Balestier

Novena Church Source: The Straits Times This view greeted us when we reached. It was a Saturday morning and the place was flooded with people who came to visit the church which was recently developed. Amongst the visitors were also people who were on their usual Saturday routine to attend the church Saturday services, now in a newly designed building which could house twice the number of worshippers (800 to 1500 seatings)  After doing our background research on the redevelopment of the church, we found out that the growth of worshippers was the main reason why the Church of St. Alphonsus embarked on this massive project amounting up to $55m as indicated here: (http://www.novenachurch.com/redevelopment.html)  Personally (Esther), I have not been to the old Novena Church before the renovation. I got a shock when I googled images of the old building. The new building was on an elevated ground and the land area occupied was at least twice the original land mass! The...

Single Storey Shophouses #601-639 Such Single-storey buildings were found in many parts of pre-1965 Singapore, especially in the suburban and rural areas. They were built by early developers for sale as shops and homes for new settlers from the rural areas who were told to leave their rural areas for urban developments. Though these shophouses were some of the earliest buildings to be constructed, the architects had seen the need to integrate some designs in the form of Art Deco pediment above the five-foot way to make it more aesthetically inclined. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has made conservation efforts to these buildings by prohibiting any alterations to these buildings. We have heard about the famous 'Tau Sar Piah' shop which was situated at one end of the stretch of shophouses. However we did not know that along that stretch alone, there were 4 Tau Sar Piah shops! Despite the choices of shops available, consumers still chose to flood the shop at ...

Wan Qing Yuan The location of the memorial hall is exactly where Dr. Sun Yat Sen resided and had his plans for the 1911 Chinese Revolution crafted with his team of revolutionaries. This was the HeadQuarters of the many branches of   同盟會 (Tong Meng Hui)    across South East Asia.  History of Wan Qing Yuan The Statue of Sun Yat Sen The visit to this place left the deepest impression in me (or us).  Our visit coincided with the celebration of the Mid-Autumn festival and it being a heritage site, the celebration was pretty grand and lively. However, we could hear ENGLISH contemporary music playing in the background the moment we stepped into the place.  It felt so uncomfortable and weird as the loud bases of the contemporary music did not fuse well at all with the overarching theme of the memorial hall -- which is to remember Sun Yat Sen who made a significant contribution on the Chinese Community in Singapore. As much as I (...

Maha Sasana Ramsi Burmese Buddhist Temple  At the entrance The temple was founded in 1878 and was originally located at Kintan Road off Serangoon Road.  It is the first and only Burmese Buddhist temple built outside of Burma (Myanmar) in the traditional style, appropriately adapted to local conditions.  In the main worship hall, there is an 11-foot high statue of Buddha, which was carved from a 10-tonne slab of marble found at Saygin Hill in Burma (Myanmaar). The statue was transported to Singapore and enshrined at the Kinta Road Temple in 1925. The temple only moved to its present location in 1991. Majestic and Grand appearance 11-foot high statue of Buddha, completed in 1918 To us, the Burmese connection of this temple (and the areas around) is the most interesting fact we found. Do you know that many side streets at the end of the Balestier Road are named after places in Burma? Such as Mandalay Road, Akyab Road, Bassein Road and Irrawaddy Road. ...

History From the outside, the Balestier Market looks just like any other hawker centre, boasting a variety of food choices and beverages. However, one must know that other than serving as a food centre in modern-day Singapore, the Balestier Market had its own humble beginning as a permanent place for local vendors to sell their produce back in the 1920s. Back then, the market was known to have been close to a dark timber bridge said to have spanned the Whampoa River, and it was popularly referred to as Or Kio , which means 'Black Bridge' in Hokkien. The original market was described in 1924 to have been "secluded but busy" and it was roofless then - a roof was added only later in 1925. It consisted of a row of small huts and also a pitched zinc roof, and was part of an attempt by local authorities to set up permanent market spaces in their bid to remove temporary hawkers who otherwise sold their goods and produce by the roadside. It was also to improve the ...

