Growing up in Ang Mo Kio: memories of Kachang Puteh

A stall selling Kachang Puteh (assorted nuts).

Taken at "Yesterday Once More" carnival at Imbiah Lookout on 25 Nov 2007.

For reasons I do not know, seeing Kachang Puteh stalls somehow reminds me that when I was a child, there used to be a few kachang puteh stalls selling kachang puteh (assorted nuts) in Ang Mo Kio Town Centre. I do not seem to see as many kachang puteh sellers in Ang Mo Kio Town Centre nowadays.

Anyway, in the past, there used to be a number of cinemas operating in Ang Mo Kio Central. These cinemas were: Broadway Cinema, Jubilee Cinema, New Town & New Crown Cinema.

Broadway Cinema
Photo credits: National Archives of Singapore. http://www.a2o.com.sg
PhotoCD Number : 19980007383
Image Number : 0109

Jubilee Cinema
Photo credits: National Archives of Singapore. http://www.a2o.com.sg
PhotoCD Number : 19980005811
Image Number : 0034

New Town and New Crown Cinema at Ang Mo Kio Town Centre
Photo credits: National Archives of Singapore, http://www.a2o.com.sg

PhotoCD Number : 19980005811
Image Number : 0033

I remember that popcorns were not quite popular in those days when I was much younger. There was a kachang puteh stall at Broadway Cinema about more than a decade ago, and I remember that one of the delights of going to the cinema was to get one serving of kachang puteh from the stall. (Admittedly, I was not so keen in watching movies than the side-perks than came with it.) There was quite a lot of variety of nuts to choose from, and just deciding which variety of nuts to choose for the day was part of the fun of ordering kachang puteh.

The funnel-like looking paper which was used to hold the kachang puteh could also bring some interesting surprises. Sometimes the paper used were just plain white paper, but at other times, there were comics on it!

In terms of affordability, I could say that the kachang puteh was much cheaper than the popcorns that are sold in cinemas of today.

If my memory does not fail me, about more than a decade ago, nearby the Jubilee Cinema, just outside the former Oriental Emporium, there was also another kachang puteh stall operating from time-to-time.

With kachang puteh stalls that operated within close proximity to the cinemas of Ang Mo Kio Town Centre, as a child, I seem to have associate kachang puteh with cinemas. Do you have similar association like mine?

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Related blog post by other bloggers worth a read:
From Kachang To Popcorn (Part 1)
From Kachang To Popcorn (Part 2)

Growing up in Ang Mo Kio: Jubilee - a place for kindergarten graduation ceremonies

JUBILEE CINEMA AT ANG MO KIO AVENUE 8 (ANG MO KIO TOWN CENTRE)
Source: National Archives of Singapore. http://www.a2o.com.sg
PhotoCD Number : 19980005811
Image Number : 0034


Today, it is common to see cineplexes where several movie-theatres are found within one building. When I was just a young child of about five to six years old, it was common for one large movie-theatre to be located within one single building. One example was the Jubilee Cinema. I still have vague impressions of the large capacity of the theatre of the Jubilee Cinema of the 1980s in my memory.

When I was six-years-old, I had my kindergarten graduation ceremony held at the Jubilee Cinema. I recall seeing many students from various classes of the nearby PAP (People's Action Party) kindergartens having their graduation ceremony there. If I remember correctly, after the graduation ceremony and the prize-giving ceremony, all those who have attended the event were treated to a cartoon movie.


JUBILEE CINEMA. 1990s.
Source: National Archives of Singapore. http://www.a2o.com.sg
PhotoCD Number : 19980007383
Image Number : 0106

Today, on the exact site where Jubilee Cinema had used to stand is Jubilee Complex. The movie-theatres in Jubilee Complex aren't as large as the movie-theatre of the Jubilee Cinema in the 1980s. However, societal needs and expectations have changed and it seems that it could be more cost-effective to operate several smaller movie-theatres than a single large movie-theatre at a given location.

