A unique home gave 75-year-old Mummy Soh a new life

SINGAPORE: Despite a shorter head than most of her guests, Mdm Ng Swee Hiah attracted the attention of her audience by moving around her garden

She pointed to her mulberry plant, proclaiming that make tea, which is good for you.

Then she picked a bouquet of six-petal chive flowers and threw them under the nose of a guest. "Taste it. You can eat it raw, "insisted the 75-year-old, who tasted both sweet and garlic." Nice, is not it? "She asked

A few minutes later, in her kitchen, she ordered her guests, ordering one to peel the potatoes and another to squeeze the grated coconut. learn how to make curry chicken at Airbnb Experiences, a platform where locals can share their hobbies or skills for a fee.

Almost everything was created from scratch to make this dish, from extracting coconut milk to picking chilli, ginger and lemongrass from the garden to make curry paste.

retirement to help reinvent his family home of nearly 50 years, now called One Kind House, and recreate the good old kampung days for others.

Elementary school teacher for 40 years before her retirement more than 15 years ago, she now has become part historian, bus part inesswoman while bringing back the kampung spirit.

DOORS ALWAYS OPEN

M. Calvin Soh, regional executive director of an advertising agency, had always wanted his mother to share with others, especially children, the history of the house and Singapore as well as his recipes. before they are forgotten.

That's why the door leading to Mdm Ng's house in Telok Kurau is now unlocked. She welcomes everyone, regardless of the security risk.

"The more you want to close the door, the more curious the thief," she concluded. "We do not have any valuables, only paintings – they are so big – how to put them away?"

Strangers walked around without invitation in front of his doors to inspect his plants, while children chased butterflies into his garden. But in general, Singaporeans form a polite band and signal to her from the main gate to ask if they can enter.

From the outside, his two-story house seems stuck in the 1960s, with its art deco air intakes. against a light turquoise facade. Sandwiched between its contemporary neighbors, it looks like a quirk.

The interior has become a living museum, and Mdm Ng, known more affectionately as Mummy Soh, presents objects from the past to children.

heated by charcoal, a black and white photo of her marriage to her late husband, and a cast iron Singer sewing machine over 100 years old. It was her mother and she is still working, she says.

Apart from cooking classes for Airbnb Experiences, which mainly attract tourists ($ 99 per person), she organizes dinners about twice a week, in a kitchen-dining room.

A BUZZANT HOUSEHOLD

Three years ago, however, life could not be more different for Mummy Soh. She was about to retire to another country with a cooler climate and abundant vegetation, such as Australia, New Zealand or Thailand Chiang Mai.

She traveled to Singapore and took care of her two grandchildren. But after they went to school, there was less for her to do, said her son.

She wanted to sell the house, which saw four generations living under the same roof. But Mr. Soh persuaded him otherwise.

"I said:" It's your home; "but I thought it was a shame because the house was not just a physical structure, it also contained all the memories and stories and a sort of legacy, "said the minister.

His grandparents bought it in 1969, and he remembers growing up with six uncles and five aunts in a house always full of activities.

His grandfather was the sole breadwinner, and although they had the house, they were not rich

"I think that's where the seed of creativity started because my grandmother could do a lot with very little. She could reconfigure the leftovers and give them a different taste the next day, "said Mr. Soh. "We were very frugal."

Dinners were quick business for the big group and had to be done in two sessions. He said:

The more you spoke, the less food was on the table. So everyone ate and went away.

But the house was filled with love and community spirit, he added. They raised chickens, grew vegetables and even organized for a farmer to pick up their remains, to feed his pigs, in exchange for eggs every few months.

The house was next to kampungs with Malay, Eurasians and Chinese living all in one neighborhood. The mothers met and exchanged recipes while the children were making friends and walking around the kampungs, with their open and friendly door policy.

"We were looking for each other, and you could ask at the neighbor's house. What did you cook for lunch? "And the makcik (aunt) was saying," Oh, today I cooked nasi lemak . Bring your plate, "said Mr. Soh with a smile.

" It could be 20 cents, or we could return the favor next time. "

REINVENTING THE HOUSE

After the death of her grandparents in the 1980s, Mummy Soh ran the house because she was the eldest daughter. She buys the house so that the product can be distributed to her siblings.

She and her husband, who had moved into a public apartment about 10 years ago, sold it to return to their eldest son was 22 years old

He bought his own place in his thirties and then invited Mummy Soh to live with him, to take care of his children, his younger brother and an uncle live now in One Kind House

Despite all the memories, "Mummy Soh ends no more reason to keep the house, because almost all his brothers and sisters had moved

"I might as well sell it," she thought. "I have to spend my own money, no? I could travel or something else, no?"

