An extended
family of 100
people?
Wow!
THE standard of living in Singapore in the 1930s was so cheap, T.S. Khoo’s mother used to feed a family of 60 -- for only $1.20!
"My grandfather had eleven children, and by the time he died in 1935, there were 100 of us -- his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren," said T.S.
"For instance, one cousin of mine had eleven children, another cousin had 10.
"My grandfather wanted the whole family to live together, so he bought four bungalows - one big bungalow, and three smaller ones.
"They occupied a massive forty to fifty thousand square feet piece of land in Devonshire Road - and he paid only $16,000 for the land, plus the bungalows, in 1932.’’
Click for audio of full interview
T.S.’ mother, who was the third of eleven siblings, used to cook for the entire family.
"My mother frequented the Orchard Road market, which was near the house.
But the stuff sold in that market was considered expensive, so sometimes, she’d take the family car and go to Tek Kar market, or the Kandang Kerbau Market for fresh fish.
She also went to the Serangoon market to get fresh food.
"With just $1.20 or $2, she could buy vegetables, fish, meat, pork and fruits to feed all of us in one day - there’d be basketfuls of food.
Mum used to buy: Sarm Chiam Bak (pork belly) 26 cents per kg Towgay
(bean sprouts)1 cent per kg Kiam chye (salted vegetable) 1 cent per kg Bak puay
(pork skin)free! Bak yew
(pork lard)1 cent per kg
click to hear about this old-time restaurant
T.S.Khoo's life: First chapter
Copyright © 1998 Singapore Press Holdings. All Rights Reserved.
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