Hi Max, my wife and I have lived in Singapore for about 14 years also. For us most of our friends here are Singaporean, Chinese, Malay, and Indian. If you always hang out in the expat clubs you will mostly have expat friends, if you want to be part of the local community you’ll have to get involved in local activities and projects…
Regardless of some inaccurate information I think she's amazing. She has obviously been reading up on Singapore's history and was so enthusiastic in telling you about it. As a Singaporean I like her very much.
Foreigners ( expats? ) tend to stick with their own , to understand local culture and customs they need to mingle with locals as equal , not in a supercilious manner …..
“Tian Tian” 天天 is Chinese for “Every day”, not “small”(点点 “dian dian”). I learnt something from this video - didn’t know the old shophouses on Trengganu St used to house Japanese brothels.
@@anmsia “Tian Tian” 天天 as a name is meant to encourage customers to visit your establishment every day 😄. Tian Tian Chicken Rice - come and have your Chicken Rice everyday
Nobody in Singapore have half boiled egg with vinegar....it is with dark soy sauce and not vinegar. And also, regarding Tian Tian chicken rice stall at the maxwell market - tian tian (天天）in Chinese literally means sky sky, but in this context, it means (Daily), as in your Daily chicken rice stall. So, obviously her interpretation of it as (little) is totally wrong! And Sago Lane is not saturated by hospices but Chinese funeral parlors. I know it well because I stayed in Chinatown in the 70s when I was kid. So much misinformation! And I could go on with Popiah mentioned by her as a seafood dish, which is laughable.
I remember those death houses. The carpenters worked downstairs making coffins while the terminally ill patients stayed upstairs. They often took opium to relieve their pain. We did a tour near the end of my time stationed in Nee Soon 1973- 75. Great memories, been back a couple of times over the years. Love Singapore.
Ya Kun used to be a small coffee stall from Lau Pa Sat, my parents used to bring us there when the original owner was still working and serving. You need to switch banks for your housing loans every 2 -3 years depending on how long the penalty period is for your existing loan, it is known as refinancing. Alternatively, your current bank may offer you a lower rate package when they realised that you are going to refinance, in that case, it is known as conversion. "Tian Tian" is "Daily" not "small" in the name of the chicken rice stall in Maxwell Hawker.
Wow! Irina, impressive knowledge. I think there are many Singaporeans who are not aware of these history. Bravo! And kudos to Max for yet another interesting interview.
After Sg gain independence in 1965, our founding PM LKY & his great team search the world all over for MNC to invest here & to learn best practices, education systems, & best commercial & governance management systems. It was then they found Japanese’s discipline, attention to details, meticulous and efficient execution of works & work attics a good approach to adopt and adapt for Sg.
@@leewn2319 Totally agreed. Even i born in 1965 here, sadly, i don't really know much our Singapore history more than Irina. But eventually, i managed to get more info by reading and google internet.
thank you for the amazing content! as a singaporean your videos really help me to see our country through the eyes of a lot of different people and its super interesting
Thankyou for a lovely video. I was in Singapore 15 yrs ago in 2008, and twice before that in 1978 and 2006…each time was only for a few days. I’m so looking forward to seeing everything there again next month! I’m also going on a four night cruise to Penang and Phuket which will be fantastic to visit again after many years. I’ll be travelling solo and cannot wait. Warmest regards from Perth Western Australia
So can you tell us how much Singapore has changed since the last time you were there ... and it certainly must have changed a real lot after 1978 . If you could live there in any of those times which one do you think you would choose
She is right about Bukit Pasoh and Keong Saik Street but for Chinatown, it was not brotels, they were for the Sansui women and Ma Jie, the female construction labourers and the house servants.
天 means Daytime / Sky. 天天 means Daily / Everyday. Anyway, few stalls away from 天天 chicken rice, is another chicken rice managed by the original 天天's main chef. I heard that he startup a new stall after some disagreements with the 天天‘s owner children.
10.15 lrina"nailed it"........ Yes besides english and mandarin , we code-switch dialect like Teochew , Hokkien , Cantonese the course of a conversation . That's my identity .
Many of those poor Japanese girls are buried in the Japanese Cemetery with a tiny marker , having died in anguish at never seeing their homeland and family again. Ghib Osan made a video about it.
Until the 1970s, Singapore was the most crime ridden city in South East Asia. That was due mainly to the numerous Chinese triads that operated in Singapore for decades. In the 1950s, my mother, a trainee teacher from Kuala Lumpur, whilst in Singapore with her fellow trainees, was told never to walk alone in Singapore but go in groups as single girls were prone to be molested, raped or worse. An uncle who worked as a CID Inspector with the Johor police in the 1960s had to be transferred to Penang because a contract was taken out on him by a Singapore triad society. The great change happened in the 1970s when the Triads were basically destroyed through the arrest and banishment of their leaders. I talked to a anti-gang Singapore inspector of those times, and he regaled me with stories of Triad indentification signs and rituals, including their famous blood oaths. By the 1980s onwards, Singapore became the Singapore it is now.
@@MaxChernov Singapore police, retired or not, are very discreet. He and I got along well when I told him of my uncle's experience with Johor CID (Criiminal Investigation Department) in the 1960s. Old timers like him had great respect for CID people as only the best were selected for the CID. And only the best of the best went into Special Branch. Interestingly enough, he retired in the 1990s, and we knew a police officer who started his career in the 1990s. Both of us teased him by saying that his generation didn't have the "combat" experience that the old generations had. To prove a point, we started talking of "interrogation" techniques which had been passed down to them by the British. Although he had heard of them, his eyes popped when we started discussing real life usage of those techniques.
@@chandrasegar9466 Different police for different times. Although we were critical of the police performance during the Little India riots. Compared to the old days, that was not a riot but a disturbance. It was just that the newer generation never had to face something like that, also too many NS police. That type of disturbance could have been nipped in the bud if the police there went in quickly and hard, and suppressed it before it grew. Never give ground or it would just make them bolder.
I know about Street of Death coz I think lots of funeral parlours there in the old days but didn’t know about the Japanese brothels. Thanks Irina for sharing your deep knowledge of Singapore 👍🏻👏
For Haw Par Villa, it's by 2 Burmese brothers Boon Haw and Boon Paw. Hence the name Haw Paw. It's Chinese folklore there. It was originally their villa but made to be a theme park which failed to earn a profit.
