After Hours @ My Toa Payoh with Patrick Lee
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.
About the Programme
- What You'll Do
- Meet Your Host
- Important Details
What You'll Do
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.
Meet Your Host
About Patrick Lee
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.
About Singapore Funeral Services
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.
About Ang Chin Moh Funeral Directors
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.
Important Details
What to bring?
- Participants are encouraged to dress comfortably and wear covered shoes with good soles grip.
- Participants should bring along an umbrella, hand sanitisers, insect repellent, and a bottle of water.
- Participants are encouraged to bring their own earphones (with a standard 3.5mm audio jack) because we will be using radio guides for the tour!
- Please ensure that you bring along any personal medication. Asthmatic individuals are reminded to bring their inhaler.
Other important information
- Please arrive 15 minutes before the tour for registration.
- The tour will proceed rain or shine.
- Parking is available at Kim Keat Palm Market.
- The venue is not wheelchair accessible.
- Photography is allowed at event premises.
Disclaimer
- All ticket sales are final. There will be no refund if you wish to cancel your tickets.
- Each ticket admits only one participant.
- By agreeing to participate in the tour, every participant will be responsible for any injury, loss of damage due to careIessness of other actions on his/her part or that of children under his/her charge.
- It is compulsory for a parent/guardian to accompany any child of or under the age of 12.
- Videos and photographs may also be taken during the event. By registering for this event, you give My Community full rights to use the photos for marketing and publicity.
Time and Duration
Days & Dates
Friday, 4 August 2023
Saturday, 5 August 2023
Ticket Price
(excluding Eventbrite service fee)
Meeting Point
Ending Point
Language(s) / Age Limit(s)
You may also like...
Since the 1920s, the Good Morning towel has been an integral part of our lives. This simple yet significant towel was often seen draped over the shoulders of rickshaw pullers and labourers who helped build modern Singapore. Be enthralled as Sally Ho takes the stage to share the intriguing stories about the ubiquitous towels and napkins that become the icons of Singapore.
Neighbours Eiko and Ella, whose children attended the same childcare and primary school, will be showcasing their kaiseki dishes and anishi (or processed yam), a traditional Naga food. Be transported to both Japan and India on the same evening as you hear hilarious stories of their parenthood.
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!
