Orchard Road is to Singapore what Fifth Avenue is to New York and the Champs-Elysées is to Paris – one long stretch of shops, shopping centres and hotels, spanning from the top of the road where Plaza Singapura stands to the other end where Tanglin Road begins. But there is more to Orchard Road than just shops. It has a presidential palace, Botanic Gardens, sidewalk cafés, and a charming residential enclave filled with some of Singapore’s finest examples of Chinese Baroque shop- and terrace houses.
Orchard Road derives its name from the sprawling orchards of nutmeg and pepper that dominated the area in the 19th century. Plagued by frequent floods because of their location in a valley, the plantations were finally wiped out by a mysterious disease at the turn of the 20th century almost overnight. Stamford Canal – part of which runs below the pathway fronting Wisma Atria – was widened in 1965 to alleviate the flooding, and from then Orchard Road took off. Today the area is one of Singapore’s most coveted business and residential addresses, full of swanky shopping complexes and multimillion-dollar condominiums. The only vestiges of the past are found in the street names – inspired by plantation owners like Scotts, Cairnhill and Cuppage.
Shoppers on Orchard Road.
Vincent Ng/Apa Publications
Peranakan Place.
Vincent Ng/Apa Publications
Around Dhoby Ghaut
Orchard Road starts at the junction of Bras Basah and Handy roads. Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station marks the beginning of the road, once an area of grassy fields covered with linen left to dry in the sun by Indian-owned dhoby (laundries) that used to operate along the banks of the former Bras Basah Canal.
Facing the MRT station is the ageing redbrick MacDonald House 1 [map], built in 1949 for the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank and one of the first high-rise office buildings in the area. Most of the Victorian buildings that once lined this street have been bulldozed to make way for shopping malls. In stark contrast, next door are the shimmering office tower blocks and retail podium of Atrium @ Orchard, connected to Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station and Plaza Singapura.
Plaza Singapura is home to the Golden Village Cineplex, Cold Storage supermarket and a variety of low to mid-range dining options. Across the street at Penang Road is Park Mall, which specialises in furniture and hip home decor.
The Istana
Just beyond Plaza Singapura is the Istana 2 [map], the official residence of Singapore’s president. The palace and its sprawling gardens are strictly off limits to the public, except on National Day and certain public holidays, when the gates are thrown open to curious sightseers. The Istana was built in 1869 by the colonial architect J.F.A. McNair, and it served as the residence of the British governor until the island became self-governing in 1959.
Facing the Istana squarely is Istana Park 3 [map], dominated by an imposing steel sculpture flanked by garden courtyards of heliconia and lotus-filled ponds; a pleasant place to stop for a drink is at the park’s café.
Behind the park, at the corner of Clemenceau Avenue and Penang Road, is an old Chinese-style house. Now known as the Graduate School of Business, this was the former House of Tan Yeok Nee – a name more descriptive of its origins. Teochew cloth pedlar turned wealthy gambier and pepper merchant, Tan Yeok Nee built his elegant house in 1885. It is a rare example of a typical Chinese southern-style courtyard house, with a grand entrance and sloping roofs with spiral ornamentation. The national monument, after undergoing extensive restoration work, was taken over by the school in 2000; however, it is not open to visitors.
Shop
All of Singapore (and the region) comes out to shop during the Great Singapore Sale from the end of May to early July. It even has its own dedicated website: www.greatsingaporesale.com.sg.
Church of Sacred Heart
Further up Clemenceau Avenue on the right is Tank Road, where three institutions stand in testimony of Singapore’s polyglot character. First is the Church of the Sacred Heart 4 [map], one of the oldest Roman Catholic churches in Singapore (tel: 6737-9285; daily 7am–7pm). Founded in 1910 by a French priest, the whitewashed building is constructed in the French Baroque style. Just next door is the four-storey Teochew Building, which has a green-tiled Chinese roof and a design that is likened to the gong dian, or imperial courts, of China. It is the headquarters for the Teochew-speaking Chinese clan in Singapore.
Chettiar Temple
Further down the road is the Sri Thandayuthapani Temple 5 [map], better known as the Chettiar Temple (tel: 6737-9393; www.sttemple.com; daily 8am–noon, 5.30–8.30 pm). The temple, built in 1859 by the Chettiars, an Indian caste of moneylenders, is one of the Hindu community’s most important monuments. Take a good look at the 48 glass panels on the roof, designed to capture the rays of the rising and setting of the sun. It is also here, during the annual Thaipusam festival, that hundreds of pilgrims, their bodies pierced by hooks, spears and spiked steel structures called kavadi, end their walk from the Srinivasa Perumal Temple (for more information, click here) on Serangoon Road.
