Accidental Tourist @ Ann Siang

Had a nice romp around Ann Siang Hill with my very first Photography teacher or Lao Shi last weekend and I simply had a BLAST! Just back to basics and a whole lot of fun! 

Many thanks to my Lao Shi, Steven Yee (Photovivo; www.photovivo.com) for continuing to share your knowledge about the beautiful art of photography! 

Simple yet Impactful 

can't fail with Reflections!

Simple yet Effective

Can't wait for my next Architecture guided tour with him on this Saturday! http://www.photovivo.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3919  Am sure that it is going to be just as fun! 

Some brick and mortar facts: 

• Ann Siang Hill, located off South Bridge Road, was the site of the house and estate of Chia Ann Siang (谢安祥; 1832–1892), a wealthy Malacca-born Hokkien Chinese sawmiller. 
• Located beside the former Telok Ayer Bay, it was one of 3 hills (the others being Mount Wallich and Mount Erskine which were eventually leveled) collectively known as Telok Ayer Hills.
• The Chinese used to call this area qing shan ting. The early Chinese immigrants visited Ann Siang Hill when they wanted to send money home to their families in China, as it was the traditional site of remittance houses.
• Letter writers and calligraphers also had their businesses at the five-foot way of the shophouses to help the illiterate immigrants write letters home. 
• Most of the houses in Ann Siang Hill and along Ann Siang Road were built between 1903 and 1941. 
• Ann Siang Road, which has elegantly restored shophouses today, was once the traditional home of clan associations and exclusive social clubs.

Incidentally, his 120 year-old tomb was only recently discovered in the greater Bukit Brown area by the good people at Bukit Brown.com (http://bukitbrown.com/main/?p=5085 and http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20120923-373261.html) 

If you are keen to explore about this area, NParks has a beautiful walking trail map downloadable at http://www.nparks.gov.sg/cms/docs/ann_siang_hill_park_final_lr.pdf

Directions to Ann Siang
By MRT: 
Walk down Temple Street from Chinatown MRT (Exit A) Station - after you see Sri Mariamman Temple, you can walk towards the opposite road called Ann Siang Road

By Car: 
Won't recommend driving as parking spaces are limited and the traffic police lady is quite active in the area

By Public Bus:
Via South Bridge Road Nos. 61, 166, 197
Alight opposite Sri Mariamman Temple and walk up towards Ann Siang Road

Till the next time, onto the world and beyond!

Accidental Tourist - "Can Survive Lah!" Tour with Gereldene Lowe

I was fortunate to walk with Ms.  Geraldene Lowe on her 'Can Survive Lah!" tour that focuses on Singapore's surviving but vanishing trades like Joss Stick Maker, Paper House Maker, Chinese Instruments/ Opera Shop Owner and Wood/ Seal Carver. 

Before joining her tour, I was definitely unaware of the existence of these men and women who have been working their craft with their families in the same trade for the past 2-3 generations. 

The Joss Stick Maker was one Mr. Amos Tay who is a third generation artist who makes intricately carved figurines and joss sticks from the cinnamon tree. His shop is located at an industrial park area in Ang Mo Kio. I saw him work his hands that transformed what looked like the 'modern day' "Play Doh" to a fine looking porcupine fish. On another side, gold colored paint was being applied by hand onto certain sections of joss sticks and I stood there mesmerized by the speed of the handiwork that is being performed before my very eyes. From what Gereldene shared, 20 feet tall joss sticks are now banned in Singapore due to fire hazard concerns. I was happy to see that they kept a 10 foot tall joss stick in one corner of the shop and quickly indulged in my photography passion. 

Free photo slideshow made with Smilebox

At our next stop, we walked down to a shop that does Paper Houses. I spoke to one Mr. Zhou who was kind enough to spare me some time to tell me a bit about the history of this place. Apparently he is also took over from his father and these paper houses are generally offered as part of the last journeys of a deceased i.e. burnt as part of the offerings. He told me that after the frames are assembled and tied by hand with each sheet of paper applied onto the stick frames by hand. Despite the labour intensive work involved, they can complete their usual orders in about 1 day! His sister then showed me a photo of one of their most elaborate pieces and informed me that the paper mansion complete with garden, forecourt, gate etc) took them longer - I think she said it was 1-2 months. 

Slideshow personalized with Smilebox

After a refreshing fruit juice stop at a fruit shop in a hawker centre, we were sped off to meet Mr. Jeffrey Eng (owner of Eng Tiang Huat, a shop who promotes and provides Chinese cultural products like musical instruments, opera costumes and embroidery work since his grandfather's time from 1937). Mr. Eng was affable and was deft in explaining what a Chinese Opera will require to put on a performance by using fake moustache, whiskers and hats. He even played some of the Chinese musical instruments like Erhu and Gong to show how the music complemented the Opera being staged. He was very entertaining with his stories and his shop is definitely a shop of treasures! 

