Travel Sg - Joo Chiat

What do one do when cannot run and got time to spare early in the morning on a beautiful weekend? Go jalan jalan lah. So on a nice Saturday morning while waiting for the Princess to finish her supp in school (whatever happened to 5 days work week?) found myself in a quaint little place in the east of Singapore.

Joo Chiat in Katong used to be home to Peranakan or Nonyas and till this date it still retains some of the nice charming building that is so peculiar to their culture. Sadly though, in the past few years, it has become infamous for its bevy of non-residents from another region in South East Asia although much of it has now been cleaned up.

Joo Chiat's other claim to fame is of course food. Here, apart from what is found along East Coast Road, in Joo Chiat itself there are a few famous eateries like Fei Fei Wanton Mee, which now has 2 outlets about 50 metres apart from each other; Puteri Mas - famous for its durian puff; Obolo - cheesecake and macaroon; a few pork rib soups outlets and of course Guan Hoe Soon where you can find authentic peranakan food at very decent price. Towards the end of Joo Chiat Road nearer to Haig Road, there are a sprinkling of Muslim food outlets but generally along the whole stretch there is a fair mixture of food to cater to all taste.

But this is not about food [surprise surprise]. It is about the nice buildings you can find along the stretch

The beautiful tiles and carvings on the building which has all but disappear from the rest of Singapore

There are still a sprinkling of traditional craft shop such as furniture makers, hardware and this paper mache shop which specialises in making 'Big House'.

And of course there is the ubiquitous KTV 'lounge'

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