SINGAPORE'S VINTAGE EATING PLACES: COMMONWEALTH CRESCENT CORNERS I: HONG KONG STREET OLD CHUN KEE

We have covered the Commonwealth Crescent vicinity before, and for good reason. It is a foodie paradise. In the area surrounding Commonwealth Crescent Market are four corners, each with a restaurant of its own. Three of the four are zhi char places, while the fourth is famous for fried chicken wings. 

We start with the oldest establishment of all on the eastern end of Block 117 with Hong Kong Street Chun Kee. Several different zhi char restaurants have occupied this space, but this outlet of the Hong Kong Street Chun Kee franchise has been the most enduring. It has recently undergone renovation and the previously al fresco eating area now has a permanent roof. So, no need to roll down the tarpaulin when it rains. Its gentrification has also made it look a little more slick besides justifying a modest price increase. 

It's justly famous for its fish head noodles in milky soup, but on this occasion we went for the seafood san mee (deep fried noodles in egg gravy) and the san bei ji (chicken cooked in wine sauce), all comfort foods which are always satisfying. More photos to come when we next return to this favourite haunt of ours.  

Honest to goodness seafood san mee.
This is the small sized portion.

San bei ji (Claypot chicken cooked in wine). 
The basil adds a piquant touch.

HONG KONG STREET OLD CHUN KEE

Block 117 Commonwealth Crescent #01-733

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RETURN OF THE KENT RIDGE FINE MUSIC & STEAK APPRECIATION CLUB

The Kent Ridge Fine Music & Steak Appreciation Club (No Vegans Admitted) has returned with a vengeance. On the evening of Sunday 8 February, the KRFMSAC (NVA) moved further afield beyond Residential College 4 to the only New Town in Singapore named after a composer - Clementi*. To a favourite steakhouse which Professor Winston Seah Kar Heng has nicknamed St Martin in the Fields, which is none other Marriner's Corner off Clementi Road and Sunset Way.

Not deciding on the food, but
discussing about passacaglias and fugues.

Despite the restaurant's wide menu, the five permanent members of KRFMSAC (NVA) all settled for a single item - the weekend N.Z. Roast Beef Prime Rib set meal. No discussion, no hemming or hawing, just a strategic choice that made life for the service staff super easy. Before long, the soup de jour (Borscht of chicken), garlic toast and salad was served. Then came the piece de resistance in all its glory.

At $32 + side extras, the Maestro Chan Tze Law, who certainly knows his steak (see previous posts), declared this to be the best value prime roast meal in all of the land. He was right. The tenderness and succulence of the meat, with a small trimming of fat, made it all worthwhile. The sole medico of the party just reminded everyone not to forget their statins.

It's a quintet rather than a quartet now.

Are you being served?

What tucking in looks like.

Who qualifies to join KRFMSAC (NVA)? Obviously, no vegans. A love of good music (Mahler and Wagner preferred, and Beethoven too), an age of at least three score, old enough to remember Maritime House on Cantonment Road as the "good old days", and the minimum title of Doctor. Professor and Maestro as titles are even better, preferably all three. Kar Heng has all three, having also conducted the Braddell Heights Symphony Orchestra and mastering no less than seven instruments and seven languages.

Ready, Get, Set and Go!

The two CTLs, PP and SKH
looking sated and satisfied.
HCK's reaction is likely to be the same.

When they say, "the proof is in the eating",
this is what it means.
A plate even cleaner than the ruling party.

After the steak, which had to be consumed before the curfew hour of 7.30 pm, it was time to adjourn for ice cream at Burnt Cones. And here are the incriminating pictures.     

Deciding on the flavours.

* I was, of course, joking about Clementi New Town being named after a composer. It was named after Sir Cecil Clementi Smith (1840-1916), who was governor of the Straits Settlements from 1887-1893. Clementi Smith was however the grandson of the Italian composer Muzio Clementi (1752-1832), a pioneer of the pianoforte who had settled in London and started his illustrious colonising family. So, I was partly right, but mostly being cheeky.

The other New Town in Singapore named after a composer is... Bukit Bartok.

RHAPSODIES OF SPRING 2026 / Singapore Chinese Orchestra / Review

 

RHAPSODIES OF SPRING 2026

Singapore Chinese Orchestra

Singapore Conference Hall

Saturday (31 January 2026)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 2 February 2026 with the title "Singapore Chinese Orchestra kicks off festive celebrations with crowd-pleasing fare".

In typical festive style, the Singapore Chinese Orchestra led by principal conductor Quek Ling Kiong pulled out all the stops for its annual Chinese New Year concert. Quite predictably, Li Huanzhi’s very popular Spring Festival Overture in Sim Boon Yew’s orchestration opened the evening, its celebratory strains never failing to rouse the spirits.

