Where has Pulau Saigon Gone? History of the Lost Island of Singapore River & the "Bak Kut" in Bak Kut Teh

Pulau Saigon 1905. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Can an island just disappear in Singapore? Well, one did - Pulau Saigon 浮罗西贡 (in Chinese). Have you heard of such an island in Singapore River?

Map of Singapore 1945. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Pulau Saigon was a small heart shaped island in Singapore River with Robertson Quay to its north and Magazine Road / Havelock Road to its south. The island was connected to the banks of Singapore River by Clemenceau Bridge, a foot bridge and a causeway.

When the channel on the west of the causeway was filled in 1972, Pulau Saigon ceased to exist. The channel on the east was filled in 1991.

Google Map screen grab

Today, the island is redeveloped into condominiums (River Place Condo), shopping malls, hotel and entertainment hub of trendy bars, pubs, cafes and restaurants.

Kampong Saigon 1878. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

In this map of Singapore dated 1878, the heart shaped island in Singapore River was marked Kampong Saigon.

The island was so-named possibly because goods from Saigon (Vietnam) such as rice were stored here. But, there is no verifiable source on the origin of the name.

In 1871, the British authorities acquired Kampong Saigon from its owner Hoo Ah Kay (better known as Mr. Whampoa - Whampoa being Mr. Hoo's hometown in Guangzhou, China).

Pulau Saigon 1893. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

The British developed Pulau Saigon to site warehouses, the municipal rubbish incinerator and Singapore's first abattoir which opened in the 1880s. Pigs from farms located around today's Amoy Street area were brought here for processing.

Pulau Saigon 1923. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

The British later added a railway line with a station on Pulau Saigon in 1906 but demolished it in 1932. In this map, they moved Kampong Saigon off the island onto Robertson Quay area.

Pulau Saigon Bridge No.1 in 1985. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Pulau Saigon Bridge No. 1 (in the north) was built in 1890 and Pulau Saigon Bridge No. 2 in the south (which later became a causeway) in 1891. The causeway fused with the mainland when the channel between the island and the south bank was filled up in 1972.

Bridge No.1 was demolished in 1986 to make way for CTE (Central Expressway) construction. Clemenceau Bridge was built in 1940, expanded, demolished, rebuilt in 2000 and still in use today.

Pulau Saigon Bridge No. 1 in 1974. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

The Pulau Saigon footbridge (demolished 1986) was also known as Butcher Bridge because of the abattoir on Palau Saigon island and perhaps also most people living in the village across the bridge were butchers and their families.

View of Pulau Saigon in the 1980s from the memories of mural artist Yip Yew Chong.

Google Map screen grab

Pulau Saigon is no more. Today, it's River Place Condo, hotel and F & B businesses. Clemenceau Bridge is still there spanning the old river but rebuilt and much bigger and wider. 

Recreating the original bak kut teh

The origins of Singapore bak kut teh was never recorded, so we can only theorise and speculate. The original bak kut teh contains just 3 key ingredients, bak kut, Chinese medicinal herbs and dark soy sauce.

Bak kut literally means meat bones (which were discards or were available cheaply). They were random bones with little scraps of meat in and around the crevices - not pork ribs which are used in bak kut teh today. That's perhaps why the dish is named bak kut teh 肉骨茶 not pai kut teh 排骨茶.

Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Pulau Saigon Abattoir, a stone's throw from Boat Quay where coolies worked, was a good source of bak kut (meat bones). So, the poor coolies cooked bak kut teh with these discarded or cheap meat bones by boiling them in water with Chinese herbs and dark soy sauce. The concoction was probably devised by a Chinese physician or travelling medicine man as an affordable health fortifying tonic and energy booster for coolies. This theory puts the creation of bak kut teh at around the 1880s with the opening of Pulau Saigon Abattoir.

The present day peppery Singapore Teochew bak kut teh with prime pork ribs came about later, perhaps in the 1930s, when Singapore became more prosperous.

But, what is the "teh" in bak kut teh then? Find out here 👈 click

I tried to recreate the original bak kut teh 👈 click

The history of Singapore bak kut teh 👈 click

Additional references:

Pulau Saigon map dated 1979. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Date: 6 July 2020