I Ate Tiong Bahru

by Stephen Black

Unlike most of the island country of Singapore, the Tiong Bahru estate looks like it did when it was built over seventy-five years ago. Its distinctive Art Deco architecture and famous food have delighted Singaporeans for generations.

From swamps and kampungs to colonial public housing experiment to wi-fi'd cosmopolitan community, Tiong Bahru represents many of the changes which have occurred in Singapore and throughout Southeast Asia.
Extensive research and exclusive interviews combine with a dynamic writing style to create a vivid portrait of a truly unique Southeast Asian community.

Stephen Black lived in Tiong Bahru for three of his eleven years in Singapore.

I Ate Tiong Bahru is a fact-based, lyrical documentary.

130 pages, Paperback

First published June 8, 2013

About the author

Stephen Black's distinctive writing style reflects his extensive background in fine art, TV, movies, and 3D game production. An American who has lived in Asia most of his life, he tackles universal themes with a personal voice. His artworks and photographs have appeared in galleries, museums, books and magazines worldwide.

After receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Photographic Illustration from the Rochester Institute of Technology, he moved to Manhattan's Lower East Side where he worked for Film/Video Arts. Two years of exciting Manhattan madness concluded with a two-week trip to Tokyo. This marked the start of a lifelong Asian journey with extended stays in Hong Kong and Japan. He's been based in Singapore since 2002. Along the way, he has worked on projects with such diverse talented individuals as the legendary Japanese actress Kumiko Akiyoshi, photographer Annie Liebowitz, musician Amith Narayan, artist-curator Michael Lee, dancer Kazuo Ono, musician David Sylvian, poet Cyril Wong and hundreds of other people who amused him, made him work, made him laugh or scared the heck out of him.

Reviews

[mm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Described as a 'lyrical documentary', I Ate Tiong Bahru is an ode to a beloved neighbourhood. It is almost a historical, sociological monograph. Black brings the past and present alive in so many different ways.
Much as I enjoyed it, I could also see it needed a good editor and production manager. The book is wrongly bound and the stream of consciousness writing needed to be sometimes honed and polished.
But all in all, I enjoyed it and wished we had such homages to other neighbourhoods with such research and passion.

[Elancharan Gunasekaran · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm back with my halfway review of I ate tiong bahru!

I ate tiong bahru... It's amazing... just like how Mr.Chew would go, "Beauuuutifuul"

If you thought that you knew Singapore like the back of your hand, think again..."So how?"

Stephen Black has done a slick job, putting together the intricate details of Singapore's history and linking it back to the past/present Tiong Bahru estate. The details are too much to take in just one read. Go slow. Breathe. Relax and Tiong Bahru might just come alive.

I got no more words for this. Excellent read for expats and of course, our dear work-crazy Singaporeans.

[Lorraine Koh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I Ate Tiong Bahru is lovingly crafted by the author as a series of whimsical prose based on real-life characters in the Tiong Bahru district in Singapore. People and places come alive in this palm-sized book and you can feel the a lot of effort was put in observing and researching the area. A fun read.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I read, my senses were treated to the smells, sounds and tastes of Tiong Bahru. Woven into this experience was a history lesson. The author describes his work as a fact based, lyrical documentary. I did enjoy his use of language. I found myself reading some sentences two or three time just because I liked the way the words were put together.

[Fon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-reading

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little book to dip into
The stories paint a picture of a person or place

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very whimsical read. The style of writing is so refreshing and creative, it's like you were riding in the author's raw train of thoughts. Every little detail is described so vividly you can almost picture yourself being right there. It speaks of the weekends I spent in Tiong Bahru as a young child, and the different Tiong Bahru I later came to explore on my own as an adult. Indeed a very beautiful lyrical documentary of a neighborhood that will forever have a special place in my heart. A recommended read for anyone interested in the many facets of Tiong Bahru.

[Pheng Heong Tan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gave up reading after a few pages. I felt as if facts were being stuffed down my throat. An off-putting experience (for me, at least).

A quote goes: "given the weight of facts, it is very difficult to avoid reporting the facts. This calls for astuteness of means, and a distillation of materials."

Does Mr. Black (the author) come across as astute, through the pages of this book? I leave it to another (new) reader to discover for himself/herself/themselves.

[marcel · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the high end of 3. I am not sure how this indie-published, presumably small-print-run Singaporean book ended up in a book box in Mile End, Montreal, but I'm glad I came across it. The writing was zany and offbeat, if a bit overwrought at times. The vignettes themselves were interesting, both informational and entertaining. Made me miss Singapore, especially the descriptions of food. Will make a visit to Tiong Bahru next time I'm back there.

[Kelly Penrose · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating read

[Mira Purnamasari]

As an empath I sense that the author really likes Tiong Bahru

[Jo Furniss · Rating 4 out of 5]

This diminutive, hand-sized book comprises a collection of physical and imaginative wanderings in the urban landscape of Tiong Bahru - one of Singapore's most self-consciously hipster 'hoods. Stephen Black skillfully merges anecdotes, historical research and his loving explorations of food (as the title suggests), into fascinating morsels of local insight. He plays on his insider/outsider status to build a paean to his adopted home. His constant references to his choice of coffee - the local kopi c kosong brew - suggests that he sees himself as more insider than latte-drinking expat outsider.

The book itself, like the gentrified Art Deco estate he describes, is a bit of a contradiction. His writing feels modern - even post-modern - a meandering whimsy of observations and reflections, often on the process of writing itself. It's like a quality blog, which is frustrating when he mentions photos that we can't see (why didn't you just blog this, I thought?). On the other hand, something has driven him to print it up as a good old-fashioned book, one which is stocked in Tiong Bahru's hippest of hipster bookshop hangouts - of the kind he bemoans inside the pages for driving up rents and driving out the old TBers who can't afford to live and work there any more. I'm left wondering where he stands...

This is a super little book - it really is very little - that's both fascinating and inspiring. Snippets of information, snapshots of daily life - and a tip on where to find the best pineapple tarts, of which I am especially fond. They should give it to newly-arriving expats as they get off the plane.

[Celeste · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first spied this book in Books Actually, and the existence of this book on its shelves retrieves many different memories for me. Not usually one to read local works, I only got this because I bumped into Black at an event and bought it directly from him. I love reading about Singapore from the perspective of a non-local, it's quaint to observe their fascination with our culture and history, and makes me more appreciative of Singapore as a result. As a casual observer I've always known of Tiong Bahru's rich history, and the book descriptively pays homage to the district's sights and sounds.

[Gwen Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of stories interspersed among snippets of historical research, interviews and personal histories, Stephen Black's musings of Singapore's most famous neighborhood is at once whimsical, nostalgic and humorous. From stories about local delicacies to "Soymilk Blues" (sung to Johnny Cash's famous song), I Ate Tiong Bahru is a must-read for gourmets, architects, historians and just about anyone who wishes to learn more about this evolving neighborhood.

[Stephen Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goodreads is a maze to me....All I wanted to do was add the cover... The physical book is available here : http://booksactually.bigcartel.com/pr... and thru Kindle, iStore, Sony , etc.
There are reviews of I Ate Tiong Bahru elsewhere on Goodreads...have yet to find a way to get all of these things connected...

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Living in Tiong Bahru I used this little gem to grasp the original vibe of the quartier - and it soon sucked me into its world. Very good read, lovely, easy and authentic.

[Kj · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 because I share the author's love of Tiong Bahru.

[Nicole Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting pickup about one of Singapore's oldest estates.