I LEFT MY HEART…….IN SINGAPORE!
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Most of us know that Tony Bennett left his heart
in San Francisco. But did you know that restaurateur Tai Lian Lee left his in
Singapore? For despite living the best part of three decades in Paris -
considered by many to be the world’s most beautiful city - the 46 year old
Singaporean entrepreneur still yearns for the narrow alleyways of Geland(?) and
the backstreets of Tamponi(?) where he spent his formative years.
Not that Lee was sorry to have set sail from
Singapore. But that was back in 1965 when he was just 19 years old. And in any
event when he abandoned Asia for Europe he did so with the most noble of
aspirations. With his father unable to fulfill his role as family breadwinner
after a nasty road traffic accident which almost cost him his life, Lee
immediately downed tools and headed for Holland. Quite literally, in fact,
because he happened to be working as a carpenter’s apprentice at the time.
"My father’s bike was completely crushed
under the wheels of a lorry", Lee recalls. "Having broken his legs
and hip, we were advised that it was going to be several years before he could
work again. Not surprisingly, my mother was really worried. As the oldest son I
naturally wanted to help. I had heard from neighbours that Holland was meant to
be a good place to find work and earn money. So I left for Amsterdam, where I
went into catering. It was the first time I had left Singapore. But if I am
honest with myself I was really quite happy to be starting something new - it
seemed like a big adventure at the time.
Catering is one way of putting it. Chief dish
and bottle washer was probably nearer the mark. Working his way around the
Chinese restaurants of Amsterdam, Lee soon found himself thrown in at the deep
end, being called upon to make rice and other dishes as and when other
employees failed to turn up or took time off on sick leave. And before you
could say satay or popy-en(?) he had reinvented
himself as a cook, and a sought-after cook at that. Mailing money orders home
without fail every month, Lee made up his mind early on that there would only
ever be one way to increase his own earning potential: to work for himself
rather than appearing on someone else’s payroll. But in the event it would take
him eighteen years of sweating over other peoples’ hot stoves before being able
to realize his ambition. And when, finally, in 1986, he did open his own
premises they would be in the French capital rather than the Dutch.
"Paris is the gastronomic capital of the
world", Lee admits, "and so it was only natural that it would take
the French some time to acquire a taste for our cuisine."
Eleven years down the line and if you want a
table at Lee’s Restaurant Singapour, situated in the city’s chic
17th arrondissement (and just a stone’s throw from the
Champs Elysées) then you had better book up in advance. The only Singaporean
restaurant in Paris, Lee’s dishes are particularly well-received by the French
- not generally known for the bandying about of compliments when it comes to
the entirely serious business of gastronomy - who now form the backbone of his
clientele. And there is more good news: a mere 75 francs (approx $10 US) will
buy you a set four course meal consisting of nems, Satay Singapore or Rendang
Curry or Sambal with Singapore Sauce, followed by banana, apple or pineapple
caramel (parcel-pinkel?) for dessert. All of this to be washed down by imported
Singapore Tiger Beer - of course.
Lee is understandably proud of what he has
achieved - although he is quick to point out that its been very much a family
affair from the outset - with his wife acting as cashier and teenage sons Min
See and Min Lui helping out whenever they can during time off from school. In
fact Mrs. Lee was born and brought up in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur,
although she met her husband in Paris. A graduate of the Nanyang Academy in
Singapore, where she studied Fine Art, her works of Chinese lakes, Malay oil
paintings and water-colours adorn the walls of the restaurant and provide a
rich and colourfully authentic atmosphere of the Orient which goes down a treat
with the locals. Mrs. Lee has even managed to smuggle one or two Malay dishes
onto the menu, although her husband makes a point of cutting down on the amount
of chili used in order to make it more acceptable to French stomachs, more used
to digesting creams and cheeses than sauces and spice.
Although the Lees’ romance blossomed in
Paris, they married in Singapore, where they had a traditional Chinese wedding.
Mr. Lee still makes a point of returning home once every three years, during
which time he shuts up shop and flies back to visit his aging parents for a
period of one month. His father, who happily effected a full recovery (although
complications saw to it that he remained hospitalized for no less than 4 years)
has himself made the pilgrimage to Paris on more than one occasion.
"We always fly out on Singapore
Airlines," the good Mr. Lee notes with more than a hint of national pride.
"I have always found that they arrive on time and serve you well."
So have their many years in France ensured
that slowly but surely the Lees have become French in everything but name?
Hardly.
"We still lead a Chinese way of life
over here", Mr. Lee concludes. "I still have my own flat in Singapore
at a place called Par-Simbok(?) - although its rented out at the moment. I will
leave France to retire there one day. I miss my country a lot - I think about
it all the time. My family and friends have remained in Singapore too. I might
well have spent the best part of a quarter of century in France. But I can tell
you where my heart lays - in Singapore. It always will. Because if there’s one
thing in life of which I am sure, its that there really is no place like
home."
Restaurant Singapour
4, Rue de la Félicité
Paris 75017
Telephone: + 33 (0) 142 27 71 15
Métro: Malesherbes
The main Web site of freelance writer Jeremy
Josephs is at www.jeremyjosephs.com Please check there if you might be interested in
engaging him as a writer.
Many of his articles are available online.
Please check the sitemap
for a complete list.