Chinatown Revisited NOVEMBER 15, 2016 BAREFOOT THOTS Every big city has its “Chinatown”, with its enclave of ethnic Chinese, streets lined with sundry shops, crafts, and the usual offings of stereo-typical Chinese food which tastes anything but…to the discerning. Singapore, with its predominantly Chinese population has a Chinatown, no less. It is better known as Nu Che Shui , named after the bullock carts that carry water to the residents that lived here. Kreta Ayer, a nearby precinct, means the same thing in Malay. When I was little, my parents would take me to Chinatown for their favorite meal of porridge with spare parts and raw fish, local style, with sesame oil, lime, chopped onions and chilli. I can still recall walking through the wet market and chancing upon frogs, turtles and other livestock being skinned and slaughtered. I also remember there were many old people milling around. Decades later, Chinatown will be the sad result of too much tweaking in the name of to...