Purvis Street

Purvis Street, famous for its Hainanese eateries. Really must try Chin Chin Eating House one day. It has very good reviews. Just reading about its chicken rice, claypot mutton soup, Hainanese pork chop... makes me hungry. Only set back is that it's packed most of the time. And parking may be impossible. But yes, one day.

THE street was named after John Purvis -- born 1799, died 1872. He was a merchant in Singapore for some 50 years. He started John Purvis & Co in Singapore in 1822, was appointed a magistrate by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1823. He and his wife lived in Kampong Glam.

It is indeed an interesting street today. It even has a cat museum (live cats you can stroke during office hours, for a small fee which goes to the welfare of the cats which are mostly strays.). You can also find a few clan associations here (picture below). Thee main Hainanese clan association, the Kheng Chiu Hwee Kuan was established nearby in 1857, occupying three shophouses at Malabar Street which later moved to Beach Road, where it is today. 

BTW, Malabar Street is now an aircon street in Bugis Mall. But you can see how charmingly quaint it was in the old days: http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/pictures/Details/488d1c93-b466-4a24-a134-2fba40cb5037 But of course, that's looking back with tinted lenses. Don't forget the squalor. 

Tan Quee Lan Street

Tan Quee Lan Street. I haven't tried any of the food there, but apparently, the street is much featured by netizens for its food. Anyway, the second part of World Street Food Congress Dialogue 2015 was held in an open field on this street, attracting more than 200 people from all over the world!  Pics taken Feb 2016

I thought this was a rather charming street, with quaint two-storey shophouses neatly juxtaposed with those three storeys high. Actually the refurbished ones (seem refurbished to me) are still quite quaint, with shrubs if not trees growing from their rooftops.

Of course, no traces today of its heydays when opium dens were rife and Chinese brothels (while the neighbouring streets such as Bugis Street housed the Japanese ones). According to the book, Rickshaw Coolie: A People's History of Singapore, 1880 -1940 by James Francis Warren, richshaw pullers were able to earn a few fast bucks from ferrying prostitutes around in this area, and running errands for them. The prostitutes, bedecked with gold jewelry and beautiful clothes, would take the rickshaw, even if it was from one block to the next.

The street was named after a rich Hokkien businessman (died 1904) who owned land at Club Street and elsewhere, including a part of Bukit Timah where his wife was buried. The mystery of an unknown grave at Bukit Brown behind some private houses along Sian Tuan Ave was unraveled by Asia Paranomal Investigators in 2011 and traced to Mrs Tan Quee Lan.

There was also a Quee Lan Hill where the Chinese Weekly Entertainment Club now sits (picture below).

The Chinese Weekly Entertainment Club sits on what used to be Quee Lan Hill.