When you asked the question about if the locals don't understand foreigners, it's because first and foremost, there are way more foreigners than pure Singapore-born citizens. Many of the service staff are actually foreigners, be it they from the hawker centres or coffeeshops. Most of them are from Malaysia and they are Malaysian-Chinese, together along with Vietnamese-Chinese and even China-Chinese. To foreigners, they won't be able to tell and discern the difference, hence thinking they're all Singaporean-Chinese.
@@sharonleong7257 of course it's true. the thing is that Singaporeans are far too politically-correct, so much so that they will not dare to speak the hard truths.
Can't help but stop to correct the chinese translation by Irina(I believe it wasn't intentional) Tian Tian (天天) means everyday. 天 refers to the sky or a day (24 hours) Two of the same word combined together refers to continuous occurrence, thus everyday. Think 3.333333 shortened to 3.3 with a dot on top
I have to say, it is very interesting that an Italian is a Singapore history guide! I wonder how Irina came to become a tour guide for a country so different from her home country. On another note, you also asked an interesting question about Singaporean identity. I’m sure you may be well aware that the majority of Singaporeans do not regard simply possessing the Singaporean passport as proof of identity, and I have to agree with that as well. Singapore has so many wealthy citizens who gained citizenship by investment and status. Take someone like Jet Li for example. He said he moved to Singapore for its education system, and yet he sent his daughters to the Singapore American School instead. He also barely spends any time in the country, but remains a Singaporean in name. There is virtually nothing Singaporean about the man other than the passport he possesses. The thing about Singapore is that everyone talks about it’s infrastructure, efficiency, and various other metrics, but virtually no one talks about its people. To me, if anyone wants to become a Singaporean, simply engage and make friends with the local people. It’s not always easy, but then again moving to foreign countries never is. If you do that, Singaporeans will be more than happy to call you one of their own.
having spent 8 years in Singapore and having 90% local friends... well at the end of the day is the ICA's choice who gets to stay and who gets to leave, friendships and connections doesn't account much, 99% is money and how much you can bring in :)
@@rjjrjehehew This is arguable, since most Chinese and Indians are barely 3rd gen Singaporeans for the most part. Personally I believe being Singaporean is about embracing certain "truths" (belief in multi-culturalism, belief in the city state, belief in meritocracy at some level), and understanding/accepting some quirks about our culture. Beyond that, ethnicity should not be an overt measure of "Singaporean-ness".
The hard truth is that to be identified as a nationality in any country, you have to be born there and belong to the local ethnic groups. A good example is Japan, no matter how fluent your Japanese is, whether you're born in Japan, if you're not ethnic Japanese, the Japanese will not treat you as one.
Jet Li and many others in earlier batches ( from a few other countries ) who got 🇸🇬 citizenship but abused their privileges. That’s why so few of their nationalities have been successful to get PR .
13:20 I am not quite sure it has hospice, what I am sure is that there were many funeral parlours there, according to my father and grandma, it's called 死人街, the Street of dead people.
Yeah. Sago Lane is funeral parlours street. I am 76 now and I had walked pass this lane when I was in my teen. Think of it, it’s very unique…and eerie. 😳 To Singaporean now, it’s a ‘NO GO’ Don’t think they will ever go near to the place. Traditional coffins in shophouses facing the street and taoist priests conducting death ceremonies were common here. (Seems anytime a zombie could jump out of the coffin. 😂)
The best way to have half-boiled egg or soft boiled egg is to drink it in one go after mixing it well with pepper and dark soy sauce. Use porcelain cup and saucer not plastic.
Kaya is not from the Dutch nor the British as implied by the lady. Serikaya as its originally known means radiant rich in Malay because of its taste. It evolved from a dip to now a spread. The Portuguese also have a variant of this called Sericaia who probably brought back it back after their conquest of Melaka in the 16th century
More established sources do credit kaya to Western origins. Indeed, the Malay word "serikaya" likely evolved from the Portuguese "sericaia". eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_2022-07-20_115932.html?s=Chinese--Social%20life%20and%20customs And it makes sense. The idea of having jam on bread is a Western concept. Traditional Malay cuisine simply does not have a use for kaya or jams in general. And since the Portuguese are one of the earliest settles here in Asia, it is not surprising that their egg tarts and custard ends up influencing the local idea of kaya.
@@heartsnstars8282 Don't pour cold water on it. Yes, this video although is not perfect, you have to appreciate she is a foreigner take the initiative to learn our Singapore culture. Not all Singaporeans know much of it as her.
Don't recall hainanese chicken rice was ever sold in banana wraps too. Perhaps she got it mixed up with nasi lemak. Old style chicken rice was made into a ball for quick and easy meal, it is hard to find now!
@@heartsnstars8282 As long as there is a correction, there is no need to remove the video. Mistakes that are genuine should be corrected, not punished. It sends the wrong signal to entrepreneurs, who have taken the risk, time, and energy to make Singapore great.
Hi Max, enjoyed most of your videos so far. Perhaps you might want interview with Dr Imran Tajudeen as well. Most of Irina’s examples are only of the chinese communities. How about the local indian community who spoke various dialect such as punjabi, malayalee etc or the malay community which consist javanese , banjar , bugis etc?
For tourist, some overrated places are 1. Botanic gardens (Its honestly just a garden, unless you are really intrested in plants)... to everyday people its just a generic park 2. Singapore Zoo (Nothing really special here, unless you are really intrested in animals...even so there are zoos around southeast asia that easily outshines it)... 3. Universal Studios (USS is honestly just a regular themepark with pretty mediocre to say the least rides...Nothing really stands out) 4. Singapore Flyer (you are basically confined to a carriage rotates high into the sky, yes...there are great views 360 degrees around singapore but for its price and purpose...maybe you should just go once every 10 years) 5. Orchard Road (Its a street with around 17 malls along one stretch, nothing really intresting for a tourist considering its honestly just malls on malls and pretty pricey for the average consumer)
It's not even Hainanese please. Originally it's Serikaya by the Malays. Even the Portuguese has Sericaia, probably inspired when they colonized parts of Maritime Southeast Asia
"yes I have learned to have a heavy heavy breakfast".....has a slice of toast and an egg. It's clear she loves the place, wish her many happy years there.
