Exciting crowd around the Kachang Puteh man at the 2025 National Day Observance ceremony

At the 2025 National Day Observance Ceremony, excited SMU staff gathered around a vendor serving kachang putih, a beloved traditional street snack comprising an assortment of roasted, fried, and steamed nuts, beans, and crackers presented in paper cones. Popular varieties included sugar-coated peanuts, chickpeas, green peas, and murukku. Introduced to Singapore in the 1940s by immigrants from villages near Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, India, the trade became a familiar feature of local life. Although now a vanishing trade, kachang putih remains a nostalgic favourite for many who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, evoking fond memories of Singapore's multicultural heritage and community spirit.