POST-CONCERT EATS: HONG KONG DIM SUM SHOP @ FORTUNE CENTRE (NEAR OBJECTIFS & NAFA)

I've attended a concert at Objectifs on Middle Road and am peckish for dinner or supper. So where do I go? The lower floors of Fortune Centre is packed with eateries, but not all of them open till late. Then I spy a dim sum place, with the name Hong Kong sounding tantalising, especially of fond memories having late meals at the SAR's cha chaan tengs. Why not give this outlet a try, since it opens late till 11.30pm?

Its small and a little cramped, but there is space for an actual booth, the sort you regularly encounter in Hong Kong coffee shops. For a moment, I'm imagining myself in Yau Ma Tei or Jordan after a Joy of Music Festival concert. 

I've got a booth of my own,
with a view of Hong Kong (sort of)!

I order from a menu by ticking off the dim sum items, and I've opted for a porridge, a small tray of dumplings and an iced lemon tea - very typically Hong Kong fare. I'm hungry, so I don't mind if it's a little more expensive than on Nathan Road, or Five Star HK Dim Sum for that matter. 

Classic HK iced lemon tea,
with three lemon slices and very sweet!

This chook has century egg,
mushroom and chicken, all my favourites.

Crystal dumplings, not bad!

The taste is more than acceptable and the service quite good. At least the server does not cuss in Cantonese but speaks Mandarin instead, and is even quite pleasant. The crowd gradually clears, and only two tables are occupied. I go home quite satisfied. 

Friendly visitors from Philippines.
At least, they looked happy.

Later, I found out that I've just eaten at Singapore's lowest-rated dim sum place! The internet reviews were downright awful. Was it that bad? In a word, no. It's nowhere near the very good ones, and I've gotten far worse in Hong Kong. Will I come back? Perhaps, but there are a lot of other places to try out.  

HONG KONG DIM SUM SHOP

190 Middle Road, #01-06

Fortune Centre

Singapore 188979

4 MILLION VIEWS FOR PIANOMANIA!

I simply cannot believe it! Pianomania has just chalked its fourth million view as of this evening. This is especially heartening that its 3 millionth view was recorded as recently as 7 January this year. While I cannot call this viral in any way, I am humbled that anybody has taken the time to share in my indulgences, whether it is in classical concerts, CD recordings, food and cats. 

This blog was started in 2008 to record my observations at international piano competitions, and later as a repository of my Straits Times articles and reviews. One important aspect of my blog was to document the goings-on in the local music scene in the form or words and photographs. This later included food articles, which certainly helped in boosting the numbers. I guess people in Singapore still love their food more than their music. I hope that can change sometime!

Here is a summary of what gets on Pianomania:

1. Concert reviews & photos

2. CD reviews & collection

3. Singapore's Vintage Eating Places

4. Suka Makan. Places where we indulge.

5. Pre- and Post-concert Eats

6. Random Heartland Eats

7. Cat photography

8. Photos of historical buildings

9. Travel photos

10. Interviews with artists & musicians

11. Accounts and photos of musical soirees

12. Contemporary art exhibitions

What else would you like to see on 

PIANOMANIA?

Let me know!

OBJECTIFS: A PEEK AT SOME OLD BUILDINGS ON MIDDLE ROAD

During the mid-1970s, when I was studying at Catholic High School (Primary section) on Queen's Street, I would often pass what I considered the grottiest corner of Middle Road. There was an old dirty yellow building housing the greasiest looking motor workshop, and turning the corner of Waterloo Street, what has to be the seediest hotel in all of Singapore. That was the Tai Loke Hotel, home to hippy backpackers and short-time trysts. 

The Way We Were
Old photos by Ronni Pinsler, Lee Kip Lin
and National Heritage Board.

Singapore's answer
to the Bates Motel?

Old photos still exist of these buildings, but what greeted me this Saturday evening was two totally spruced-up edifices. That is what gentrification is about - throw out the decrepit old tenants, find a willing buyer and rebuild anew. Not a hair is out of place in the new premises which now houses Objectifs - Centre for Photography and Film. This complex was previously called Sculpture Square. 

This is part of the National Arts Council's arts housing project, which utilises the preserved old buildings on Waterloo Street, Middle Road and Queen's Street, giving them a new life with their occupation by the best of Singapore's arts organisations.  

The yellow building, formerly the Middle Road Church dating from the 1890s, is now an exhibition hall and sometime concert venue. The tarted-up old Tai Loke Hotel has two storeys of exhibits, with no tarts or exhibitionists in sight. 

It's great to find old historical buildings
getting a new lease of life.

See some of the exhibits on display here:

pianomania: OBJECTIFS: PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITS ON 13 JUNE 2026

OBJECTIFS: PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITS ON 13 JUNE 2026

The visit to Objectifs - Centre for Photography & Film, on Saturday evening (13 June 2026), was for a chamber concert by Chamber Music & Arts Singapore (CMAS). Just before that, I got to enjoy some of the photo exhibits on display. The old buildings that occupy 155 Middle Road now enjoy a new lease of life as an arts centre and gallery, and it was a pleasure to walk through the exhibits.

Violist Joelle Hsu takes a breather.

Photos of CMAS in outreach
and before their Esplanade concert
with Candida Thompson.

Images of violinist Tang Tee Khoon,
cellist Eckart Runge and pianist Luca Burrato
as they demonstrate for children.

The Chapel, previously Middle Road Church, has an exhibition of photographs documenting the works of CMAS, especially in the area of outreach and music education. The photographers involved were Clarence Aw and Brandon Koh, and the short documentary movies were made by Momo Film CO. Through its show-and-tell sessions, sharing concerts and visits to schools and communities over the years, thousands of young people have been exposed to the wonders of classical music.

The former Tai Loke Hotel has an unusual exhibition by Malaysian artist C.K.Koh, documenting the travels and adventures of Box Boy, a character or alter ego that probably mirrors his personality. There is something cute yet mildly disturbing in his portrayal which one can relate too, especially on issues of isolation and solitude.

There is a third building in Objectifs called the Annexe, which houses its quaint little boutique and gift-shop. I managed to buy a selection of short movies and postcards by local film-maker Royston Tan, which would make for nice gifts. Here am I being a tourist in my own hometown!

What the preserved buildings of Objectifs 

look like on the outside:

pianomania: OBJECTIFS: A PEEK AT SOME OLD BUILDINGS ON MIDDLE ROAD