Vegetables Grown in Potong Pasir

So much has changed from the old Potong Pasir days. was said to have good soil for growing vegetables. Gone are the vegetable farms that were strewn across the land. But did you know that farmers had tilled the Potong Pasir land since the 1850s. The land had also produced the country's best vegetables. Vegetables that once fed 50 percent of Singapore's population. That was how important home-grown vegetables were to us, Singaporeans.

 

[Singapore Food] Mei Ling Market & Food Centre

A Road Sign Pointing Customers towards the Market

This is no air-condition food centre, but all the same. People are willing to come from all over the island to have a meal at this food centre, me included. As I'm not a frequent customer at this food centre, signs like what you see in the above picture helped me to get to the market easily.

Mei Ling Market Appeared in the 1972 map (1)

Though Mei Ling Street appeared in maps around the late 1960s, the earliest reference to the market I could find was in the 1972 street directory. Today though renovated, the market still holds many hallmarks of a market that was built more than 40 years ago.

The Entrance to the Market

Firstly, other than the red emblazoned words at the front of the market, the structure itself looked to have changed little. The windows on the second storey are also those that one would see installed as kitchen windows in HDB blocks of the 1970s.

Natural Lighting Helps to Luminate the Stairwell

One design that caught my attention was the brick wall of the stairwell. The walls had circles and semi-circles that not only provided natural lighting for the stairwell, the design also gives this market its character.
 

Well Ventilated Food Centre

The market major retrofitting work that was completed in 2009 (The market even has its own escalators) and both the wet market and food centre on the 2nd level have been well refurbished. Interestingly, live chickens were slaughtered in the market up until 1991 when the Environment Ministry laid down the law of not allowing such slaughter to take place. (2)

Trying the Fried Kuey Teow - Tan Song Heng

I know that there are many choices of food that I can choose from at the food centre, but I was just craving for Fried Kuey Teow that day. So a plate of Fried Kuey Teow I had to get. As I'm no food connoisseur, I'll leave the description of food to the expert. In the nutshell, the Fried Kuey Teow was just alright.

I heard that the chicken rice, lor mee and prawn noodles are worth a go. Any other recommendations?


References

1. One Map. http://hm.onemap.sg/ Accessed on September 28, 2015.

2. Poultry seller at Mei Ling Street want an area to slaughter fowl. October 8, 1991. The Straits Times. P. 23.

[Vintage Brand] Farmer Brand Peanuts

Farmer Brand Peanut or 味香園(Wei Xiang Yuan or Mei Heong Yuen) was the talk of town when I posted the photo of this can online. I took the photo of this can when I visited Cameron Highland's Time Tunnel Museum.

The peanuts are grown in the Menglembu Plains of Perak, Malaysia since the 1940s. The love relationship blossomed between Singapore and the Farmer Brand Peanut when the late-Mr Lee Chit Heng decided to move his "processing and distribution operations to Singapore in the 1950s". (1)

Mei Heong Yuen Food Industries Pte Ltd is currently located at 261, Pandan Loop, does the processing, packaging and distribution of these peanuts. (2)

This brand of peanuts has accompanied many through the decades. The public was able to purchase this brand of peanuts from various leading supermarkets and convenience stores (From the old Emporium in the 1970s to NTUC and Cheers in current times). (3)

In Singapore, peanuts are eaten for all occasions - from wedding dinners and regular restaurant dinners, to funeral wake.

Facebook user Larry Lai shared that in the past, "they even use paper-bag to pack their ground-nut if you buy small quantity".

In 1979, a bag of 227g roasted peanuts costs S$0.95. Now, a bag of peanuts comes in 150g and with multiple flavours such as Garlic and Coconut.

Here's the email interview with a representative of the Farmer Brand Peanut.

1. Where was the original shop in Singapore? [Nicholas] Also along Temple Street but not at the present unit.

2. When was the shop set up? [Nicholas] Unable to recall the year. 

3. Was there only one type of peanuts commercially sold in the past? [Nicholas] Yes and it gradually expanded to more flavours.

4. Do any of the peanuts still come from Menglembu? [Nicholas] No, it is now from another country.

 

Updated: 25 June 2015


References

1.  Tee, E. April 10, 2012. Historic Singapore: 5 Chinatown businesses that endure. http://travel.cnn.com/singapore/visit/old-shops-chinatown-748077 Accessed on June 22, 2015. 

