History of Singapore's River of Life & Food. From Working River to River of Leisure

Boat Quay 2020

Today, from Boat Quay to Clarke Quay, Singapore River is a river of leisure where the world come to dine and party. Italian, Spanish, American, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Sichuan and other international cuisine jostle for the tourist and lifestyle dollar.

Singapore River had humbler beginnings. 

Boat Quay (left) in 1955. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Singapore River was a grimy, gritty, even smelly working river for 170 years from 1819 to 1989 when it retired.

Raffles statue at his landing site at Singapore River

The story of modern Singapore River, indeed modern Singapore start on 28 Jan 1819 - the sunny day Sir Stamford Raffles first stepped foot on Singapore.

Commemorative plaque at Raffles statue at Singapore River

That's not to say Singapore did not exist before Raffles. The kingdom of Singapura was a thriving port for 99 years from 1299 to 1398. But, it fell into obscurity for the next 430 years as the backwater of the Malacca sultanate and then the Johor sultanate until Raffles arrived in 1819.

Bute map of Singapore 1825. Image credit: The Bute Archive at Mount Stuart 

When Raffles first stepped foot on Singapore in 1819, it was the proverbial fishing village. On the left bank of the river mouth there were huts on stilts. In the middle was Temenggong (prime minister) Abdul Rahman's palace. Singapore was then part of the Johor sultanate. Sultan Hussein's Istana (palace) was on Lingga island in the Riau.

From where Raffles stood just outside the Temenggong's palace, Singapore River meandered to the north and disappeared in the forests. To the northeast, stood a small hill where the kings of the old kingdom of Singapura (1299 - 1398) lived in their palace and were buried. In 1819, locals called it Bukit Larangan or Forbidden Hill where no one was allowed. Abandoned for 430 years, only ruins of past glory remained on the Forbidden Hill when Raffles arrived. (Today, it is Fort Canning Park.)

Looking to the west on the right bank, Raffles saw a tiny deserted bay fronted by a swamp. In his mind's eye, he saw the vision of a busy boat quay serving the greatest seaport of the British Empire, if not the world.

Singapore Treaty 1819. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Raffles wasted no time in setting his vision in motion. In just 9 days, he convinced Sultan Hussein and Temenggong Abdul Rahman to sign the Singapore Treaty of 1819 which allowed the British East India Company to establish a trading post at the Singapore River.

Jackson Plan 1822. Image credit: Wikipedia

Before he left Singapore for Bencoolen (in Sumatra), Raffles gave instructions to William Farquhar, the first British Resident and Commandant of Singapore on his town plan. It was later drawn up by Lt Philip Jackson in 1822 and known as the Jackson Plan.

Jackson Plan 1822. Image credit: Wikipedia

According to Raffles' plan, the spot where he first stood would become Empress Place, the town square. The fishing village and Temenggong's palace will be moved east to the Arab, Bugis, Muslim enclave. The swamp will be filled and the right bank will become the boat quay. Chinese migrants will be settled in the Chinese Campong to the west. Indian migrants to the Chuliah Campong upriver north of boat quay,

Belly of the Carp

Boat Quay 1890. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Boat Quay grew very quickly, inspired by the vision of one man, and empowered by the collective visions of many thousands who came from China and India to seek a better life from Singapore River.

Map of Singapore 1840. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Chinese traders were attracted to Boat Quay because it was shaped like the "belly of the carp".

Prosperity carp

In traditional Chinese geomancy or Fengshui, the belly of the carp signifies good luck, fortune and prosperity.

Everything went according to the plans of Raffles and traders. By the 1860s, the "belly of the carp" was handling ¾ of trade passing through Singapore.

Commercial Square 1900. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Financial services like banking, insurance, exchanges etc sprouted up to support the port of Singapore.

Chinese immigrants 1900. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

The fast expanding port of Singapore was hungry for manpower from 1820s to 1920s. This coincided with the long death throes of the collapsing Qing dynasty in China. Wars, rebellions, poverty, famine and anarchy were forcing many to flee their homes for a better life. Many came to Singapore from China's coastal Guangzhou and Fujian provinces.

When the immigrants arrived fresh off the boat, they were absorbed into their respective language group enclaves - the Cantonese to Kreta Ayer, Hokkien to Teluk Ayer and Teochew to Boat Quay.

