When Hoo Ah Kay, a Chinese businessman, bought land along Serangoon Road to build his bungalow house in 1840, this area was still, at that time, considered the outskirts of the town even though it was only 2.5 miles (4 km) away from the Singapore River area.
Here, he also cultivated an orange plantation, a fruit orchard and a beautiful Chinese garden which was laid out by gardeners from Canton. In Whampoa's time, this was one of the showpieces in Singapore that were extremely popular with European tourists. It was called Whampoa's Gardens or Nam Sang Fa Un.
A year after Whampoa's death, the house was sold to Mr. Seah Liang Seah, a wealthy businessman and a prominent member of the community. He renamed it Bendemeer House. In memory of his numerous contributions to the community, the Municipal Council named the road nearby Bendemeer Road. Over the years, the house deteriorated and was eventually demolished to make way for a new housing estate in the early 1960s, which is today's Boon Keng Housing Estate.