Conductor Quek Ling Kiong
with emcees Yixin & Qi Qi.

What came after that was deliberately scripted, with the Singapore premiere of Liu Chang’s Vires (Huan Ge), a yangqin concerto with SCO member Ma Huan as soloist. Given the coming Year of the Horse (Ma in Chinese), it seemed only apt to cast her (her name is literally “horse happiness”) in the leading role and she did not disappoint.

The work was a rhapsody on Guangxi folk song Rowing and Drifting, beginning serenely before a wallow of melting lyricism. As these virtuoso works go, contemplation eventually gives way to dance and a show of scintillating prestidigitation.

A show of the orchestra’s prowess came in Gu Guanren’s Spring Suite, five picture postcard views of the arriving season in the far reaches of China. A dizi solo distinguished Azalea Blooms, while a woodblock provided the rapid-fire hoofbeats for Sturdy Steeds Gallop.

The mimicry of bird song greeted Early Spring at Miaoling, while cinematic colour depicted broad vistas of Lush Green Meadows and Rivers. Finally, an infectiously vibrant Central Asian dance melody brought Grand Festival at Tianshan to a raucous close.

The second concertante work featured Zhang Shuo on guanzi in Kuan Nai-Chung’s Clouds from The Carefree Journey, a work of philosophical inspiration. Its plaintive quality, with a timbral quality resembling a saxophone, provided the short movement based on a shepherd’s song with precious moments for quiet introspection.

This sold-out concert showcased two world premieres, the first being Li Nixia’s Thousands of Galloping Horses which despite its title had its fair share of slow music. Dissonance from bowed strings and percussion waiting to be stirred made the anticipation of action all the more acute. Then it was time to completely broke loose, the ultimate musical representation of a stampede with steeds headed on a war path.

The other first performance was A Meteor Across Time, a skit with music by Sulwyn Lok, scripted by Boris Boo and directed by Judy Ngo, featuring nine disc jockeys (yet another equine reference) from Mediacorp’s Capital 958 Chinese radio station. The comedy involved a time warp with two men swapping positions and getting into scraps in the Qin dynasty and present day.

Popular trending subjects like health products in aid of longevity, social influencers, sales targets and couples delaying to tie the knot were brought up amid quickfire dialogue and dizzying changes in plot.

Needless to say, all’s well that ends well in the story. Finally, the entire cast united to sing and clap out Tan Kah Yong’s arrangement of that ubiquitous and inescapable Lunar New Year earworm: Chen Gexin’s Gongxi Gongxi.

SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL VIOLIN COMPETITION 2026: AWARD CEREMONY

The Singapore International Violin Competition 2026 concluded with a big bang. Despite it being much lower key than previous editions, the Grand Finals on Saturday (7 February 2026) produced the best concert ever, even besting the first competition in 2015. Three 20th century violin concertos - by Sibelius, Bartok and Shostakovich - from three sterling young musicians with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra were the stuff of dreams. 

Two of the grand finalists had been students of Yong Siew Toh Conservatory, which speaks volumes of the progress made by this national musical institution over the past 22 years. There could not have been anyone attending the concert who was not moved by the virtuosity and intense music making.

Here are the photos from the Award Ceremony and who were the biggest winners.

The finalists looking expectant.

The jury looking glum as the party comes to an end.

Zou Meng (China) won the most special prizes,
including best performances of Bach, Ysaye
and violin and piano recital.

Michael Germer (Denmark) won the prize
for best performance of David Loke's Soliloquy,
supported by the Kris Foundation.

Georgii Moroz (Ukraine) won the
Chamber Music prize, supported by Vivien Goh.

6th prize: Qingshu Weng (China)

5th prize: SongHa Choi (South Korea)

4th prize: Karisa Chiu (USA)

3rd prize: Zou Meng (China)

A hug from Qian Zhou,
Chairman of the Jury and teacher dearest.

The suspenseful moment when
the 2nd and 1st prizes are named.

2nd prize: Michael Germer (Denmark)

First, a hug from teacher dearest.
Georgii Moroz (Ukraine) wins 
the coveted first prize.

SLAVA UKRAINI yet again!
SLAVA UKRAINI!

All the finalists + VIPs.

All the finalists + sponsors.

All the finalists + jury.

All the winners and takings.

Fun Fact: This year's competition replicated exactly the positions of the 2022 competition, with a Ukrainian (Dmytro Udovychenko), a Dane (Anna Agafia Egholm), a Chinese (Angela Sin, from Hong Kong) and an American (Nathan Meltzer) placing first, second, third and fourth respectively.