She is a guide? but got a few technicalities wrong. Adrian's [Ya Kun] father had a Kaya toast/coffee stall at Lua Pa Sat for maybe 70 years!.Soft-boiled eggs not served with vinegar.
Super interesting! From my memory, it's 25% actually as minimum deposit when you buy a property? and am pretty sure the soft boiled eggs at the beginning is with a dark soya sauce, not vinegar?
Oh dear. I confess to not knowing some of the street history that Irina has mentioned. She made SG sound more interesting to me with some of her her nuggets and appreciate more of the food that I consume without much thought. As for the SG identity, my take is that apart from the common mentions of racial diversity, Singlish, even kiasu-ism, I think as a population, we are very helpful and generous when it comes to helping the less fortunate (just by observing that every fundraising, be it for our people or others abroad, have always reached the intended target and more; as well as the many small volunteer grassroot organisations set up to distribute food and offer assistance to the disadvantaged regularly). We are also responsible, hardworking and pretty law-abiding. We love to complain about our government but our claws come out when others crticised SG because we are proud of and love our country.
What an interesting conversation and I m amazed & very impressed by Irina’s knowledge of Sg Street history & local food culture. She’s truly assimilated well into Sg. 👍👍👏👏
The last scene at the road crossing, the building was the former "Jinriksha" Station, where renters of the man-pulled contraption congregate. It was owned by Jackie Chan at one time. I think the name of the place was written on the top part of the building.
@@sharontham11116 Ask yourself, if you are Jackie Chan, would you would buy a historical building of signiofircance or an unknown ex cinema hall/church assembly building.
01:40 I rarely see Asians eat their eggs and bread like how you did it, that's kinda weird. 06:40 Tian Tian does not mean small lar. It means everyday. 09:10 Apart from Singlish, the other identity of Singaporean is Kiasu and Kiasi.
That black thing for the egg is soy sauce not vinegar Tian Tian translates to everyday. Har paw villa depicts sin and hell. usually used to scare children into good behavior haha. Lots of small little errors here and there. But overall it's very good content.
Actually, I believe the "Street of Death" left in current Singapore is only a small part left behind. Majority of those "death houses" are now part of the Chinatown Hawker centre. That part of the road don't exist anymore. As I recalled, I used frequent that area buying super for my grannies at night. My granddad worked as Chinese orchestra band members for funeral procession, my grand mom, a wayang (opera) singer. I also recalled, an incident where I (was still in secondary school then) had to attend to the a funeral and stay a few nights for someone not related to my grandma, but she was left in old folk home with no one to turn too. Only person she knew was my granny and she could never make it back to China with nothing left. The old folk's home called my granny when she passed on. So my granny gave her a send off instead hoping she could return in peace to where she wanted to be. There was another place where you find funeral services..... but it is now part of Chinatown Point. I recalled too, walking right into that place by accident late at night, we were playing hide and seek then. that place is kind of eerie, the space is lidded only by 2 candles besides a coffin with no one there. We thought, good place to hide.... never expected ........ that kind of place. scare the hell out of us.
Thanks. For your info, "Tian Tian" (天天) actually means "every day", it does not mean "small" at all. "Small" in Chinese is "小” which would pronounced as “xiao" :)
What most people don't know and not much has been said, about the main dialect spoken by the locals in Chinatown. This was known as the Cantonese quarter as most migrants were from Quandong Province and were controlled by the Cantonese Triads. Living there were the red hat Sansui women construction workers and the 'ma cheh' (unmarried black and white domestic nanny/maids) (Lee Kuan Yew had employed one). The gangs that were prevalent in that area were well behaved, due to the fact that the CID (Criminal Investigation Department) HQ was just a stone's throw away at Cecil Street.
Love the interviews.. as someone who has localized almost 2 decades ago, I think I still share some of the sentiments of those interviewed and it helps crystallize some thoughts I have :)
Hi Max, tkz for another great video with the italian lady of 14 yrs in SG..even though i was born and lived here, but some of the finer details of historical past...eg: japanese comfort lady that arrived singapore early years was unheard of...thkz keep it up.
Can't believed i discovered your videos and almost binge watching everything. When you're done with Singapore, could you make some videos about Russia and its history?
Love your enthusiasm..I know it's tough for non-Asians to get used to the Asian heat! Even as a Singaporean, the humid + heat combination is not something to be taken lightly. I've to drink plenty of cold water to keep the "internal heat" down :D
Interesting that you mentioned the heat and humidity. As a child growing in SG, I had the toughest time dealing with the weather and nothing else. Watching these interviews, I thought I must be the only weird one out having a daily melt down with SE Asia humid weather. I guess some people must have really loved it. I loved everything with SG except the Singlish and the weather. Visited a few times as an adult and still having the same challenges. Wonder how these Russians can handle the heat and humidity…Amazing!
Hi Max, I watched "This foreigner reveals another side of Singapore" and I want to point out a small mistake on the part of your guest when she translated "tian tian" from Tian Tian Chicken Rice of Maxwell Hawker Centre. She said tian tian means small which is incorrect. "Tian" in Chinese means day, so "tian tian" means "daily" or "everyday". Just trying to help. Regards. D
Having Kaya toast and half boiled eggs as breakfast culture is also common in Malaysia lah...lol. Err...correction the British did not leave Singapore at the beginning of the 20th Century. Malacca was taken over through a swap agreement in 1824 between the Dutch (British Swap Bencoolen aka. Bangkahulu for Malacca) and English as result of the Napoleanic war in Europe, which the Dutch were fearful that all its colonies might fall into the hands of the French. Anyway Singapore was given to the British by the Johor Sultanate to Stamford Raffles in 1819 because at that time there was Royal sibling rivarly to take Sultan throne. So after British acquired Malacca then it formed the strait settlements colonies by the British East Indies company comprising of Penang, Malacca and Singapore, but with the HQ based in Singapore and later it became a British Crown Colony. Later it became an important busy shipping port as result of the opening of the Suez Canal, Eqypt in 1869.
