Chicken curry, fish head curry, mutton curry and etc... I believe most of you have eaten at least one of these curries before but have you heard of or even tried flying fox curry before? No, I have not and I wonder how it tastes.
Terry Tan has eaten this special delicacy in the 1950s and it was prepared by his granny. In his book Stir-fried and not shaken / Terry Tan (ISBN: 9789810807054), Terry takes us through his historic journey from the 1940s to the 1970s in Singapore. Besides offering an insight into Singapore's history during that period, he also relates to us many funny and interesting moments (such as why an old Ford is called a Lau Pok Car*), some of which I will highlight below.
Stir-fried and not Shaken
1. Green Spot & Thye Hong Biscuits
Green Spot (Picture taken at the Images of Singapore in Sentosa)
Thye Hong Biscuits
2. Nonya Wedding & Bee Tai Mak
Following the Nonya wedding custom, Terry's sister ate a bowl of bee tai mak (droplet noodles) on the morning of her wedding.
Bee Tai Mak
3. Snow White & Char Siew Paus
Instead of eating a poisonous apple, the Snow White in the Cantonese version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs produced by Shaw Brothers were offered four poisonous char siew paus (BBQ meat buns)! ;p
Char Siew Pau
4. Spittoons (Large)
As punishment, Terry and his siblings were made to stand on a chair and balance a large spittoon containing urine on their heads! ;p
A large spittoon which is creatively used as a flower pot!
(Picture taken at the Hort Park)
5. Toothpaste
Terry's mother collected the top layer of grey wood ash and used it as toothpaste!
Wood ash collected in a pot placed under a stove.
(Picture taken in Lim Chu Kang in 1988)
*6. Old Ford --> Lau Pok Car
A Ford was called "Pok" by the Hokkien-speaking people staying in Terry's neighbourhood. Hence, they called an old Ford a Lau (old) Pok Car.
Stir-fried and not Shaken1. Green Spot & Thye Hong Biscuits
Green Spot is a non-carbonated orange flavoured soft drink. It was a favourite drink of many people then and Terry and his classmates brought the drinks along during an excursion to the Thye Hong Biscuits factory to understand how the biscuits were made.
Green Spot (Picture taken at the Images of Singapore in Sentosa)
Thye Hong Biscuits2. Nonya Wedding & Bee Tai Mak
Following the Nonya wedding custom, Terry's sister ate a bowl of bee tai mak (droplet noodles) on the morning of her wedding.
Bee Tai Mak3. Snow White & Char Siew Paus
Instead of eating a poisonous apple, the Snow White in the Cantonese version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs produced by Shaw Brothers were offered four poisonous char siew paus (BBQ meat buns)! ;p
Char Siew Pau
4. Spittoons (Large)
As punishment, Terry and his siblings were made to stand on a chair and balance a large spittoon containing urine on their heads! ;p
A large spittoon which is creatively used as a flower pot!(Picture taken at the Hort Park)
5. Toothpaste
Terry's mother collected the top layer of grey wood ash and used it as toothpaste!
Wood ash collected in a pot placed under a stove.(Picture taken in Lim Chu Kang in 1988)
*6. Old Ford --> Lau Pok Car
A Ford was called "Pok" by the Hokkien-speaking people staying in Terry's neighbourhood. Hence, they called an old Ford a Lau (old) Pok Car.