Just off Tank Road on Oxley Rise is the grandiose-looking Chesed-El Synagogue 6 [map] (tel: 6732-8862; open for Mon service at 7.30am, on Fri 6.45pm and Sat at 9.30am ), the second synagogue to be built in Singapore after Maghain Aboth (for more information, click here). It dates back to 1905 and was funded by Manasseh Meyer, a prominent Jewish businessman. The Jewish population in Singapore today only numbers a few hundred, having shrunk from a high of 2,500 in the 1930s. At one time, they are thought to have owned half of the rental property on the island.
Drink
All along Orchard Road, there is no shortage of open-air terrace cafés where you can stop for coffee. Most are located on street level or within shopping centres. They are also great places for people-watching.
Concorde Hotel to Centrepoint
Back on Orchard Road, a block from the Istana is Concorde Hotel (formerly Le Meridien Hotel), with an outdated shopping arcade and a food court on the lower level. Past the nondescript Orchard Plaza, filled with equally tired-looking shops, is Orchard Point, with department store OG as the anchor tenant. Flanking it is Cuppage Terrace, with restored shophouses turned into bars and restaurants. In the vicinity is another old shopping centre, Cuppage Plaza. Its many small but superb Japanese eateries and karaoke bars are frequented by Japanese businessmen. Further along is Centrepoint, home to Cold Storage supermarket.
Orchard Central
The Orchard Central site has an interesting history. From the mid-1960s to 1970s it was called Glutton’s Square, a popular open-air street-dining spot. It served as a car park by day and was transformed into a hawker centre in the evening. In its heyday, there were as many as 80 stalls selling local fare, such as char kway teow (fried rice noodles) and oyster omelette. The government eventually closed Glutton’s Square in 1978 because of poor hygiene conditions and relocated most of the stalls to Newton Circus hawker centre. The food stalls were revived during the 2004 Singapore Food Festival, but have since been relocated to the Esplanade and renamed Makansutra Glutton’s Bay.
Peranakan Place
Next door is charming Peranakan Place 7 [map], a complex of ornate Peranakan-style shophouses that have been transformed into a commercial hub. At its outdoor cafés and bars patrons can sip iced lemon tea and beer under a canopy while people-watching. More bar options (Alley Bar and Acid Bar) can be found in the adjoining shophouses. Lifestyle and home décor store CB2 is located on the second level.
Cuppage Terrace.
Vincent Ng/Apa Publications
Further down from Peranakan Place is another stretch of shophouses, housing a string of popular bars (including No. 5, Que Pasa and Ice Cold Beer). Take time to explore the lovely old restored terrace houses further up the slope on Emerald Hill 8 [map]. Once belonging to wealthy Peranakan families, the 30 or so homes on the slightly curved road were built between 1901 and 1925 in the so-called Chinese Baroque style (for more information, click here), typified by ornamental mouldings, shuttered wooden windows, pastel colours and colourful ceramic tiles. These houses were also the first to be given conservation status in 1981, which meant the owners could not alter their facades.
Look out for the four terrace houses, numbering 39 to 45, with forecourts and gates topped with an ornate Chinese roof. No. 45, designed by M.T. Moh in 1903, is particularly striking – it features a Chinese grand entrance that was carefully restored by Chinese craftsmen. Keep an eye out, too, for the richly carved door of No. 127.
Peranakan Place.
Vincent Ng/Apa Publications
Keen shoppers on Orchard Road.
Singapore Tourism Board
Mega-malls galore
Across the road are two shopping malls. Orchard Central’s layout is a little difficult to navigate, but the “super” escalators are designed to zip you up from the ground level to the different “clusters”: fashion, active lifestyle, food and so on. Smaller boutiques such as Know it Nothing that specialise in independent cult labels and menswear are housed here. If you’re tired of shopping, there’s also a loft climbing wall here. Within shouting distance is the busier 313@Somerset, which is linked to Somerset MRT. The main tenants include Zara, Forever 21 and Uniqlo, and there’s a massive Food Republic food court. The mall has a sheltered walkway-terrace called Discovery Walk, lined with cafés and bars like Brotzeit. Just next to 313@Somerset is Orchard Gateway (218 and 277 Orchard Road), which boasts the only overhead bridge along Orchard Road. It has full connectivity to the Somerset MRT and is also linked underground to the other side of this main shopping belt. It houses a hotel, retail stores, the Visitor Centre and National Library.
