Michelle Li

37. India: Tiffin

When Granville Sharp (1824–1899) arrived in India, he joined the Commercial Bank of India. On 2 November 1858, he married Matilda Lincolne Sharp (1829–1893) in Bombay, India. Not long after their wedding, the Sharps arrived in Hong Kong on 25 December 1858. After working for a short time in the Hong Kong office, Sharp left …

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33. Fan-tan

An aspect of Chinese lives that Western writers of the 19th and 20th century often described was gambling. During his service in Singapore, J.D. Vaughan a variety of ways that Chinese gambled and mentioned that the Chinese had “an inherent love for gambling”.1 Chinese gambling games take many forms and show different degrees of sophistication. …

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32. Mahjong

The third day of the Chinese New Year is also known as 赤口 (Cantonese: cek3 hou2). Traditionally, it is believed that quarrelling will easily occur on this day, so it is not suitable for 拜年 (Cantonese: baai3 nin4) ‘pay New Year visits to relatives and friends’. Some people would go to temples to chin-chin joss …

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30. Cumsha(w)

 “Hong Kong prospère sous le signe de la cumshaw et le sourire des sing-song girls” (Hong Kong thrives under the sign of the cumshaw and the smile of the sing-song girls) was the topic of a 1948 issue of a French magazine. Hong Kong was under Japanese occupation for three years and eight months (December …

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28. Maskee

Not having a chance to feel the “spicy breezes” of Ceylon? Maskee, try Singapore – a country that is also full of diversity and spicy food. Four official languages: English, Malay, Tamil, and Chinese are recognized in Singapore. The Chinese communities constitute 74.1% of the total population in Singapore. Many them arrived in Singapore as …

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