Collecting Singapore Chinese Community – Chinese Restaurants
On behalf of the National Heritage Board, Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall invites the donation of historically significant items that are related to Chinese Restaurants in Singapore for our National Collection. We aim to preserve the legacy of establishments that have shaped Singapore's Chinese culinary culture.
Are you a restaurant owner or from a family that runs/used to run a Chinese restaurant or eatery? Perhaps you have cherished memories and items from your favourite Chinese restaurants in Singapore? We invite you to contribute your objects – and their stories – to help us further expand our collection.
This could include:
- Culinary ware and/or decorative items (e.g. restaurant banners, posters, signboards or advertisements)
- Kitchen tools
- Uniforms, items (e.g. storage key, makeup), or clothing articles used or created by Chinese restaurants or workers of Chinese restaurants
- Clothing articles or items belonging to entertainers (e.g. songstresses, opera performers, cabaret dancers) who were hired by Chinese restaurants
- Photographs or paper documents (e.g. restaurant menus, restaurant invitation cards)
| Artefact Samples |
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Group Photo in front of Tai Tong Restaurant
(1940s-1960s)
Gift of Mr Yeow Meng Cheow c/o Ms Lucy Yeow
Collection of National Museum of Singapore
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Mooncake box from the Empress Restaurant
(1980s)
Gift of Mr Albert Low
Collection of National Museum of Singapore
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Mooncake flyer from the Empress Restaurant
(1982)
Gift of Mr Albert Low
Collection of National Museum of Singapore
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Food Menu from the Chip Bee Restaurant
(1960s)
Gift of Lim Fong Yew
Collection of National Museum of Singapore
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Painting of Tong Hing Restaurant by Lim Tze Peng
(1976)
Gift of Mr and Mrs Koh Seow Chuan
Collection of National Gallery Singapore
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Porcelain Spoon from the Tai Tong Restaurant
(1940s-1960s)
Collection of Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall
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Your donated items will help us to curate exhibitions and programmes that tell the rich story of the Chinese community in Singapore, connecting our past with the present and future.
Make a Donation
If you have an item you would like to donate to the National Collection, kindly fill up the Artefact Donation Form for our curators' assessment.
Please note that unsolicited donations sent through the mail or otherwise without prior correspondence with our curators will not be accepted.
For further queries, please contact the museum at NHB_WQY@nhb.gov.sg.
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About Collecting Singapore Chinese Community
The Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall invites you to be part of preserving Singapore's Chinese history and heritage through our artefact collection drive. We are looking for meaningful objects, photographs, and documents that tell the story of Chinese life in Singapore from past to present.