Hawkers 1915. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Many migrants worked as coolies, rickshaw pullers, craftsman, etc in the harbours, quayside, on boats and supporting services. Many others worked as street hawkers feeding the poor and hungry multitudes.

Singapore River hawkers 1970. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

By the turn of the Twentieth century, the British colonial government considered the hawkers a nuisance as they obstructed traffic, cluttered and dirtied the environment. There were also hygiene problems and poisoning cases from contaminated food.

So, they began licensing and putting street hawkers into "hawker shelters". But, the efforts were insufficient partly because many hawkers don't want to be licensed (thereby paying licence fees) and the British government can't build enough "hawker shelters" to accommodate all the hawkers.

Boat Quay Hawker Centre 1980. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Empress Place Hawker Centre 1973. Image credit: National Archive of Singapore

In 1971, the Singapore government launched a concerted and determined effort to house all street hawkers into hawker centres. Both Boat Quay Hawker Centre and Empress Place Hawker Centre were opened in 1973. Many of the street hawkers that used to operate around Singapore River (e.g. Hallpike Street etc) moved into the 150 stalls in these two riverside hawker centres. By 1986, every street hawker in Singapore was moved into one of the 108 hawker centres built.

Empress Place Teochew beef kway teow

One of the most popular stalls at Empress Place Hawker Centre was Empress Place Teochew Beef Kway Teow. The stall was ran by Mdm Tan Sok Eng who was the granddaughter of Tan Chee Kok, the founder of the famous Hock Lam beef noodles.

Tan Chee Kok was a Teochew beef noodle seller in Chaoshan district of Guangzhou province. He came to Singapore in the 1920s. On arrival, he carried on his trade of selling Teochew beef noodles with 2 baskets on a bamboo pole slung across his shoulders. He plied his trade on foot around Fort Canning and Singapore River (the Teochew enclave).

Hock Lam Street 1950s. The street was demolished in the 1970s. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

He found a stall space at Hock Lam street (near North Boat Quay) and once he established himself, Tan Chee Kok went back to Chaoshan and returned with his son, Tan Jin Seah. Their stall selling Teochew style beef and rice noodles in a beefy savoury herbal broth became the urban legend known as Hock Lam Street beef noodle.

Tan Chee Kok and Tan Jin Seah's descendants ran several Hock Lam Teochew beef noodle stalls including Empress Place Teochew Beef Kway Teow. This link of Hock Lam beef noodles with Singapore River broke when Empress Place Hawker Centre was demolished in 1983.

Authentic Hock Lam Street Popular Beef Kway Teow

Hock Lam street beef noodles returned to Singapore River with Tan Chee Kok's great grandson Edwin Tan's restaurant at North Canal Road (steps from the belly of the carp). Edwin Tan is taking his great grandfather's legacy into its centenary, coming full circle back to Singapore River where Tan Chee Kok sold beef noodles with two baskets on a bamboo pole across his shoulders.

Ellenborough Market

Boat Quay 1900. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Goods from large ocean going ships in Singapore Harbour were brought to Boat Quay by smaller boats known as lighters. There were 2 main types of lighters - tongkang operated by Chulia Indian lightermen and twakow operated by Teochew Chinese lightermen.

Tongkang. Image credit: Wikipedia

Tongkang are relatively large craft which shippers relied upon for bulky and precious cargo. Skilled Chulia lightermen from southern India, who previously worked with the British East India Company at the ports of Madras (British India) and Penang (British Malaya) were brought in to kickstart port of Singapore operations.

Jackson Plan 1822. Image credit: Wikipedia

In the Jackson plan, the Chulia lightermen were settled in the Chuliah Campong north of Chuliah Street (today's New Bridge Road). During their heydays in the mid-1800s, there were some 2,000 Chulia lightermen operating over 500 tongkang. 

The advent of steamships and the opening of Tanjong Pagar Dock Company in 1864 which allowed wharfside loading/ unloading led to a gradual decline in demand for large tongkang services. By early 1900s, tongkang operations in Singapore River were phased out.

Twakow 1960. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

The large tongkang's role was taken over by smaller twakow operated by Chinese lightermen, who were mostly Teochew.

Map of Singapore 1913. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

With the phasing out of tongkang operations in Singapore River, the Chulia lightermen moved out of Chuliah Campong and re-settled in "Little India" at Serangoon Road. The vacated space was subsequently occupied by the rapidly growing Chinese population. As most of the Chinese that settled here were Teochew, the former Chuliah Campong became a Teochew enclave.

