Singaporean Sojourn.

After being holed up at Le Meridian Airport in Cairo for several days post our  Intentionally Different’s Textiles of the Nile tour as a consequence of the tragic shooting incident at Pompey’s Pillar on October 8th 2023, Brunyfire was relieved to arrive in the safe, clean and green environs of Singapore on the way home to Tas.

It had always been the intention to break the long journey back with a break in this great little city, one in which Brunyfire had spent several of her teenage years back in the 60s – a result of being a child of the British Armed Forces whose father had been posted to run a training camp up country while the family were based in Jahore Bahru.

Despite the humidity, the air conditioned taxi run from the airport was a delight and the boutique hotel turned out to be as charming as its online publicity claimed it would be. Situated in Far East Square, one of the most important historical areas in early Singapore’s history in the Telok Ayer Area, the AMOY Hotel was once amongst a collection of shophouses dating back more than 170 years, that were painstakingly conserved back in the 90s.

The hotel draws its inspiration from the unique character of this location which was once the landing site of Chinese immigrants, such as the Zhangzhou people, that arrived by boat seeking a better life in the far east.

(Model of original landing site – entry of the AMOY Hotel, Singapore)

(Left: front entrance of AMOY Hotel, centre: reception and right: front entrance interior)

The AMOY was originally built as the Fuk Taki Chi temple in 1842 – its entrance opens into a small Museum before heading further into reception. Inside however, the 37 rooms are all beautifully designed with very contemporary comforts – Brunyfire’s being a cosy room for one.

Still early, and once the bag was dumped, breakfast was next on the agenda from a choice of eateries a step away that also provided a choice of great places to eat dinner later that evening.

A relatively short, but sweaty (due to the high humidity) walk from the AMOY is the Asian Civilisations Museum, situated beside the Singapore river – one of the four museums of Singapore, the other three being the Peranakan Museum, the National Museum of Singapore and the Singapore Art Museum.

The Asian Museum specialises in pan-Asian cultures and civilisations, particularly in the material history of China, Southeast Asia, South Asia and West Asia, from which the diverse ethnic groups of Singapore trace their ancestry.

On entering the welcome air conditioned comfort of the ACM’s ground floor, Brunyfire was immediately blown away by a stunning array of ceramic bowls……….

(Changsa hand thrown and decorated bowls from the Tang Shipwreck ACM, Singapore)

…..just some of the finds from the Tang Shipwreck that begins the ACM’s Trade and the Maritime Silk Routes themed exhibits which features masterpieces of Asian export art (ceramics, furniture, paintings, gold, silver and other materials made in China, India, Japan and Southeast Asia for export to the rest of the world) from the 9th century to the early 20th century. An alternative route to the famous overland Silk Road has long been speculated, but until recently, no evidence was ever found to back up the theory of a maritime version until 1998.

The wreck was discovered in 1998 off the coast of Belitung Island, Indonesia, by local fishermen revealing a find of between 60,000 and 70,000 objects. The wreck included predominantly ceramics, but also some luxury trade wares of gold and silver, all of which was produced in China during the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD) – constituting the largest single collection of Tang Dynasty artefacts to be found.

(Bowls from Tang Shipwreck originated from kilns in Changsha, Hunan Province, China. These kilns produced ceramics on an industrial scale during the 9thc AD (830s) that featured cloud, landscape, bird, flower, foliage, sea monsters and abstract designs).

(Changsha bowls as found in the wreck packed together complete with encrustations of coral – photos from the exhibition at ACM, Singapore)

Some interesting ceramics elsewhere in the ACM’s collection included these two teapots from Yixing, in southern Jiangsu province, China that reflect the enormous popularity of Yixing teapots that is still in evidence today.

(Left: Teapot with open decoration from Yixing, Jiangsu Province, China – 18th Century and right: Ginger-form teapot by Lu Wenxia (1966) and her sculptor husband, Lu Jianxing (1958))

The high status of Yixing teapots can be attributed to the methods of tea preparation that was introduced during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644 AD) where the practice of steeping the tea leaves in hot water led to the widespread use of teapots. Different teas and the duration of their steeping all resulted in different flavours of tea. Because the body of the Yixing teapots absorbed the flavour of the tea that was brewed within it, and tea connoisseurs wanted to maintain specific flavours and fragrances with each brewing, individual teapots for individual teas were often used.

This requirement made the teapots of Yixing the most sought after tea ware because the quality of the clay they were made from – known as zisha (or purple clay) – with its fine-grain and high fired porosity that gave the ware its strength and durability whilst developing a patina of taste when the teapot was used over time.

