A bowl of Lor Mee set me thinking of the past ...

It's been decades since when I had Lor Mee 卤面 (the traditional Hokkien noodles in thick gravy with lots of garlic and vinegar) at Boon Tat St. Those were the days when there was a row of roadside stalls there and Lor Mee was one of the favourite ones of many. For us working in the vicinity, we would brave the heat and even rain to get to our bowl of Lor Mee.

Decades passed and the Boon Tat Street became very clean. First there was no more stalls. And then, the residents were no longer there. And now, there are shops and restaurants.

The good news is that Lor Mee is still around. In fact there are many in the hawker centres (now known as food centres) of Singapore. There is one in Amoy St Food Centre, which could well be from Boon Tat Street. It is here where with my family we could come for our Sunday breakfast. The kids learnt to like Lor Mee. And these days, they, already grown up, would suggest Lor Mee on occasional Sundays when we still have time for a family breakfast together.

And on this day while having Lor Mee, my thoughts led from the delicious noodles to Boon Tat Street to the tomb of Ong Boon Tat at Bukit Brown. Many would have read about the biggest known grave at Bukit Brown as that of Ong Sam Leong. Many might not know of his sons, one of whom is Ong Boon Tat.

Here is one post on Ong Boon Tat by the Rojak Librarian. Read about it to find out more about this man. Would you know that the New World (at Jalan Besar) was founded by him with Ong Peng Hock?

You can find out more about some of our pioneers who have been buried in Bukit Brown at All Things Bukit Brown and Bukit Brown: Living Museum of History and Heritage.

Thanks to KhooEH, one of the Brownies (the group of dedicated and passionate people who were "digging" and discovering more about our pioneers through the tombs in Bukit Brown) here is a picture of Ong Boon Tat's tomb at Bukit Brown.

While Lor Mee and Ong Boon Tat are not related in any sense, indeed, history brought them together. For people like me, food through taste invokes linkages in history. Perhaps, the next time when you eat a bowl of Lor Mee, it might remind you of Ong Boon Tat and through him, New World and history of Singapore in those days. Maybe, it might be a fun way to teach history? :)