Chinatown Heritage Centre — Level 1, Part 2: More Treasures, More Childhood Memories
One Room, Whole Family
The older children slept on the floor, while the younger ones shared the wooden bed with their parents. The room was small, but every corner had a job: the bed for sleeping, the drawers for keeping things, and the top of the dresser for all the daily essentials.
Aunty looked at the room and wondered, “Two adults and four children… how everyone squeeze in?”
Child: “Papa, where should I sleep?”
Papa: “Find a little space on the floor, ah.”
Aunty: “And if one person turns over in the night, everybody must shift together!”
Mama’s Dresser Cupboard
This dresser cupboard brought back Mama’s own one at home. She kept her little round foldable mirror, face powder, bottles of cologne and—of course—her egg pot on top. A piece of glass covered the cupboard, with old black-and-white photos tucked underneath: Papa at work, Papa and Mama together, and two studio portraits of little Aunty. Every bit of space had a use!
Mirror: “Excuse me, can I have a little space to open?”
Egg pot: “You all make room for me too, hor!”
A little family gallery, right there beneath the glass.
Meals Around The Table
The museum’s display shows the tailor’s family and apprentices sharing simple home-cooked meals. All those bowls, kettles and food containers gathered on the table look so familiar!
Most of my neighbours served dinner on the floor, sitting cross-legged as the family ate together. Aunty was quite fortunate: we had the whole floor unit to ourselves, and our family owned a round marble-top dining table, just like the ones in the old kopitiam.
Little Aunty: “Wah, our dining table looks like the kopitiam one!”
Mama: “Kopitiam or not, finish your dinner first, ah!”
Up High And Out Of Reach
Little Aunty: “What’s up there? Can I look see?”
Mama: “Look with your eyes, ah. Hands cannot reach!”
And even underneath the altar, there was still room for baskets and household things. Every bit of space put to good use!

An Old Letterbox
This weathered wooden letterbox must have watched over many comings and goings. I wonder what those faded markings once said—and how many letters slipped through its opening.
Aunty: “Any good news inside? Wedding invitation? Love letter?”
Letterbox: “Aunty, you come all this way just to kachak into me ah?”
Salted Fish And Dried Vegetables
This was such a common sight at my old house. Turn left and I came face to face with salted fish; turn right and there were dried vegetables. Aiyo, just turning around brought the old kitchen memories back!
Little Aunty: “Mama, why the fish looking at me?”
Our Old Kitchen
💠Aunty Remembers…
This kitchen display was almost a replica of the one we had at home. We used firewood to light the stove, so it had to be chopped almost every other day. And in those days, there was no microwave or electric toaster—everything was done over the stove fire.
When I was much older, I helped chop the firewood too. Ouch, those splinters in my fingers!
Aunty: “No microwave, no toaster… everything must go over the fire?”
The Stove: “That’s right! And don’t forget the firewood!”
Aunty’s Fingers: “We remember the splinters!”
Water Saved For A Rainy Day
💠Aunty Remembers…
After the water shortage and shutdown, Grandpa installed a “well” like this so we could store water just in case. We also kept rainwater in buckets, saving it for washing the floor.
Little Aunty:: “Grandpa, why are there so many buckets?”
Grandpa: “Better to have water ready when we need it!”
Rainwater Bucket: “And I’m for the floor, Aunty—don’t use me for anything else!”
But...Grandpa’s emergency “well” had a second job: tortoise nursery!
Little Aunty: “Grandpa, you store the water—I’ll look after the tortoises!”
Tortoises: “Little one, is this a well or our new home?”

The Toilet And The Not-So-Safe Door
💠Aunty Remembers…
This display brings back memories of the toilet with the night-soil bucket—and the bathroom with its “not too safe” door. The most challenging part was deciding who got to use the toilet just after the bucket had been replaced. Suddenly, everyone wanted the first turn! And whenever I went into the bathroom, I was afraid that one sneeze would make the door fall right off.
Little Aunty: “The bucket’s been changed! Can I go first?”
Everyone: “Wait your turn, little one!”
The Door: “And please don’t sneeze! I’m barely hanging on!”
Mama’s Kitchen Sounds
💠Aunty Remembers…
Wow, all the essential kitchen utensils are here! Looking at this display, I can almost hear Mama pounding chillies with the mortar and pestle—thok, thok, thok! That sound was so familiar in our kitchen.
Little Aunty: “Mama, what are you pounding?”
Mama: “Chillies! Keep your fingers away from the pestle!”
Mortar: “Aiyo, every day I kena thok-thok!”
A Window Up High
I looked up and spotted this little louvred window perched above the rough old wall. It seemed to be keeping an eye on everything below.
Aunty: “Hello up there! What can you see from your high-up seat?”
Window: “Everything, Aunty! And nobody can see me peeking!”
The One And Only Bamboo Ladder
There were no metal foldable ladders in those days—just bamboo ladders for maintenance and thatching. We had only one at home, and little Aunty was banned from going near it. Safety first for me… and for the ladder!
Little Aunty: “I only want to look!”
Bamboo Ladder: “Good! You stay there, and I’ll stay standing!”
Laundry Day At The Old House
Water was stored in ceramic urns, with the washboard and metal bucket always ready. Mama still had plenty of laundry to do, so we’d better not disturb her! Little Aunty was patiently queuing for her turn to use the metal bucket as a bathtub.
Little Aunty: “Mama, is it my turn yet?”
Metal Bucket: “One at a time, please!”
The Kitchen Screen Cabinet
This was a typical screen cabinet for keeping crockery and kitchen supplies. The mesh kept bugs out, let the air circulate and helped keep dust away—handy for storing food too! At our house, one was hung high near the ceiling to keep the rats out of reach. But judging by her cheeky ways, little Aunty might have been the biggest rat of all!
Little Aunty: “I’m only checking what’s inside!”
Mama: “That’s exactly what a rat would say!”
Ground Level: Part One Ends Here
That’s all for the ground level of the Heritage Centre. We’ll take a little break here before heading up to Level One.
Aunty: “Ready to continue upstairs?”
Legs: “Give us a moment lah—we’ve been exploring!”
Finished exploring Level 1? Follow Aunty upstairs to Level 2, Part 1 here!
Chinatown Heritage Centre — Level 2, Part 1: Upstairs Into the Past

















