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| '''Sungei Road''' is situated between ] and ] and runs along the ]. From the 1930s to the present, the road was synonymous with the ''Thieves' Market'', the largest and oldest ] in ] where the locals can hunt for all kinds of ] goods as cheap replacement for one's faulty or lost item. | '''Sungei Road''' (literally ''River Road'') is situated between ] and ] and runs along the ]. From the 1930s to the present, the road was synonymous with the ''Thieves' Market'', the largest and oldest ] in ] where the locals can hunt for all kinds of ] goods as cheap replacement for one's faulty or lost item. | ||
| == History == | == History == | ||
Revision as of 12:43, 28 June 2007
Template:SG neighbourhood Sungei Road (literally River Road) is situated between Serangoon Road and Jalan Besar and runs along the Rochor Canal. From the 1930s to the present, the road was synonymous with the Thieves' Market, the largest and oldest flea market in Singapore where the locals can hunt for all kinds of second-hand goods as cheap replacement for one's faulty or lost item.
History
This road got its name because it runs along the banks of the Rochor River (Sungei Rochor), hence its Malay name sungei meaning "river". Sungei Road start opposite the former Kandang Kerbau police station, hence it was known to the Chinese in Hokkien dialect as "tek kah ma ta chu" meaning "tek kah police station".
Beginnings
In the 1820s, the area around Sungei Road was designated by Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore for the homes of affluent Europeans and Asians when he divided the early settlements according to different ethnic groups. The Arabs and Malays who had settled here previously were relocated to the east of Sungei Road at Kampong Glam. Ornately designed two-storey and three-storey shophouses that came with 5-foot way were built in its place.
During the Japanese Occupation, a street market known as Robinson Petang meaning "evening Robinson", started along the banks of the Rochor Canal where the poor buy cheap household ware and merchandise which were in short supply, akin to what the departmental store Robinson had sold.
Thieves' Market
After the war, Sungei Road and its surrounding roads became a flea market infamously known as the Thieves' Market, because one can never tell where the items being sold came from. All sorts of second-hand merchandise as well as contraband goods were sold here such as used clothing, motor parts, bicycles, electrical appliances et cetera. Until the British army withdrawal in the 1960s, it was also a place to buy army merchandise like uniform, army gear and other army surplus, possibly looted from British military stores earlier. The open air market soon acquired a bad reputation as the major dissemination venue for stolen goods that would last to the present day. If an item was lost recently, one can try their luck in looking for it at the Thieves' Market and buying it back from the sellers who will always claim no knowledge of its source.
Landmarks
Singapore Ice Works
Located at the junction of Sungei Road and Pitt Road, was the former site of the Singapore Ice Works that was built in the 1930s. The factory was the first ice-making plant in Singapore using large compressors manufactured mainly from Carrier and York corporations. It was popular as a pioneer establishment that brought refrigeration and air-conditioning to Singapore. In 1958, it was renamed as the New Singapore Ice Works. In later years, the factory was bought over by Cold Storage who ran it under their management. However, in 1984, the Housing Development Board (HDB) took over its site for redevelopment. The factory was soon demolished and the plant operations was re-located to Auric Pacific at Fishery Port Road. This facility has since closed down after being in use for over twenty years.
Rochor Market
The Rochor Market, a wet market, was another popular landmark in this area. Built in 1872, it served the surrounding community for more than a century. In August 1982, part of the market was demolished and its stalls were moved elsewhere.
Jin Shui Kopitiam
Located nearby at Jin Shui Kopitiam ("kopitiam" mean "coffeeshop" in Malay) is a stall selling Sungei Road Laksa, known locally for its famous laksa dish, a local spicy noodle soup that originated from Peranakan culture. The founder, Wong Yew Hwa uses charcoal fire to keep his gravy constantly warm in order to maintain its distinctive flavour. His laksa dish was listed by a local food guide as one of the top 10 dishes in Singapore.
The Sungei Road laksa legacy was started in 1956 when a close friend of Wong, Ah Tong, gave Wong and his brother, Wong Yew Poh his secret recipe for laksa. The brothers set up a push-cart stall to sell their laksa and the response to their recipe was overwhelming. It was sold with the thick beehoon (chinese noodle) cut up and served only with a spoon, without chopsticks, topped with cockles, bean sprouts and home-made fried fish cakes in distinctive chicken motif bowls. Customers ate it while standing by the roadside and it costs only 20 cents a bowl then. By day, they sold along Johor Road and by night, off Sungei Road.
Today, his children is still serving the traditional recipe and its unique way of serving at a very reasonable price. The only difference is that one can sit and eat in coffeeshop comfort now.
Sungei Road today
Today, the flea market is still thriving despite the fact that all the old shophouse buildings have been torn down in the 1990s. What remains are the die-hard street peddlers, displaying their wares on canvas sheets now along the empty roads in the area. But its days are numbered as the site is scheduled for redevelopment in the near future.
Notes and references
- Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2004). Toponymics - A Study of Singapore Street Names (2nd Ed). Singapore: Eastern Universities Press. ISBN 981-210-364-3.
- G.S. Tan. Ashrae Singapore Chapter Newsletter (August 2000). Singapore: Volume 3, No: 1.
- ^ Savage, "Sungei Road", pp. 363-364.
- ^ "Sungei Road". Naidu Ratnala Thulaja, National Library Board. Retrieved 2007-06-28.
- "Undeveloped land for loot seller". National Environment Agency. Retrieved 2007-06-28.
- ^ Tan, "The History of Refrigeration in Singapore" pp. 6-8.
- "Singapore's Top 10 Listings". Makansutra. Retrieved 2007-06-28.
- "One Kind Laksa". Makansutra. Retrieved 2007-06-28.
External links
- Picture gallery of Sungei Road
- Map of Sungei Road
- "Rare $8,000 bike stolen" - The New Paper (Archived news)