Haw par villa is a place that depicts Chinese gods and heaven and Chinese version of hell. It used to be very busy with tourist and ther was once a log flume where you can ride the waterpark attraction..i was on it..but it was 30 years ago.when I was a kid.and when I visited it again 10 years ago..it was super deserted and changed alot..
I agree ! Why do people ( especially youtubers, foreigners) associate chicken rice with Tian Tian ??? This stall is not even in my top 10 list. There are much better ones like Boon Tong Kee, etc & even those in coffee shops.
Now this is a PR I respect and welcome with open arms… she has taken the time and effort to learn about her adopted country, warts and all. Of course, her job as a guide was part of the reason. But it’s still amazing. Her understanding of the country would put some Singaporeans themselves to shame. Proud of her and hope she will make this place her permanent home.
Irina's so amazing. I don't even know much about the history of the streets in Chinatown! Kinda put me to shame. Haha. Max, I'm looking forward to the next video!
@@MaxChernov does she speak other European languages? Maybe German or some Eastern European languages, I reckon? She would be great for tourists speaking those. Honestly, it's not easy to follow her English.
I was surprised that our island of Oahu is bigger than Singapore. Shocking! Didn’t expected that. I spent my childhood in Singapore during the 70s and 80s. I thought Max has a weird perspective of Singapore.
BTW, Tian Tian does not translate to small. It just means day to day or daily or even everyday. Never heard of chicken rice being wrapped in banana leaves before during the olden days. Never…..! Does not agree with this. 😮
Tourists who hire her as tour guide will get ALOT of wrong information about Singapore. She seems to mix information up as she likes or interpret information not based on fact. Has she really been here for 14yrs? Alot of things mentioned have NEVER even happened that way! 🤯
Hi Max, my wife and I have lived in Singapore for about 14 years also. For us most of our friends here are Singaporean, Chinese, Malay, and Indian. If you always hang out in the expat clubs you will mostly have expat friends, if you want to be part of the local community you’ll have to get involved in local activities and projects…
Fully agree
Regardless of some inaccurate information I think she's amazing. She has obviously been reading up on Singapore's history and was so enthusiastic in telling you about it. As a Singaporean I like her very much.
Agree. Thats the way to have the real taste of heartland Singapore and understand the Singaporeans.
Foreigners ( expats? ) tend to stick with their own , to understand local culture and customs they need to mingle with locals as equal , not in a supercilious manner …..
“Tian Tian” 天天 is Chinese for “Every day”, not “small”(点点 “dian dian”). I learnt something from this video - didn’t know the old shophouses on Trengganu St used to house Japanese brothels.
And an opera house, gambling dens and opium smoking dens , just like in old Shanghai.
looks like you wouldn’t want to believe 100% of what a foreigners said about Singapore
Our bad. Will fact-check more carefully next time!
Anchored is correct. Tian Tian means Daily or Every Day and it's a popular name for Chinese restaurants.
@@anmsia “Tian Tian” 天天 as a name is meant to encourage customers to visit your establishment every day 😄. Tian Tian Chicken Rice - come and have your Chicken Rice everyday
Its not vinegar with soft boil eggs but dark soya sauce
Oh yes, you are right, our mistake
Vinegar is for lor mee and shark fin soup. 😂
She should eat with vinegar for real and see if thats what she is eating...
Locals Usually Refer To 'BLACK Or DARK SOYA SAUCE' Or 'Light Soya Sauce'.
@@garrysim6980 she obviously has not tried the dish herself, and that's why she needs to bullshit her way through.
She’s earned her PR. You can sense her enthusiasm for nuggets of Singapore trivia
Lies again? After Dark X
It's her job she just read from some books
Big deal Haaa
@@rjjrjehehew as if you know better than her.. Through Books or in real life. 🙄
@@rjjrjehehewwhy so dismissive? She clearly loves Singapore.
Nobody in Singapore have half boiled egg with vinegar....it is with dark soy sauce and not vinegar. And also, regarding Tian Tian chicken rice stall at the maxwell market - tian tian (天天）in Chinese literally means sky sky, but in this context, it means (Daily), as in your Daily chicken rice stall. So, obviously her interpretation of it as (little) is totally wrong! And Sago Lane is not saturated by hospices but Chinese funeral parlors. I know it well because I stayed in Chinatown in the 70s when I was kid. So much misinformation! And I could go on with Popiah mentioned by her as a seafood dish, which is laughable.
She did mention is street of death.
Exactly..although she is well meaning but cannot anyhow one la..never fact check..
Agreed. 14 years here mean nothing if you don't learn the correct things. What a shame!
@@bluehulkjoe absolutely!
Accredited guides need to obtain a lic from STB which entails taking a knowledge test.
I remember those death houses. The carpenters worked downstairs making coffins while the terminally ill patients stayed upstairs. They often took opium to relieve their pain. We did a tour near the end of my time stationed in Nee Soon 1973- 75. Great memories, been back a couple of times over the years. Love Singapore.
Sounds very efficient but also really depressing in a way
Ya Kun used to be a small coffee stall from Lau Pa Sat, my parents used to bring us there when the original owner was still working and serving. You need to switch banks for your housing loans every 2 -3 years depending on how long the penalty period is for your existing loan, it is known as refinancing. Alternatively, your current bank may offer you a lower rate package when they realised that you are going to refinance, in that case, it is known as conversion. "Tian Tian" is "Daily" not "small" in the name of the chicken rice stall in Maxwell Hawker.
Very cool lady. She probably knows more about Singapore's history than majority of locals. And she tells the stories with genuine enthusiasm.
Blair Road is my favorite area in Singapore. The cozy vibes and beautiful shophouses 😍
Wow! Irina, impressive knowledge. I think there are many Singaporeans who are not aware of these history. Bravo!
And kudos to Max for yet another interesting interview.
🙏🙏🙏
Precisely. May locals born & bred here SG locals would not have such knowledge. She’s just amazing. 👏👏👏👍👍👍
After Sg gain independence in 1965, our founding PM LKY & his great team search the world all over for MNC to invest here & to learn best practices, education systems, & best commercial & governance management systems. It was then they found Japanese’s discipline, attention to details, meticulous and efficient execution of works & work attics a good approach to adopt and adapt for Sg.
