BiblioAsia+

Oct 31 2024 29 ep. 33 mins 12
BiblioAsia+ Podcast artwork

BiblioAsia+ is a podcast series about Singapore stories: some unfamiliar, others forgotten, all fascinating. Does Singapore have a stone age? What’s happened to the murals at the old Paya Lebar airport? Who were some local tennis greats? Find out in this original podcast by the National Library of Singapore.

  History  Society & Culture  Education
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A Tour of 60 Asian Port Cities with Ex–ACM Director Kennie Ting

Oct 31 2024 30 mins  
To write a book about 60 Asian port cities, ex–ACM director Kennie Ting travelled as far as the Middle East and Africa. He tells us how port cities can tell a different history of Asia, and what his "eat, pray, love" cities and his favourite ACM artefacts are.A writer and museum professional fascinated by the history, heritage and culture of Asian port cities, Kennie Ting is the

He Wrote the National Pledge: S. Rajaratnam, Singapore's First Foreign Minister

Oct 04 2024 55 mins  
A journalist turned politician turned diplomat, S. Rajaratnam (1915–2006) wore many hats in the service of Singapore. His contribution to Singapore is so great that to cover his life adequately required 20 years of research and over 1,200 pages of writing. Irene Ng, his authorised biographer, tells us little-known facets of the man, his legacy as Singapore’s founding

Stella Kon: Beyond Emily of Emerald Hill

Sep 04 2024 28 mins  
Stella Kon is known for creating the beloved Emily of Emerald Hill – possibly the most frequently staged play in Singapore. She is also a novelist and musical theatre writer, and she has adapted her landmark play into a musical after falling in love with the genre. In this episode, Stella talks about the difference between writing plays and musicals, her favourite&

Seaside Foraging and Eurasian Cuisine

Jun 02 2024 36 mins  
MasterChef Singapore judge Damian D’Silva grew up by the sea and spent many happy hours foraging for horseshoe crabs, shellfish and sea snails that would end up in the cooking pot. In this episode, he talks about how his childhood and grandfather influenced his cooking philosophy, when he found his calling in the kitchen (later than you'd expect), an

Food of the Peranakan Indians

May 26 2024 34 mins  
Growing up as a Chetti Melaka (Peranakan Indian), Tanya realised her family was different when she was seven or eight years old. Her family spoke Malay at home, ate sambal belacan, and had huge parties with a lot of unusual food. In this episode, Tanya talks with pride about the rituals of the ancestor worship known parachu and the cookbook contai

The Chinese Vegetarian Foodscape of the 1950s–60s

May 19 2024 20 mins  
Set up by five Buddhist women in 1946, Loke Woh Yuen was the first Chinese vegetarian restaurant in Singapore. It employed an all-female staff, was known for its popular shark’s fin made from maize, and was sometimes so packed that it had to set up dining tents that stretched to the main road. Its efforts to spread vegetarianism were complemented by other Buddhist women and nuns

Hajah Asfiah: A Guardian of Traditional Malay Culture

May 12 2024 40 mins  
A tireless steward of Malay culture, Hajah Asfiah worked all her life to preserve and pass on Malay crafts. When she was just 10, she began teaching embroidery and flower arrangement in school. Later in life, she was a mak andam (wedding attendant) for more than 20 years and worked with more than 1,000 brides. At age 65, she got her cookbook Hidangan Warisan Kita&nbs

Kampong Gelam: Kitchen of the Malay World

May 05 2024 34 mins  
You hear Malay, Javanese, Tamil and Punjabi as you wander the streets with shops selling colourful textiles and carpets, spices and flowers. Here you find different curries and bread, nasi padang, sup tulang, mee siam, a Javanese kitchen, Hainanese coffeeshops. Bookstores sell literature and newspapers as far away as Cairo. In this episode, Khir tells us about the Ka

Kueh Pie Tee: A Detective Story

Apr 28 2024 42 mins  
Kueh pie tee is not a pie that goes with tea. So where did the name (and dish) come from? Award-winning cookbook author Christopher Tan combs through old newspapers and cookbooks, in search of the origins of the dish. PS: Dates back to 1570!Christopher Tan is an award-winning writer, cooking instructor and photographer. His articles, columns, recipes and photographs have appea

The Tragedy of Singapore’s First Boxing Superstar

Apr 17 2024 33 mins  
Tan Teng Kee was the Mike Tyson of Singapore boxing in the 1920s. Known as Battling Key, the larger-than-life boxer attracted crowds wherever he went. Which makes his drastic downfall all the more tragic.Abhishek Mehrotra is a researcher and writer whose interests include media and society in colonial Singapore, urban toponymy and post-independence India. He is worki