For dust we are, to dust we will return, and from dust life shall emerge. Join us as we tour Toa Payoh’s funeral services after hours for a conversation about beginnings and ends.
Rostered on standby to handle any cases in the night, the unsung heroes of the funeral industry at Toa Payoh are akin to the guardians of the night. Join tour guide Patrick Lee who will be bringing you to meet the faces behind Singapore Funeral Services and Ang Chin Moh Funeral Directors!
End the tour at the Toa Payoh vegetable wholesale market as we look into a new day and the life that springs forth from dust. Say goodbye to Toa Payoh Wet Market before it closes.
Patrick is a trained industrial engineer who has always been fascinated by how culture moulds communities and in turn how communities form a nation. Growing up in Toa Payoh, his parents were hawkers selling satay and western food beside Philips factory. After 40 years, he still loves the food of Toa Payoh, his favourite food being Tian Tian Lai Hokkien Prawn Mee at Lorong 1.
Singapore Funeral Services has been around since 2000, supporting families in times of sorrow and bereavement. The services of Singapore Funeral Services are in great demand by families who desire for their deceased loved ones to be treated with dignity and consideration in death. Located at Toa Payoh Industrial estate, the funeral home, which is led by Hoo Hung Chye, has dealt with the whole gamut of death scenarios. Mr Hoo and his team, who work hard to dismantle the stereotypes and taboos surrounding the funeral industry, have both heartbreaking and heartwarming stories to share.
The Ang Chin Moh Funeral Directors is more than a century old. It was started by Ang See Karr who came to Singapore from Nan’an County in Quanzhou, Fujian province, China. Mr Ang felt the need to provide funerary services as a large number of Hokkiens were dying alone in Singapore. This led him to open a humble shop at Upper Pickering Street – just opposite the former Police Headquarters. Over the years, the Ang Chin Moh Funeral Directors has chalked up a number of milestones one of which includes grooming Singapore’s first ever female embalmer in 1990.
Today Ang Chin Moh is run by Ang Ziqian – the company’s fourth-generation steward. He noted that the business has come a long way from his great-grandfather’s era. For instance, caskets used to be made from logs and entire communities used to be activated to cook, sew, burn and pray when it came to a death in the neighbourhood. He lamented that death and its associated rites have now become somewhat separated from everyday life.
Friday, 4 August 2023
Saturday, 5 August 2023
(excluding Eventbrite service fee)
The ‘eternal’ home of many prolific Chinese Singaporeans — unearth the rich history of Bukit Brown and be treated to the spectacle of Seventh Month rituals conducted during this month!
Spice up your evening with durian lovers Rachada and Sara, who will serve her signature hometown dishes, Nam Prik Kapi (or fermented chilli) and Pak Thod (or vegetable fritters) – two iconic street foods originating from Central Thailand.
Wander through Sprout Hub with co-founder Zhi Kin where Bukit Merah neighbours cultivate their lush sanctuaries through communal gardening.