Tang Ai Wei
Lifestyle Correspondent, Lianhe ZaobaoArticles by Tang Ai Wei
Society
How Peking duck went from imperial Beijing to Singapore’s kopitiams
Once a delicacy savoured at imperial banquets, Peking duck has shed its exclusivity and reinvented itself for the masses — evolving in style, price and ritual as it finds an unexpected new home in the heartlands. Lianhe Zaobao lifestyle correspondent Tang Ai Wei finds out more.
Tang Ai Wei
15 May 2026
Culture
Breaking Hell’s Gate: The vanishing rituals of Taoist funeral priests
Cantonese Taoist funeral priests, or nam mou sifu, were known for their physical feats such as walking over hot coals, plunging their hands into boiling oil and climbing knife ladders. While today’s priests may no longer do all this, it is still a demanding job that not everybody can do. Lianhe Zaobao lifestyle correspondent Tang Ai Wei speaks to one of the last nam mou sifu in Singapore.
Tang Ai Wei
12 Sep 2025
Culture
Teochew rice drawings: Capturing the divine in grains of rice
During religious rituals at Teochew charitable halls, intricate images of religious figures and symbols are created, not with ink, but with rice grains. Crafting these rice drawings requires skill, attention to detail, dexterity and artistic talent. Lianhe Zaobao lifestyle correspondent Tang Ai Wei speaks with several rice drawing artists and discusses the traditional art form.
Tang Ai Wei
29 Aug 2025
Society
A Foochow coffee boy’s journey through Singapore’s kopitiam history
At 12, Choo Ee Choo came to Singapore from Fuzhou and began life as a kopi kia in Balestier. Now 80, he recalls a time when brewing coffee was a guarded craft, and the Foochow Coffee Restaurant and Bar Merchants Association helped settle disputes and support the community. For Choo, coffee wasn’t just a drink — it was a way of life, even for the poorest coolies with only half a cup to spare. Lianhe Zaobao lifestyle correspondent Tang Ai Wei finds out more.
Tang Ai Wei
11 Jul 2025
Society
Tanghao plaques on HDB doors reveal family names and roots
If you have ever come across a plaque above a doorway with Chinese characters, you might be looking at a tanghao, or an ancestral hall name that traces back to somewhere in China. Lianhe Zaobao lifestyle correspondent Tang Ai Wei introduces a tradition that reveals more than expected.
Tang Ai Wei
06 Jun 2025
Culture
Pork at the table, not at the altar: A Chinese Singaporean clan’s Muslim legacy
Despite generations living in Singapore, the descendants of the Guo clan from Baiqi, Fujian, China, remain close-knit while assimilating Chinese cultural and Muslim customs. Lianhe Zaobao lifestyle correspondent Tang Ai Wei speaks with clan members to find out how they keep the kinship ties alive in Singapore.
Tang Ai Wei
23 May 2025
Culture
The last hand-painted archways in Singapore: A family legacy
Painter Leong Fong Wah, 70, is holding on to a dying craftsmanship, continuing his father’s legacy of painting and building decorative archways. Lianhe Zaobao lifestyle correspondent Tang Ai Wei finds out how his traditional craft is surviving in an increasingly computerised and outsourced industry.
Tang Ai Wei
16 May 2025
Society
From Fujian to Singapore: The Chen clan’s legacy of toil, tofu and tenacity
From Fujian’s Dongtou village to Singapore’s wet markets, generations of the Chen clan built a life selling bean sprouts and tau kwa. Now, as their food legacy fades, one man keeps the tradition alive while others race to preserve 800 years of family history across the diaspora. Lianhe Zaobao lifestyle correspondent Tang Ai Wei finds out more.
Tang Ai Wei
09 May 2025
Culture
[Big read] Finding ancestral roots: A growing interest among Singapore’s younger generation
Singapore-born Chinese descendants embark on root-seeking journeys to their ancestral hometowns, exploring their heritage and gaining a deeper understanding of the arduous journey their ancestors made to Nanyang. Lianhe Zaobao lifestyle correspondent Tang Ai Wei finds out more from Singapore individuals that have made the eye-opening trips.
Tang Ai Wei
21 Mar 2025
Culture
Young Singaporeans injecting new life into Chinese temple culture
Temple-goers are often the elderly and it is hard to associate temple culture with the younger generation. But some young people who grew up visiting temples and soaking in its symbols and atmosphere have taken up the mission of passing down this culture. Some of them "saved" temples that were forced to relocate, while others became craftsmen who work on restoring damaged or discarded idols. Yet others collect figurines like artworks. In their own way, each of them is continuing the heritage of temple culture.
Tang Ai Wei
31 Mar 2023