High Culture?
Walking, we come across a bright red building.
No, it isn’t the Red
House Bakery, which was famous for its traditional pastries before being closed
down in 2003.
This red house was the
Black Earth Auction House, an art and auction gallery.
Attracted by the
vibrancy of the exterior, we snooped around outside, trying to peer into the
interior of the building. Suddenly, a voice came from behind “You can go in to
look if you want.” Caught! Turning, a man beckoned to us to the side of the
building, where he opened the door and led us inside. The man turned out to be
working for the owner of the gallery, they were preparing for an art auction on
the next Sunday, and he was setting up the equipment in preparation of the
event. He invited us to feel free to take photos of the interior and continued
on with his work.
Here are some photos of
some of the art pieces on display. There were ceramics from the Ming and Qing
dynasty, as well as a collection of artworks from various parts of Southeast
Asia.
Ceramics from the Qing
Dynasty.
Oil painting by an
Indonesian artist.
One by a Singaporean
artist.
And my absolute
favourite piece. And ink painting of a horse.
Since the gallery
wasn’t officially open, the lights were not switched on in the upper floors.
With just scant light offerings from windows in the front and back, it was a
little dim. However, having had its interior repainted white, the natural light
entering through the windows bounced off the walls and brightened up what would
have been a gloomy interior.
The third floor of the
gallery mainly contained just empty display cases.
Small skylights in the
roof also spilled some light into the gallery. High ceilings were a key feature
to traditional shophouses and helped to cool the interior of the house in the
scorching tropical heat.
The stair railings were
retained from the renovation. Although we’re not too sure about the origins of
the railing design…
Going back downstairs,
we meet the owner of the place. He warmly greets us, inviting us to attend the
upcoming auction on the next Sunday. Asking why he chose to open his art
gallery in Joo Chiat Road, he smiles and says that he had inherited the place
and had decided to use it as an art gallery.
Was it just a personal
conviction? Perhaps? But maybe not totally so. A look around and one finds that
this isn’t the only art gallery around. Just down the road, we find a few more
art galleries.
A closer look shows
that Joo Chiat appears to attract not just food junkies and night revellers;
it’s attracting the artistic genre too. A place steeped in local history, and
in which surprises pop up at every turn of the street, it would definitely get
the creative inspiration flowing.
DATE: Sunday, February 26, 2012
TIME: ||10:40 PM ||
When the sea was here...
There’s a stretch of old colonial bungalows along the stretch of Still Road. A number
of them are in a state of disrepair, although there appears to be some preservation/renovation efforts going on with some of them.
Before reclamation, the sea came all the way up to Marine Parade Road. Kristie’s
father, a long-time inhabitant of the East, who grew up in JooChiat reveals,
“the sea came all the way up to the drain at CHIJ, that side, where Tao Nan
(Primary School) was, it was all sea.”
A sea-fronting bungalow found just beside Roxy Square, called Seabreeze No. 37.
A bungalow along East Coast Road with an interesting fish-scale pattern.
TanjongKatong, or Turtle Point, as the beach was then called was a popular resort destination too.Situated away from the hustle and bustle of the city, and framed by
charming sea views, Katong, was the perfect place for a weekend getaway.
In her formative years Lillian Newton went on holiday with the Drysdale family to the island’s most accessible resort, TanjongKatong or Turtle Point, where she learned the delights of underwater swimming, diving and agar-agar, an edible seaweed jelly.
- Excerpt taken from Out In The Midday Sun: The British in Malaya, 1880-1960; Margaret Shannon
The area featured not just holiday homes, but also hotels.
The grounds of the former Grand Hotel were split to make way to build Still Road.
Now, but an empty shell, the glory of its former days long gone.
We find a modern-looking colonial building in the grounds of a condominium. Asking
the security guard, he tells us that it was the former Sea View Hotel. Having underwent renovation, it is currently the clubhouse of the condominium, The Sea
View.
Unfortunately, we were denied entry into the condo so had to make do with photos taken from the outside.
[Seabreeze No.37]
DATE: Friday, February 24, 2012
TIME: ||6:04 PM ||
The Peranakans in Joo Chiat and Katong
The area of Joo Chiat and Katong has been well known for being a Peranakan enclave. Walking around the area, Peranakan influences are everywhere.
Even the name Joo Chiat, came from a wealthy Straits Chinese, named Chew Joo Chiat. Much of the land of Joo Chiat was originally owned by Chew Joo Chiat. In 1916, the Municipality wanted to purchase a strip of road from him to build a road. He refused initially, however, after thinking over the matter, and realizing the benefits of building the road, he decided to donate the land to build the road. To thank him for his generosity, the road was named Joo Chiat Road after it was built.
Check out this blog by Philip Chew, the great-grandson of Chew Joo Chiat, documenting the history of Joo Chiat. http://mychewjoochiat.blogspot.com
There’s the colourful shophouses, lavishly decorated with Peranakan motifs.
