Sago Sago Sago is a starch extracted from the spongy centre, or pith, of various tropical palm stems, especially that of "Metroxylon sagu". It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Moluccas, where it is called "saksak", "rabia" and "sagu". The largest supply of sago comes from Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia and Malaysia. Large quantities of sago are sent to Europe and North America for cooking purposes. It is traditionally cooked and eaten in various forms, such as rolled into balls, mixed with boiling water to form a glue-like paste (papeda), or as a
Sago Lane textile starch and hospital food. After processing, it was mostly re-exported to Europe and India. Sago became a staple export item for Singapore in 1834. In 1849, there were 15 Chinese and 2 European Sago factories in the area.Sago lane and Sago street became a prosperous manufacturing centre. During the 1850s, there were thirty sago factories in the town which had a total output of 8,000 tons annually. Many of the sago factories were in the Sago Street area. Sago lane in particular, was occupied by the Cantonese. Many of these factory workers lived in the area of these factories,