The changing face of Joo Chiat

Check out new themed bars and Muslim-friendly eateries in the hip neighbourhood

- Cherie Lok

Joo Chiat, a neighbourhood in the east coast of Singapore, where colour runs riot and time seems to slow, is built on contradictions.

Heritage and modernity sit cheek by jowl. Family-friendly offerings try to muscle out KTV businesses that once gave the street its seedy reputation.

To residents like Ms Tan Li Ming, who has lived here all her life, this is part of its charm.

New entrants help breathe life into an old space. “It’s good for the neighbourhood. It gives people more options. It’s nice that you don’t really have to travel out of the neighbourhood to enjoy your day off on the weekend,” says the 36-year-old associate scientist.

Mr Edvarcl Heng, a 45-year-old publicist and resident of over five years, concurs, calling the mix of businesses balanced.

“It is visually interesting to take a walk and, within 10 minutes, see a French bakery between a Vietnamese banh mi shop and a Chinese medical hall. Then you walk farther and there is a hawker centre preceding an entire row of modern eateries,” he says.

“I am used to it, but to anyone new, it is an explosion of experiences. The real Singaporean rojak.”

With its lively community and rich history, it is easy to see why businesses are drawn to Joo Chiat. And its coolness was recently codified when British hospitality group Time Out named it one of the coolest streets in the world in November.

Ms Lynn Tay, 45, founder of banh mi shop The Viet Roti, says residents here are game for creativity.

Mr Brandon Grusd, 39, who runs weekend-only bar Dutch Door, has “massively fallen in love” with Joo Chiat. He says: “It’s the kind of community where you know people by their names and their dogs. There’s a texture here — it feels like the coast. People are more inclined to experiment.”

NEW KIND OF NIGHTLIFE

There is a cosiness to the neighbourhood, palpable everywhere, from its semi-fine restaurants to swanky speakeasies.