The immigrants from Hainan came to SG later compared to other ethnic group. They either worked as Chefs in Restaurants or helper in a British families. They learnt from the them Western cookings and in corporate into local taste. That’s why they created one of the famous pork chop with tomatoes sauces.
Spot on. The Hainanese were also crucial players in nurturing the coffee shop culture in Singapore. Dishes like kaya toast, which is something ubiquitous here, is another example of how they have shaped our local culinary landscape.
Thank you. I grew up in Hong Kong (I'm a gweilo) and I was wondering if Jimmy may have been a chef on Royal Navy or British merchant navy ships. Your answer explains things.
Ghib san, How in the world did you discover this gem? 😊 I definitely need to visit Jimmy’s Restaurant. The food he serves is so familiar to me. My late mother was Hainanese, and she used to cook the exact same type of pork chop. What Jimmy says about the character of Hainanese ppl is so true. Thanks for the recommendation!
Hi Ghib hi 2nd uncle Jimmy 😅, wah Ghib i think Coffee is my secret lover, cant start a day without drinking coffee, 😂, uncle Jimmy place is worth a visit one day or recomend to friends, thks for the vlog Ghib, 👍😬
Most of the older folks travelled by sea from that region of China back in those days. My grandfather was hastily sent by his father via the sea to Malaysia to escape the war in China, Guangdong. He travelled to Malaysia on the ship to Msia alone leaving behind his family. My father said he often recounted his story with tears in his eyes. He passed away 10+ years ago at the ago of 100 peacefully in his sleep with no major illness etc. (very amazing!).
My wife and my in-laws are Hainanese and are also in the food business. I am sharing this excellent, as usual, video with them because i am sure that they can relate to it. Domo arigato gozaimasu, Ghib Oji-san!
Just went there for the first time and the food is good and nostalgic. Jimmy is rather friendly and hardworking ... serving us, bringing the food, etc. Will patronize again.
Yay! An interview finally with the other Mr. Jimmy! Glad he's willing to share his life experience from Hainan to Singapore. Great work bro! Keep it up!
My father took a ship to visit his relative in China in the 1960s because airplane was not possible during that time. Many hainanese who came to S'pore worked for the British & learned the skill of western cooking.
I will always order the oxtail stew dish with a side of plain white rice and some cilipadi 10/10. They were previously at Coronation Plaza and followed them to their current location on Beach Road.
omg is this the same shop? I used to eat there every weekend! Really loved the pork chops. Was so sad when I saw that it had closed, and I've actually walked past this shop a few times without knowing that
Oh u came here again!!! the first time years back you make a video on the prawn noodle shop beside and the owner keep invited you over, and you went in. hahaha~ ~ good video
Thank you Ghib for recommending this place! Will definitely bring my parents to try it 🥰❤ my grandparents also took a ship from Hainan to SG to work here last time..I feel Hainanese eatery is getting lesser and lesser as well..and usually if Hainanese heard another person speak in Hainanese, automatically they will feel like family because the dialect is so rare in SG now 🥲
Thanks for this clip . Have visited Jimmy's restaurant, the food is authentic and super delicious. Jimmy is very friendly and always engages with his customers. Such a gem.
Ghib, you should interview the last surviving trade of selling "Kachang puteh" in toa payoh bus interchange. "Kachang puteh" are peanuts sold in a paper wrap style. This indian man is the second generation plying his trade originally in peace centre in penang road.
SG is like a refugee island to the many early immigrants in the old days. Then it was part of Malaya. After independence, thanks to their hard work and wisdom of LKY, SG survived and prospered to this day.
Yep lots of folks came from various regions of China (chiefly the Hokkiens from Fujian province and Cantonese folk from Guangzhou, forming the two largest dialect groups in SG) to Singapore in the colonial or early independence days. They typically worked as coolies and patronized their clan associations for welfare and company. Some of these clan associations like Hokkien Huay Kuan are still around nowadays, and are in fact super rich and even have their own affiliated schools.
