"Imagination sets in, pretty soon I'm singing: Doo, doo, doo, looking out my back door."

I am always fascinated by the backdoor culture of shophouse. By definition, it falls under "vernacular architecture in South East Asia", however just think about traditional houses in Hoi An and you get a fair idea of what it looks like. To me, Singapore preserves those shophouses quite well, with about 80-90% of them turning into bars, boutiques, cafes, offices in the central area. Only a small number made it to residential use. They're either super old-school or supurrr chic, but that's another story

The front, needless to say, is people's impression of shophouses. Beautifully preserved, humble, intricate patterns or a bold coat of paint... It could be a Peranakan restaurant with orchids blossoming on front door, could be a hip bar with graffiti spreading like vines on the wall. As such, the back is often left unsaid.

2 rows of shophouses always share a backyard, that's where all this ramblings come from.

That's where I could sneak-a-peek into a restaurant's kitchen seeing everybody rushing up almost naturally, unlike the rather calm manner we often expect from waiter and waitresses. That's where chefs and all staff rest their neck, light a fire or share a chit-chat in between shifts. Where the most unexpected, unusual, most interesting thing could be found: giant tyre, mannequins, herbs, broken TV set... It's a personal kind-of-showcase, sometimes discreet yet everybody could just venture in for a change of scenes, anytime of the day, no entrance fee (although I do receive a few glances once in a while).

I told myself I had to do a proper shoot some day, but grahhhh until that day comes please bear with me, my phone and the lousy retouch. I just made a detour this morning and couldn't help documenting them. Better start than "when I have time..."