Chinatown Lights up for Chinese New Year of the Pig

Undaunted by the threatening sky and light drizzle, the performers started arriving at Chinatown at 5.30pm today (27 Jan 07). A small crowd had already started to form along the barricades placed along Eu Tong Sen St and New Bridge Rd.

The host of the evening was MP, Dr. Neo, who came dressed in a bright red pant suit, which certainly brightened up the gloomy skies. (^^) It was quite a crowded affair with some 280 lions peforming on the stilts and roads. A special see-through dragon complete with twinkling lights (powered by a mobile generator) was there to greet the VIPs, amongst whom include ambassadors from countries like USA.

The biggest cheer giver must be the Cai Shen (God of Wealth). He (she) was there to give away chocolate gold nuggets and angpows (red packets) much to the delight of the crowd. The crowd also wanted to touch his (her) hand in the hope of getting some wealth rubbed onto them.

At 7pm, the Prime Minister and his wife arrived, to the cheers of the crowd from both sides of the streets. Dressed in a traditional Chinese shirt, he looked relaxed, ready to absorb in the cheers of the evening. A spread of many interesting performances were put up for the VIPs and guests as well as the visitors to Chinatown, including its dwindling residents. Most had to content with the live-broadcast on the screens placed on both sides of the road as the stage was too far away for many.

When PM and Dr. Neo turned the gold coin placed on the stage, it signalled the beginning of the night's show with a dragon fireball the rolled in the air from the former Police Station right through to People's Park Complex. Just as it passed the complex, a big explosion of fire crackers took off .. darkening the entire place, bringing us back to the days of familiar firecrackers smokes and fumes. What nostalgia.

From the word go, it was a one and a half hour of no stop action, dances and performances. If they could make the performance ala Ching Gay, it would be great as the crowd that lined the streets would be able to get a better glimpse. What they could see was the lions and dragons and the float put up by the Tooth Relic Temple. But the performance was great .. the dances of our young people and those from China, all dazzled.

The Zhong Kui dance was great but alas too short and restricted on the stage. The whole entourage going on the streets would have met with great response.

Ah, the "huat ah" shout has taken on from the Chinese temple events to this event. Instead of the long words to greet Chinese New Year, the comperes decided "Huat Ah" - prosperity in Hokkien/Teochew - was easy enough to coax the crowd. And so, it was a tremendous three "Huat Ah" shouts from the crowd. The Cai Shen must be the one as he was the one asking the crowd to shout "Huat Ah" before they could get their gold nuggets.

The grand finale, with PM, Dr. Neo, VIPs and organisers getting on stage to sing the Chinese New Year song, ended with another blast of fire crackers and fireworks. The short but powerful event had the crowd wanting more. Even when the event ended, the crowd was still standing by the barricade, hoping for more.

The next three weeks will be hectic weeks as the Chinese prepare for Chinese New Year. There are some 500 stalls in Chinatown set up to see all the goodies that one needs for the Chinese New Year celebrations, from ingredients for reunion dinner to Chinese New Year gifts (for parents and parents-in-laws, and potential ones) to sweets to entertain Chinese New Year visitors.

Like the fat pig, one hopes for a "fat" new year.

Busking at the "People's" Square

On a typical weekends, the open space surrounded by OG, old People's Park (as we call them), People's Park Complex and Majestic Building, is often filled full of human traffic. Older folks would sit on the concrete surrounding the trees and listen to the other older folks busking. What a wonderful afternoon to while the time away, listening to songs of yesteryears, something the grandchildren or even the children might not enjoy.

On some days, there could be two to three groups of buskers, some accompanied by musicians as in this case, where they play a assortment of musical instruments. Now, if only the story tellers, like those of yesteryears - the famous Cantonese Lei Dai Soh or Hokkien Ong Toh - were there too.

The cobblers carried on their work at the fringe, with their share of audience, some customers and some probably members of their respective chatgroups. To those diners along the row of Toh Kee, it was added entertainment. To the oldies, they might remember the old days when there were singers who would go from table to table to sing. That was in the very old open air People's Park.

If Republic Food Court would create their foodcourts with a touch of the old, maybe, such nostalgic times could be re-created for People's Park and Chinatown. We certainly can enjoy some operas being sung too.