2. Singapore Chinatown Heritage Brands. http://www.farmerpeanuts.com/aboutus.html Accessed on June 21, 2015. 

3. Emporium Holding Group. June 15, 1979. Super Special. The Straits Times. P7.

Lim Tua Tow Market and Teck Chye Terrace

This was a popular market and hawker centre in the 50s and 60s. The Lim Tua Tow market was sited on the left of the picture, while the shop houses along Teck Chye Terrace are on the right.

The place surrounding the market was rather filthy and complaints were made to the government in hope that something could be done. There was no proper refuse disposal and items that were unwanted were dumped into the side drains. (17)

 
Not only was the place laden with filth, gangs also ply the back lanes. (5)

The market was demolished in the 1980s due to road expansion. The shop houses on he right are still currently there.

Teck Chye Terrace (Postal Code: Singapore 19/ 1954; 5 1/2 milestone Upper Serangoon Road)

Ask anyone about what Teck Chye Terrace is about and they will tell you it's all about food. From the traditional porridge stalls to buffet styled steamboats, this stretch of shophouses have different eating places to whet your appetites. (26) More recently, this row of shophouses made news as "five adjoining two-storey shophouses" were sold at a whopping cost of S$14.63m. (12)

But what was this place like before the advent of these makan places?

One of the first mention of the road name Teck Chye Terrace was seen in a 1930 Straits Times article. Police raided 19 Lim Teck Chye Terrace, Paya Lebar Village and arrested 10 Chinese for gambling. (13). Other vice activities included taking "chandu" or opium. (16) 

Teck Chye Terrace was acquired by the government in 1931 and declared as a public street. (6) The owners of the freehold land was selling buildings No.1 to 17 - Odd numbers. This road was already present in 1929. (7) It was purchased by a Mr Lim Soo Sian for a princely price of $22,000. (14)

After the Japanese occupation, the Christian community from Paya Lebar Methodist Church pumped in money to build a children's playground close to Teck Chye Terrace, adding some joy to these younglings. The area where the playground was to be built was said to be "overgrown with weeds, banana plants, and bushes and is a dumping ground for scrap and timber". (15)

Adding to gang activities, the filthiness of the place and mosquitoes infestations, Teck Chye Terrace was not a place where families would want to make this place their home. (18)

Source: OneMap, 1954

In 1962, one of its residents named Teck Chye Terrace as "one of the filthiest roads in Singapore". The road was totally crowded with "more than 100 stalls illegally constructed obstruct road users". (8) There was even a call to move these stall holders into the existing market and vacant playground. (3)

Companies that used the buildings at Teck Chye Road include:-

a. Hong Huat Timber Merchant in 1974 at 41, Teck Chye Terrace(9)

b. There was a slew of retail and wholesale liquor and beer shop that applied for a joint licence under the Singapore Provision Shop Friendly Association in 1975. These provision shops included 3, 9, 21, 27, 31, 33, 37 Teck Chye Terrace. (19) (20) (21) (22)

c. Hong Lee Goldsmith at 13 Teck Chye Road (11) (23) from 1982-91. The shop was then named Tiara Creation Pte Ltd in 1991. (27)

d. the now defunct Serangoon Sewing Machine Co. at 33, Teck Chye Terrace (10) in 1982-89. The company went on to sell other electrical appliances such as coloured television, video recorder and hi-fi sets. (24) (25)


First written on May 13, 2014.

Updated on May 31, 2015.


References

1. Left photo: From the Lee Kip Lin Collection. All rights reserved. Lee Kip Lin and National Library Board, Singapore 2009

2. Right photo: Google Map. Retrieved on May 13, 2014.

3. The Straits Times. May 22, 1963. Filth and Dust. P8

4. The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. March 16, 1932. P2.

5. The Straits Times. The gangs like the dark. October 11, 1955. P8.

6. The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. Declining Property Value. August 17, 1932. P12.

7. The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. September 28, 1929. Municipal Commission. P11.

8. The Straits Times. Top prize for squalor. July 21, 1962. P10.

9. The Straits Times. Advertisement. December 9, 1974. P25.

10. Singapore Monitor. November 21, 1984. P3.

11. The Straits Times. Advertisements. June 14, 1983. P23.

12. Rashiwala, K. March 5, 2015. Mortgagee sales lift number of auction properties in Jan-Feb. The Business Times. Retrieved on May 31, 2015. http://business.asiaone.com/news/mortgagee-sales-lift-number-auction-properties-jan-feb

