Monday, February 11, 2008

the Lovely TWO :)



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Do You Know:

Joseph Balestier

Balestier Road was named after Joseph Balestier who first developed the area in 1834 when he leased 1, 000 acres of land for a sugarcane plantation and named the area Balestier Plain. He was the first American Consul to Singapore and his wife was Maria Revere Balestier, the daughter of the famous American bell-maker and patriot, Paul Revere, maker of of the famous Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. Singapore has the only Revere bell outside the USA. This was a gift from his wife Maria Revere-Balestier, to the St. Andrew's Cathedral in 1843. The bell became part of the National Museum of Singapore's collection.

Xing Yu's & Huda's reflection

Xing Yu...

Prior to this heritage trail, i have known little about Balestier Road and its neighbourhood. It may have just appear to be another unknown street in Singapore where my dad would usually drive past. Or perhaps, the only information i could remember is, 'looks, thats the place where you were born - Thompson medical center' (as often mentioned by my dad when we were at the junction, at the end of Balestier road, turning into Thompson road). Or maybe even the Tao Sah Piah shop my parents would stop over to pack for tea time snacks.


The opportunity to explore the various little places along Balestier road have allowed me to view this stretch of road and its neighbourhood in a different light. In fact, its not another sleepy little quiet street, but one that has a rich history, lots of yummy local treats and colours exude from within!


I am still quite amazed with the quantity of shops selling a certain item! There were like multiple stores selling lighting, bak kut teh, roasted chicken and meat, and even tau sah piah! There seems to be great positive competitions among the shops as each claim to be better than the other! With signboards ranging from lightology to house of lights, while, the shops selling delicious local fare were collaged with new paper articles and reviews! All of these 'gems' were tucked away in pre-war shophouses that line the road.


Other then the shop houses, huda and i were also elated with the thought of seeing what we learnt in film history coming to life! We have come across 'Jalan Ampas' and Shaw Malay Film Studio, when learning about early Singapore cinema, but have always thought that the former studio would have been demolished. What's more, we have never known that Jalan Ampas is actually down a little road that is along Balestier Road!


There is also the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Villa where the Chinese revolutionist leader, Dr Sun Yat Sen's Kuomingtang headquarters in Singapore was located!


Other then its historical evidences, Balestier Road have also made its footing in the Religious area. In fact, there are quite a number of places of worship catering to the different faith in a multi-facade society like Singapore. Huda and i have personally went into a taoist temple, a burmese temple and a Catholic church. And though, we belong to other religious background and faith, we were still recieved warmly by the devotees. I am glad that we manage to participate in the little celebration held in the Burmese temple by the Burmese citizens residing in Singapore! It was to celebrate the national day of one of the Burmese state and we were invited to try on their traditional local cooking! Imagine having the chance to taste authentic foreign cuisine and be hosted by the locals themselves? I would say, it is really our pleasure:)


On the whole, it was a Sunday morning well spent! An enriching journey for us to know more about our country as well as the place we have once ignored. I've just found out that the URA have decided to conserved the area along Balestier road - a linear commercial stretch of old and new developments along Balestier Road between Thomson Road and Moulmein Road- with streetblocks comprising of a mix of 2-story pre-war shophouses as well as more recent 3- to 6- storey shop/flat developments!


Once again, i would agree, that the old and the past has its charm and beauty, awaiting for the patient heart to discover the 'gem' from within :)




Balestier Road conservation area


Huda...


Balestier? The only thing i know about that place was nothing. I thought that Balestier was so far away and is one of those dead and remote town. But i was quite surprise when Dr. Ivy gave us a Heritage Trail booklet on it, and found so many interesting places there. I was even surprise that the famous Shaw Malay Film Studio was situated there! To my amazement! 


I pass by it so many times while taking the PIE to school, i was oblivious of the gem stone in the rubble, and all it takes is for someone to sieve through it. On a very early Sunday morning, i was religiously studying the map, i was so scared of getting us lost, i don't even know how to get myself there! But, again, to my amazement, it was rather easy, i have actually past through the place so many times, to get to Balestier was to just make a left turn! That was it, simple! Of course have your own transportation makes it even easier.


I am not saying this because i am suppose to support the trail that i was on, but, i believe that one must have a go on this trail at least once, and on an early morning, the air is cooler and it's not so crowded..haha. I keep on saying this, but it is a beautiful fact that everything is conveniently nearby! And people are friendly too, and welcoming. I seriously felt like a tourist, and i usually wonder what these tourist are doing, Singapore is dull (opps...did i just said that...yes i did..haha) there is nothing to see, but am i ever so wrong. I was and still am excited thinking that all this cool places exists in Singapore!