@@leewn2319 Totally agreed. Even i born in 1965 here, sadly, i don't really know much our Singapore history more than Irina. But eventually, i managed to get more info by reading and google internet.
we can learn Japanese militarism too😅
thank you for the amazing content! as a singaporean your videos really help me to see our country through the eyes of a lot of different people and its super interesting
Thanks so much for your kind words!
Trivia note: The U.S. game show The Amazing Race has been on for 24 Seasons, & they have traveled to Singapore for 3 of them; Seasons 3, 16, & 25.
Thankyou for a lovely video. I was in Singapore 15 yrs ago in 2008, and twice before that in 1978 and 2006…each time was only for a few days. I’m so looking forward to seeing everything there again next month! I’m also going on a four night cruise to Penang and Phuket which will be fantastic to visit again after many years. I’ll be travelling solo and cannot wait. Warmest regards from Perth Western Australia
So can you tell us how much Singapore has changed since the last time you were there ... and it certainly must have changed a real lot after 1978 .
If you could live there in any of those times which one do you think you would choose
She is right about Bukit Pasoh and Keong Saik Street but for Chinatown, it was not brotels, they were for the Sansui women and Ma Jie, the female construction labourers and the house servants.
I remember Smith Street there was a row of brothels based on something that I read before
by 2000 - they were just brothels. But very much on last legs.
天 means Daytime / Sky. 天天 means Daily / Everyday.
Anyway, few stalls away from 天天 chicken rice, is another chicken rice managed by the original 天天's main chef. I heard that he startup a new stall after some disagreements with the 天天‘s owner children.
10.15 lrina"nailed it"........
Yes besides english and mandarin , we code-switch dialect like Teochew , Hokkien , Cantonese the course of a conversation .
That's my identity .
This was interesting and enjoyable. I’m late to the game of watching this video. I would love to hire her as a tour guide if I ever visit Singapore.
Popiah & Kuih Pai Tee party used to a favorite gathering pastime for Peranakan’s family with friends & relative. It’s fun to roll your own popiah.
Many of those poor Japanese girls are buried in the Japanese Cemetery with a tiny marker , having died in anguish at never seeing their homeland and family again. Ghib Osan made a video about it.
Wow , so sad 😢 really heartbreaking
Until the 1970s, Singapore was the most crime ridden city in South East Asia. That was due mainly to the numerous Chinese triads that operated in Singapore for decades. In the 1950s, my mother, a trainee teacher from Kuala Lumpur, whilst in Singapore with her fellow trainees, was told never to walk alone in Singapore but go in groups as single girls were prone to be molested, raped or worse. An uncle who worked as a CID Inspector with the Johor police in the 1960s had to be transferred to Penang because a contract was taken out on him by a Singapore triad society. The great change happened in the 1970s when the Triads were basically destroyed through the arrest and banishment of their leaders. I talked to a anti-gang Singapore inspector of those times, and he regaled me with stories of Triad indentification signs and rituals, including their famous blood oaths. By the 1980s onwards, Singapore became the Singapore it is now.
oh wow! That would be so cool to interview your anti-gang friend!
@@MaxChernov Singapore police, retired or not, are very discreet. He and I got along well when I told him of my uncle's experience with Johor CID (Criiminal Investigation Department) in the 1960s. Old timers like him had great respect for CID people as only the best were selected for the CID. And only the best of the best went into Special Branch. Interestingly enough, he retired in the 1990s, and we knew a police officer who started his career in the 1990s. Both of us teased him by saying that his generation didn't have the "combat" experience that the old generations had. To prove a point, we started talking of "interrogation" techniques which had been passed down to them by the British. Although he had heard of them, his eyes popped when we started discussing real life usage of those techniques.
Compare the old police with today spore keyboard policemen....
@@chandrasegar9466 Different police for different times. Although we were critical of the police performance during the Little India riots. Compared to the old days, that was not a riot but a disturbance. It was just that the newer generation never had to face something like that, also too many NS police. That type of disturbance could have been nipped in the bud if the police there went in quickly and hard, and suppressed it before it grew. Never give ground or it would just make them bolder.
Wow this lady really bend into Singapore well
Chill guys! She’s a great ambassador. Love her enthusiasm! Don’t see a local Singapore singing Singapores praises! ❤❤❤
totally didn't realize the little nuggets of local history till I heard it in this video. really informative!
Ambassador? Yes, she is the ambassador of misinformation!
Thanks for this wonderful video n for sharing Irina's living experience in Singapore.
I know about Street of Death coz I think lots of funeral parlours there in the old days but didn’t know about the Japanese brothels. Thanks Irina for sharing your deep knowledge of Singapore 👍🏻👏
That place was also the place where Japanese working ladies pass away and buried in the Japanese cemetery.
For Haw Par Villa, it's by 2 Burmese brothers Boon Haw and Boon Paw. Hence the name Haw Paw. It's Chinese folklore there. It was originally their villa but made to be a theme park which failed to earn a profit.
When you asked the question about if the locals don't understand foreigners, it's because first and foremost, there are way more foreigners than pure Singapore-born citizens.
Many of the service staff are actually foreigners, be it they from the hawker centres or coffeeshops. Most of them are from Malaysia and they are Malaysian-Chinese, together along with Vietnamese-Chinese and even China-Chinese. To foreigners, they won't be able to tell and discern the difference, hence thinking they're all Singaporean-Chinese.
Very true indeed
@@sharonleong7257 of course it's true. the thing is that Singaporeans are far too politically-correct, so much so that they will not dare to speak the hard truths.
Just to maintain the racial ratio
Will you marry me
beside the yakun shop is one of the best roast pork restaurant and chilli noodles restaurant you will ever find.
爱人者人恒爱之 ， meaning, if u love people around you, you will receive love in return. Thanks for loving Singapore!
Can't help but stop to correct the chinese translation by Irina(I believe it wasn't intentional)
Tian Tian (天天) means everyday.
天 refers to the sky or a day (24 hours)
Two of the same word combined together refers to continuous occurrence, thus everyday.
