4D | >22. I – JACELYN NG

Hi guys!

From my previous dilemma, which was either – should I combine both old people & old shops together in a book or should I just do mainly the old shops itself? After much contemplation, I decided to focus on shops that are 22 years and above! Well, why 22 years? Because I’m 22 and I find it really amazing to find shops that are actually older than me, that has been here since I was born. Like, how do they even run the same business for SO long!?

So I did some research on where are some of the oldest places & shops in Singapore. But first, there’s this motor place called ” Lee Huat Motor Co.” which is near my place and guess what, after checking with them, I found out that they are actually 60 years old!!! That is like…. x3 of my lifetime o m g . And the best part is, they have been at this exact location for 60 years!! Isn’t it impressive?

Fun Fact: Notice the telephone number written on the signboard. This shop is so old that the telephone number is only 6 DIGITS.

Next stop – would be Tiong Bahru. How can I not check it out when it’s famous for having some of the oldest shops in Singapore. But after walking around Tiong Bahru, I was so disappointed because most of the old shops has been replaced with those new cafes 🙁 And I only managed to find a few shops there that remains. I feel like… they need to stop replacing all the traditional old shops… What would Singapore heritage go then?

Pin Pin Piau Kay & Co. that has been here since 1938!!! It’s a 3-gen provision shop which sells basically everything that you will need. Funny how their signboard can only be found in the back of their shop (below)

If you ever want old-school cakes, take a trip down to Galicier that has been here since the 1970s.

This optical has been here since the 1970s, but the owner didn’t let me take a picture of their interior 🙁

The last trip of the day will be Excelsior Peninsular. I happen to find this old gem “Roxy Records & Trading” online, and it’s a record store which sells really old vinyls!! And their company has been here since 1962.

The friendly boss of Roxy Records introduced me to head to another store in the same mall with a long history as well! And it’s a shop which sells really vintage stuff.

To end the day, I decided to make a trip down to the Teck Whye bird shop again to get a few more shots. Apparently the boss owns a bird shop and an aquarium which is just right beside the bird shop itself. The shop has been running since 1978.