Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Queenstown Town Centre/ Common Wealth Food Centre
3) Queenstown Town Centre/Common Wealth Food CentreIt was a long walk before we could reach our next stop the Common Wealth Food Centre.
Brief History The Queenstown Town Centre, the heart of Queenstown, saw its heydays during the late 1960s till late 1970s. During which it was one of the most popular spots in Singapore. There were 3 cinemas situated within its vicinity and they all screened to full houses. The pioneer cinemas built here were called ‘Venus’ and ‘Golden City’. Today, these buildings are used as churches.
Commonwealth Food Centre is situated just behind the cinemas. Many of its veteran hawkers were itinerant hawkers peddling from pushcarts around Queenstown. Their signboards reflect their origins in Queenstown, such as ‘Xin Lu’ (Mandarin: colloquial name for Margaret Drive) and ‘Jin Dou’ (Mandarin: former Venus theatre). Today, this is the last cooked food centre in Queenstown in its original building. One of the uncles, whom we interviewed, told us that back then, the cinemas used to be ‘dating arena’ for many young couples.
We were already tired out, even though it was just our 3rd stop. We sat down to drink some delicious sugarcane juice and their famous ‘Yi Char Kuay’. The stall owner was first quite apprehensive when he saw Jeff’s professional camera and all of us taking notes, documenting our journey so far. He thought we were reporters. He then went on to tell us how certain journalists have sought them out to cover the food centre. After we assured that we were not journalists, we went on ahead to the next stop.
Commonwealth Food Centre is situated just behind the cinemas. Many of its veteran hawkers were itinerant hawkers peddling from pushcarts around Queenstown. Their signboards reflect their origins in Queenstown, such as ‘Xin Lu’ (Mandarin: colloquial name for Margaret Drive) and ‘Jin Dou’ (Mandarin: former Venus theatre). Today, this is the last cooked food centre in Queenstown in its original building. One of the uncles, whom we interviewed, told us that back then, the cinemas used to be ‘dating arena’ for many young couples.
We were already tired out, even though it was just our 3rd stop. We sat down to drink some delicious sugarcane juice and their famous ‘Yi Char Kuay’. The stall owner was first quite apprehensive when he saw Jeff’s professional camera and all of us taking notes, documenting our journey so far. He thought we were reporters. He then went on to tell us how certain journalists have sought them out to cover the food centre. After we assured that we were not journalists, we went on ahead to the next stop.3:08 AM By PUNITHA