Sim Kwong Ho Shophouse, 230/246 With the eye-catching exterior and intricate designs, the Sim Kwong Ho Shophouse really caught our attention as we walked down Balestier Road. This row of shophouses was built in 1926 by female developer Madam Sim Cheng Neo, and the design of the shophouses is a blend of Western and Eastern cultures - which is also known as the "Singapore Eclectic".  Interestingly from hearsay, there used to be a dog centerpiece which has since gone missing. We wondered about its disappearance for quite a while, but out attention was soon captured by the elaborate carvings of mythical creatures, bats, flowers and birds on the walls of the shophouses as we wandered closer. As it turns out, bats used to be an ancient symbol of good fortune and have appeared in Chinese architecture for countless times.  The fusion of Chinese and Western architectural elements like the venetian arches and classic motifs really got us thinking about the history of...

After stopping by Balestier Market for lunch, we crossed over to the other side of Balestier Road in search of the Water Kiosk. And there it was, standing by the road, looking like it came straight out of one of those Chinese dramas which aired on Channel 8 and showcased Singapore in the 1900s. Located at the corner of Boon Teck Road just by the Balestier Road, it looked neglected and barely functional.  However, as one of us ventured to twist the taps, we realised that it was in fact still functioning, and people do still use the water kiosk. One of the taps dispenses tea, whereas the other dispenses clean drinking water. We suppose that this is symbolic of a time when clean drinking water was a luxury in Singapore. It also reminded us of how the main water sources in the past were likely rivers, streams and wells that were dug up painstakingly. Free water kiosks like this one must have been hard to come by in the past as well, and once can only imagine how thankful the lab...

Former Shaw's Malay Film Studios The Shaw Malay Film Studio was the heartbeat of the Singaporean Malay film industry. During the golden years of Malay film from the 1950s-1960s, the studio produced many films that still resonate in the hearts of many Singaporeans. Indeed, the films produced from this location formed a large part of the memories of the people from our parents and grandparents generation.  However, for all the memories that this place produced, this place had to be the most unassuming in terms of its exterior. What greeted us was a corrugated zinc gate that was half closed. There was no sign of any brochures, tour guides, ticketing counters or any form of historical influence for that matter. The gate that greeted us when we arrived  However, as the saying goes, 'never judge a book by its cover'. Our attitude shifted dramatically once we stepped into the studio. Large cinema projectors greeted us and reminded of the times past, when films were...

Kim Keat Road  Kim Keat Road today boast a collection of traditional shop houses as well as modern buildings in a blend of old and new. It is named after Chua (Choa) Kim Keat who is a Peranakan merchant and the only son of Chua Kai Hoon, a native of Malacca who migrated to Singapore. During our trip there, the most memorable experience was watching the baking of bread at Sweetlands Confectionery and Bakery. We were fortunate enough to catch a fresh batch of bread coming out of the oven. These traditional loaves were charred on the outside as they came out of the over. the staff then used a long knife to slice away the 'skin' of the bread, revealing the soft white interior underneath. This is something that I have never seen before and would certainly stay with me for a long time to come. Rows of bread both cut and uncut  It is really interesting to see such traditional methods of preparation happening in such an old school store while condominiums tower over it jus...

The mosque was originally named Masjid Kebun Limau and initially started out as a simple prayer hall in 1964, with all Muslim families in the vicinity contributing some money to aid in its construction. As time progressed, the prayer hall was given the approval to be transformed into a mosque. Funds were needed to make the transformation possible, with the budget estimated to be around $600,000. In September of 1981, Mrs Hajjah Rahimabi Ahmad Angullia donated $1,600,000 to the mosque, in memory of her daughter. She came from a prominent Indian Muslim family called the Angullia, who has made substantial contributions to the Muslim community like the construction of Angullia Mosque and Angullia Park. A mosque was then built on the existing plot and renamed Masjid Hajjah Rahimabi Kebun Limau in honour of her generosity Exploring the exterior of the mosque  The mosque looked just like any other mosque that could have been found in Singapore. However, one would never have known...

