Singapore’s Tiong Bahru has a colourful past.
Source: Supplied
Char siew bao from Tiong Bahru Market houses.
Source: Supplied
“DO YOU know Tiong Bahru is also called Mei Ren Wo?” the elderly cab driver asked as he whisked me from Changi Airport to my boutique hotel on the edge of Singapore’s oldest neighbourhood.
“It means ‘den of beauties’ in Chinese and that was Tiong Bahru’s nickname before World War II because the richest men kept their mistresses there and the locals always knew who they were because the ladies would look perfect even when they were out doing their shopping.
“Some of those ladies still live in Tiong Bahru, they’re in their 80s and 90s now and have become icons of the neighbourhood.”
Tiong Bahru – the network of lanes bounded by Tiong Bahru Rd and Singapore General Hospital to the west of Chinatown – was established in the 1930s when the Singapore Improvement Trust built 30 low-rise buildings containing 900 apartments to accommodate the island’s expanding prewar population.
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The elegant structures were a mix of Art Deco and Straits shophouse architecture, with covered footpaths beside the family businesses at ground level and round balconies, porthole windows, geometric curves, metal trim, panels of opaque glass and shutters decorating the floors above.
Only the very rich could afford Tiong Bahru in the decade before the Japanese invaded Singapore in 1942, but the population tripled in the years after World War II, with the district losing its exclusive status to become a middle-class kampong, or village.
The neighbourhood lost a little more shine in the 1970s and ’80s when the boom years brought smart, high-density developments popular with a new generation of prosperous Singaporeans who left the old settlement to live in modern towers close to swimming pools, tennis courts and new schools.
But young people with a social conscience are returning to Tiong Bahru to embrace the kampong lifestyle in a neighbourhood that has not only retained its original elegant appearance, thanks to some insightful conservation laws, but a healthy dose of historic charm.
I heard about the spot on a visit to Singapore last year when the young PR executive at a luxury hotel told me it was the place hip locals went for coffee, with cafes like 40 Hands, The Orange Thimble and Drips making the best espressos in the Lion City.
And I was hooked after reading a CNN story that described the area as “Singapore’s oldest and hippest hood” providing “a mishmash of old and new Singapore”.
Maria and Colin Chua are two Singaporeans taking part in this Tiong Bahru revival, with the urbane couple opening White Canvas Gallery on Guan Chuan St and The Orange Thimble on Eng Hoon St as well as owning a collection of vintage Art-Deco units thoughtfully renovated to appeal to the new generation of residents.
“This place was built by the British to solve the housing problem gripping Singapore at the time,” Maria explained over coffee at The Orange Thimble. “I’ve been fortunate to see inside many of the houses around here and not only is the design unique but the architecture is interesting, so I can see why Tiong Bahru was an up-market place to live when the development was first built.
“We’ve been in the neighbourhood for a couple of years now and can see the population being transformed. There’s a rejuvenation happening with the older people moving out, because the blocks don’t have elevators and they can’t walk up and down the stairs to their units anymore, and younger people and expats are moving in because they appreciate the charm and legacy of the area.”
The Orange Thimble sits at the base of a three-storey building – near the corner restaurant at 57 Eng Hoon St where locals eat traditional Chinese porridge for breakfast – in what used to be a sewing shop cluttered with decades of fabric, buttons and ribbons.
Maria used “thimble” in the name to pay tribute to old storekeeper Madame Loh when opening the cafe-cum-gallery, and added orange in memory of the original brightly painted shutters and fire escapes on the surrounding buildings.
While a new retailer comes to town every month, opening trendy boutiques and quirky eateries to serve the suave professionals now calling the place home, there’s always room for the old hands, with do ens of long-established businesses still trading.
The shop next to The Orange Thimble sells nothing but crates of eggs, while the eatery on the corner of Eng Hoon St and Seng Poh Rd has a basic menu on display because the locals know the list of culinary offerings by heart, and the Golden Spoon in the carpark on Seng Poh Lane is said to be one of the best restaurants in the country.
The past may have made Tiong Bahru the happening place to drink coffee, but the market on Seng Poh Rd has been attracting foodies for decades and holds the honour of being Singapore’s first hawker centre.
Food courts are a huge part of Singapore culture, with at least a couple in every suburb feeding a population that doesn’t often cook at home.
The custom started during the early days of Tiong Bahru’s development when local hawkers were endlessly hassled by authorities keen to keep them off the new footpaths.
The street chefs objected, lobbied for a regular place to work, and were given space on the top floor of the complex above the fishmongers, greengrocers and butchers in the wet market at ground level.
Singapore’s matriarchs still flock to this market to buy fresh ingredients but more people congregate on the benches and plastic tables between the narrow kiosks in the hawker centre to eat local gourmet delights for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Another culinary masterpiece available at Tiong Bahru Market is a distinctive cup of coffee that, I was told, isn’t on offer anywhere else in the Lion City.
First the coffee beans are slowly roasted in butter, then the boiling brew is poured over a generous helping of condensed milk, and the resulting beverage is a bounty for those of us with a sweet tooth.
If the graceful architecture, colourful history, affable locals, emerging arts scene, smart shops and delicious food aren’t enough to get you to visit this Art-Deco sanctuary then I guarantee a cup of Tiong Bahru coffee from stall 238 in the market will do the job.
The writer was a guest of the Singapore Tourism Board.
Go2 – SINGAPORE
Tiong Bahru is part of downtown Singapore, 3km from the shops at the top end of Orchard Rd and a 25-minute drive from Changi Airport. Those relying on public transport to visit the neighbourhood should ride the MRT’s East West (green) Line to Tiong Bahru Station.
Wang Hotel (wang hotel.com) is one of the few accommodation options in Tiong Bahru, sitting at the intersection of Tiong Bahru and Outram roads a five-minute walk from Outram and Tiong Bahru MRT stations. It is a three-year-old property with 41 contemporary suites, restaurant, and scenic rooftop bar.
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