Singapore Food Museum?
Pretty interesting idea. What do you think? (Story shared by @don_alano. Thanks!)
Set up S’pore Food Museum
Tue, Mar 02, 2010
The Straits Times
By Melissa Pang
SINGAPORE should consider setting up a food museum, as part of national effort to preserve its rich cultural heritage.This call came from Tanjong Pagar GRC Baey Yam Keng during the debate on the 2010 Budget Statement in Parliament on Tuesday.
Making a push for such a museum, Mr Baey said that food is an ‘important part of our rich cultural heritage – one which has been and will always been an attraction to locals and foreigners alike’, adding that ‘the history of our food variety will highlight our links to the world’.
Elaborating, he said the Food Museum could delve into aspects of local cuisine, such as ‘why Hong Kong noodles did not originate from Hong Kong’, and ‘why our Hainanese chicken rice is different from that found in Hainan Island’.
He also suggested looking into how the different F&B establishments here, such as coffee shops, hawker centres and celebrity chef restaurants, are ‘a reflection of the social life in Singapore’.
In his address that focused on the importance of the Singapore identity, Mr Baey said ‘now is the time for us to focus on consolidating aspects of our national culture, recording, preserving and further developing it’.
‘We will all play a part in shaping the outcome for our future generations.’
While there isn’t a Singapore Food Museum yet, there is already a restaurant in Singapore that bears a museum concept.
That would be the Singapore Heritage Restaurant. It is coupled by a quaint museum next door, the Chinatown Heritage Centre. The museum depicts the lives of people in Chinatown, such as Samsui women and coolie workers, in the yesteryear.
Mar 3, 2010
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Mar 4, 2010
72
Yeah, the Food Museum sounds like a good idea! Most people don’t know the origin of our favourite dishes, or what the ‘dialect’ name means in English.
The Singapore Heritage Restaurant serves pretty good fusion food, abit pricey though since it caters mostly for tourists..
Mar 5, 2010
20
A food museum? That would be interesting. Finally, something positive from the Budget talk.
Mar 8, 2010
10
I like the idea of Singapore Food Museum.
Singapore Vegetarian Cuisine might be one of thing to consider, there is one of the oldest vegetarian restaurant situation at 20 Tanjong Pager Road for 80 years, so traditional that the menu has barely change. Singapore’s Vegetarian Heritage?
Mar 9, 2010
3472
Restaurants with a history as long as 80 years are rare in Singapore! Do you know the name of that vegetarian restaurant in Tanjong Pagar?
Mar 9, 2010
10
The Chinese Vegetarian Restaurant is Loke Woh Yuen Vegetarian Restaurant @ 20 Tanjong Pagar Road, S088443. Tel: 6221 2912
Another oldest Vegetarian Indian Restaurant is Ananda Bhavan in Little India, currently run by the 3rd generation – http://www.anandabhavan.com/
58 Serangoon Road
Tel: 6297 9522
Mar 9, 2010
3472
Thanks for the info! We have a review of Ananda Bhavan. Will definitely check out Loke Woh Yuen and keep a lookout for other vegetarian restaurants.
Mar 16, 2010
137
They can have a food museum that explores the history behind each cuisine. For example, Indian food can be linked to the early settlers that came from India? It will teach people a little about our nation’s history at the same time.
Mar 17, 2010
3472
Hey, that sounds like a really interesting concept! At the National Museum of Singapore, there is a gallery dedicated to a few kinds of food (satay, etc) including a section where you can smell different kinds of spices. It’s in the Living Galleries of the museum, if I remember correctly. A full-fledged museum dedicated to food history alone would be fun!
Mar 19, 2010
137
Never knew there’s such a thing inside the National Museum. I always thought it’s a boring place where you simply look at exhibits :x
Mar 19, 2010
3472
Oh you’ll be pleasantly surprised :) There are a few galleries with permanent exhibits, including those that showcase the everyday clothing that people wore in the yesteryear. That alone is very interesting and sometimes amusing :P Of course there are also the aforementioned food exhibits where you can smell the spices. A few other permanent galleries remain but I won’t spoil the the surprise for you :)
Mar 19, 2010
3472
By the way, admission to some of these galleries is free from 6pm – 8pm daily.
Mar 22, 2010
10
Yup, this Food Gallery at NMS is an interesting and a good place for the younger generations to know about the past … : )
I like the Tok Tok Mee (Noodle) Boy’s love story …
There even have recipes there (anyone tried those?) … if there is event of rediscovering the food of the past via (cooking & makan session), I think that would be more fun.
The food of the past like Rickshaw Noodles is so difficult to find right now and I guess it is gradually fading for existence …
Mar 22, 2010
3472
Wow, looks like I completely missed that Tok Tok Mee Boy’s story! Would you mind sharing with us please?
Mar 23, 2010
10
Tok Tok Mee Boy’s story!
It actually trying to show the past – how people living in those shop houses in Chinatown order their food from food vendors at the street using a pulley system (where the customer would place the money on the basket and lower it down, and the vendor will then place the food on the basket to be pull up …).
Someone build a beautiful love story for this, making it interesting (how dating in the past was like).
If I recalled correctly, the noodle vendor has a young helper (teenage boy) and the regular customer is a teenage girl (like Tok Tok Mee). She would order via the pulley system and the boy would give extra for her order. One day, the boy placed a movie ticket underneath the bowl of noodle, trying to invite her to a movie.
Mar 24, 2010
3472
Awww… that story really warms my heart! Sounds very 1950s :) I don’t know I haven’t read it the few times I visited the gallery. In any case, thanks for sharing!