The traditional coffee culture is one that has passed its heyday in Singapore. Increasingly, the younger generation choose to flock to chains such as Starbucks for their caffeine fix. Kopi O Siu Dai is quickly giving way to Non Fat Hazelnut Latte as the dominant choice of coffee beverage today. The above example might be an exaggeration, but it certainly reflects the current trend we see today. Lam Yeo Coffee Powder is one of the last surviving family run traditional coffee roasters in Singapore. Traditionally, Singaporean coffee powder is differentiated only by price, as seen in the picture below. Each price contains a different blend of various coffee beans. Customers order it by just stating the weight they want and the price of the coffee beans. For example, "$10.50, 400 grams". This is the opposite of gourmet coffee beans which has names such as Arabica and Robusta. However, to adapt to the changing clientele, they have also included modern gourmet coffee in their vari...

Sim Kwong Ho Shophouse Sim Kwong Ho Shophouse In the early days , these shop-houses were no different from the others with little architectural design and ornaments. However with the rubber boom in the 20th century , it saw an astronomical rise in the riches of the merchants who invested money by hiring western architects to help redesign the shop-houses.  Through the fusion of their western design features accompanied by traditional Chinese elements it produced an absolute art work of beauty that kept our entire group in awe just by its simplicity and how two cultures so varying in nature can come into such a beautiful marriage and form an artwork of beauty. This blend of cultures is in essence called "Singapore Eclectic". As we were admiring the architecture , a mural on the wall caught our attention and it was that of a Sikh soldier defending the land. We were caught off guard at first and didn't know what to think of it but upon further thought we realize ...

Balestier point As we continued our trail we ended up at Balestier point, at first glance it looked like an unattractive and rundown mall with little attractiveness to anyone due to its simplistic architecture but little did we know the rich history behind it. Balestier point cost  $35 million dollars for construction and exist both as a residential area while also being mall at the same time. It serves as the homes for 68 families which consist of both two to three rooms flats and also for 62 commercial businesses. The simple facade upon closer inspection took an entirely different view.The simplistic designs were merely a but one perspective of the entire building which consist of lego like blocks that constituted the core of the building.The lego like blocks were seemingly "stacked"on top of each other to form the building which greatly contrasted to the surrounding building who were largely still simplistic in its design during this period of time. The i...

Five-foot walk ways As we proceed on with our trail , we stumbled upon one of the most unique features of the shop-houses in the Balestier region which was the five foot walk way. These walkways were first put into practice by Raffles in 1822 under the Town planning where he stipulated that bricks and tiles should be used for these common walkways with a certain required depth and width in order to help reduce fire risk.Over time the locals begin to call these walk ways five foot walk ways due to the width of these walkways being about 5 foot wide. We decided to put this to the test.                                           ArtDeco shophouses  Art deco is commonly  associated with symmetrical geometric shapes and bright colours with a mix of subtle elegance and glamour. It is a style that took popularity during the 1920s in Europe and through the British came in...

Goh Chor Tua Peh Kong Temple This temple was named Goh Chor as it is the Hokkien transliteration of Rochore which is the name of the surrounding area in the mid 19th century, while Tua Pek Kong is a Taoist deity widely worshiped by Chinese across Southeast Asia. Built in the southern Chinese style, the low, tiled roof features dragons, birds, fish, blazing pearls, phoenixes and flowers which are all oriental in nature and show case the skilled workman ship of the locals as each are carefully handcrafted. Three Stone plaques record the history of the temple from the Chinese Emporer Dao guang's reign all the way till the subsequent renovations in 1920 and 1928. A look inside the temple: Chinese Opera: An interesting preservation of a dying art form is also seen here in the form of Chinese opera.This free standing Chinese opera or Wayang stage was one of two surviving stages that was built in 1906 by Tan Boon Liat. Teochew and Hokkien operas are still performed ...