, considering how thrilled the kids were with their temporary tattoo.

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We completed our walkabout of Little India, including lunch and shopping at Tekka market in about 4 hours. If you are bored of the run of the mill play-gyms or shopping malls, Little India is highly recommended for a cultural experience for kids above 4 years of age.

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A Walk down Singapore’s Five-foot Way

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Rachel

Chinatown holds many stories of the first chinese migrants who lived there.

Looking past the tourist kitsch and knick knacks from the Souvenier shops, therein lies a treasure trove of stories of old. Memories of a past Chinatown and her people who resided there, a time where Chinatown has been.

What will all of that mean to a preschooler?

An experiential tour of a place from the past provides the opportunity to learn about a time where modern sanitation, water supply and electricity did not exist. The time when the first immigrants to Singapore lived in dark, sordid cubicles, ate and slept on a wooden boards, which were their beds at night.

Where the common areas in their homes consisted of dark and dirty kitchens, shared by close to 70 people living in a shop house. Their toilets were holes in concrete and night soil were collected in buckets and was carried through the front door of their five-foot way shop-houses.

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A group of women with their trademark red headgear lived in this room. They wore black samfu, a tunic and trouser suit, together with an apron. These Samsui women worked hard daily at the construction sites carrying building materials in the baskets hung on a wooden pole, carried across their shoulders.

After work. they took home a few pieces of wood to use for their cooking and they ate simple meals with rice daily, followed with a cigarette of Chinese tobacco.

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The other group of women who lived in the same shophouse, 8 of them in a room, were Majie. Domestic servants that took the vow of celibacy and lived in the employers’ home. They returned to this room twice a month to read letters from their families and to catch up with their friends. Only one of them lived here, with an adopted daughter.

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The cubicle at the end of the hallway, lived a group of men known as coolies. These did back-breaking work daily and carried gunny sacks filled with spices and sugar near the Singapore River. Some others worked as rickshaw pullers, trishaw riders and farmers. When they retired to their cramped cubicles after a day of hard work, most sought relief in opium smoking.

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How about the occupants that lived in these other cubicles? What were their stories?

A carpenter and his family

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A hawker and his family

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A seamstress

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Traipsing down the steep steps of the shophouse, the children ventured to the ground floor of the shophouse which belong to the tailor’s quarters.

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The Tailor’s Quarters

He was more affluent that the rest of the occupants in the shophouse as he and his family members had their own rooms.

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The Tailor’s family had exclusive use of the kitchen on the ground floor and an air well to dry their clothes.

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The Tailor’s shop

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Intrigued by what you see in these photos? I am sure you have seen that there is more to the touristy kitsch that most of us experience on Chinatown. The children were totally intrigued by what they saw and were entranced by the stories we shared of the occupants that once lived in this shophouse.

Now’s a good time to visit Chinatown to experience the gaiety of the Chinese New Year festivities, so be sure to check out the heritage centre with your kids while u are there!

Chinatown Heritage Centre

48 Pagoda Street. Singapore 059207

Admission Charges

Adult $10

Child (3-12yr) $6

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The Accidental Tourists Visit Chinatown

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Rachel

牛车水, or otherwise known as ‘Bullock Carts Water’ (direct translation). The chinese name for Singapore’s Chinatown came about when people living in Chinatown in the past, depended on bullock carts for the transportation of water.

Chinatown these days, hardly retained any glimpses of the ‘old Chinatown’ that our grandparents could have remembered of the place.

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What the children saw when were walked down the streets of Chinatown were brightly colored shophouses, plenty of stalls selling generic-looking china-made souvenirs, affordable Cheong Sums and Samfoos. And ‘I love Singapore’ and ‘Singapore is a ‘Fine’ City’ T-shirts and porcelain mugs depicting the things that you will be fined for in Singapore.

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The closest view that the children got to the medical shops in Chinatown were the pre-package chinese medicine and herbs drying outside the shops. The strong smelling whiff of herbs, spices and other exotic ingredients which emitted from the medical shops was enough to turn them off the interest of further exploring the medical shops.

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Walking down the streets of Chinatown will bring out the consumerism in any child . The kids were enamored by the gaudy tacky looking wind chimes, touristy magnets and little knick knacks and was looking out for the moment that the moms will say “Yes, we can buy this for you!.”

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We continued our walkabout down Temple Street, passed the Sri Mariamman Temple, walked towards South Bridge Road to view the architecture and exterior aesthetics of the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple.

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We experienced a not-so-authentic glimpse of our chinese culture in Singapore walking down the streets of Chinatown. Nevertheless, from our same visit, we found a place hidden in a nook of a restored shop-house which uncovered many stories of old Chinatown that we could share with our children.

What was it? Read on to next part of this post.

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The Accidental Tourists visit Arab Street

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Rachel

Arab Street, the place where the first Malay community in Singapore settled before the arrival of Sir Stamford Raffles.

The place where we wandered on a weekday morning to encourage the little ones to take in the colorful sights and the bustling sounds of Singapore’s Malay culture.

