Culinary Inspirations: Waterloo Street treats

Murtabak is one of the dishes the writer used to savour on her trips to Singapore. – Filepic

My parents returned to Malaya in September 1949, after living several years in London. My father was appointed First Assistant District Officer for Johor Bahru on 1 Oct 1949, and was subsequently transferred to the judiciary as a first- Class Magistrate on 28 March 1950. We lived in Johor Bahru for three years at 54 Jalan Dato Menteri, in a single-story wooden government bungalow, which was spacious and airy, and rested on large stone pillars.

My father would take us to Singapore, at least once a month, to see a movie. Lunch would always be at the hawker stalls along Waterloo Street, one of Singapore’s oldest streets.