Seeing different Chinatowns around the world can seem a little the same sometimes, or maybe even a little touristy at times, but you simply should NOT skip over Chinatown in Singapore. Yes, partly because it is so large and central in this city, but moreover because it is so fascinating and understanding the Chinese culture and influence is so important to understanding Singapore. This was, unfortunately, one of the key neighborhoods that I really did on my own – no guided tour, no local guide – but I still think I managed to learn a lot, mostly due to the fantastic Chinatown Heritage Center. This renovated shophouse (or two) is right in the heart of the markets of Chinatown, and really combines two exhibits. The first section of the museum is a re-creation of what the shophouses would’ve been like back in the early 1900’s. The bottom floor of this particular one is recreated into a tailor’s shop, with the workers “rooms” (which honestly are glorified cubicles) towards the middle and then a large kitchen in the back. I say kitchen, but keep in mind that it was open air, open fires, no refrigeration, in a tropical climate. Intense! Upstairs were more living quarters – a ridiculously surprising amount of them. Again – mere cubicles, something like 6 feet by 6 feet with one or maybe two wooden beds where entire families lived. The audio guide started out a little stale and long downstairs, but I loved it upstairs where the history of each family or cubicle was told. You learn about the horrible conditions of basically everyone – from rickshaw drivers hooked on opium to stone workers to the nannies who committed to celibacy & being governesses. They all piled in together in what amounts to a very small townhouse in extremely tight quarters – from the teensy communal kitchen & bathroom in the back of the floor (singular, mind you, for upwards of 20-30 people), to the “fancy” spacious room up front for the doctor. After this section you entered the second townhouse where you learn more about the Chinese immigrant’s experience in Singapore from cool interactive exhibits. Especially interesting was the horrid-sounding “Death Houses” which were all found on a street or two over, and which were honestly where families took their dying loved ones for their last days. Needless to say, those were eventually closed down for hygiene and that street is now unrecognizable, but still fascinating to learn about all the same. Here are a few photos of the re-created rooms, but they really don’t even do justice to what it felt like in that house, or what it must have been like when they were full of residents!
As I said before, the museum is right in the heart of the marketplace, which is full of all sorts of things you could think of. A little durian, some handicrafts, lots of tourist tchotchkes, and in this time of year – a TON of roosters. The lunar (or Chinese) New Year was right around the corner, and there were plenty of opportunities to get your year of the rooster started off right! On the south side of the main market streets you can find one of things that Singapore is SO famous for – a hawker center. The “Chinatown Complex”, since it’s right in the heart of Chinatown, obviously features the more Chinese-focused dishes, but it was MASSIVE and you could find basically anything you wanted with a bit of wandering. I will say that all I heard was that this hawker center (and the other one a few blocks away, called Maxwell Food Centre) is where the locals go, whereas the tourists stick to the “Chinatown Food Street” located next door. So- if you want the authentic stuff, look for the two level open-air thing that looks almost like a parking garage, and then head upstairs for allll the deliciousness. There is a numbered system to each of the food stalls, but it’s not particularly easy to follow, and these food stalls generally change so often that you should most likely just look for the longest lines & trust the locals with what’s popular & good. I went with a moderate line that was featuring the dish I’d already heard so much about: “Chicken rice”. For a bit of a food scaredy cat like me, this seemed like the easiest of “street foods” to start out with – I mean, it’s basically boiled chicken with rice: incredibly simple sounding, but far more delicious than I expected. The best tip I can share about eating at a hawker center, besides looking for lines to judge the best food, is to bring a little packet of tissues or napkins along with you. You won’t receive anything to clean your hands with from the stalls, and people use the little packets to save their tables. As crowded as this place was on a random, rainy, Monday at lunch time, I can just imagine how key it would be during a truly busy time to be able to claim a table somewhat near whatever stall you wanted to get your food from! Here are a few shots from around the markets (both food and non-food):
What I found super interesting is that Chinatown is really liberally dotted with Indian temples, along with the more expected Chinese temples. Back when Singapore was just becoming popular, this area was really just the “immigrant” area, so there were just as many Indians living in the neighborhood as were Chinese. Since some of these Hindu temples were some of the oldest and most established in the city, they stayed put when the Indian residents were moved over to “little India” after Sir Raffles organized the city a little bit. I’ll speak a bit more about Hindu temples when I get to that neighborhood, but it is really cool to see them accepted as part of this neighborhood, even if they aren’t part of the majority. I will say that I did go into the large Buddist temple just outside of the main market streets (the “Buddha Tooth Relic temple”), and they even encourage tourists to go up to the top floor where a lush garden encircles a spinning bell/tower thing. This is one instance when a guide could have really helped my comprehension of the symbolism, but – it was interesting all the same.
Basically, Chinatown is also just a pretty place to wander around, or if you’re smart a great place to come in the evening for dinner. I wandered up & down Amoy and Telok Ayer streets one night before meeting my friends and it was FULL of trendy restaurants and bars in nicely restored shophouses. Since it’s right next to the CBD, it’s also a popular spot for happy hour. The gorgeous Chinese temple in the middle of this neighborhood isn’t bad to look at either. One spot I really wanted to visit but got the timing messed up is the Baba house, about a 15 minute walk east from the main part of Chinatown. It’s apparently the best preserved Peranakan mansion in Singapore, and is only open for limited guided tours. I went all the way there one morning, only to realize I had my days wrong (but thankfully I did get to tour some similar mansions up in Penang, which you can read about in that post). You can even see a modern apartment building in this area that seems like it was an ’80’s precursor to the famous Marina Bay Sands building, with crazy skywalks connecting different towers. I think you can go up this building as well, but I didn’t quite have time for that.
All in all, whether you’re passing through to pick up souvenirs, stopping by for a delicious meal, or doing a deep dive into all-thing Chinese, this neighborhood is, in many ways, the heart of Singapore. As you can tell from my previous posts on this city, I think you’ll also start to see just how diverse it is as well. Next up I’ll hit two of the other “ethnic” neighborhoods – Little India and the Muslim/Malay quarter.