Thong Chai Medical Institution 同济医院

Each time, as I drive past this unique building, a beauty amongst the beasts, I could not help thinking back of the days when its front could not even be seen from the road. In the old days, my young days, there was a big colony of food stalls just in front of the Tong Chek Yi Yii (as spoken in Hokkien, and often, we just called it Tong Chek Yi), selling all the delicious food. At my time, when one mentioned Tong Chek Yi, food came to my mind. Not the free TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) that it was offering to the locals.

From what I heard, the Tong Chek Yi of yesteryears was also a refuge for the dying. Till this day, Tong Chek Yi Yii is still doing a wonderful community service, in a much bigger building, a short distance away, where the kaling (mynah) flies. But this beauty, deserted and left to fan for herself, has lost her soul. She is still crying out for the right one to give her back her soul.

It was in 1978 or thereabout when I brought this German couple, their first trip to Singapore - and we, chik jia kuey chik jia ark (one chicken and one duck), to this place to try local hawker food. I was naive then to believe that because I did not get food poisoning, they would not. Luckily, they did not. We had sugar cane juice freshly crushed but their favourite was pineapple juice. Lo-meh (the Cantonese spread of a wide variety of different food eaten after dipping in sauce, like the Hokkien Gor Hiang Hay Piah) was probably the attraction there with their bright lights, and well, sometimes, colourful speeches from the stallholders.

Tong Chek Yi 'Square' was the "opening" to an interesting part of Singapore, known to the Teochews (this place is the Teochew part of Chinatown) as Cha Chun Tao (the wooden boat quay in Teochew). I remember the wonderful Teochew Raw Fish, a different and lesser known version of Chinese raw fish, being sold at his old kopitiam (coffeeshop). Those interesting scenes of ancient Singapore are but memories. Thanks to this wonderful Singapore watcher, Ronni Pinsler, you can get to see many pictures of this part in the National Heritage Board Archive website.

Electric Trolley Bus

In a recent trip to Shanghai, looking at the electric trolley bus, I couldn't help but reminsced my young days (as a kid) when the STC (Singapore Traction Company) used to run the electric trolley buses in town. It was a noiseless bus that was slow and sometimes caused traffic jams because of problems with the bus. It ran on fixed routes dictated by the overhead electric wires. It had an interesting jerk as it picked up speed. I could only remember the route at Tanjong Pagar Road near to the Craig Road junction, where there was a big mess of wires being stretched across the street.

While Singapore did away with the electric trolley buses, many countries did not. When we looked back, we realised that the electric trolley bus was indeed ahead of time! At least from the pollution point of view. Of course, the messy overhead wires and constant arcing of the wires with the trolleys seemed to cause concern. To my children, it was the first time they were looking at the electric trolley buses and had not ideas that they were once upon a time, a mode of transport in Singapore!

The only regret was we did not get a chance to try the electric trolley bus in Shanghai.

[Pictures of electric trolley bus and overhead wires taken in Shanghai, December, 2006]

WiFi in Chinatown

Come December 1, 2006, we can expect some of our lifestyles to be changed. At least for some. In Chinatown, there could be changes in ways businesses are being conducted. Bloggers could do on-site reporting, complete with cameras, recorders and wifi enabled notebooks. It might not just be kopi with roti-kahwin (Malay of Married Bread, meaning bread with butter and kaya, an egg jam), but with notebook (laptop). Just make sure you don't mix kopi with the keyboard.

Anyone wants to rent our wifi-enabled notebooks to tourists? (^^)

Choose your favourite kopi-tiam, seat under the tree, or in the airy Chinatown Square.

http://www.ida.gov.sg/idaweb/doc/download/I3929/Chinatown.pdf

But of course, you will have to register with wireless@SG first. You can get more details from the IDA website at:

http://www.ida.gov.sg/idaweb/marketing/infopage.jsp?infopagecategory=factsheet:wireless&versionid=2&infopageid=I3928

Thanks to the farsightedness of IDA, somethings very exciting could well be happening.