Think 3.333333 shortened to 3.3 with a dot on top
Fyi it’s not vinegar but dark soya sauce that you mixed with the half boiled eggs.
I have to say, it is very interesting that an Italian is a Singapore history guide! I wonder how Irina came to become a tour guide for a country so different from her home country.
On another note, you also asked an interesting question about Singaporean identity. I’m sure you may be well aware that the majority of Singaporeans do not regard simply possessing the Singaporean passport as proof of identity, and I have to agree with that as well.
Singapore has so many wealthy citizens who gained citizenship by investment and status. Take someone like Jet Li for example. He said he moved to Singapore for its education system, and yet he sent his daughters to the Singapore American School instead. He also barely spends any time in the country, but remains a Singaporean in name. There is virtually nothing Singaporean about the man other than the passport he possesses.
The thing about Singapore is that everyone talks about it’s infrastructure, efficiency, and various other metrics, but virtually no one talks about its people. To me, if anyone wants to become a Singaporean, simply engage and make friends with the local people. It’s not always easy, but then again moving to foreign countries never is. If you do that, Singaporeans will be more than happy to call you one of their own.
having spent 8 years in Singapore and having 90% local friends... well at the end of the day is the ICA's choice who gets to stay and who gets to leave, friendships and connections doesn't account much, 99% is money and how much you can bring in :)
it would be more Singaporean if they are mostly Chinese indian or Malay. can't have too many angmos this is a Asian country after all
@@rjjrjehehew This is arguable, since most Chinese and Indians are barely 3rd gen Singaporeans for the most part. Personally I believe being Singaporean is about embracing certain "truths" (belief in multi-culturalism, belief in the city state, belief in meritocracy at some level), and understanding/accepting some quirks about our culture. Beyond that, ethnicity should not be an overt measure of "Singaporean-ness".
The hard truth is that to be identified as a nationality in any country, you have to be born there and belong to the local ethnic groups. A good example is Japan, no matter how fluent your Japanese is, whether you're born in Japan, if you're not ethnic Japanese, the Japanese will not treat you as one.
Jet Li and many others in earlier batches ( from a few other countries ) who got 🇸🇬 citizenship but abused their privileges. That’s why so few of their nationalities have been successful to get PR .
13:20 I am not quite sure it has hospice, what I am sure is that there were many funeral parlours there, according to my father and grandma, it's called 死人街, the Street of dead people.
There were those who went there to wait for their death. I don't think that can be called "hospice". The street was called Sago (not Saga) Lane.
Sago Street was the Dead People Street,it wasn't a hospice,it was funeral parlor for dead bodies lying there for funeral rites..
Yeah.
Sago Lane is funeral parlours street. I am 76 now and I had walked pass this lane when I was in my teen. Think of it, it’s very unique…and eerie. 😳
To Singaporean now, it’s a ‘NO GO’ Don’t think they will ever go near to the place.
Traditional coffins in shophouses facing the street and taoist priests conducting death ceremonies were common here.
(Seems anytime a zombie could jump out of the coffin. 😂)
The best way to have half-boiled egg or soft boiled egg is to drink it in one go after mixing it well with pepper and dark soy sauce. Use porcelain cup and saucer not plastic.
Kaya is not from the Dutch nor the British as implied by the lady. Serikaya as its originally known means radiant rich in Malay because of its taste. It evolved from a dip to now a spread. The Portuguese also have a variant of this called Sericaia who probably brought back it back after their conquest of Melaka in the 16th century
More established sources do credit kaya to Western origins. Indeed, the Malay word "serikaya" likely evolved from the Portuguese "sericaia".
eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_2022-07-20_115932.html?s=Chinese--Social%20life%20and%20customs
And it makes sense. The idea of having jam on bread is a Western concept. Traditional Malay cuisine simply does not have a use for kaya or jams in general. And since the Portuguese are one of the earliest settles here in Asia, it is not surprising that their egg tarts and custard ends up influencing the local idea of kaya.
@@huaiweilol jams can be used as dip, 😂😂😂 as if it was west who thought to use sugar. When you guys didn’t had sugar, this region was processing it
@@Kathakathan11 a dip is not a jam. And no one said only the West used sugar. Go get an education and don't waste my time. 🤣
@@huaiwei well clearly you know nothing bozo
Tian Tian means Day Day or Everyday - not small small lol😊
Tian Tian is not small. It means "everyday"
Thanks for your corrections on Tian Tian and soy sauce :) We will fact-check better next time!
Trivia note: The U.S. game show The Amazing Race has been on for 24 Seasons, & they have traveled to Singapore for 3 of them; Seasons 3, 16, & 25.
@@heartsnstars8282 Don't pour cold water on it. Yes, this video although is not perfect, you have to appreciate she is a foreigner take the initiative to learn our Singapore culture. Not all Singaporeans know much of it as her.
@@heartsnstars8282 I understand where you are coming from. To me, I can see she is endeavoring to learn.
Don't recall hainanese chicken rice was ever sold in banana wraps too. Perhaps she got it mixed up with nasi lemak. Old style chicken rice was made into a ball for quick and easy meal, it is hard to find now!
@@heartsnstars8282 As long as there is a correction, there is no need to remove the video. Mistakes that are genuine should be corrected, not punished. It sends the wrong signal to entrepreneurs, who have taken the risk, time, and energy to make Singapore great.
The breakfast set w eggs.. we dont put vinegar. Its dark soya sauce and pepper:)
Hi Max, I really enjoy your production and to know the different views of interesting people. Very educational indeed.
thanks so much! :)
Chinese in Singapore don’t practise arranged marriage anymore, since many years ago
Thank you for sharing. Another good video 👍🏻
Thanks for watching!
Hi Max, enjoyed most of your videos so far. Perhaps you might want interview with Dr Imran Tajudeen as well. Most of Irina’s examples are only of the chinese communities. How about the local indian community who spoke various dialect such as punjabi, malayalee etc or the malay community which consist javanese , banjar , bugis etc?
would love to do it!
Tian Tian, Tian can translate to Day or Sky. So Tian Tian actually meants Daily. Meaning Daily Chicken Rice. Customers to come daily.