13. The Straits Times. Caught Gambling. January 30, 1930. P17.

14. The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. April 27, 1932. Property Sale. P7.

15. The Straits Times. April 2, 1948. Paya Lebar Plans Centre. P5.

16. The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. January 13, 1938. Had two cards: opium smoker fined. P15.


17. The Straits Times. January 29, 1955. Even the city cleaners don't dally here. P12.

18. The Straits Times. August 26, 1957. Back lanes need watching. P6.

19. New Nation. January 8, 1975, Advertisements. P15.

20. New Nation. January 29, 1975, Advertisements. P16.

21. New Nation. February 6, 1975, Advertisements. P21.

22. The Straits Times. January 4, 1975. Advertisements. P18.

23. The Straits Times. November 20, 1982. Goldsmith jailed for cheating another goldsmith of $20,000. P8

24. The Straits Times. July 22, 1984. Advertisements. P6.

25. The Straits Times. August 25, 1985. Advertisements. P23.

26. The Straits Times. December 11, 2005. Mass Market it is. Retrieved on May 31, 2015.

27. The New Paper. June 6, 1991. Advertisements. P29.

[Food] 328 Katong Laksa

328 Owner Ms Lucy Koh dictates her business at the entrance of her shop

With her well coiffed hair and neat dressing, Ms Lucy Koh easily stood out from the rest of her staff. She guards the front of her shop like a hawk and none of her staff was allowed close to her special formulated laksa gravy when she's around. No one except when she was away dishing out her laksa to Singaporeans in Shanghai, China every year during Singapore Day. (1)

Fresh cockles in the bowl of laksa

As I was visiting the shop under National Heritage Board's HeritageFest 2015, I did not have the opportunity to have a go at the laksa but was just happy to have the opportunity to speak with Ms Koh. (2)  But I was not deterred and had returned to the shop for dinner.

The crowd was just starting to build up when I was there at 10am

Ms Koh was quietly confident that she has one of the best laksa formula in town - her laksa won Gordon Ramsay's version hands-down. (3) This media savvy boss sees good online reviews of her laksa on sites such as Lonely Planet and ieatishootipost. (4) (5)

Previously, there were a number of pioneer laksa stalls in Katong. i.e. Janggut Laksa. But now, it looks like 328 Katong Laksa has now the monopoly of the laksa business there.

So how good is 328 Laksa? Is Janggut Laksa a worthy rival? (6)

Or maybe one that's outside of Katong - Sungei Road Laksa?

References

1. Singapore Day 2015 Shanghai. Accessed on April 18, 2015. https://www.singaporeday.sg/hawker.html

2. Heritagefest 2015. Accessed on April 18, 2015. http://heritagefest.sg

3. Hungrygowhere. Accessed on April 18, 2015. http://www.hungrygowhere.com/dining-guide/hawker/gordon-ramsay-wins-chilli-crab-loses-hawker-heroes-challenge-*aid-8b773f00/

4. 328 Katong Laksa. Lonely Planet. Accessed on April 18, 2015. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/singapore/restaurants/indonesian/328-katong-laksa

5. ieatishootipost. Accessed on April 18, 2015. http://ieatishootipost.sg/328-katong-laksa-hits-you-right-there-yeah-yeah-yeah/

6. Janggut Laksa: Original Katong Laksa.  http://singapore-trails.blogspot.sg/2014/11/janggut-laksa-original-katong-laksa.html

7. Sungei Road Laksa. http://singapore-trails.blogspot.sg/2014/09/sungei-road-original-laksa.html

[Special Edition] People, Places, Penang - The Tricycle Bread Seller

I may be asked about the rationale for writing a piece about a foreign island i.e. Why Penang Island rather than Singapore since my blog is called Singapore Trails. Is this a deviation from my original purpose of writing about Singapore?

Well, yes and no. You see, purists would say that Penang Island is no Singapore. But there are many similarities between these two islands, MANY! Penang is also a place where I can extrapolate what life was like in Singapore - the way we lived, the food we ate and the streets that we walked.