Celebrating Guan Yin Tan at Tian Hock Keng

On 9 Nov 2006, which is the 19th of the 9th Lunar Month, at Tian Hock Keng, Xiang Lin Musical Association gave a Nan Yin and Li Yuan Xi performance, much to the delight of a dedicated audience. The average age of the group could well be the mid-70s, well, with some of us bringing the average lower. (^^) It was like yesteryears once more as the oldies - interestingly mostly men - sat, chat and enjoyed the show. And the performers, give a few older ones, the average age would be in mid-20s.

Well, we have hope that Nan Yin and Li Yuan Xi (literally translated as Pear Garden Opera .. the operas that were once the rave in the 1930s?) will be carried on to the next generation.

What better setting than at Tian Hock Keng, one of the oldest temples in Singapore, restored to its old glory .. bathed in warm light .. as the performers took the stage, which was the part of the courtyard just after the main doors. Tonight, the compere was a young lady. The man I was expecting was not there or could he be hidden in some masks as a performer? (^^)

The day, being the 19th of the 9th Lunar Moon, it was the third "Big Day" dedicated to Guan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy. The other days are 2M19 and 6M19. This musical association conducts this performance at the Tian Hock Keng three times a year.

In tonight's performance, Xiang Lin has also invited the experts from Quan Zhou, China, one who is a flautist and the other, a lady who was the expert drummer (percussionist). She has an interesting technique in controlling the drums, making various sounds with sticks, hands and her foot!

In the typical Nan Yin tempo and starting, we were treated to the first piece, followed by singing by two girls, said to have learnt only for 3 months. For me, it could take a lifetime. Learning the Nan Yin's Hokkien (minnan hua) is not easy. Lyrics were projected to a screen, and so we were able to enjoy the songs better following the words and understanding the meaning.

If I am not wrong, in the group was a Malay guy who played the "sa-mi-sen" (three strings?). The first time I saw him was at ACM where he played the guzheng.

The music piece and the singing piece dedicated to Guan Yin was a great piece singing about the three Big Days dedicated to Guan Yin. The lyrics were written by Ding Ma Chen and the music composed by Zuo Sheng Xiang, both members of the Association. The ladies took turn to sing each "Big Day" of Guan Yin. As is the tradition now, after this song, led by an elder lady, who I guess must be the patron of the Association, the senior members and the VIPs, with the audience facing towards Guan Yin who is at the rear Hall (the front hall being dedicated to Mazu) bowed three times.

The music piece and the singing piece dedicated to Guan Yin was a great piece singing about the three Big Days dedicated to Guan Yin. The lyrics were written by Ding Ma Chen and the music composed by Zuo Sheng Xiang, both members of the Association. The ladies, include Mdm Wu, took turn to sing each "Big Day" of Guan Yin.

As is the tradition now, after this song, led by this elder lady, who I guess must be the patron of the Association, the senior members and the VIPs, with the audience facing towards Guan Yin who is at the rear Hall (the front hall being dedicated to Mazu) bowed three times.

The second part of the show was more lively with the Li Yuan Xi. I thought this performance is much better than the present day Hokkien Opera, but well. Excerpts from Tan Sa Gor Niu (Chen San Wu Niang) were performed in three parts, each with different actresses. It was an opera about this man from Quan Zhou (Tan Sa - 3rd Tan) who met this lady in Chao Zhou (Gor Niu - 5th Lady) ... which left the old men wanting for more. (^^) Yes, we were literally "sucked" into the scene where Tan Sa was leaving, heartbroken and disappointed and was pulled back by the maid (the umbrella episode) who played the go-in-between for Gor Niu to express her real feelings so as to convince Tan Sa to stay.

I agreed readily that this was much better than the street \noperas. (^^)

And so, the show ended with a very high note for all of us panting for more .. what a pity that only the ah-laos can appreciate it better and this show should have been shown to more people. A showcase of one of our heritage.

At the Barber

A couple of weeks ago, I was at this newly set up barbershop in People's Park. I went there to find one lady barber busy cutting and another one busy discussing with a customer. Oh, I thought to myself, a change of faces again. Unlike the old Fuzhou barbers where the same old faces (men) were there year in and year out, here the change is like every month. (^^)

From their accent, I gather that they must be mainland Chinese girls. This one was here only for a few months. She was flustered with this early morning customer who demanded money back for cutting his hair too short. "I thought he said that he wanted it short," she muttered to her associate. She was in a quandary if she should refund. The other was suggesting that she asked her boss. Finally, in the good new customer service of Singapore, a refund was made. I am not sure if it is from the till or from her wallet.