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The first landmark in Arab Street that the children had to spot was Sultan Mosque. The mosque was built in the 1820s and is considered the national mosque of Singapore. It is named after Sultan Hussein, a man who was known as Sultan of Singapore by Sir Raffles.

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Here, the children ventured through the shops lined with textiles; lace, chiffon, silk, georgette, batik.

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And found that Arab Street is arrayed with shops stocked with floor mats, prayer mats, cane and rattan ware from chairs to serving trays.

T, J and K paid close attention to the details that they spotted while walking down Arab Street. Part of the fun of the walkabout was to complete a scavenger hunt that Pauline and I developed for this visit.

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To complete the scavenger hunt, the children had to ask the shop-keepers questions…

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Try on the Malay headwear for men, the Songkok.

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Play the traditional game of Goli Panjang (Marbles),

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and paid a visit to the Malay Heritage Centre at the end of Arab Street.

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Take a trip down this ethnic Malay street with your kids, to immerse in the Malay culture and heritage unique to Singapore. Perhaps this is one of the best way for children to learn that there are more to Singapore’s culture than our hawker centers, food courts, air-conditioned malls and manicured gardens.

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Coming up soon on the blog, a walk down another ethnic street in Singapore.

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Hong Kong 2012 Part 7 – Old Hong Kong

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Rachel

How much do you know about the history, cultural and heritage of Hong Kong? There is a place where you can go to get a quick in-depth educational tour about the country of Hong Kong and is rated as one of the top attractions of the city.

The Hong Kong History Museum with it’s permanent exhibit known as the Hong Kong story, occupies 7000 sq meters, comprises of 8 galleries and 3,700 exhibits. “The Hong Kong Story” outlines the natural environments, culture and historical development of Hong King through its use of 750 graphic panels, lots of dioramas and multimedia exhibits.

Gallery 1 – The Natural Environment

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Emerging from a ‘tunnel of time’ paved with stone slabs, we enter into a forest of towering trees as high as 18 metres, with specimens of birds, reptiles and mammals.

Gallery 2 – Prehistoric Hong Kong

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We enter into prehistoric Hong Kong 6,000 years ago, with a 42m long beach diorama where several activities are depicted; such as making fire for cooking, building houses and making ornaments with stone.

Gallery 3 – From the Han to the Qing

This gallery outlines the development of Hong Kong form the Han to the Qing dynasties through the relics preserved in the territory and on loan from Shenzhen.

Gallery 4 – Folk Culture in Hong Kong

This section of the museum has one of the most elaborate dioramas which were so impressive, comprising of live sized junk boats, figures and living conditions of the 4 ethnic groups of Hong Kong and South China.

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HKHstyMuseum 9 The Boat Dwellers’ living conditions

HKHstyMuseum 11 Making Salted Fish

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HKHstyMuseum 19 A Hakka’s peasant family’s dwelling

The most impressive diorama from this section of the gallery has to be the reconstruction of the Taiping Qingjiao ceremony held annually in Cheng Chau, including the…

HKHstyMuseum 21 i. Cantonese Opera Theatre

HKHstyMuseum 20 ii. Backstage of the Opera

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HKHstyMuseum 27 iii. The puppet theaters

HKHstyMuseum 25 iv. The Street stall

HKHstyMuseum 22 v. The amazing diorama includes the Lion Dance, the bun mountains, the altars etc

Gallery 5 – Opium Wars and Cessation of Hong Kong

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This gallery outlines the Opium wars, their causes, the way they unfolded and the consequences.

Gallery 6 – Birth and Early Growth of the City

Now this is another intriguing part of the museum, which houses a three storey European style structure adjacent to a port scene and against the background of an old photograph of Kowloon.

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Next to the bank is an old steam launch, all real sized

Behind the building stretches an old street scene lined with a variety of shops;

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Post Office

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HKHstyMuseum 43 Tailor Shop

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HKHstyMuseum 45 Quaint Shing Chai Tong shop selling herbal medicine

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HKHstyMuseum 49 There’s even a dark alleyway with a stall selling fruits

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Gallery 7 – The Japanese Occupation

No dioramas here, however the gallery is designed as an air raid shelter in order to create the atmosphere of war. Through the display of relics, historical photographs and videos, you can witness the battles during WWII and learn about the harsh living conditions during the Japanese Occupation.

Gallery 8 – Modern Metropolis and the Return to China

This last gallery follows the story of Hong Kong’s postwar development into a modern metropolis. In this area, are reconstruction of…

HKHstyMuseum 55 Hong Kong public housing in the 60s, which housed at least 8 people in one room

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HKHstyMuseum 57 A herbal tea shop

HKHstyMuseum 63 A barber shop

HKHstyMuseum 58 A cinema

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Peering through the ticketing booth of the cinema

HKHstyMuseum 61 Inside of the cinema showing snippets of old Hong Kong movies

HKHstyMuseum 62 A grocery shop

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The second part of Gallery 8 is devoted to the handover ceremony marking the return of Hong Kong’s sovereignty too China which brings ‘The Hong Kong Story’ exhibit to a close. If you have time for only one museum visit in Hong Kong, and have about 3 hours to spare, this is the place to go.