Another intriguing item was this metal enamelled hotpot from the Qing dynasty (1736-95AD). Eating food from a pot of simmering broth, or hotpot, was popular at the highest levels of society in China. The Qianlong emperor was apparently a hotpot fan, hosting banquets that enjoyed the different types of flavours for the different seasons.

Most intriguing, was a visit to the the Peranakan Museum.

In Singapore today, the term ‘Peranakan’ (meaning the uterus or womb, or someone from a mixed marriage between a local and a foreigner) generally refers to a person of mixed Chinese and Malay/Indonesian heritage. Many Singapore Peranakans trace their origins to 15th-century Malacca, where their ancestors were thought to be Chinese traders who married local women. Peranakan men are known as baba, while the women are known as nonya (or nyonya).

However, not all Peranakans are of Chinese ancestry – non-Chinese Peranakans in the early 20th century included the Bugis Perankans (people of southern Celebes (Sulawesi), Indonesia), Arab Peranakans, Java Peranakans and in the Straits Settlements, there was also a small but significant community of Peranakan Indians known as Chitty Melaka. This diversity of nationalities is reflected in some of the intriguing tools of the kitchen represented in the Paranakan Museum, like the (1) ang ku kueh mould (top left), (2) an Indian idli steamer (centre), (3) the kueh bahulu mould (top right) and (4) the cendol maker (below centre).

(1) The ang ku kueh * or red tortoise cake, is an oval-shaped Chinese pastry made from soft, sticky, glutinous rice flour containing a sweet central filling, press molded in a timber ang ku kueh mould to resemble a tortoise shell, steamed and presented on a piece of banana leaf. In traditional Chinese culture, the colour red is used as a symbol of joy and happiness, whereas the tortoise symbolises longevity, power and tenacity and is thus typically associated with auspicious occasions.

(2) Idli is a type of savoury rice cake, originating from South India as popular as a breakfast food. The cakes are made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented black (de-husked) lentils and rice. The fermentation process breaks down the starches so that they are more readily metabolised by the body.

(3) Kueh* bahulu are a a traditional Malay egg sponge cake, made from ingredients such as eggs, sugar, and flour and baked in a kueh bahulu mould. They’re soft, light, and spongy on the inside, while having a bit of a crust on the outside. The mould featured here is also a traditional cooker and would have been used on an open fire – hot coals would have been place on the lid to ensure an even heat distribution.

(Images sourced from the web illustrating use of kueh bahulu mould on charcoal brazier where hot coals are added to the lid to the mould to ensure even cooking of the cakes)

(4) Cendol is a sweet iced dessert containing green worm-shaped  jellies, coconut milk and a sugar syrup known as gulu melaka, or palm sugar. The signature green spaghetti like forms of cendol are made with either rice flour or green bean flour into a cooked paste using the juice of panda leaves for its distinct green colour. The starchy paste is pressed through the (in this sample) timber and metal cendol maker, usually a homemade sieve like device constructed by one of the members of the family.

What was clearly evident about the ceramics featured in the Peranakan Museum was that they came from wealthy families and in this case, is referred to as Peranakan porcelain. Also known as Nyonya ware or Straits Chinese porcelain, Perankan porcelain has unique characteristics found only in Southeast Asia. Wealthy Peranakan Chinese commissioned Chinese traders to manufacture this colourful porcelain in China and it was first created during the era of Emperor Tongzhi of the Qing Dynasty. Production is believed to have ceased after World War II due to declining demand. Between the late 1800s and mid-1900s, the Peranakan community would commission ceramic ware via the Chinese traders who dealt in commodities such as tin and rubber. These traders acted as middlemen, placing the orders at the kilns in Jingdezhen and once ready, would export the ware to the Peranakan communities in the Malay Peninsula.

The kamcheng, like the two above, are good examples of ware that would have been specially commissioned by the wealthy Nyonyas. These two are covered containers used by the Peranakan community for storing and serving soup or water and their well kept condition reflects the high status they were held in.

However, for Brunyfire, it was the more humble sand pot that was cooking up the soup for the dinner time crowds that were gathering river side that were of greater appeal!

* ‘The world of delicate Malay sweetmeats lacks little in richness of flavour or colour. The most commonly used word to refer to them, kueh, is a broad umbrella term referring to any and all confections in the Malay gastronomic tradition‘. From The Food of Singapore Malays: Gastronomic Travels through the Archipelago by Khir Johari, Marshall Cavendish Editions, 2022.