A lady popped her head in and asked in Hokkien, "Ka tampo esai bo?" Huh? The two girls looked at her in bewilderment. The other customer went to the rescue translating to Mandarin that she "wanted to cut a little, can or not". That lady wanted to know if the price would be less. Nope. Ah, the Chinese world in Singapore is changing. I couldn't help thinking that the "Speak Mandarin" campaign seems to work better for mainland Chinese working in Singapore. At least they have one putong hua (common language) to communicate with the local Chinese Singaporeans. (^^) In my halting Mandarin, I gave my instructions to the barber to cut my hair.

Letting her cut my hair (praying that she understood my requirements), I closed my eyes and drifted away. Away to my younger days when my Mum would bring me and my brother to a barbershop near to Grandma's place at Tanjong Pagar (where ST now stands). I hated to go to this barbershop because the barber would shave my face. I suppose I feared the shaving knife brandishing in front of my face, and each time inevitably, there were cuts. Those were the pre-AIDS days. Later, we managed to get our Mum to bring us to the Indian Barbershop opposite. At least they did not shave the face and they were friendlier. And yes, in an airconditioning room - a great thing in those days. I couldn't help wondering how was it that the Indian Radio seemed to have songs all day long, no matter when I went for my hair cut. Grandma opened a small kopi-tua, just across from the bus repair shop (Was it Tay Ko Yap?), and so, we had kopi after the having our hair cut. So, visit to Grandma and barbershop were part of our monthly routine and it meant that we could meet all the aunties. Grandma was strict and we had to call all of them when we saw them. Now, if we were to have lunch or dinner, it was to be the same, from Grandpa to Grandma, to first uncle .. right down to the last senior. The good thing for us boys was, we joined Grandpa and uncles for the meal first. The ladies came in second. For one, the table was not big. There was a joke in Hokkien about "Ta Paul Jia Toh, Cha Ball Chik Toh" (The male eat and the female clean).

Oh yes, and the Indian barbers did the trick on your head as if he wanted to twist your head and there was a "cluck" sound. Was fun having that done and being finished with some eau-di-cologne (Hokkien call it the Ko-long-chwee).

In the old days, female barbers are unheard of being in the main stream barber business. But of course, there were a few, two of which were famous at the "gao-lao" (9 storey) brick building (now it is gone) of the HDB flat next to Pickering St. I remembered the old men going there for their hair cut (we kids did not dare to venture into the barbershop and so we did not know if there were other activities) and some even bring their favourite barbers to Carpenter St for supper. In the 1970s, along the Carpentar St at night, there were two Teochew Muay (porridge) stalls serving great "hee-kau" (also known as Da Pan or Ikan Batang) muay and Pomfret muay. The stewed duck was also great. I was working then, and when I worked late, this was my favourite place to have my support. It later moved to Gor-Chan-Chiu-Ka (the old Esplanade) where it suffered a "slow death", overwhelmed by the steamboat stalls there.

"Hao le," said the lady barber, which woke me up. Without my specs, I could only have an outline of my hair. Looked good. Paying her, I went off. Only to discover that the cutting was a little off ... ah, a novice.

Wee Ma arrives for a visit to Po Chiak Keng

On Sunday, 15 Oct 06, the 24th of the 8th Lunar Month, Wee Ma, the grandma of Kai Chang Sheng Wang, the patron saint of Bao Che Gong 保赤宫 (Po Chia Keng), in the form of a statue, arrived in Singapore for a short visit, together with the 650 year old statue of Kai Zhang Sheng Wang 开漳圣王, also known in Hokkien as Sheng Ong.

As in traditional Chinese style, a procession, led by lion and dragon dances and Kong-Kuan (cymbal and gong troupe), the elders of Po Chia Keng carrying the "fire" from the mother-temple in China, and three sedan chairs carrying Wee Ma and Sheng Ong, and a whole entourage of Po Chia Keng members, started from Bullockcartwater (Kreta Ayer) and walked through the heart of Chinatown.