Penang Island is just about an hour plane ride from Singapore and we are privileged to be situated close to Georgetown, Penang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Being listed as a heritage site means that its architecture and cultural landscape will be largely protected against the rapid modernisation of towns and cities. In fast-paced Singapore, we can only catch hold of whatever remaining bits of heritage that we can hold on to.

Let me begin my story of Penang with the Tricycle Bread Seller.
  
The Tricycle Bread Seller 

In The back alley of Stewart Street

It was a pretty humid day and a yellow tricycle crawled into the back lane of Stewart Street. I'm sure that Mr Sekar, the owner of this "mobile office", had entered the lane to look for a reprieve from the blistering heat.

Me Sekar was keen to share his work. The bread on display were hygienically wrapped and were supplied by branded bread making companies. But what I was interested in was Mr Sekar's "ride". The lower cupboard stored his loaves of bread that he uses to create his mouth-watering kaya toast.

Mr Sekar shared about how he prepares the kaya toast

In the upper cupboard, Mr Sekar has his kaya and butter ready. The doors to the cupboard help to keep away the flies and dirt as he moves from street to street. As we said our farewells, Mr Sekar peddled off to hawk his "wares". There was a great sense of pride in what he does. Mr Sekar did not choose the easy way out by mounting his cupboards on motorcycles. Instead, he continues to serve the community by peddling his tricycle.  

Tricycle Bread Seller in Singapore

I asked Mr Sekar to pose with his tricycle. He did. I'm not sure if he knows that in Singapore, this trade is no longer in existence. So when was the last time we saw such a tricycle bread seller selling bread on the streets?

Well, it seems that the last captured image of such a bread seller in Singapore was in 1982.  (1) Though the mobile cupboards looked slightly different when I compared both the 1982 picture and the one that I'd taken recently, the concept of mounting these cupboards on a tricycle remains the same and Mr Sekar would not have looked out of place if we had placed him in the 1980s.

References

1. Pinsler, R. June 1, 1982. National Archives of Singapore. Retrieved on: March 19, 2015. http://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/photographs/record-details/86e5aad5-1162-11e3-83d5-0050568939ad 

Bendemeer Housing Estate: Old World Charms

Bendemeer Housing Estate - One that saw the housing of families in the 1970s where many found jobs within the nearby Bendemeer Industrial Estate. In 2007, the government put the housing estate through an upgrading programme to spruce it up. (1)

Still, the housing estate has somehow managed to keep some of its original charm. Located just a stone's throw away from Boon Keng MRT station, here're 5 good reasons why you should visit this housing estate.

1. Are You a Heritage Buff?

Stepping out of Boon Keng MRT, one of the first things that will catch your eyes would be an information board to start you on your exploratory journey. Read about the famous Whampoa and go on a search to locate the original site of the once-famous Nam Sang Fu Un. After the passing of Whampoa, the property was purchased by a prominent Teochew, Seah Liang Seah and he went on to re-name the building Bendemeer House.


2. Teochew Restaurants Galore

This brings us to another reason why you should visit Bendemeer Housing Estate - The Teochew food. In this Teochew enclave that sees only 12 buildings, there are three Teochew restaurants.

Yuan Xing Teochew Restaurant - The business first started at Wayang Street in the 1950s. They moved to the current site in 1972. (2)

Liang Kee Teochew Restaurant - A restaurant that started in the 1968, this restaurant has been given a pretty good rating by a famous food blogger, Dr Leslie Tay of the ieatishootipost fame. (3)

Ban Heng@Boon Keng - This is a Ban Heng group of restaurant that also serves Teochew cuisine.

So there, three 'branded' teochew restaurants for you to choose from.


3. Knick-Knack Shops

 

From rice dumplings, to banks to coffee shops, there is an entire range of shops, 200 metres of shops lining both sides of the walkway. You can really shop till you drop! If nothing else, you can still take some time to soak in the atmosphere. Listen to the shopkeepers call out to potential customers; eavesdrop on the interesting conversation of the elderly men - Reads like a Chinese tabloids. 


4. Get a Hair-Cut on the Go

Other than the many Teochew restaurants, there are also many barbers and hair-dressers. Just take a look at the picture above - Louisa Permanent Wave. The word Permanent Wave just conjures up the image of that cylindrical contraption that give you the hardest perm you can ever have. This shop still retains the old unit number where it does not list the level. i.e. 673 instead of 01-673. "One karipok haircut, please!"