K and I were utterly intrigued by what we saw and experienced in the museum and in his words, “This is the 2nd best thing I saw in Hong Kong, first best thing is Lantau Beach. Singapore’s History Museum is really not so good.” One word for Singapore History Museum, “Dioramas”. Maybe all Singapore History Museum needs are more dioramas, and we will be a little more engaged with the exhibits there.

To get to Hong Kong History Museum, follow the same directions from Hung Hom MTR station, as this museum is located right opposite the Hong Kong Science Museum on the same side of the road. Admission is at HKD$10 for adult (cheap, cheap!!) and child HKD$5. Admission is free on Wednesdays and the museum is closed every Tuesdays. Audio guides, providing English commentaries on more than 100 exhibits in the museum, are available for HKD$10.

This post wraps up my blog series of Hong Kong 2012. This is just but a small part of Hong Kong that we have discovered from our recent trip to Hong Kong.

Here are the 7 parts of this series of posts :

Part 1 – Hong Kong Disneyland Fun and Food

Part 2 – Flowers and Birds

Part 3 – Sartorial Hong Kong

Part 4 : Lantau Beaches

Part 5 : Hong Kong Fresh Food Market

Part 6 : Hong Kong Science Museum

Part 7 : Hong Kong History Museum

All Photos for Hong Kong 2012 (with the exception of Part 4 – Lantau Beaches), was taken by yours truly with my trusty Canon 550D, with Tamron 17-55mm F2.8 and Tamron Wide Angle 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 lens.

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Hong Kong 2012 Part 6 – The Science Museum

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Rachel

Have you experienced the educational side of Hong Kong? If you haven’t, do follow through these 2 final posts of my 7 part series of Hong Kong 2012, where I will cover 2 must-see places in Hong Kong if you have kids above 4 years of age.

The Hong Kong Science Museum 香港科学馆 is a perfect place to visit if you experience a rainy day during your visit to Hong Kong.

The Science Museum has more than 500 exhibits within their premise, and close to 70% of their exhibits are interactive. One of their most prominent exhibit is the 22 metre high Energy Machine, which is the tallest and biggest exhibit in the Museum. It stands as high as the four storeys of the Museum, and displays energy conversion when the balls are set in motion and produces sounds and visual effects.

HKScMuseum 5 The Energy Machine

1st Floor

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HKScMuseum 2 Occupational Safety and Health Gallery on the 1st Floor

HKScMuseum 4 Electricity and Magnetism Gallery

Ground Floor

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HKScMuseum 6 The Lufengosaurus exhibit at the LIfe Sciences Gallery

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HKScMuseum 8 Looking at plastic models of baby fetuses

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HKScMuseum 11 A skeleton of a rabbit

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HKScMuseum 14 A model of a human heart

HKScMuseum 15 Seeing through the eyes of an insect

HKScMuseum 16 Fiddling with a 3D motion sensor game

HKScMuseum 19 World of Mirrors

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There are also the galleries of Light, Sound, Mathematics, Motion and Environmental Conservation on the same level of the Science Museum.

Second Floor

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HKScMuseum 40 Food Sciences Gallery

HKScMuseum 39 A life sized DC-3 airplane which is the first local airliner of Hong Kong.

HKScMuseum 43 Driving Stimulator

The galleries of Home Technology, Telecommunications and Prototype zones are on the 2nd Floor of the Science Museum.

Third Floor

HKScMuseum 44 The Children’s Gallery and Energy Efficiency Centre is on the top floor of the museum

The exhibits are interesting, well-maintained and sanitized every hour, something that Singapore Science Centre should take a page from, for their much needed over-haul . K and I took about 3 hours to complete most of the interactive exhibits within the museum.

To get to Hong Kong Science Museum, take the MTR to Hung Hom station and follow the footbridge for a 15 minute walk to the museum.

Standard ticket for an adult is at HKD$25.00, $12.50 for a student from 4 years of age and free admission for children below 4. Free admission on Wednesdays.

Next post on part 7, the final part of my blog series to Hong Kong 2012; a comprehensive photo coverage of what is there to see at the Hong Kong History Museum.

Here are the other parts of this series of posts :

Part 1 – Hong Kong Disneyland Fun and Food

Part 2 – Flowers and Birds

Part 3 – Sartorial Hong Kong

Part 4 : Lantau Beaches

Part 5 : Hong Kong Fresh Food Market

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Hong Kong 2012 Part 5 – Fresh Food Market

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Rachel

The Hong Kong-ers love their food and despite eating out very often with their wide selection of cafes, there are many fresh food markets located in each town. Staying in the vicinity of Tsuen Wan, I visited a fresh food market to see how different it was from the regular wet market in Singapore.

One key difference was, almost all the stalls in the wet market were open and teeming with customers at 4.30pm. And from what I heard from a local, that some of these markets are opened till 2am on certain nights, 7 days a week. The Hong Kong-ers are indeed a very industrious bunch!

HKTsuenWanmkt 13 Vegetable stalls, rather similar to the ones we see in Singapore