At the corner of Orchard and Grange roads, just behind the Meritus Mandarin Hotel, is Orchard Cineleisure, comprising a cineplex and entertainment arcades. Diagonally opposite Orchard Cineleisure on Somerset Road is Triple One Somerset, a quieter mall with a good line-up of eateries, beauty spas and salons. Back on Orchard Road, Meritus Mandarin Hotel’s swish shopping arcade, Mandarin Gallery, has a retail concept featuring designer labels and lifestyle offerings. Across the road is The Heeren building, which is occupied by the Robinsons Orchard department store. The six-storey store is a swankier than the older Centrepoint branch and offers upscale brands such as Manolo Blahnik, Vivienne Westwood, Tom Ford, Missoni and Red Valentino. A large department store with a history dating back to the 1850s, its original location was at Raffles Places until a fire broke out in 1972. Robinson’s has some of the nicest sales staff in Singapore, and its eagerly awaited biannual sales are a big attraction.
One block down is the Grand Park Orchard Hotel’s Knightsbridge shopping destination, offering more luxury goods to well-heeled shoppers.
Further along the same side of the road as Meritus Mandarin is the massive brown granite facade of Ngee Ann City, with its twin towers. One of Southeast Asia’s largest shopping malls, it has the Japanese Takashimaya department store and boutiques selling designer labels. The Louis Vuitton and Tiffany flagship stores are here, as well as a Harrods store from London and half a dozen excellent restaurants on its upper floors. Singapore’s largest bookstore, Kinokuniya, is found on the third floor. Linked to it by an underground tunnel is Wisma Atria, which houses the Japanese department store Isetan, as well as independent boutiques, eateries and another massive Food Republic food court.
Next to Wisma Atria is ION Orchard, its facade lined with double-storey flagship stores of swanky brands like Prada, Louis Vuitton, Dior and others. The mall is also crammed with other top retail brands, from Miu Miu to Muji. The complex is the tallest building on Orchard Road, with 48 floors of luxury residences above it. After browsing the many stores, head up to ION Sky on levels 55 and 56 to drink in the 360-degree city view.
Opposite Ngee Ann City is The Paragon, noted for luxury designer boutiques like Gucci and Escada, and other top brands like Banana Republic and Karen Millen. On the top floor are stores selling high-end kids’ clothes and Toys ‘R’ Us. The mall’s basement has a gourmet supermarket, the Paragon Market Place.
In contrast, across Mt Elizabeth Road is the dowdy Lucky Plaza, a complex of shops offering cameras, watches, luggage and cheap accessories. This happens to be a Sunday hangout for hundreds of Filipino domestic workers on their day off work.
The castle-like facade of Scotts Road’s Goodwood Park Hotel.
Goodwood Park Hotel
Adjacent to Lucky Plaza is Tangs Department Store 9 [map], below the high-rise pagoda-roofed Marriott Hotel, at the corner of Scotts and Orchard roads. The store was founded by C.K. Tang, a Chinese Teochew who made his fortune in the early 1900s by cycling from house to house selling China-made lace to English families. Tang built his first store in 1932 at nearby River Valley Road, offering oriental treasures and household goods. In 1958, Tang bought the land on which his store now sits for a song. The presence of a Chinese cemetery opposite his store didn’t faze him, even though his friends warned him about the bad feng shui.
His gamble paid off. Business outgrew the old building, and the new store, which kept the ornate roof, styled after Beijing’s Imperial Palace, is a well-loved Orchard Road icon. The five-storey store is particularly noted for its collection of skincare labels and wide range of trendy kitchen gadgets. The newly renovated food hall offers a range of casual local eats and snacks such as Krispy Kremes.
Tangs Department Store.
Vincent Ng/Apa Publications
Scotts Road
On the other side of the street, at the corner with Scotts Road, is Shaw House – home to another branch of Isetan department store and the Lido Cineplex. Next door is the quieter Pacific Plaza, with beauty care outlets and a yoga studio. Past the Royal Plaza on Scotts Hotel is the striking red DFS Galleria Scottswalk, a duty-free haven.
On the other side of the street is the Grand Hyatt Singapore. The entrance to the hotel is set at an angle that is supposed to usher in good luck and prosperity, according to feng shui experts (for more information, click here). The grand staircase in the lobby has 32 steps – a number that sounds like the phrase for “life is easy” when said in Cantonese. Pop into the hotel to have a Martini or cocktail at the Martini Bar, followed by a meal at mezza9.
Next door is Far East Plaza, a bit tatty around the edges but still popular. Its basement-level shops are filled with teen-friendly stores, while upstairs are a handful of tattoo and body-piercing shops.
Perched at the top of a gentle rise is the castle-like Goodwood Park Hotel ) [map], built in 1900 as the Teutonia Club for German residents in Singapore. Designed by R.A.J. Bidwell, this luxury hotel has had a long and interesting history: during World War II, the Japanese used the building as a military headquarters, and, in 1945, the British turned its premises into a war-crime court.
