I ONCE stood on the roof of the old Chinatown hawker centre on a weekend and stared down at the bustle below.

(Indeed, I've done that many times as an over-eager photojournalist seeking 'the moment'.)

It was like sitting on a cloud of calm just above the reality underneath. The aroma of bak kwa, coffee beans and roasted chestnuts wafted up.

The distinct shouts of 'sa pao jit kor' (Hokkien for three packs for $1) from the candy vendor could be heard like a distant bell pealing in the quiet night up there.

UP ON THE ROOF: Looking down on old (top) and new Chinatown (above). PICTURES: MAKANSUTRA, ST FILE

Along some stretches of the little streets, it was 15-people thick across.

And an occasional cracko would gingerly weave his old Japanese bone-shaker of a jalopy through the thick of the crowd, gently tapping his horn for the right of way.

The things one could buy were all-time Chinatown classics - peanuts, bak kwa, red and black kwa chee (melon seeds), dim sum, old iron toys, pyjamas, groceries, fresh meat, seafood and all things edible in red and gold.

Cheap Hong Kong- and Taiwan-made toys were abundant. Cheap T-shirts, jeans, Panther brand shoes and pyjamas were hawked along the streets.

A snake oil salesman would occasionally break into a dramatic show-and-tell. He would clobber his back with a sword and leave no marks to show. Then he revealed his secret - all those bottles of potent juice he was touting.

You could hear the 'bargaining' going on in the various Chinese dialects - the shopper haggling in Cantonese, the hawker consulting the boss in Hokkien and the boss replying in Teochew. That was in the good ol' '70s and '80s.

Last week I took a long-overdue stroll around our 'now' Chinatown.

I began from one corner of Mosque Street and burnt shoe rubber till I struck Keong Siak Road. I felt like a tourist at home.

At almost every turn, someone was touting 'Singapore is a fine city' tees, coolie pigtail caps, sandalwood fans, Merlion key chains, handphone covers and laptop bags.

Yeah, it was colourful and fun, but it was not quite Chinatown and it definitely was not functional.

Gone were the old aunties who trawled the streets for the best bargains in groceries, clothing and herbs.

People came to Chinatown then because it sold all the Chinese necessities plus local goodies like bak kwa and curry puffs.

The cze cha coffee shops, now at Trengganu Street, offered Yankee Chinese food like sweet and sour pork, fried rice, fried chicken balls and seafood noodles.

They might as well sell moogoogaipan, General Tso's Chicken and mooshu pork, something Western visitors believed came from Asia.

My little spot of joy in those years was having a kopi-o siew tai (less sugar) with $5 worth of Lim Chee Guan bak kwa when it was operating a little stall in the kopitiam at the top of Mosque Street.

I did that at least three times a month and would while a nice evening away with friends in the coffee shop. The queues for its pork jerky were already legendary back then.

I can't even relive that any more. The coffee shop is gone and the slick Lim Chee Guan chain no longer operates in kopitiam stalls, which are now overrun by a flood of north Chinese diners and Szechuan hotpot hotspots offering $15 buffets with live crabs (no kidding).

But thank goodness some old scraps have been left for the nostalgic to savour. Some Chinatown flavours, which could teleport me to the charming era past, were still alive and well.

Tian Tian porridge (not the chicken rice stall), which I began patronising when it was just a pushcart stall at Trengganu Street, is now housed in the refurbished food centre, as is Anji Fish Head Noodles (I adore its crispy noodles), which used to operate on Sago Street.

The 'sisters' Lian He Ben Ji claypot rice is still operating at a cool 'window view' corner of the food centre.

And in that unique Singapore Chinatown atmosphere, there is that whiff of oddity Erich's Wuerstelstand hot dog stand.

The food centre is also known as the '$13 fish head centre', where at least eight vendors offer the freshest carp heads steamed in fancy, traditional and spicy sauces.

Have that over rice with some greens and a plate of ha cheong kai (prawn paste chicken), and they all drag me back to the days when you had to car pool (at least four in a car) to get into the CBD.

For now, at least, I still have reasons to go back to Chinatown. What about you?

Makansutra, founded by KF Seetoh, is a company that celebrates Asian food culture and lifestyle. It publishes food guides in and around the region, produces a food television series, develops interactive mobile content and services, operates food courts and eateries, organises food tours and events, and consults on culinary concepts.  Back to Columnists