The Chinese Vegetarian Foodscape of the 1950s–60s

Set up by five Buddhist women in 1946, Loke Woh Yuen was the first Chinese vegetarian restaurant in Singapore. It employed an all-female staff, was known for its popular shark’s fin made from maize, and was sometimes so packed that it had to set up dining tents that stretched to the main road. Its efforts to spread vegetarianism were complemented by other Buddhist women and nuns who wrote cookbooks and fundraised for charity.

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What Kelvin Talked About

01:48 – The founders of Chinese vegetarian restaurants in 1940s–50s
05:28 – The most popular dishes at the vegetarian restaurant Loke Woh Yuen
06:26 – How Fut Sai Kai Vegetarian Restaurant differs from Loke Woh Yuen
07:26 – Ko Tian-gu, the founder of Fut Sai Kai
08:37 – Cookbooks that helped to spread vegetarianism
10:57 – The famous vegetarian soon kueh recipe by Abbess Yang Qincai of the temple Hai Inn See
12:24 – Legacy of early Chinese vegetarian restaurants in philanthropy and Buddhist education
13:55 – Resources Kelvin used in his research
16:40 – Why early Chinese vegetarian restaurants have Cantonese heritage
18:58 – The vegetarian dish that Kelvin wants to master next

About the Guest

Kelvin Tan graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in history from the National University of Singapore. He was a research assistant for the project “Mapping Female Religious Heritage in Singapore: Chinese Temples as Sites of Regional Socio-cultural Linkage” funded by the National Heritage Board.

Resources

Kelvin Tan, “How Chinese Buddhist Women Shaped the Food Landscape in Singapore,” BiblioAsia 18, no. 2 (July–September 2022).

Ho Yuen Hoe (Venerable Chin Yam), oral history interview by Chiang Wai Fong, 13 April 1998, mp3 and transcript, 03:26:53, National Archives of Singapore (accession no. 002012).

Lew Nyok Thye 刘砡娣, Yuchu tianxia zhi su qi muzi 御厨天下之素起母子 [Imperial chef] (Singapore: Imperial Chef, 2015).

Uma Rajan, A Life for Others (Singapore : Man Fut Tong Nursing Home, 2007) (From National Library, Singapore, call no. R 361.95957 RAJ-[LHL])

Shi Chin Yam 释净润, Bai wei cai gen Xiang 百味菜根香 [Top 100 vegetarian delights] (Singapore: Man Fut Tong Old People’s Home, 1998). (From National Library, Singapore, call no. RSING 641.5636 SHI).

Soon Yoke Lian (Venerable Seck Cheng Charn), oral history interview by Au Yue Pak, 5 August 2004, mp3 and transcript, 01:03:30, National Archives of Singapore (accession no. 002872)

Credits

This episode of BiblioAsia+ was hosted by Jimmy Yap and produced by Soh Gek Han. Sound engineering was done by One Dash. The background music "Di Tanjong Katong" was composed by Osman Ahmad and performed by Chords Haven. Special thanks to Kelvin for coming on the show.

BiblioAsia+ is a podcast about Singapore history by the National Library of Singapore.