The lower end of Orchard
Back at Orchard Road proper, across from Shaw House is a stunning glass pyramid – Wheelock Place, a complex of offices and restaurants designed by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa. Marks & Spencer fills up the entire ground floor, and casual food outlets occupy the basement, which is linked to ION Orchard and Orchard MRT via an underground walkway.
Tip
Art fans can head to ION Orchard’s Level 4, touted as the largest art space in a mall. After that, head straight up via high-speed elevators to the ION Sky observatory on the 55th and 56th levels overlooking the bustling shopping belt. This is also where the new Salt Grill restaurant by celebrity Aussie chef Luke Mangan is located.
Next to Wheelock Place is Liat Towers, mostly noted for its Hermes and Zara stores. Starbucks, on the ground level, is always abuzz with people. Give tired Far East Shopping Centre a miss and head for the Hilton Hotel next door, whose shopping gallery is another designer label haven.
Across the road is Palais Renaissance, where the well-heeled shop and get their hair styled at the famous Passion hair salon by celebrity stylist David Gan. Another ultra-chic PS.Cafe outlet is located here.
Just next door again is the infamous Orchard Towers. Besides sundry shops selling jewellery, silk and clothing, this place is most known for its many floors of shoddy bars and nightclubs. Going on again, you get to Delfi Orchard, with mainly beauty salons and bridal boutiques. Opposite is family-oriented Forum The Shopping Mall, with a Toys ‘R’ Us outlet as well as other children-friendly stores and creative learning and activity centres. Those looking for stylish kids’ clothes can head to Guess Kids, DKNY Kids and Ralph Lauren Kids.
Tanglin Road
Tanglin Road marks the end of Orchard Road, but the dividing line has blurred somewhat, and Tanglin is often treated as an extension of Orchard Road. Just past Orchard Parade Hotel is Tanglin Shopping Centre, a great place to rummage for antiques and arts and crafts. Next to it is the upscale St Regis Hotel and across the road is the quaint Tudor Court, housing shops selling Asian artifacts and the French gourmet store Hediard. At the end of Tanglin Road is Tanglin Mall,which has an excellent Market Place supermarket frequented by expats.
Lit-up trees in Singapore Botanic Gardens.
Darren Soh/Singapore Tourism Board
Address: 1 Cluny Road; www.sbg.org.sg
Tel: 6471-7138
Opening Hrs: daily 5am–midnight
Entrance Fee: free
From Tanglin Mall, walk past the British, American and Australian embassies and Gleneagles Hospital along Napier Road and wind down at the Singapore Botanic Gardens ! [map] . Singapore’s oldest national park was set up in 1859 and today is known worldwide as a living museum of tropical plants, with over 2,000 species of trees and shrubs, and a centre for botanical research. Beautifully landscaped, with walkways winding around the expansive greenery, the gardens cover a sprawling 64 hectares (158 acres). It is the second patch of primary forest left in Singapore – Bukit Timah Nature Reserve (for more information, click here) is the other. Henry Ridley, its first director (1888–1912), developed the method of tapping the rubber tree here.
Tip
Explore the Botanic Gardens in the cool early morning air and watch out for the bird and animal life. Then join in the daily t’ai chi class (7–8am), followed by breakfast amid tropical greenery at Casa Verde (by the Les Amis Group). Besides breakfast and all-day dining menus, this terrace-café is also known for its pizzas.
The gardens make up three sections. The main Tanglin Core features lush rainforest, Swan Lake, an 1860s bandstand and bronze sculptures by the British sculptor Sydney Harpley. The Central Core has the National Orchid Garden (daily 8.30am–7pm; charge) – with more than 1,000 species of orchid (for more information, click here) – and also Palm Valley, where there are regular open-air musical performances. The Bukit Timah Core features the Ecolake and a spice garden. There is an astonishing range of bird life, and you may also spot squirrels and green crested lizards. Here, families can also visit the Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden (Tue–Sun 8am–7pm), designed to help kids below 12 discover more about plants and nature through fun-filled play and exploration. They can learn about photosynthesis in an interactive exhibit, climb up a tree house and get “lost” in a maze garden. Back at the Visitor’s Centre (tel: 6471-7361), pick up a gift at the souvenir shop or have a bite at the alfresco café, Casa Verde. About 10 minutes’ walk from the Botanic Gardens is the lush Dempsey Hill (Dempsey Road), a retail and dining enclave housed in an 1860s former British army barracks. Within three clusters are different blocks – some filled with stores selling antique furniture, fine teak works, carpets and art pieces, others occupied by popular restaurants, cafés and bars, including the famous Samy’s Curry.
Botanic Gardens.
Vincent Ng/Apa Publications