Monday, May 3, 2010

missing building quiz


today, we went looking for the whampoa's ice house. we found it but learnt that it was not the original - it was just a replica.

whampoa's ice house was opened in 1854. it was singapore's first ice house that sold imported ice packed in sawdust from the frozen winter lakes of new england in the united states of america. at that time, refrigeration was not in existence.

as a result of an overestimation in the demand for ice, the business venture between whampoa and gilert angus failed and the building was sold to a bank. tan kah kee's rubber company, kiam aik, occupied the building in 1904. the ice house was demolished in 1981.

what you see today is a relica of the ice house built near the original site.




quiz question: where is this building which carries the name 'whampoa ice house'?





the ice house reminds me of 'kek sng kiao' - the hokkien name for sungei road. the name was made in reference to the s'pore ice works which used to exist in that area, at the junction of sungei road and weld road. i remember the location because i used to eat my sungei road laksa from the push-cart stall stationed outside the ice factory.

the first ice-making plant in singapore was located in the sungei road area. it was built in 1930. it was popular as a pioneer establishment that brought refrigeration and airconditioning to singapore. in later years, it was owned by s'pore cold storage and there was also a change of name to 'new singapore ice works'.

10 comments:

Victor said...

YG, no need to google this one. The answer is given in the first photo.

yg said...

alamak! give others a chance to find out, lah, victor.

Thimbuktu said...

Thanks for the memories. The mention of 'sungei road laksa' i kena salivate...anyone know where is it relocated? Thanks.

yg said...

james, sungei road laksa is still in that vicinity. it is at blk 31 kelantan lane. they still use charcoal to cook the gravy/soup. still use a spoon. the bowl is now either pink or white.

Thimbuktu said...

thanks for the makan tip yg. pls care to join me next time. cheers

nah said...

Yg, there is another stall at Blk 27 Jalan Berseh, which claims to sell the “Kek Sng Kio” laksa. Which is the original one?

yg said...

honestly, i don't know which is the original sungei road laksa. i have always been eating from the one at kelantan lane.

Victor said...

The original laksa stall moved from Blk 31 to Blk 27 several years ago. So you know which stall to go to now. But don't go now because currently there is a shortage of see hum (blood clams). Laksa isn't laksa if there is no hum.

Icemoon said...

Laksa mai hum?

yg said...

victor, thks for the info. sometimes it is difficult to tell the copycat from the original. however, some friends still insist that the one at blk 31 is the original.