With the lights and decorations commemorating the mid-Autumn festival still lit, it was like Disneyland parade come alive, ala orang cina (Chinese), with the parade. It was accidental attractions for many tourists, and local visitors to Chinatown too. Cameras and handphones with cameras were flashing non-stop. Many must have thanked their lucky stars for such a catch or shot.

Situated at Magazine Road, this is a 130 year old temple that has seen much of the development of Singapore. What was a tributary of the Singapore River (near to the Chwee Lang Tau) in front of the temple, what stands now is an electrical power distribution building. It is a temple dedicated to the ancestors of the Tan Clan (chen in Mandarin, and possibly, Chan in Cantonese and Chin in Hakka), with Sheng Ong as the patron Deity. The mother temple in China is in Zhang Zhou.

Bullockcartwater Talk?

I thought that fellow Chinatown residents - present and past, and even visitors might be interested in dropping in for a chat. Too bad, technology is not ready to serve tea. (^^)

Nevertheless, I have created an email forum. So, do drop in.

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Chinatown Mid-Autumn Festival 2006 16 Sep - 15 Oct

It is the time again, albeit late by one month because this year, in the Chinese Lunar Calendar there are two 7th Months. This year, the Mid-Autumn, 15th of 8th Lunar Month, falls on 6 Oct 06. Chinatown, in its tradition, is going to mark the Mid-Autumn Festival with a string of activities. It is also the time when many locals, and perhaps, foreign residents, would be queuing up the old traditional moon-cake shops such as Da Zhong Guo (Dai Chong Kok in Cantonese) known to have served many generations the Chinese pastry delights, the moon cakes being one of the major ones.

The traditional moon cakes come baked with mostly lotus paste an salted eggs in them with a hard pastry crust. These are more Cantonese. The Teochews have their own mooncakes which are filled with yam paste and with flaky pastries. There are also the "snow-skin" types which are probably Cantonese. These days, one could find moon cake with durian flavoured fillings or Green Tea fillings.

With the moon cakes, the small yams would also be another food associated with Mid-Autumn Festival. These are steamed and eaten. And yes, the pomelos too.



For the younger kids, the lanterns are a delight. What used to be the clear see-through paper pasted on bamboo sticks with a candle holders - and they are a fire hazard, with many children crying when their lantern caught fire first - and in various shapes such as the gold fish, these days, chances are the kids would want to have those in the forms of Hallo Kitty and with electronic control bulbs that cause them to flash.

Mooncakes and pomelos are also ideal gifts by the married children to their parents, or by the boyfriends to their prospective parents-in-law. Those moon cakes with more egg yolks, the merrier.

Copied from a poster from the organisers, are the broad programme information.

Chinatown Mid-Autumn Festival 2006
Official Light-up & Opening Ceremony
23 Sep 06 Sat
7.30pm
Along New Bridge Rd

Street Light-up
23 Sep - 15 Oct 06
7.00pm - 12.00mn (Sunday to Thursday)
7.00pm - 2.00am (Friday, Saturday and eve of Public Holiday)
New Bridge Rd, Eu Tong Sen St, South Bridge rd, Pagoda St, Smith St, Sago St, Temple St and Trengganu St

Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration & Mass Lantern Walk
6 Oct 06 Fri
7.30pm
Chinatown to Singapore River

Nightly Stage Shows
23 Sep - 6 Oct 06
8.00pm - 10.30pm
Kreta Ayer Square Stage

Festival Street Bazaar
16 Sep - 6 Oct 06
11.00am - 12.00mn (Sunday and weekdays)
11.00am - 2.00am (Friday, Saturday and eve of Public Holiday)
Venue: Pagoda St, Sago St, Temple St, and Trengganu St

Heritage Night Hunt
30 Sep 06 Sat
4.30pm - 9.30pm
Chinatown

Night of Lantern Riddles
29 & 30 Sep 06 (Fri and Sat)
7.30pm - 10.00pm
Kreta Ayer Square Stage

For more information call, +65 6222 3597

Ack: Poster by Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng Citizens' Consultative Committee