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SINGAPORE: When Tanglin Halt resident Venkatachalam Gomathi, 57, used to work late at the office, her neighbor made sure to check if her daughter was home alone.
It’s one of his precious memories of the aunt next door, all 97 years old.
Venkatachalam, who has lived in Tanglin Halt with her husband for 25 years, said: “And during Chinese New Year, their children would come and give my daughter a hongbao… Very nice. Then slowly, one by one, they all left. “
Ngern Kah Cheng has been with Tanglin Halt the longest. The 72-year-old has been selling braised duck noodles there since 1969.
Starting out as a street vendor. (Photo courtesy of Ngern Kah Cheng.)
His first position was next to a garbage collection center, and he had to stop serving food every time the truck passed to collect garbage.
Her brother, Ngern Jwee Chye, 68, later joined her as a street vendor at Tanglin Halt Market and discovered the “kampung spirit” of the area. “Everyone takes care of each other,” said the laksa vendor.
Her sister’s husband, Chua Ngen Leng, 72, added: “Back then, our clients were young people. Now, they have become parents and grandparents. They bring their grandchildren to eat. That’s almost three, four generations. “
There is a collage of memories that many residents and visitors will have of Tanglin Halt after its 31 apartment blocks, seven commercial blocks and two markets and food centers are demolished since the end of this year.
About to disappear.
It is the largest project in the Selective Block Redevelopment Plan since 1999, and the On The Red Dot program discovers what will soon be lost.
FOOD HERITAGE
On the list are some famous food stalls that have helped place Singapore’s street vendor culture on the Unesco Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Wei Yi Laksa and Prawn Noodles, which Jwee Chye set up at Tanglin Halt Market in the 1990s, is considered one of the most popular laksa stalls in Singapore today. The queues start from 6 in the morning.
“A lot of traditional dishes were slowly disappearing, so after my mother taught me, I added my own style,” he said. “She had no education, but when it came to cooking, she was number one.”
The Ngern brothers.
Another stall is Tanglin Halt Original Peanut Pancake, opened in 1965 by the current owner’s father-in-law.
Their pancakes stand out for having a distinctive flavor and a denser, chewy texture than those that Singaporeans typically eat, and they cost just 80 cents each.
But owner Teng Kiong Seng is now in his seventies and has yet to find a successor, nor does he know the future of his position after the market demolition.
However, he hopes to continue making his famous sandwich until he is in his 80s.
WATCH: Try these traditional snacks at Tanglin Halt before they run out (2:22)
Gabrielle Kennedy, 23, a customer in the market, said: “Since each stall is so different, they represent different cuisines, different cultures, and that is exactly what Singapore is. So if he left, it would be very sad. “
FROM ICONS TO ARTIFACTS
Some of Tanglin Halt’s icons are now a distant memory: the now-defunct railway line, the Van Houten Chocolate Factory, and the Setron TV Factory, which made Singapore’s first locally-made TVs.
Tanglin Halt’s rows of 10-story blocks with diagonal staircases, completed between 1962 and 1963 as one of the initial five boroughs within Queenstown, Singapore’s first satellite estate, have also become an iconic image.
Food blogger and doctor Leslie Tay recalls visiting her maternal grandparents there and what her mother “always” told her: Her unit had “so many people” that she “got married quickly to get out of the house.”
Some of the residents have already moved in.
Now she feels “quite sad”, although Kiong Seng told her that “they shouldn’t complain”. The street vendor said: “Transforming the entire area and upgrading the buildings is imperative … This is part of the future development of Singapore.”
Still, having to leave it all behind, many residents and business owners have sentimental feelings about their personal connections in the district.
“It’s a shame. I’m very emotionally involved in this place,” said Alice Tan, 71, owner of Alice’s Hair and Beauty Shop, which has been around for 50 years.
Everyone, including customers, gets along. Then I feel a sense of loss and unhappiness. When it’s time to go, I’m not sure how I’ll accept it.
However, all will not be lost. Museum @ My Queenstown, located in Tanglin Halt, contains artifacts from old industries and buildings that were once part of the neighborhood.
About 150 volunteers help manage and curate this museum.
The non-profit organization My Community opened the museum in 2018 and has also collected old stories and photographs from residents, to be preserved in the new museum on Margaret Drive.
CHIEF OF THE VILLAGE
Tanglin Halt even has a village chief, as 73-year-old Alice Lee, or whom Leslie referred to as the “queen of Queenstown,” is fondly known.
She has lived there for 53 years and is one of the main volunteers for the Queenstown Residents Committee.
When asked about the story behind his nickname “village head”, he said: “I used to help (residents) keep their keys in my house. Whenever they needed their key, (if) they had lost a key or something, they would come to my house.
“One of the guys lost (his) key. He had to call the key maker at midnight to come and open the door. They charged S $ 80. From then on, I said you can come to my house and get your keys. “
WATCH: The Full Episode – Tanglin Halt: Saying Goodbye to Some of Singapore’s Oldest Flats (23:10)
Residents can also have a beautiful view from their windows, which overlook the greenery. Every day at 5pm, take a picture of the landscape. “The view every day is different. Heaven, everything, is different, ”he said.
“Then I can keep (the photos) … as I remember.”
Check out this episode of On The Red Dot here. The program is broadcast on Channel 5 every Friday at 9:30 p.m.
