We’ve noticed that the past few blogs have prompted our fans to talk about the good food in Ipoh.
Artistic angle aside, if you look at the above picture closely you can see some ‘work’ in progress – yes, folks….the man is making Popiah!
There isn’t much background in the picture, but perhaps someone recognises this stall? As for the Popiah lovers, has your favourite dish changed over the years?
“A Countess from Hong Kong” – a story about Natascha, a White Russian countess, who stows away on a luxury liner at Hong Kong, determined to seek a new life in America – is showing at the Lido and in competition, “The Blue Max” is showing at the Cathay. Which one did you see?
Here’s another picture sent to us from Alan.
Do these buildings seem familiar to you? I wonder where the photographer was standing when this picture was taken….
Know this street? Recognise the buildings? We await your comments! 🙂
Being an alumni of the Main Convent, Ipoh, I was surprised to note that there was once a kindergarten within the premises. Do any of the Convent alumni remember it? Is the building still there…or has it been converted into something else?
The above picture is from Dr Ho Tak Ming.
As a kid, I remember the ice cream van driving around my neighbourhood on certain evenings. You know the ice cream man is coming just be keeping an ear out for the distinct music which plays on a loop. Oddly enough, I was actually afraid of the music….and if I were out in the garden, I’d freeze and just watch the van drive pass! (maybe it’s because the music reminded my of the creepy carnival music from the movie IT)
But there were occasions (when an adult was outside with me, thus giving me an ounce of ‘courage’) when I would run to the gate and wave to the driver. I never paid attention to how much the green-coloured ice cream cost, but I loved the taste 😉 Yes, folks – lime flavoured green ‘shell’ with a vanilla centre!
This picture here, from Keith Nelson, shows a smiling man in a topi, with a Magnolia Cold Storage box on a bicycle. How many of you remember this? We’d love to hear from you.
Our thanks goes out to Alan, for sharing this picture with us!
THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF EU TONG SEN – A PERAKIAN PIONEER
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A public exhibition in conjunction with Visit Perak Year History & Heritage at the lobby of Syuen hotel from 30 August till end of October
Eu Tong Sen was born in Penang 23. July 1877, the year of the Ox. In 1898, at the age of 21, he took over his father’s estates and business in Perak. At 30 he was one of the richest men in South -East Asia. For more the 3 decades Eu a leading business man shaped the development and wellbeing of Perak, mainly in Ipoh, Gopeng and Kampar.
He transformed the business his father left him, originating from a single dispensary in Gopeng, in to a chain of traditional medicine shops.
 At the peak, Eu’s businesses owned a total of 11 mines and employed 12’000 miners.
 In 1908 he commenced planting rubber trees, until his rubber estates covered more the 283 hectares of land.
Eu Yan Sang shops in Gopeng and Kampar extended to providing remittance service, allowing Chinese miners and plantation workers to send their earnings home.
In May 1912, Eu was appointed a permanent Unofficial Member of the Federal Council of the Federated Malay States. Later, he would become the first non -European commoner to be admitted to the Royal Ipoh Club.
Eu and Chung Thye Phin, the Kapitan China of Perak, were “blood” brothers. They went through Chinese ceremony to become oath brothers. Eu and Chung had common interests – motorcars, racehorses and country houses both of them decided to enter their horses regularly in the Ipoh races. They jointly built the weekend retreat, “Forest Lodge” at Gopeng road with a large stable. Eu took keen interest in horse-racing, motoring and rifle-shooting. He imported the first motor car to Perak.
A description of Eu’s residences in Perak, written by H. Norden in 1923, goes as follows:
“Eu Tong Sen is notable with his twenty-five millions of gold dollars. He has two palaces in Ipoh; one more in Kampar and a castle with garden and lake in Singapore. Art treasures selected in Europe by himself fill the various residences of the great Chinese tin magnate, nick name King of Tin, the marble was brought from Italy.”