For tourist, some overrated places are
1. Botanic gardens (Its honestly just a garden, unless you are really intrested in plants)...
to everyday people its just a generic park
2. Singapore Zoo (Nothing really special here, unless you are really intrested in animals...even so there are zoos around southeast asia that easily outshines it)...
3. Universal Studios (USS is honestly just a regular themepark with pretty mediocre to say the least rides...Nothing really stands out)
4. Singapore Flyer (you are basically confined to a carriage rotates high into the sky, yes...there are great views 360 degrees around singapore but for its price and purpose...maybe you should just go once every 10 years)
5. Orchard Road (Its a street with around 17 malls along one stretch, nothing really intresting for a tourist considering its honestly just malls on malls and pretty pricey for the average consumer)
Very informative!
Glad it was helpful!
She is impressive ...Very inquisitive❤
Kaya have nothing to do with dutch, just hainanese ppl invented it. Don't whitewash it. Dutch never came to SG.
It's not even Hainanese please. Originally it's Serikaya by the Malays. Even the Portuguese has Sericaia, probably inspired when they colonized parts of Maritime Southeast Asia
No need to be so sensitive... Kaya also want to be so angry
@@Alohasnackbar88 the ppl above totally expose the bad side of locals cos of kaya......
Maybe she means Dutch to Indonesia to Malaya.....??
@@Alohasnackbar88 😆😆😆😆🤣🤣🤣🤣
This lady knows a lot about Singapore. Great interview.
Well say bro.... amazing lady and I bet she know more than an average Singaporean on the street.
We do not add vinegar to our half-boiled eggs. It’s dark soya sauce that you are adding. Maybe the Dutch are adding vinegar to their eggs.
"yes I have learned to have a heavy heavy breakfast".....has a slice of toast and an egg. It's clear she loves the place, wish her many happy years there.
She is a guide? but got a few technicalities wrong. Adrian's [Ya Kun] father had a Kaya toast/coffee stall at Lua Pa Sat for maybe 70 years!.Soft-boiled eggs not served with vinegar.
Super interesting! From my memory, it's 25% actually as minimum deposit when you buy a property? and am pretty sure the soft boiled eggs at the beginning is with a dark soya sauce, not vinegar?
Oh dear. I confess to not knowing some of the street history that Irina has mentioned. She made SG sound more interesting to me with some of her her nuggets and appreciate more of the food that I consume without much thought. As for the SG identity, my take is that apart from the common mentions of racial diversity, Singlish, even kiasu-ism, I think as a population, we are very helpful and generous when it comes to helping the less fortunate (just by observing that every fundraising, be it for our people or others abroad, have always reached the intended target and more; as well as the many small volunteer grassroot organisations set up to distribute food and offer assistance to the disadvantaged regularly). We are also responsible, hardworking and pretty law-abiding. We love to complain about our government but our claws come out when others crticised SG because we are proud of and love our country.
🇸🇬🇸🇬🇸🇬🇸🇬🇸🇬we're Singaporean we international. We r the best.👏👏👏👏💪💪💪👍👍👍👍🤝🤝🤝🙏🙏🙏
What an interesting conversation and I m amazed & very impressed by Irina’s knowledge of Sg Street history & local food culture. She’s truly assimilated well into Sg. 👍👍👏👏
Another great interview, and @3:48 a very unlucky car owner 😂
Hahaha this area is heavily checked on parking violations!
9393 go buy 4D NAO!
The last scene at the road crossing, the building was the former "Jinriksha" Station, where renters of the man-pulled contraption congregate. It was owned by Jackie Chan at one time. I think the name of the place was written on the top part of the building.
interesting!
Jackie Chan never owned Jinriksha station bldg,he bought the buliding across the street and sold it..
@@sharontham11116 Ask yourself, if you are Jackie Chan, would you would buy a historical building of signiofircance or an unknown ex cinema hall/church assembly building.
1:07 It's dark soya sauce. It's sweet and salty. Vinegar is sour.
Temasik, lots of history there. Hang Tuah has been there too with his other 4 friends.
01:40 I rarely see Asians eat their eggs and bread like how you did it, that's kinda weird.
06:40 Tian Tian does not mean small lar. It means everyday.
09:10 Apart from Singlish, the other identity of Singaporean is Kiasu and Kiasi.
Some locals do. In fact, I see other videos of foreigners not dipping the bread in egg and some locals went ballistic over it. lol
I'm amazed that she knows so much about Singapore, more than the average S'porean.
That black thing for the egg is soy sauce not vinegar
Tian Tian translates to everyday.
Har paw villa depicts sin and hell. usually used to scare children into good behavior haha.
Lots of small little errors here and there. But overall it's very good content.
Actually, I believe the "Street of Death" left in current Singapore is only a small part left behind. Majority of those "death houses" are now part of the Chinatown Hawker centre. That part of the road don't exist anymore. As I recalled, I used frequent that area buying super for my grannies at night.
My granddad worked as Chinese orchestra band members for funeral procession, my grand mom, a wayang (opera) singer.
I also recalled, an incident where I (was still in secondary school then) had to attend to the a funeral and stay a few nights for someone not related to my grandma, but she was left in old folk home with no one to turn too. Only person she knew was my granny and she could never make it back to China with nothing left. The old folk's home called my granny when she passed on. So my granny gave her a send off instead hoping she could return in peace to where she wanted to be.
There was another place where you find funeral services..... but it is now part of Chinatown Point. I recalled too, walking right into that place by accident late at night, we were playing hide and seek then. that place is kind of eerie, the space is lidded only by 2 candles besides a coffin with no one there. We thought, good place to hide.... never expected ........ that kind of place. scare the hell out of us.
Born and bred here. Never had a heavy breakfast....
Haha
I would like to see her tour information but her link tree on IG isn't in english.
Thanks. For your info, "Tian Tian" (天天) actually means "every day", it does not mean "small" at all. "Small" in Chinese is "小” which would pronounced as “xiao" :)
wow she know very well about singapore history👍
Mass wedding is not common now. In fact when I was growing up in 80s and 90s mass wedding were already rare, if any takes place at all.
I think is or was a Korean thing, Reverend Moon...
