Home to endless supper spots, hip bars and plenty of late-night activities (some less savoury than others), the streets of Singapore remains a hive of activity long after the sun goes down. Here’s our guide to neighbourhoods around town that truly come alive after dark.
30 Aug 2013: Famous for housing Singapore’s official (and legal) red-light district, Geylang consists of 42 perennially busy lorongs (streets) branching off the main Geylang Road – look out for the even numbered lanes, which is where the brothels are situated (from Lorongs 4 to 22). To ensure that patrons don’t go knocking on some unsuspecting family’s door, brothels are marked with large red numbers. For those not searching for flesh, however, there are plenty of other draws to the area at all hours – the main drags of Sims Avenue and Geylang Road host numerous restaurants and shops open 24 hours a day. Even in nearby family-friendly Kallang, games and activities are open late into the night – does anybody sleep around here?
EAT
There are plenty of late night cheap eats in the area – the most famous probably being island-wide favourite Wen Dao Shi (126) Dim Sum (126 Sims Ave, 6746 4757; Daily 24hr), which serves up its wares 24 hours everyday and is usually packed even in the wee hours. Its name puns on both its street number and the Cantonese phrase for ‘we’ve found food’, and once you manage to get a seat and order up (the menu is in Chinese, but has pictures), however, you’ll understand why there’s a perpetual queue outside. Cooking up everything from century egg porridge to all sorts of sweet and savoury ‘baos’ and much, much more, this is the ultimate place for late night comfort food.
For more cheap eats, seek out Liudama Charcoal BBQ (260 Geylang Rd, 6747 4744; Mon-Wed 4pm-4am; Thu-Sun 4pm-5am), which provides the popular Chinese street snack of chuan’r – meat sticks barbecued over a flame and seasoned with spices. You can even opt to grill the meat yourself – the pits are already built into the table and you can guarantee that each stick is piping hot. Make sure you add plenty of seasoning, too.
Alternatively, try Geylang Lor 9 Beef Kway Teow (237 Geylang Lor 9, 9388 0723; Daily 4.30pm-2.30am), which gets a full house and a drooling queue deep into the night, as loyal fans come for their juicy, tender meat-and-noodle fix – a common hawker staple. Prices have gone up by a dollar recently and a plate of it – which you can opt to have with kway teow or dry crispy noodles – will now set you back $6, but it’s still good.
There’s also non-streetfood options, such as The Tuckshop (403 Guillemard Rd, 6744 8441, http://www.thetuckshop.com.sg; Daily 5pm-1am), recently opened. Founded by five long-time area residents, the bistro-bar embodies the concept of East-meets-West in their food with a common Singapore-inspired thread running throughout.
DRINK
Drinks-wise, The Tuckshop is also a fantastic place to chill out over beer – it serves a wide range of artisanal and craft beers from around the world. Find a seat at any of the old school desks and funky chairs at the venue; otherwise a long communal table down the middle is great for larger groups.
For a cheap, cheerful and delicious way to quench your thirst – and satisfy your sweet tooth at the same time – get a bowl of silky smooth tau huay fromRocher Beancurd (745 Geylang Rd, 6748 3989, Daily 24hr). Opened round the clock, you can pick either the hot or cold version of their beancurd or have a cup of soya bean milk – all for less than $3. There are a few seats outside the stall if you’re lucky, but otherwise just get a bowl and slurp as you go. Other desserts such as egg tarts or dough fritters are available if you fancy something a bit more solid.
SHOP
Aside from the working girls, Geylang is also one of the best places to go for durians. Whether you think they’re the king of fruits or a smelly, spikey abomination, you’ll find that there is no shortage of stalls selling them as you wander around the Geylang area, each one lit by enough fluorescent light bulbs to recreate a bright summer’s day. One of the biggest and most reputable ones along the stretch is the reassuringly-named Wonderful Fruit Enterprise (147 Sims Ave, 6474 0191; Daily 5pm-late). It’s got plenty of seating and free water, but it is also one of the most expensive places around, with prices going up to $22 per kg for Mao Shan Wang durians.
And should you ever get the urge to buy a goldfish in the middle of the night, look no further than the 24-hour Se7en Star Aquarium (259 Geylang Rd, 8629 2904; Daily 24hr), which boasts of a selection of fish in all shapes, colours and sizes – it’s great entertainment checking them out, regardless. The ‘menu’ outside the store offers Catfish, the more exotic-sounding Baby Snake Head Fish, frogs – as well as a selection of baits such as prawns (‘live or frozen’) and crickets. Another branch of the same shop is located at Jurong East.
DO
There are plenty of family-friendly activities to do in the area as well. For a one-stop-shop of entertainment, the colourful Leisure Park Kallang (5 Stadium Walk, 6242 1220, www. leisurepark.com.sg; Daily 11-1am) has it all. While its shops and restaurants close at 10pm daily, there’s still plenty to do for night owls – you can catch a movie at the FilmGarde Complex (seewww.fgcineplex.com.sg for times), challenge your mates to a few games of bowling at Kallang Bowl (Sun-Thu 9-1am, Fri, Sat & PH eve 9-3am), or even go ice-skating until midnight on selected days at Kallang Ice World (Sun-Thu 10am-10pm, Fri, Sat & PH eve 10am-midnight).
If you fancy a game of football in the middle of the night, The Cage (38 Jln Benaan Kapal, 6344 9345, http://www.2009.thecage.com.sg; Daily 24hr. Weekdays before 6pm $54/ hr; weekdays after 6pm & all day weekends $96/hr; packages available) is your best bet. Founded in 2009, this is the first indoor football stadium in Singapore and has six five-a-side pitches – complete with FIFA- and UEFA-endorsed artificial turf, plus facilities such as showers. If footie isn’t your thing, you can also try cage cricket here (the same as normal cricket – just indoors). All equipment is provided, but you are welcomed to bring along your own music and blast it out on their boom box to get in the mood. Bookings can be made through their website or by phone.
After a workout, you might need a massage – and the two-storey G Spa (#02-02, 102 Guillemard Rd, 6280 8988, http://www.gspa.com.sg; Sun-Thu 11am-11pm, Fri & Sat 11am-3am) is your place. Open until the wee hours on the weekend, it’s billed as a ‘one-stop spa experience’, with everything from massage treatments to sauna, pool and gym facilities. The entry fee also allows access into the lounge, where you can enjoy free-flow food and drink. (Admission fees $58 for members; $78 for non-members. Spa treatments start from $98 for members; $125 for non- members. Membership packages start from $500.)
GWEN PEW 