Food for Thought

Hi there, how have you been ?  I have been away quite awhile hoping to post my drawing but it is still not completely done yet. Nonchalance sets in and I seem like I'm less driven to get it done fast. What if your livelihood depended on it, then it will be a different matter altogether. Then again I don't want to rush it but I did picked up some new things along the way to add to the picture. So be patient . . that's what I tell myself and don't beat yourself up for nothing. Did you read about my son's post on his trip to Germany ? I was happy for him to be bless with such an opportunity to go there to experience the European culture and beautiful streetscape.

When he was there, I was wondering whether there are any reasonably priced food easily available at the malls or roadside and he said there is no such thing as food courts. While he was there, he did go for their renowned Pork Knuckle though.

 

Over here food is easily available at Hawker Centers, Food Courts 24/7. So you don't have to worry when you go hungry. With a car, you can go anywhere and anytime to satisfy your craving for certain food. We don't have to tip or pay extra surcharge at these places but most of all we must be willing to stand in queue to order and self serve especially if a food stall is popular. Waiting time could be up to half an hour or more when there are lots of customers standing in line.

I have fond memories of Scotts Picnic, the first food court set up in the now defunct Scotts Shopping Centre in 1985. Hawker food reasonably affordable eaten in aircon comfort. It soon caught on with other shopping centres across Singpore spawning more food courts at the convenience of the shoppers. They came up with a theme decor to set themselves apart from other food courts giving the diners better dining experience.

Quite recently I went back to City Square Mall to suss out their newly renovated food court. With Chinatown Smith Street under a timely makeover, coming here make one feel the al fresco dining in a food street of yesteryear with the shophouse facade fronting each stall.

Old Jars Of  Dried Herbs & Spices

This Pernanakan Shophouse theme reminded me of the old roadside stalls along Bugis Street, Hylam Street and Chinatown thirty years back or so. Nostalgia fills the air, of course minus the discomfort of eating at dirty makeshift roadside stalls in the 1970s or 80s I guess. Another similar experience was at Resorts World Sentosa - Malaysian Food Street which opened last year. We, Singaporeans love to eat and there is a wide array of different cuisine to choose from, It can be difficult to determine which is best suited to be our national dish. Bye for now. Eat what you like but eat moderately. That's a good advice for those who could not resist everything they see.

Quirky Panache Of A Villa

 

This is one of the widely photographed house in Little India in Singapore. Built in the 1900's, this was the residence of Tan Teng Niah who was an owner of a few confectionery factories. This is one at 37 Kerbau Road is one of the last surviving Chinese villas in Little India. Restored and conserved, is being leased out.
  

Being in this part of town, Little India is dotted with Hindu temples, eateries and shops selling saris, Indian spices, flower garlands, vegetables. It is Singapore's foremost Indian enclave. The building's flamboyant useage of colours conveys Indians preferences for bold and bright colours.
  

 I had to go down to check out this building. Lo and Behold, it completely blow my mind. This is so unlike other Heritage Houses. I wonder whether its could keep this exterior for long. Earlier this year in March, the Urban Redevelopment Authority has set new colour guidelines for conserved buildings. It is looking at pastel shades of pink, blue and green. Too bland, right? Specially in a place like this where its richness derived from the Indian culture and heritage.

  

Matching colourful tables & chairs completes the carnival-like atmosphere

    

Close Up of the windows

  

Neighbouring House

Bye for now. Do you like the look of these houses ? ? ?  Doesn't the excuberance of the

place make you want to break out into a dance like some Bollywood movie. Feast your

eyes on more colourful buildings and dancing in the clip below. Colours excude live.

Look at more colours today.

Chhan  Ke  Mohalla

Or visit a Bazaar : 

http://life-little-treasures.blogspot.sg/2013/11/deepavali-bazaar.html

  *;*   Cheerios   *;*

Tranquil Serendipity

     

Modern Contempory Airwell

A small courtyard in a house helps to release interior heat, draw in passing
breezes, shade adjacent spaces as the sun moves and collects rainwater into
 the dwelling. If the courtyard space is large enough, having a fountain or a
 koi pond is ideal. It symbolizes and also enchances the wealth & health for
the owner. Whether or not you want a calm lipid pool to reflect the azure
sky or a fountain providing soothing sound of a trickling waters. Immersing
in such an ambience transcends an aural and visual delight to our spirit.
'Tranquility' is finding such an oasis in the heart of the home which is
great place to retreat to.

Step Into Ancient Courtyard of Fuk Tak Chi Museum

This temple was built in 1824 at 76 Telok Ayer Street

Covered Courtyard in the Shop Space @ Church Street

When I was in Malacca, I was surprised to find two airwells in their shophouses. The houses were long and deep. As for my late grandma's home in Penang, the courtyard was at the back of the house with the kitchen beside it. The toilet and bathroom were at the rear end. There was no washroom on the second storey, so in the night the family would have to do with a potty in their bedrooms. They even had a customised wooden cover made for it. No one wants to go to the toilet in the middle of the night. That was in the 1960s. If we go back to the days before plumbing arrived. a family well would be in the backyard too.

Teahouse In Penang

I leave you here in another airwell at this traditional old shophouse.
Keep Cool & Take Care.

* *~*~* *

Down Memory Lane

Walking down any streets that comprises of old shophouses evokes a sense of nostalgia. When was young, I had to catch up with my mom walking down these five-foot ways (walkway passage) with shops along side of it. Nowadays if I have the time, I will pause to admire what the interesting facade has to offer. Each house has some unique features about it either ranging from plain & simple to elaborate & ostentatious with ornamental mouldings. Their ornamentation draws inspiration from the Malay, Chinese and European influence. Their style is very much determined by when it was built and affluence of the owners.  

The earliest shophouse style dating back to 1840s built in Chinatown and Kampong Glam were mostly for male immigrants slogging at our Singapore River. By 1900s to 1940s an array of ornate and intricate designs were introduced to the shophouses' facade. These two or three-storey shophouses or townhouses have narrow street frontages. The interior extends back to great depths. On entering the front door, one progresses through a series of spaces, unfolding different sections of a family home. One of the reasons for the narrow widths of these buildings is that they were historically taxed according to the width of their street frontage rather than the total area, thereby it was practical to build them this way. Another reason for the structural span, was determined by the length of the timber used. Such buildings could be seen throughout South East Asia. In some remote towns most of these derelict shophouses had to make way for development.

There is also a growing concern to hold back part of our personal heritage. Heritage resonates with people's psyche and it's often manifested in homes they had once lived before. Though such old houses may have been restored, with new businesses taking over. A sense of displacement is often felt when familiar places are refurbished. Vanishing trades in the yesteryears have totally disappeared. Their brick & mortar business can no longer survive in the current world of mechanization and technology. Thus, Chinatown in Singapore has evolved into a clean touristy place of interest.

This was the Chinatown I had the chance to experience in the 1960s when my minder (Amah) brought me to her servant quarters in Sago Lane. This lane was home to funeral parlors, coffin shops and death houses for the terminally ill and dying, since the early 20th century. I remembered hearing the blowing of the suona, the clanging of cymbals and chanting when the funeral rites were carried out downstairs. 

While I was doing up this blog, I happen to stumble upon a rare gem to show you what it was like in  those days in Singapore. I don't know why I hadn't come across this film when

I have seen other Harley Mills movies. This short story was shot entirely on location in Singapore probably in late 1966. Have a treat since it is Valentine's Day. I hope you have enjoyed my posts and do hope you'll keep coming back for more.

~:xoxox:~

Pretty Polly  (1967)

~:xoxox:~