One question that came to my mind as I was writing this post is: Where do the graduating PCF (PAP Community Foundation) kindergarten students from the kindergartens in Ang Mo Kio of today have their graduation ceremonies?

Please tell me if you should know the answer.


Jubilee Complex. Taken in year 2007.

Meantime, for the movie-lovers, you may wish to read From Kachang To Popcorn (Part 1) by laokokok to have an appreciation of cinemas of the past.

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First posted on Yesterday.sg

Growing up in Ang Mo Kio: Here comes the MRT!

Photo credits: National Archives of Singapore, http://www.a2o.com.sg

MRT STATION AT ANG MO KIO
PhotoCD Number : 19990001354
Image Number : 0116

In 1987, as a resident of Ang Mo Kio, I was introduced to a totally new way of travelling about from one place to another. This was the year when the Mass Rapid Transit system became accessible to the people in Singapore. One of the first few stations that went into operation was the Ang Mo Kio MRT station.

I was a fairly young child back then, but I can still remember vaguely that my mother purchased the MRT Commemorative Tickets for the family to travel on the MRT on the first day of the operation of the train service. It was an exciting experience having to travel on the MRT, furthermore on the first day of its operation.

As each of the Commemorative tickets were meant for one round trip, my family would alight from the train at each station from Yio Chu Kang to Toa Payoh, but without going out of the stations through the fare-gates. This was so that we could see how different each station looked.

The Primary School that I studied in was located pretty nearby part of the MRT train tracks. Perhaps the MRT train was such a new mode of transport for me and my classmates back then in 1987, when the MRT system first started its operation, my classmates and I would have the tendencies to look out of the classroom windows to take a peep whenever we hear a MRT train passing by. Our teachers would have to remind us to pay attention in class. Soon after, the sense of novelty wore off.

The commemorative ticket issued in year 1987 for travel on the first day of operation of the SMRT train system. Thanks to my dear mother who has actually kept this ticket for twenty years!

MRT train approaching Ang Mo Kio MRT station. Taken in 2007.

Today, the SMRT train system has become my main mode of transport. Perhaps this is so because there is a MRT station right in Ang Mo Kio, very accessible from where I have been living for the past two decades and more.

What was it like for you when the MRT first started its operation in the year 1987? If you have a personal story to share on Yesterday.sg, do check this page to find out how you could do so.



First posted on Yesterday.sg

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited Ang Mo Kio New Town

Source:
National Archives of Singapore
Access to Archives Online
PhotoCD Number : 19980007518
Image Number : 0084


On 10 Oct 1989, a distinguished guest, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, visited Ang Mo Kio New Town.

The preparations for her visit had probably started weeks and even months before her actual visit. I remember that void decks, lifts, stairways and so forth of the vicinity that she would be visiting were cleaned with lots of pride in preparation for her visit. On the day of her visit, the walkways of the selected HDB flat that she used were laid with red carpet. Even the floor of the lift itself was carpeted, I had heard.


Source:
National Archives of Singapore
Access to Archives Online
PhotoCD Number : 19980007518
Image Number : 0082


Townsville Primary School that I was studying in, was selected to be the school that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II would visit. Her visit was a grand event for the school. I recalled that the students were asked to line ourselves up at various locations of the school so that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II would be greeted by orderly lined-up students when she tours the school compounds. I vaguely remember that there was a couple of rehearsals to prepare for this special occasion.

One of the instructions that were given to us, the students, was that our back should not face the queen when she tours the school compound. We were told to smile too. I think any children would smile if we were told that we can look forward to a treat to ice-cream after Her Majesty's visit. Of course, there wasn't such a treat for us, but we tried to be on our best behaviours that day.


Source:
National Archives of Singapore
Access to Archives Online
PhotoCD Number : 19980007518
Image Number : 0085


From the photos from the National Archives of Singapore found on this post, we can see that the residents of Ang Mo Kio were excited to welcome Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

On the side, the photos from 1989 have made me realised that Ang Mo Kio has changed quite a far bit over the past 18 years.

Note: This post is yet another post of the series: Growing up in Ang Mo Kio. First posted on Yesterday.sg.