I use to think that Singapore's effort in conservation was not such a good one, because i didn't think there was much to conserve besides all those shop houses, and believe me, i am that ignorant! I love the fact that it is not only Singapore's glorious history that has been acknowledged, but even the smaller things, like the light shops, the food stalls and even market place was brought forth as part of Singapore's history and identity. Every town creates and add on to our identity as a Singaporean, something brought from the immigrants that becomes part of us until today, and so uniquely shape itself to be who we are, our memories of eating hot tau sah piah with your family or even going to the market forms a memory and history and i am so glad that this kind of history is being recognized as important, when something becomes a tradition or a routine, it is difficult to let go and we get attached and one way or another, the history of a town or Singapore is etched in all of us.


Each place of interest that we went, had it's own unique quality, and i have to say that one other reason i can never forget Balestier was that i received my very first traffic offense in my 3 years of driving life! A history being created at every corner for us. And being able to share these experience with my good friend makes it an even greater memory and history.


I love you Xing Yu ;) 

Monday, February 4, 2008

last stop for the day! : Novena Church

After a well deserved brunch at Fish and Co. Xing Yu and i continue on our tour to the last place, that is the Novena Church. The hour was past the congregation time, we purposely choose to avoid it, as we did not want to get in the way of the people. A nice walk after a heavy lunch was the perfect thing, and again, it was a walking distance from the shopping center...


Welcoming worshippers before they enter the church...








Another interesting fact about this church is that they have a few congregation services in English and in Tagalog, for the Philippinos who goes there to pray. In fact, we were told, that this church is very famous, and people from different ethnic backgrounds, like himself, an Indian, would come there. It is a peaceful place he said, and we agree, place beside a major road, but, when you get there, to the church, it's not noisy at all...











































I would agree with huda! The one common thing we realise in all the places of worship is the serenity and peacefulness within the premises, even when its located off the main road like the Novena church.
I am always intrigued by the classic beauty of old architectures, and unlike much of the recent churches that are located in contemporary designer-liked building, the novena church is a timeless beauty of the glory of architecture of its time. Having repainted and 'touched-up' on several occassions, this buildings still maintain its old time beauty. Take a close look at the grills, the pillars and windows and you will understand what i mean :)
As mentioned by Huda in the earlier part of the blog, they do conduct services in tagalog for the Fillipinos who were living/ working in Singapore. And as mentioned by the indian man we have met, the church do have events such as the NOVENAS which is held on alternate saturdays on hourly basis for believers or even non-believers. It is also the location for many of the 'functions' held by the catholic community.
The church is open daily, 24/7, and its definately a great place to get out of the city buzz and chaos in life, to say a simple prayer and find peace from within.
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Did you know...

1) The Novena church is also known as the Church of St. Alphonsus, named after its founder - St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori.

2) Novena is named after the famous Novena Catholic Church along Thomson Road. Balestier Road is named after Joseph Balestier who owned a sugar plantation along Balestier Road in the mid 1800s and who was also the first American diplomat in Singapore.
-streetdirectory singapore-

3) The area surrounding the church used to be a Jewish cemetery. When the original Jewish cemetery behind Fort Canning was closed for development, the Jewish synagogue bought this piece of land in 1900 to replace the old cemetery. A wealthy and prominent Jew, Sir Manasseh Meyer who built both the synagogues in Singapore, also contributed by buying another piece of adjoining land for the new cemetery. Most of the Jews in Singapore are Sherpardi Jews who came to Singapore from Bombay and Culcutta. Ashkenazi (European) Jews were smaller in numbers and migrated mainly from Hamburg in the 1890s.

8th stop: Snacking out!

Another feature of balestier is the amount of Tau Sar Piah stores! Just simply on one stretch of the road, there are like 3 stores selling Tau Sar Piah!!!
All claim to be the best in town! And all do have food critics and newpaper articles written about them!
I cant resist the temptation to try one of it! Below are some of the pictures :)

Shop 1


My mom likes the Tau Sar Piah from this shop! Thus, i've tried the ones from this store.
Gave it a miss and decided to try from its rival store! hahaha


Shop 2:




i decided to settle my craving in this shop! Tau Sar Piah actually comes with different fillings. I suppose the traditional ones are just mainly the salty one and the sweet one. But nowadays, new exciting flavours are coming out to attract Singaporeans who have an adventurous spirit and tastebud!
Shop 3:






the tau sah piah i bought from shop 2!



i bought the sweet filling one :)




yummy!


the skin is crispy and the filling is just nice! not too sweet!

and i'm glad i have it when its still hot!