It was at that time that Mr. Soh suggested reinventing the house, which would "allow my mother to find dignity, purpose and something to do, then find a way to communicate with children. And if that fails, she could still sell it.

His idea was to create a community center where young and old could exchange skills and ideas, where there would be a sense of collaboration as in the good old days.

"The elders would have to pass on a lot of their traditions and knowledge, and we should not lose sight of that," he said

"For children, they should learn this and understand where comes from, they would also be able to project the future and adapt to their own version of themselves. "

Using Food , he believed, would be a "fantastic way to understand his past." It took a year to convince, but Mummy Soh began by organizing dinners for family and friends.

"It was out She was always in a safe place where she was in a job with a map and a path drawn for her, "said Mr. Soh.

When she finally decided to take on the project, she thought that she would "just go with the flow". "Then it became more complex, and everyone liked it, and it just started," she said.

"They tasted food, they loved it and from there his friends went to his other friends of the mouth."

A DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE

Recreate that The kampung feeling, however, is not cheap. Mr. Soh spent about $ 300,000 to demolish the walls to create an open concept, raising the ceilings to emphasize the importance of cooking and making the garden self-sufficient.

His mother bought fresh ingredients from the market and ran the courses. To his surprise, some of the participants had only seen spice packs and wrapped coconut milk, but no spices in their natural form or how coconut milk was made.

"Then when they fry the spices, they say," Many things also reminded him that his food reminded them of their childhood. "

" Many have told me that their food cooked at the house was missing. Nowadays, when they work, they always receive food from the outside or they go to the restaurant.

Coincidentally, an Airbnb employee attended one of the dinners and recommended that she read her services with Airbnb Experiences, launched in Singapore.

Mummy Soh now offers a three-course meal, which includes dishes such as roast chicken, Teochew steamed fish, Assam shrimp and rice with blue flowers.

Many tourists told him that it was the first time. They entered the house of a person in Singapore and enjoyed the scenery, a step forward from just taking photos of the Peranakan shophouses along Koon Seng Road.

"They do not know what's in it. Can they see how many pieces (there are)? Can they see the structure inside? So, it's a different kind of experience (here). They like that, "she said

. She enjoys interaction with tourists and the exchange of ideas – about food, plants and even about how to create compost. An Australian group was so impressed by its salted duck soup that they asked for its recipe.

This is not the money that keeps her, she says.

I do it more for pleasure and passion. It's about meeting people and talking. You will feel better.

Positive comments aside, she received bricks from neighbors who were unhappy with the increase in noise and traffic and who complained to the Urban Redevelopment Authority

. She abided by the rules on small home-based businesses, with the exception of operating a small cafe for the public, which has since been shut down, she said.

His son found some odd complaints, as most of the tourists who were visiting were not driving, using rather private taxis or rental cars

" I am very used to objections and roadblocks, "he said. "When you come with something new, you have to face the loneliness of passing something in. The initial process is always dangerous, difficult and unknown."

INCUBATOR OF IDEAS

More than a business for his mother, the house has also become an incubator of ideas for the daughter of Mr. Soh, Ava, 12, and son Dylan, 15. They are working on their projects in one of the rooms on the floor.

Ava is a national skater who started sewing trousers for sale at 49 Singaporean dollars.

His brother gives motivational lectures, has launched some Kickstarter campaigns with his father and is now developing an app for adults to discover their inner child.

The boy feels deeply connected to the home, as generations of

He helps Mummy Soh regularly, taking care of the garden, taking guests around the house and even helping to make kedondong (a tropical fruit) pesto sauce when it's free.

"(This home) inspires me to be a start-up of my own because not on what is really what it does," he said. [19659037] "I am not stigmatized by the failure, as far as my projects are concerned, there is no failure, but there are some setbacks, but eventually I will know about it. Failure and I'll have to learn from that. "

To give back to the community, the family organized cooking classes for children of single parents and other M Soh

. However, he sees the house as having the greatest effect on his mother, who has become more active. The exposure to different cultures when she made friends with some visitors, a link on meals, was also priceless.

As a teacher all her professional life, she had never been enterprising and never thought she could start a business. Said Mr Soh.

"But as I said, Singapore itself is a start-up. It's in our genes. So once she had a taste, it came naturally to her. It was as if all the circuits were connected. And she said, "Yes, I can do all these things," he added.

Suddenly she was Miss Businesswoman.

Mummy Soh admitted that the opening of the house did wonders for her: happier or funnier.

She does not intend to do these dinners and cooking classes for a long time. And she still wants to sell the house while she is alive, to avoid any possible conflict on the house in the future.

"As long as my health is good, I can go on, if I find it too tiring, I should just stop," she said.