Create a slideshow design

Our last stop for the day was at Yong Gallery in Chinatown where Mr. Tay (expert woodcarver/ seal maker) is stationed. With patrons like prime ministers, ministers, dignitaries, he is definitely well loved for his skills and handiwork. Fortunately for us, he was able to display his carving skills on a small Chinese seal in a work table located just outside his shop. Mental note to self is to make sure I get a nice wood carved plaque made by him for my birthday. 

Another free digital slideshow by Smilebox

I have certainly enjoyed my half-day excursion with  Geraldene  as I saw a side of my little island that I have NEVER thought to exist.  Geraldene Tours are definately unique and one of a kind and she has so many stories and memories to share that I will jump at another chance to go on her guided tour when the opportunity arises. 

You can contact Geraldene through the following means if you are interested to find out more of her tours: 
email: geraldenestorus@hotmail.com 
Tel: (65) 81551390/  (65) 67375250
address: 27 Oxley Road, #06-08 Orchard Court, Singapore 238621

Till the next time, onto the world and beyond! 

Accidental Tourist - Friends of the Museum (FOM) Chinese New Year hawkers Food Tour with makan guru, KF Seetoh of Makansutra.com

Had a fabulous opportunity to go on a themed Food Tour with Singapore food guru, KF Seetoh organised by Friends of the Museum Singapore for its Super Saturday programme. He presented us with his interpretation of the culinary delights that is associated with Chinese New Year (CNY) period which will be celebrated in about 1 week’s time.

First it was a stopover at Chinatown Food Centre. This hawker centre is one of the oldest and biggest (about 180 hawker stalls) hawker centres in Singapore and is located in *drum rolls* Chinatown. At that location, he spun many exciting tales about the hawkers (still operating & recently past) and the local food scene while we soaked in the busy atmosphere of the streets from inside the hawker centre. It was a choice location setting the perfect mood as the area was thick with food delights and smells.

We ventured forward in our culinary journey in a specially chartered bus to an old establishment called “Lai Wai Restaurant” in Bendeemer Road. For those who don’t know (including yours truly), the founder was one of the 4 heavenly culinary chefs that came up with Yu Sheng, a ‘made-in-Singapore’ dish that has come to represent Chinese New Year in Singapore. One does not feel that he/ she has celebrated Chinese New Year in Singapore unless a meal comprise of Yu Sheng, a multi-colored auspicious dish filled with flavour, colour and good tidings. To accompany the Yu Sheng, which is wonderfully moist and crispy, a dish filled with perfectly Fried Prawns which are succulent and roe-filled red legged prawns coated with special crispy dough. This prawn dish is associated with CNY as prawn means ‘happy’ in Cantonese. We were also presented with a “Fa Chai” dish, which is another ‘lucky’ dish special for this festive season. This stop was too short to be considered a meal as we were (unfortunately) told to only be 30-40% full at this stopover.

On the way to our next stop, Seetoh provided us with carefully orchestrated descriptions of other famous food dishes associated with Singapore like fried carrot cake and fried hokkien prawn noodle before finally informing us that our next stop was to be a 2^nd generation hawker specializing in the fried hokkien mee (carefully called "Lor 29 Geylang Road" although it is now located within food stall at East Coast Road). It was definitely a delight for all when he brought us right next to the ‘master’ chef when he was whipping up the dishes over an extremely hot furnace that is fired by charcoal (rare nowadays). This hawker is also unique as he had retained the use of the betel nut leaf (for takeaways starting from medium portions) which adds to the aroma of the dish. The stall helper explained that this practice is hardly adopted by other hawkers due to the scarce supply of the betel nut leaf as only 1 leaf is shed by the betel nut tree each month(!). By the end of this 2^nd stop, many of us are perfectly filled up (although our mandate was to be only 70% full) with the fried hokkien prawn noodle and fried carrot cake that were both exceptional in both taste and texture. This place definitely warrants a return trip! 

Our last stop-over was surprisingly at Geylang Serai, an enclave for all things associated with the Malay (not Chinese) culture in Singapore. Seetoh explained that he brought us here because Chinese hawkers in Singapore are generally closed for extended periods (7 -15 days at a stretch) during CNY, people who wish to have their hawker meals will throng to places like Geylang as they are mainly operated by Malay stallholders! 




We ended our tour happy, contented and perfectly stuffed to the brim. Thanks to Seetoh for a delightful 4 hours and FOM for organising this one-in-a-lifetime food treat! 

Gong Xi Fa Cai to one and all!

Off to the world and beyond!