By 1914 just before the war, he moved his business head-quarters to Singapore and later to Hong Kong. Eu Tong Sen died of a heart attack in May 1941 at the age of 63.
Eu man who practiced European lifestyle. Was he too Western? Not Chinese enough.
The exhibition was possible with the support of Syuen Hotel, Eu Foundation and Kinta Heritage group.
We have received the following message and wondered if anyone could help please.
:Name: Carmel Donnellan & Pip Tudgay
E-Mail Address: gitroffle@gmail.com
Message: Good Day
I am a relative of Sr. Oliver Deering (Wicklow, Ireland) who taught and lived at this school from the early 1920’s to her retirement in the late 1970’s. Sr. Oliver was my grand-mother’s sister. We are hoping to visit the convent later in the year or early next year. It would be great to know if anyone knew her/of her.
Kind Rgds
Carmel
I admit I’m stumped at this one – sent to by IpohBornKid….it looks very familiar, but I can’t seem to figure out WHERE it is.
Think you could help us out? 🙂
Remember him? He probably sold snacks and other odds & ends.
I wonder where he is now? Perhaps he has a proper stall somewhere else in Ipoh? Hmm….maybe one of our fans knows more 🙂
Recognise the street? What about the building – Sun Kong Ah Coffee Shop & Hotel?
The above photograph is from Keith Nelson.
IpohBornKid shares his 3rd installment with us. Happy reading 🙂
The picture showing the first 12 grandchildren of Chong Soon Fan was probably taken in 1957, during the Chinee New Year. The location is the bungalow, the family residence of Chong Soon Fan. The background building with the tin roof is the Nanyang Picture Theatre where the daughter of Chong Soon Fan was married.
Among the grandchildren, the eldest grand daughter and grandson came from the Pun family. Ranking in seniority among grandchildren were as follows: SFPun, YFPun, SLPun, (FWong,SLian Pun, YV Chong, PL Khoo – all same age), YW Chong, KC Khoo, YF Chong, KO Khoo, YT Chong.
Among the first 12 grandchildren of Chong Soon Fan who now resides overseas are Dr SF Pun (US), Dr SL & YF Pun (Australia), SLn, F Wong, YT Chong & YW Chong (UK) , KO Khoo (Canada). At the moment, Dr SF  and Dr SL are proud grandparents., More 5th generation babies will be popping out soon. After the first 12 grandchildren, many others were born after the picture was taken and at last count, there were additional 3 residing in UK, 1 in Canada and 4 in Australia.
Among the 12 grandchildren there can be found graduates in Medicine, Science, Law, Engineering, IT,Teachers, Nurses and Businessmen.
I would like to invite those of you who are featured in this photograph to give your side of the history. Later chapters in this series will talk about a day in the life of the Family in in early 1960s, the other grandchildren and  the golden wedding anniversary of Chong Soon Fan.
The number of grandchildren residing overseas reflects the sad picture of Malaysian brain drain to the Western countries since 1950s but it also reflects the global spread of the Chinese diaspora in Western countries.
Nicholas Jennings sent us these pictures some time ago. They were said to be taken around the early 1960s.
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Nicholas (with Bintang, the family pet), together with his mother Joyce, his sisters Alison and Christina, and Ramah the nanny.
The  Amah and her 3 children
Nicholas, who once lived at 141 Jalan Abdul Jalil had this to say:
Amah was our house cleaner, while her husband was our cook. My family was extremely close to our servants–they really were like family, especially Ramah (I remember fondly the times that Ramah took our family to her family’s kampong for homecooked Malayan meals). But we sadly lost touch with them when we returned to Canada. It would be wonderful if, through the portal of IpohWorld, we might be able to reconnect with them all these many years later.
Anyone who could tell us MORE about these women, Nicholas (and we at IpohWorld too!) would love to hear from you 🙂
Ruth Iversen Rollitt sent this to us some time ago. It is said to be the house of the former Secretary of the Perak Turf Club. Ruth’s father B M Iversen designed this beauty.