Chinatown today

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We spent most of the day in Singapore'S Chinatown. How can Singapore have a Chinatown given 60%!o(MISSING)f the population is ethnic Chinese? Well, when colonial Singapore was established by Sir Stamford Raffles of the British East India Company, the native population was not Chinese but Malay. However, the new colony attracted many Chinese immigrants. Raffles directed that sections of the town be set aside for the different ethnic groups, including the Chinese immigrant.

Read more about it here.


At the bottom of this page is a photo of one the signature foods of Singapore...Hainanese Chicken Rice.
To learn more about this dish, click on the following link for a video clip of Anthony Bourdain's visit to this "hawker center" and this same stall.


Then back to the hotel to relax. In the evening we went to Bistro Amigo. This place used to be called Cafe de Amigo and was located just 5 minutes walk from our house on Emerald Hill Road. But it has since moved to the Funan mall. The thing that we liked about Cafe de Amigo was the very good set meals and the great selection of wines from all over the world at very good prices, he also had a no corkage policy if you brought your own bottle. The food at the new location is very good, the wine selection still good and prices still very reasonable. Sadly, the set meals are gone and the menu is all a la carte. Tommy Lam, the owner wasn't around. Staff told us he was in China conducting wine appreciation seminars but might be back next week.

In any case we were befriended by Ryan, the "wine guy". I probably overspent on an Australian Shiraz, but I think he was impressed that we knew our wines (compared to most of his Singaporean customers). So he provided us complimentary tastings of whatever else he was opening up during the evening and told us about a tasting event they are having next week-which we will be sure to attend.

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Photos

Chinatown, Pagoda Street
One of the main streets in Chinatown. One change from the last time we were here is all the vendors seem to have set up tents in the street in front of their shops. Makes it difficult to navigate the street.

Chinatown Heritage Centre
Three adjoining shophouses were converted into a museum of sorts, depicting the story of Chinese immigration to Singapore and also what a typical shophouse interior and living conditions would be like about 50 years ago...very crowded and not very sanitary..This photo shows a corridor in the second story a single shophouse.

Shophouse "necessary"
The necessary was pretty basic, no running water and no sanitary sewer system. Waste was carried out in a bucket.

Shophouse kitchen
Many families/individuals would occupy one shophouse and share a common kitchen on the ground floor at the rear of the building. The kitchen was typically was not covered with a roof. The renovated shophouse we lived in also had the kitchen at the rear, but with modern appliances, running water and had been integrated into the structure of the main building.

First floor tailor shop
The first floor of this shophouse was a tailor's storefront and workshop. This view is from the stairs leading up to the second floor looking toward the front of the building.

Tailor's show room
The tailors sales area and workroom were all in the same large room.

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple
This 5 storey temple was opened in 2008. And if you haven't guessed by now, it houses what Buddhist leaders consider the relic tooth of the founder of Buddhism. The temple is dedicated to the Maitreya Buddha (future Buddha).

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple
Front view of the temple. The temple has become a very popular tourist destination. It even has it's own underground car park.

Maxwell Food Centre
After spending the morning in Chinatown, we were hungry for some real Singapore style food. We headed to the Maxwell Food Centre, just a few short blocks from Chinatown. Maxwell is one of many "hawker centres" in Singapore. Eating at a hawker centre is an essential Singapore experience for any visitor. Every centre has many vendors, each specializing in just one or two dishes. The food is almost always good and it's inexpensive as well. Cleanliness standards are high, you sit at community tables, no aircon but no problem, plenty of fans to keep you from wilting.

Chicken Rice at Maxwell Food Center
Every Singaporean has their favorite chicken rice vendor but Tian Tian is highly regarded by many. There's almost always a queue of locals and foreigners waiting to place their order.
Here's a great clip from Anthony Bourdain when he visited Tian Tian, the bit on Chicken Rice is about 3 minutes in from the start of the clip.

Comments

[Sue]

Ok...I'm hungry!
I could go for some chicken rice right about now.