A 'pepper mountain' in my family warehouse |
I never realized how special it was to grow up in a food paradise and to be part of a food family business.
As Singapore celebrates it's 50th birthday, I look back to my family business, Hiang Kie - a coffee and spice trading and retail company. The growth of the business mirrored Singapore's change from busy entrepot trading port to wealthy 'first world' city.
Yes, my family business was actually a small piece of the historic spice trade story. My grandfather, a Chinese Indonesian immigrant, started a coffee and spice trading company in 1936. Singapore's multiculturalism is taken for granted now but at that time, the Chinese stuck with the Chinese. My grandfather was one of the few Chinese who looked beyond race and started doing business with the Indians and the Malays. Later, Lee Kwan Yew's multicultural policies started to take root and this became the norm in Singapore.
I remember our family godown - stocked with gunnysacks filled with coffee and spice. I distinctively remember the earthy smells of gunnysack, green coffee, roasted coffee and pepper. I also remember the loyal and extremely fit and hardened workers transporting the gunnysacks onto the open lorries. A big salute to these pioneers.
The Hiang Kie warehouse was situated in one of the shophouses in the business district, near the Singapore river, where the bumboats would transport all manner of goods into the bustling growing city of Singapore. Later, as Singapore's land grew costly, we moved further out into the fringes into Genting Lane and Woodlands.
Transporting coffee beans |
It is important not to forget that the identity of a typical Singaporean is also intertwined with being Southeast Asian. My family had Indonesian roots and my grandfather and father spoke Bahasa. During the Japanese war, my grandfather fled to Cameron Highlands, Malaysia, and my father was born in those hills.
Growing up, family holidays to Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and later Indochina made a mark on me. One of my most memorable family trips was a food trip in Vietnam. We toured the countryside, sampled the food and visited the coffee plantations in Dalat. (Vietnam is the second biggest exporter of coffee). I was also drawn to Indonesia, learnt to speak a little Bahasa as I traveled the islands and visited many towns.
As I traveled in Southeast Asia and made friends, it reinforced the deep linkages we had with our neighbors. I realized how important it was to understand, respect and love their culture.
Coffee plantations in Dalat |
As Singapore celebrates its success, I hope the people of Singapore will always remember their humble roots, their kinship with their Southeast Asian neighbors and their unique heritage. Majullah Singapura!
This post is written by Juyi Ong, grandaughter of Ong Wai Soeij, founder of Hiang Kie Trading Company (1936)
Lovely post Juyi! Interesting to note that we supplied coffee to the lee family for many years as LKY's father knew granddad and liked his coffee
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