The hot favourites from internet food forum! -->


1)

611 Tau Sar Piah seems to be reigning in the world of Tau Sar Piah
when one search on 'tau sah piahs in balestier'! We didnt manage to spot this shop. :(
according to one of the forum peep, it has also opened a new outlet @ Vivocity!
check it out : Vivocity #B2-K10

Check this blog on her reviews:
also we have found the history of tau sar piah! here's a blog on it:
2:
credited to http://www.phpbbserver.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?mforum=bf2jedi&p=74446
i cant find any pictures of the shop. But here's a map!
was still speculating whether its shop 3 that we have above :)
some reviews:
"the nicest salted ones I find is still from Loong Fatt especially when it's hot from the oven..."
- hawkerfan-
Another thing about Loong Fatt is nostalgia. My family knew them ever since they were at the Sembawang many long years back. Also, once you go to the back, the aroma is more arresting than the other shops. The taste also better than the others. I think that's why the rest of the shops have to compete by introducing new flavors.
- hawkerfan-
"Loong Fatt!! Finished 10 in 2 days.... "
-Liverpool1965-

Sunday, February 3, 2008

7th stop: Market place

Ok this place is cool, the "door" of this building is some antique wood carved door opening...we pass this place to get to the Jalan Ampang studio, but somehow, the direction of the roads did not allow us to get there! Weird!!! So we continue with our journey, trying to find our way out, and tahdah!!! we found the Market Place!!!

 we pass by this place which caught our attention
"COLONIAL ANTIQUE"
wondering what they are selling in there!

nice rolls of old houses!

whampoa dr wet market







the wet markets have changed so much!
i remember in the earlier years, wet markets are usually packed and really wet and slippery!
feels dempy too!
but the modern day one is so much like super market!




I didn't get to follow Xing Yu tour around the market place, there was no empty parking slots, and i had to wait in the car, after i was given the "golden ticket" i was determined not to get another one, because i know i am not going to get Willie Wonka's chocolate factory by collecting "golden tickets"...and i was on the dot, the "parking pontianak" was making her rounds, and whoever that parked at the double yellow line "kena" from her...i even witness this guy, who was standing outside his car, waiting for someone, and he also "kena". Thank God Xing Yu came back on time, in fact, she had to run a little, and we made it out alive! 
(being dramatic here...haha) I think it's the same person who give me the ticket, because everything is nearby to each other, i am sure it's the same person...huarrghhh!!!

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Did You Know:

1) The market was built in the 1920s to cater to farmers nearby who needed a place to sell their produce. 

2) Known locally as the Or Kio market. Or Kio is one of the local names of Balestier as there was a black bridge along Whampoa River that connected Ah Hood (off Balestier Road) to Lorong 8 Toa Payoh thus giving rise to the name.


6th stop: Burmese temple

See the lady at the back of the three monks, she is from CHINA! That is the China tourists i was talking about in the last post, and if you connect the dot correctly, bingo! the Burmese temple is the neighbour of the Sun Yat Sen Villa! Thus, my theory of everything is conveniently close is true! haha...

we met them before we walk towards the Burmese temple!
they are so nice!
even allow us to take a picture of them :)
the temple is actually beside Sun Yat Sen's villa
Entering the temple on a nice cool morning was the way to start, besides, the temple and the villa was away from major roads, thus, it's quiet and the temple is serene! No doubt! Monks and devotees were all friendly and welcomed us with a smile...
























beautiful carvings on the ceiling!




blessings



















After our tour, we were making our way to the gate, when a sweet and petite old lady spoke in some dialect to us, and kept pointing to the back. We obviously didn't understand her, and just nod our heads and continue on to go to our next destination. Then came a guy with his child, told us that they are having some food at the back, and we are invited to eat. We went, and found out they were celebrating Karen Day, named after an area in Burma, celebrating a new year.




food testing!

traditional Burmese noodle!
I'm so glad to get the chance to try this local delicacy!
authentic Burmese food cook by the locals!i find that its a little like a fusion of vietnamese food!
cos they have plates of greenies for you to add on to your noodles!
(after this, both Xing Yu and my camera went dead! but with technology this days, we were saved by Xing Yu's handphone cum camera...Yeay for technology!)


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Did You Know:

1) Founded by U Kyaw Gaung, a Burmese practitioner of traditional medicine, the temple was founded in 1921 when he brought to Singapore a 10-tonne, 11-feet high marble sculpture of the Buddha from Saygin Hill, a quarry north of Mandalay.

2) The sculpture was placed in the temple's original location at 17 Kinta Road, off Serangoon Road and was only moved to its current location on Tai Gin road in 1990.

3) Descendents of U Kyaw Gaung still lives in Singapore and continue to be the trustees of the temple.

4) The figurines of 'spirits' on the walls are called "tha-djar-min" in Burmese. He is also the Guardian of Buddha Sasana (meaning Buddha's teachings). The Lion figurines called "chin-thay".

5) Burmese Roads - One interesting feature of this area is the large number of Burmese-themed roads. It is believed that the suggestions to name the road after Burmese towns and kingdoms came from an old and respected Burmese resident in the area.