5. Food, food, More Glorious Food

If you want good food, you get good food. All at the Bendemeer Market and Hawker Centre. The variety of food is just mind-blowing. I had a go at a plate of carrot cake but as soon as I sat down with my food, my eyes started to rove around for other good spoils.

References

1. Bendemeer all spruced up now. January 15, 2007. The Straits Times. P28.

2. Yuan Xing Teochew Restaurant. October 3, 2009. Today. P41.

3. Liang Kee Teochew Restaurant: Teochew Chef Behind the Wok. http://ieatishootipost.sg/liang-kee-teochew-restaurant-teochew-chef-behind-the-wok/ Retrieved on: January 11, 2015.

[Culture] Teochew Cultural Exhibition in Singapore

I'm a Teochew. A Peranakan Teochew, and I converse more in Hokkien and Malay than my own original Chinese dialect. Still, that is no excuse for me to not find out more of my Teochew roots, and what better way than to visit this exhibition.

Teochews "make up 21 percent of the Chinese population". (1) It is said that the first Teochews who arrived in Singapore after 1819 were from the Riau islands in Indonesia and from Siam. (2) 

So what have I gained from my visit to this exhibition?


1. Nan Hai is a very big place

When I'd first met a local professor at Bukit Brown, I asked him about the words "Nan Hai" since it had appeared on my great grandfather's tombstone. The professor stretched out his hands to show me that the area was big, and it was not a name of a village or city. The name Nan Hai can be traced as far back as 3,000BC. (3) So if I had wanted to narrow things down to just two coordinates, it would be as good as finding a needle in the haystack.

2. Traversing the seas via the Ang Tow Zung

So how many days did it take for our Teochew ancestors to arrive from Guangzhou to Singapore? Well, the internet tells me that sail boats will travel at about five to seven knots. That works out to about 13km/h. So if we do a direct point A to B calculation (Going over land and sea, and going non-stop), it would have taken our ancestors 200 days to get to Singapore. The perils of the seas were plenty.

The sail boat ain't no catamaran and when faced with the storm, it's really a battle between you and mother nature.


3. Interesting artifacts and festivals

This is called "Gway Huan Sam Bo" or Teochew three treasures. In the past, food was stored in these baskets and were brought on long boat trips or to work.

 

The Teochews have quite a number of festivals - one of which is called "Chuk Hue Hng" or Coming out of the garden. This festival is a "coming-of-age ceremony" for males and females who were 15 years of age, according to the lunar calendar. 

There are much more that you can learn from this exhibition. There's also Teochew food that you can savour. The exhibition runs from September 25 to October 5 over at Ngee Ann City Civic Centre. There's an entry fee of S$5/pax.

Sept 25 to Oct 5 at the Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza.

Sept 25 to Oct 5 at the Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza.

Bibliography

1. Phua, G. (September 21, 2014). 5 interesting facts about Teochews in Singapore: The Straits Times. http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/more-lifestyle-stories/story/5-interesting-facts-about-teochews-singapore-20140921

2. Conceicao, J. L. (2009). Teochew community:Singapore infopedia. http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1499_2009-04-09.html

3.  Ring, T., Salkin, R. M., La Boda, S.(1996). International dictionary of historic places. Volume 5. Asia and Oceania. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. P. 302.

Sungei Road Thieves Market: I Came. I Saw. I Wandered.

 

It has been awhile since I had last visited the Sungei Road Thieves Market. There were lots of on-going construction in that area and even with a GPS, I was temporarily disoriented.

It took a very nice gentleman to direct me to the historical flea market. He warned me that there were just a few stalls left. I withheld my judgement of the place and with my trusty foldie, I rode excitedly towards Sungei Road, looking forward to see what I would find.

But before we look into the present, let's take a stroll into the past.

