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'.
