Tiong Bahru Trivia
- Tiong Bahru was developed on a former cemetery.
- Due to its relatively central location, it was a popular neighbourhood for rich men to install their mistresses in the estate’s early years.
- The yong tau fu stall I mention in my Tiong Bahru essay still exists, but it is now manned by mainland workers in a tastefully modernised kopitiam. Without the company of my mother and the old man helming the stall, though, the yong tau fu no longer tastes as I remembered. If you are curious to try it, you can find it (and their other branches) here.
- The market where my mother liked doing her weekly shopping at opened in 1951, but it was closed for a complete overhaul in 2004. The new Tiong Bahru Market, which opened in 2006, looks contemporaneous with the art deco buildings in the vicinity but was actually designed to fit in with its surroundings. The wet market on the ground floor is famous for its fresh produce, and the hawker centre above it is well known for its cooked-food vendors. The Michelin Guide website even has a brief round-up of their top picks from the market.
- Flats built here before WWII have conservation status and have been privatised. Flats built after the war, however, are still considered public housing and have a 99-year lease on them. Even so, the record price for a public housing unit in a post-war block was S$1.5 million (US$1.1 million)!
Where to eat
A trendy Brazilian restaurant focused on ferments and gluten-free eating. The dadinhos (cheese and sago cubes) are excellent, as is the seafood mocqueca (seafood stew) and, if they still have them, try the soursop popsicles for dessert.
A cosy restaurant that specialises in Peranakan food, which is an interesting and unique hybrid of Chinese and Malay cuisines. Make sure to order the kueh pie tee (crispy pastry cups filled with bamboo shoots and shrimp) and curry fish head.
An excellent bakery and café; a perfect spot for brunch, a light meal, or a coffee break.
One of the first places in Singapore to focus on high-quality gelato and to feature local ingredients and flavours. Their waffle à la mode is very good. I'd suggest giving the Blue Pea Vanilla, Sea Salt Gula Melaka (sea salt with palm sugar), or Pulut Hitam (black glutinous rice) a try.
A zi char restaurant is an eatery that specialises in seafood (think chilli crab) and other wok-fried dishes meant for a family or a large group. Long Ji is just outside of Tiong Bahru, but the crab bee hoon (rice vermicelli) here is so good that I could not fail to mention it. You will ideally need three or more people to enjoy dining here as the dishes are large and meant to be shared.