What most people don't know and not much has been said, about the main dialect spoken by the locals in Chinatown. This was known as the Cantonese quarter as most migrants were from Quandong Province and were controlled by the Cantonese Triads. Living there were the red hat Sansui women construction workers and the 'ma cheh' (unmarried black and white domestic nanny/maids) (Lee Kuan Yew had employed one). The gangs that were prevalent in that area were well behaved, due to the fact that the CID (Criminal Investigation Department) HQ was just a stone's throw away at Cecil Street.
so cute
Love the interviews.. as someone who has localized almost 2 decades ago, I think I still share some of the sentiments of those interviewed and it helps crystallize some thoughts I have :)
Thanks for listening
@@MaxChernov my friends and I love the channel and the interviews :D
Yap! Some incorrect info given during the interview. The dark sauce is not vinegar. Don't dip toasted bread in the eggs, for plain bread yes.
Hi Max, tkz for another great video with the italian lady of 14 yrs in SG..even though i was born and lived here, but some of the finer details of historical past...eg: japanese comfort lady that arrived singapore early years was unheard of...thkz keep it up.
Can't believed i discovered your videos and almost binge watching everything. When you're done with Singapore, could you make some videos about Russia and its history?
Thank buddy! Possibly in the future yes
Her translation for Tian Tian was wrong not small.
Tian Tian means everyday
Love your enthusiasm..I know it's tough for non-Asians to get used to the Asian heat! Even as a Singaporean, the humid + heat combination is not something to be taken lightly. I've to drink plenty of cold water to keep the "internal heat" down :D
Interesting that you mentioned the heat and humidity. As a child growing in SG, I had the toughest time dealing with the weather and nothing else. Watching these interviews, I thought I must be the only weird one out having a daily melt down with SE Asia humid weather. I guess some people must have really loved it. I loved everything with SG except the Singlish and the weather. Visited a few times as an adult and still having the same challenges. Wonder how these Russians can handle the heat and humidity…Amazing!
Thank you very much, Mr. Chernov 🙏🏽🙇🏻♀️ Amazing of this video. She is Amazing ❤
Hi Max, I watched "This foreigner reveals another side of Singapore" and I want to point out a small mistake on the part of your guest when she translated "tian tian" from Tian Tian Chicken Rice of Maxwell Hawker Centre. She said tian tian means small which is incorrect. "Tian" in Chinese means day, so "tian tian" means "daily" or "everyday". Just trying to help. Regards. D
This foreigner bs a lot.
Having Kaya toast and half boiled eggs as breakfast culture is also common in Malaysia lah...lol. Err...correction the British did not leave Singapore at the beginning of the 20th Century. Malacca was taken over through a swap agreement in 1824 between the Dutch (British Swap Bencoolen aka. Bangkahulu for Malacca) and English as result of the Napoleanic war in Europe, which the Dutch were fearful that all its colonies might fall into the hands of the French. Anyway Singapore was given to the British by the Johor Sultanate to Stamford Raffles in 1819 because at that time there was Royal sibling rivarly to take Sultan throne. So after British acquired Malacca then it formed the strait settlements colonies by the British East Indies company comprising of Penang, Malacca and Singapore, but with the HQ based in Singapore and later it became a British Crown Colony. Later it became an important busy shipping port as result of the opening of the Suez Canal, Eqypt in 1869.
Impressive episode, love it be it good or bad about SG.
Thanks, Max.
Tian tian means everyday
Haw par villa is a place that depicts Chinese gods and heaven and Chinese version of hell. It used to be very busy with tourist and ther was once a log flume where you can ride the waterpark attraction..i was on it..but it was 30 years ago.when I was a kid.and when I visited it again 10 years ago..it was super deserted and changed alot..
Tian Tian means daily or everyday, not small. And honestly it is way over-rated for its chicken rice.
I agree ! Why do people ( especially youtubers, foreigners) associate chicken rice with Tian Tian ??? This stall is not even in my top 10 list. There are much better ones like Boon Tong Kee, etc & even those in coffee shops.
@@mandy_145 and they serve the meals in Styrofoam plates and plastic utensil, big time yucks!! Hardly any local que for tian tian!
Is she a tour guide or a history teacher?
Tour guides often need to know the history right. Although she got her facts about 80-90% correct.
Both history & geography are important to a guide
Now this is a PR I respect and welcome with open arms… she has taken the time and effort to learn about her adopted country, warts and all. Of course, her job as a guide was part of the reason. But it’s still amazing. Her understanding of the country would put some Singaporeans themselves to shame. Proud of her and hope she will make this place her permanent home.
Still more Singaporean than this angmo tryhard lol
Hmm … it’s great that your guest is enthusiastic about Singapore, but she got quite a few things wrong.
Irina's so amazing. I don't even know much about the history of the streets in Chinatown! Kinda put me to shame. Haha. Max, I'm looking forward to the next video!
She seems to be a history teacher at expat school to know that much and remember it.
You can go up the capital star tower for free but the hours are limited.
I think Irina can be an awesome tour guide for the European tourists that’s visiting Singapore! 😄
Definitely!!
@@MaxChernov does she speak other European languages? Maybe German or some Eastern European languages, I reckon? She would be great for tourists speaking those. Honestly, it's not easy to follow her English.
I am very impressed with her knowledge of Singapore
Kaya is not just egg and sugar - you forgot the secret ingredient-Pandan leaf!!!
And coconut
I was surprised that our island of Oahu is bigger than Singapore. Shocking! Didn’t expected that.
I spent my childhood in Singapore during the 70s and 80s. I thought Max has a weird perspective of Singapore.
She knows more sg history than most sg 🤣
BTW, Tian Tian does not translate to small. It just means day to day or daily or even everyday. Never heard of chicken rice being wrapped in banana leaves before during the olden days. Never…..! Does not agree with this. 😮
Tourists who hire her as tour guide will get ALOT of wrong information about Singapore.
She seems to mix information up as she likes or interpret information not based on fact.
Has she really been here for 14yrs?
Alot of things mentioned have NEVER even happened that way!
🤯
is there any chances of rent reducing in singapore?
The prices might calm down soon but no one knows for sure
Globally, lets see after 2025
She knows spore more than me who grew up near Chinatown 😅😅😅
Kaya is coconut jam.
I love her