Taken from: http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/ (1)

The first article that mentioned about the Sungei Road market was dated 13 October 1935. The market is also known as Robinson Petang, or Afternoon Robinson as the stalls would mushroomed only in the afternoon. Why Robinson? It was named after a departmental store that was supposedly located in that area. (2)

Sungei Road market also had its character. Whenever anyone visits the market, they would have needed to tolerate the "nauseating smell that comes from the canal". (3)

Then, the stalls lined along the ground level of these shop houses which added to the quaintness of the place. (4)

In its heydays, the Sungei Road market saw more than 180 stalls selling different nick-knacks but some of these stallholders had resettled themselves in proper shops along Kelantan Lane, Syed Alwi Road and Sim Lim Tower. (5)

It was never smooth sailing for the stall holders there. The threat of seeing the closure of the market was mentioned as early as 1978. (6) In 1982, the Environment Ministry was also on-hand to tear down the temporary stalls. (7) Still, the stallholders returned to their old haunt in 1983.

The illegal stallholders had to play hide-and-seek with the Ministry of Environment officers. "It was only in late 1989" that these hawkers were given temporary permits to hawk their wares. (8)  Business started to flourished again. There were even mobile food stalls that sold tasty Laksa and the likes.

But by 2000, there was no need for stallholders to request for permit, though the only condition was that they were only allowed to sell second-hand goods. (9)

The streets that they hawked their wares include Pitt Street and Larut Road.

To protect themselves from the weather, the stallholders erect temporary shelters using tarpaulin and big umbrellas.

As I walked along the streets, I was looking out for something that is worth my purchase. Army helmets, old kettles, religious amulets, all these items were not of my fancy.

Some of these items were so worn-out that the stallholder had just lumped everything together. It looked to me like a pile of junk. But I'm pretty sure that the gentleman selling these items must have felt that they were indeed worth a dollar or two.

Time was never an issue for these stallholders, especially if you were their regular customers. They took their time to chat with their customers, some of whom even sat on the side of the seller while chatting away about times gone by. But for those whom they are unfamiliar with, the stallholders were not as patient. "Le Chuay simi? " (What are you looking for?) was a retort by the stallholders, targeted at new customers who were disentangling some of his wares. 

Alas, the end is near for these stallholders and there seems to be no reprieve. These stallholders will be asked to move, most likely permanently as the land will be use to build an upcoming MRT station. (10)

As I wandered through the flea market and had found nothing of my liking, I know that many others would have found something interesting that they will take along with them. If nothing else, at least the memories of this place will be in our hearts forever.

References

1. Untitled. October 13, 1935. The Straits Times. http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved on: September 6, 2014.

2. Jalan Besar: Heritage Trail. http://www.academia.edu/3665785/Jalan_Besar_A_Heritage_Trail. Retrieved on: September 6, 2014.

3. Robinson Petang. October 2, 1953. The Straits Times. http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved on: September 6, 2014.

4. Cheong, S. October 26, 1979....and an old one.  The Straits Times. http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved on: September 7, 2014. 

5. Thieves' Market: Big Move Out Soon. November 30, 1981. The Straits Times. http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved on: September 7, 2014. 

6. Sungei Road Stall Still Going Strong. August 14, 1978. The Straits Times. http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved on: September 7, 2014.

7. Kumar, S. August 11, 1982. The Straits Times. http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved on: September 7, 2014. P.8.

8. Yeo, R. June 1, 1991. Flea for All. The Straits Times. Factiva. Retrieved on: September 7, 2014.

9. Ho, M. October 12, 2001. How much for that broken phone. The Straits Times. Factiva. Retrieved on: September 7, 2014.

10. Flea market and the city. August 10, 2014. The Straits Times. http://www.straitstimes.com/news/opinion/more-opinion-stories/story/flea-mart-and-the-city-20140810 Retrieved on: September 7, 2014. 

Easing Your Pain

Picture taken off the Tiger Balm website

The first time I'd ever heard a foreigner using our product was when I visited my mom's friend in Germany in 1995. Even before we arrived in her country of chic Mercedes and BMWs, she had contacted us to bring along boxes of Tiger Balm.

I know that my grandparents and parents swears by it, and I'd also used this blam whenever I had a tummy ache or a headache. This traditional formula was first concocted for the imperial court of China more than 100 years ago. Just imagine, you're using the ointment of what past Emperors of China have been using!

Well, the person who concocted this formula is the late imperial herbalist - Mr Aw Chu Kin, whose children moved his business to Singapore. The balm has henceforth been a mainstay of homes in Singapore. Try buying a couple of bottles. It's definitely affordable.

http://www.tigerbalm.com/