Joys In The 'Hood

It’s hard to believe that a business hotel can become a celebrated part of the Lion City’s most diverse district, but the post-refurbishment InterContinental Singapore has done just that.

- Zaneta Cheng

TO BOOGIE AROUND the Bugis and Bras Basah neighbourhoods in Singapore’s bustling Rochor district is to exercise the senses, largely thanks to the vibrant area’s bustling culinary and cultural scenes. Strolling past the food stalls along Bugis Street, once a notorious haunt of sailors and transvestites, my olfactory glands tingle from waft after waft of succulent grilled treats here, and rich bubbling sauces there. Each stall busily rustles up delicacies from a different part of Asia, and golden-yellow Hainan chicken rice gleams beside delicious fried radish cakes – a signature Singaporean speciality – and steaming bowls of laksa.

Not too far away is the historical precinct of Kampong Glam, home to colourful Haji Lane and Arab Street in the city’s Muslim Quarter. Here, independent clothing shops have sprung up among conserved two-storey shophouses, home to many restaurants and purveyors of imported Middle Eastern perfumes and fabrics. In less than 20 paces, the latest top-40 international hits emanating from one store give way to Arabic instrumentals seeping out from another. Punctuating this web of Rochor streets are venerable buildings of faith, including Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho and Masjid Sultan, a Chinese temple and mosque respectively, which have coexisted harmoniously since the masjid’s completion in 1928.