Thanks for sharing such an iconic "Special Hainanese restaurant"...I'm Eastern European and my husband, Singaporean Hainanese, love Makan..Makan.......Australia
The pioneer generation and the baby-boomers had no other way to come to Singapore but by boat and the boats in those days were small, badly ventilated or not ventilated at all. Taking days to arrive was the norm in those days. Ghib, this restaurant is the last few of its kind. Uncle Jimmy's chicken pie is probably one of the last few in Singapore that's affordable and loaded with chicken chunks, and one of the most flavourful.
thats why its not wrong to say Singapore succeeded due to its majority Chinese population. where else in the world do you find a race so full of resilience, diligence, ingenuity, flexibility ?
Hey, Ojib. Many Chinese escaped communism in China before the Second World War and either secretly went out by boats through treacherous journeys or on foot to Hong Kong 🇭🇰, Malaysia 🇲🇾, or Singapore 🇸🇬.
Please visit SOUTH INDIAN Diners in Singapore- Telugu cuisine, Tamil cuisine, Kerala Cuisine, Karantaka Cuisine all have different varationsand Little India too - Vegetarian, Meat, Poultry,Seafood.. Do check out the desserts in Singapore.. Tamil cuisine is popular there... Xie Xie Ne.. I lived in Melbourne Australia - 2007 to 2019- Love Cantonese & Schezwan cuisine... Love Chinese desserts
Great content! My great great grandfather escaped then British Hong Kong for San Francisco and founded multiple restaurants across California and the Midwest and produced 50 biological children 😂
Arab St, memories of going there as a young British soldier. There was small tailors shops making military clothing and equipment. Often got some local food there too. I also remember a cage with a massive snake inside at one of the street junctions. How things have changed. Loved my time in Singapore, been back a few times, even to my old camp Nee Soon in Transit Rd.
Thanks for the invite, haven't any immediate plans to return to Singapore, but I will be back. I've also had people from my Regiment returning and finding the houses they grew up in when their families were there. Chip Bee estate rings a bell.
Yes, it’s true, my partner and I had visited Jimmy’s restaurant a couple of years ago and he was such a friendly person, taking time to talk to us and explaining his dishes. I can see Ghib San put in a lot of effort in engaging Jimmy during the interview, 👍 ❤
I've been watching a couple of your videos lately and really love it. Your sense of humour is second to none🙂Thank you for showing us some amazing food in Singapore that some locals do not even know. I'm going to try this coffee house when I'm in Singapore this summer (as well as the muslim food located at Jalan Pisang recommended in your other video)
0:43: 😊 This video tells the inspiring story of Jimmy, a British-Chinese restaurant owner in Singapore, who embarked on a seven-day ship journey from Hainan, China to Singapore at a young age. 3:22: 🍽 The video discusses the Hainanese pork chop dish and the speaker's life before coming to Singapore. 8:28: 🌍 Wikimania is a non-profit organization that provides free and accessible knowledge to everyone around the world. 11:13: 🍲 Jimmy, the owner of a famous restaurant in Singapore, shares his journey of starting his own business and the love he receives from customers around the world. 15:48: 🥧 The video features Jimmy, a retired chef in Singapore, showcasing his signature pie and yam cake. Recap by Tammy AI
Prince Coffee House was at Coronation Plaza (Bukit Timah) before present premises. Food was great and their huge pies real value for money, packed full of ingredients.
Half of my family originates from Hainan Island; source from my grandmother: Most Hainan people who came to Singapore worked as maids or chefs for British families (My grandmother worked as a maid for a British Family!), they adapted their Chinese food to British tastes, which is why some stuff like Sweet and Sour pork exists (If you go to Hainan Island today, you will find they mostly eat fresh seafood). The food's origin is a bit more complex than that, but apparently this also explains the Pineapple/baked beans usage which is uncommon in almost all other forms of Singaporean Chinese food.
Sorry but the route to SEA and the reason for leaving China isn't exactly very unique. Almost all Chinese came down here by sea - my grandparents, not Hainanese, also did the same way. Many of those who came from the same village used to settle within an area together, many were poor and weren't very educated, and many left China for the same reason which is war and famine.
I always like your video accept when come to end you said “ Japanese people come already in hokkian “ this make me feel very uncomfortable, it’s sound like the pass Japanese invasion 😢 sorry to say that
Wat so surprising that people travelled by ship more than half a century ago? Heard of the Titanic? Aircraft travel was still at an early stage then ... n expensive ... It certainly did not take 7hrs to travel from Tokyo to SG then as the planes were less developed n required more stopovers for refuelling. U may wish to know that LKY also travelled by ship for his studies in the UK.