Peranakans are descendants of immigrant Chinese who migrated to the Straits Settlements and settled here, marrying local women and setting up their own families. Many of the Peranakans underwent Western education, and were highly influenced by Western thought, often chasing Western fashions. Their unique upbringing, a mixture of East and West, are clearly reflected in the architectural styles of Peranakan shophouses, which display an eclectic unique fusion of Western and Eastern architectural influences.
The shophouses are also often adorned with ceramic tiles and sculptures of flower and birds.
There is also an abundance of Peranakan food to be found in the area.
The famous/infamous Katong Laksa. Remember the Katong Laksa Wars?
Articles clipped from a magazine interview of the actresses of Channel 8’s hit drama, The Little Nonya.
And there’s a traditional Peranakan crafts shop just beside the restaurant.
Initially, spotting the year painted above the shop, we were very excited, assuming that the shop had been here since 1928. Unfortunately, a talk with the staff revealed that it was a misconception. 1928 was the year in which the building was built, and not the year in which the shop was set up. The shop was set up more recently, in the 1990s, by Bebe Seet, a connoisseur in the Peranakan beadwork. The shop not only sells traditional Peranakan things, they also hold classes teaching Peranakan beading.
The area has also seen the sprouting of boutique hotels extolling the rich Peranakan history of the area as a major part of their appeal. Among them is the Peranakan Hotel.
Set up two years ago, the hotel boasts rooms that are done up in the Peranakan style. Set up in Peranakan shophouses, having Peranakan furniture, and being located within a well-known Peranakan district. What more could you ask for?
However, while these Peranakan artifacts and the Peranakan food are still readily present in the area, many of them have been commercialized to cater to the demands of tourists and Singaporeans searching for their roots. The culture, the Peranakan way of life appears to have been lost.
And while the Peranakan food at the Peranakan restaurants is definitely authentic enough, Peranakan restaurants are a relatively new concept.
“Formerly, nobody talked about going to a nonya restaurant because it was an insult. If you want to eat nonya food, you come to my house. You don’t go to a nonya restaurant. The best food is always in my house – that was the attitude.”
-Jeffrey Chan in Joo Chiat: A Living Legacy
An interview of Bebe Seet, the owner of Rumah Bebe talking about Peranakan culture.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cy3YcCJYYk
DATE: Thursday, February 23, 2012
TIME: ||8:58 PM ||
Little Vietnam - Part One
Exploring Joo Chiat Road, we found the sleepy enclave of ‘Little Vietnam’. In the middle of the afternoon, the place is quiet. Most of the karaoke pubs that only open later at night and only a few eateries were open.
The day starts late here. The Vietnamese eatery we visited was half full despite it being well past lunchtime. The customers included some girls (probably having their first meal of the day), Vietnamese students coming for a meal after school, couples, and the occasional uncle having a beer. The eatery, Long Phung, at 159 Joo Chiat Road, is open from 12p.m. to 1a.m. daily. The late opening hours are to cater to the lifestyles of the people frequenting the area.
None of us have much knowledge of Vietnamese food and so we order at random, choosing from the appetizing pictures on the menu(and peeking at the food that other customers are ordering).
Here are some of the photos. (Sorry for their half-eaten state, we were too hungry and forgot to take photos till halfway through the meal).
The prawn roll was really unique. At first glance, it looked like the normal popiah, but the skin was different, and so was the stuffing. The prawn was really succulent and fresh. And there was the vegetables and vermicelli? (I’m not sure what it was exactly.) But the whole combination went exceedingly well with the dipping sauces.
We also had seafood noodles soup. With fresh seafood and a savoury broth, it was simply delicious!
Lastly, there was the spicy beef stew noodle soup, which was just the right bit of sweet and spicy. And the beef was plenty of tender.
Although, not being familiar with Vietnamese cuisine, we were unsure of the authenticity of the dishes, but we decided to take the steady flow of Vietnamese patrons as proof of its authenticity.
When we went to foot the bill, we made use of the brief lull in business to interview the lady boss of Long Phung. She was a Vietnamese bride who had come to Singapore 14 years ago. (Saying that, she pointed to her son who was doing homework behind the counter, “See, my son is already 9 years old!”) After coming here, seeing how there were many Vietnamese working in the area and there was a demand for Vietnamese food, she decided to set up shop in Joo Chiat a few years back. Many of the helpers in the restaurant are Vietnamese brides as well. She had put up hire notices in Vietnamese and they had applied for the jobs.
Just for fun. We found a traditional Vietnamese conical hat hanging from a bicycle parked outside a shophouse.
DATE: Tuesday, February 21, 2012
TIME: ||10:19 PM ||
Introduction
Hi everybody. We are doing a project on Joo Chiat and its gradual transformation into Little Vietnam.
Here are the background of our member:
Chikako - A Japanese girl exploring Singapore for the first time
Debbie - A local who lives in the West and rarely visits the east
Irtiza - A Bengali guy who grew up in Singapore.
Kristie - A local who lives at the edge of Joo Chiat
Nuttaphon - A foreigner from Bangkok, Thailand
DATE: Monday, February 20, 2012
TIME: ||5:38 PM ||