Ellenborough Market 1845. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Life in Chuliah Campong and later the Teochew enclave centred around Ellenborough Market. The first edition was built in 1845.

Ellenborough Market 1910. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Ellenborough Market edition 2. The market was expanded in 1899 because of greater demand and also the old market was crumbling due to building defects. It was thus named "New Market". The Teochew folks living here simply called it "Teochew Market".

Ellenborough Market 1953. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Ellenborough Market was the centre of life for many riverside residents. There were stalls selling fish, seafood, meat, poultry, fruits, vegetables, sundries etc. There were also numerous food stalls and Teochew Market was the go to place for Teochew fare like porridge, bak chor mee, char kway teow, braised duck, braised offal (kway chap), kueh, bak kut teh etc.

Ellenborough Market 1968. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

A huge fire during Chinese New Year in 1968 destroyed the Teochew Market.

Ellenborough Market 1980. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Ellenborough Market rose again from the ashes in the 1970s. Ellenborough Market edition 3 was a residential - commercial complex. The huge complex had 2 residential blocks and a 3 storey market podium. It had 235 market stalls and 72 cooked food stalls which brought back the buzz and spirit of the historic market.

Central Mall @ Clarke Quay 2020

Ellenborough Market edition 3 was demolished in 1995. In this historic site which once stood the old Chulia Campong / Teochew enclave / Ellenborough Market now stands the glass clad Central Mall which opened in 2003.

History of Singapore bak kut teh

The Teochew peppery style of bak kut teh is synonymous with Singapore bak kut teh. Today, it is found all over Singapore and the big brands have overseas outposts in Indonesia, Vietnam, China and Taiwan.

It is not clear where and who invented the peppery Teochew bak kut teh. It could be from one of the Teochew ran gambier-pepper plantations that existed before Raffles arrived. Someone put peppercorn into pork bone soup and created peppery bak kut teh. Or, it was a coolie who picked up some peppercorn at Boat Quay and tossed it into pork bone soup.


 
Born in plantation or quayside, Teochew Peppery bak kut teh's heydays were at Teochew Market where it was popularised by famous stalls like Ah Orh bak kut teh. Today, Ah Orh Restaurant at Bukit Merah is more famous for their Teochew style seafood now but Ah Orh still makes old school bak kut teh for long time regulars by arrangement.

I have to mention the Hokkien version of bak kut teh which was made with Chinese herbs, dark soy sauce but little or no pepper. It was concocted as a medicinal tonic for fatigued and overworked Hokkien coolies. A child of Singapore River, Hokkien bak kut teh is seldom found in Singapore today. 

Clarke Quay Canneries

Today, when we buy a tin of canned pineapple at the supermarket, we are rarely conscious that Singapore was the pioneer of canning pineapples and world's largest exporter in the 1930s.

Clarke Quay 1920. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Pineapples were grown in Nee Soon, Buono Vista, etc., and mostly canned in the canneries in Clarke Quay. The canned pineapples were shipped from Singapore River to around the world like Great Britain and USA. (Singapore's canning industry ended by 1960s when most pineapple plantations and canneries moved to Malaysia.)

Pineapple canning pioneer Joseph Pierre Bastiani's cannery building in Clarke Quay is today a conserved heritage building.

Tan Keng Tye, one of the Kings of Pineapple of Singapore also had his cannery by the Singapore River. Today, the conserved heritage building Tan Lye Place in Clarke Quay  houses restaurants and pubs.

Boat Quay 2020

Since time immemorial, Singapore River has been about life and food. Food and people of the River may leave for a while but will eventually return like Hock Lam beef noodle. It may leave the River, and bring its spirit to all of Singapore and beyond our shores like Teochew bak kut teh. Connections to the River may also be forgotten like the canned pineapples of Clarke Quay. Hence, the importance of reminders to reconnect with the source of our life and its blessings.



References:

History of Singapore Hawker Centres
History of Hock Lam Beef Noodles
History of Ellenborough Market
History of Chulia at Singapore River
History of Singapore Bak Kut Teh
History of Boat Quay
Hokkien Bak Kut Teh First? or Teochew First?
Kings of Singapore Pineapples
Jackson Plan

Johor Kaki is the best Malaysia food blog in 2013, and best Singapore food blog in 2013 and 2014.

Date: 28 Jul 2020