MyQueenstown Blog

We live in between worlds - Holland Road with its swanky associations, and Queenstown with its working class and historical roots. Some go left, others go right. For those who head towards Queenstown to buy their groceries, eat, shop, walk around, there's a blog set up by Queenstowners that may be of interest to you. Especially those who love Margaret Drive.

The blog address is: http://myqueenstown.blogspot.com/

You might like to know that the old NTUC at Margaret Drive will be closed soon, and the next nearest NTUC will be the one at Dawson Place. The hawker centre there's going to be gone too, I think demolition of the HDBs there - one of the oldest in SG - and the centre should begin in June this year. Go check it out before it's all gone.

Tags: MyQueenstown blog, Myqueenstown, queenstown, viz@holland, viz holland, viz @ holland, singapore, queensway

Goodbye to Parts of Margaret Drive

I blogged about this little locale nearby called Margaret Drive, back in October 2009 (blogpost here). It looks like parts of it, especially Blk 6C (where the skateboard shop is) to the food court with the really nice chicken rice, you tiao, poh piah, etc, will be demolished in July this year.

Let's just hope the eager government doesn't decide to send the wrecking ball to the historical Queenstown library. What community history do we have left, when all these are gone and all that's left is a plaque on some new shiny building?

To remember this place, here's some photos from Flickr shutterbugs of Margaret Drive. I only do this because their shots are so much nicer than mine :) Click on the links to see their photos.

Blk 6C by Royale wif Cheese
Margaret Drive and Queensway by ah__ling
Photodocumentary of Blk 6C by hidesphotography
Margaret Drive by hsalnat
Margaret Drive Food Centre by eve+line and others
Margaret Drive & Queenstown Library by davidktw
Margaret Drive by xtemujin (Check out the lion statues)


For some, it's hard to say goodbye
05:55 AM Dec 04, 2009
Today Online (source)
by Esther Ng

SINGAPORE - They have seven more months to live in their flats, and even though they have secured swish new abodes in Dawson Estate, the residents of Margaret Drive would rather stay put.

"I've lived here for 40 years. I'd rather not move if I could," said Madam Tan Kah Tian, 73.

"The new place is as cramped as a dog kennel," piped in her friend, 76-year-old Madam Liao.

It is a common refrain among residents.

Blocks 6C, 39A and the 40-year-old food centre at Margaret Drive will go under the wrecker's ball in July next year - all part of plans to rejuvenate Dawson Estate.

Block 6C looks like a slum, with windows and doors of shops boarded up, save for six businesses among them, including a provision shop, a plastic-bag wholesaler and a skateboard shop.

Located just opposite the Fishermen of Christ Fellowship and Church of Our Saviour - where the cinemas Golden City and Venus used to be - the 16-storey block with a row of shops on the ground floor was a hive of activity in the 1970s.

"Even without looking at my clock, I could tell when it was 6pm or 7pm just by the noise from cars exiting the cinema and traffic trying to get in," said retired primary school teacher Chua Khong Leng.

According to Mr Chua, 73, the "piecemeal" closure of the estate's amenities has hastened its demise.

"The closure of the wet market inconvenienced the residents. Then a few years later, Ta Chong emporium was torn down and along with it went the banks, post office and Crown Restaurant."

Those were the days

Back in the '70s, Margaret Drive was a bustling town centre. There was a food centre, a community library, Mont D'or cake shop, the cinemas, a bowling alley, as well as the emporium and restaurant that Mr Chong mentioned.

Some residents remember the squeals of children playing catch or hide-and-seek, or piggy-backing the stone horses.

Now, the only sign of activity is youth practising their moves in the afternoons at the open space in front of Mr Eddie Goh's skateboard shop, Go Sports, or students from Queenstown Secondary School patronising the roadside ice-cream vendor or Mr Alaudeen Mohammed Yasin's provision shop.

"When I set up shop in 1990, we got funny stares from the other shopkeepers, but they saw the kids weren't doing any wrong and left us alone," said Mr Goh. "Some of the old residents liked having them around as they looked out for the old folks and added life to the estate."

By the 1990s, Margaret Drive was an ageing town as many of its young had grown up, got married and moved to bigger flats in newer housing estates.

The 56-year-old Mr Goh admits that he will miss the cheap rents of $1,200 per unit - he has three units - but will operate his business from a shophouse he bought in Holland Close.

Mr C K Chua, 54, who has lived in his three-room flat since 1969, was at a loss for words trying to explain his reluctance to move out of the neighbourhood. He said wistfully: "It's quiet and the people are friendly. Besides, can you get unobstructed views like this when the morning sun greets you as you open your front door?"

From Mr Chua's 10th floor unit, condominiums along River Valley glisten in the distance. Those were not there 30 years ago, nor the new Queenstown flats, he said.

His father, Mr Chua senior, 91 and formerly from the Royal Army Medical Corps, pointed out a rectangle slot at the bottom of the flat's door that the postman used to drop mail through.

Over at the food centre, stallholder Mr Lee, 65, who sells butterfly pancakes and sesame balls, said he has been working at his stall for 40 years.

"I'll still carry on working even after I move out," he said.

While most are nostalgic about the neighbourhood, resident K K Chong, 36, is among the few who are upbeat about the estate's rejuvenation.

"My parents bought this flat when we heard it was slated for HDB's Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme, and now we're moving into a four-room flat in Dawson."

Tags: Margaret Drive, viz holland, viz @ holland, singapore, queensway, viz@holland, Dawson Estate, Urban Redevelopment

White Chair under a Raintree

I think most blocks face this piece of open land right in front of Viz... the ONLY reason why we still have a nice green view of the surrounding neighbourhood...



And not the view of a condo next door (eg Holland Peak). According to assorted rumours (originating largely from my parents, whose memories are becoming increasingly suspect), this land, noticeable by the single white plastic chair located under a beautiful raintree, used to belong to the Malaysian High Commission. People of my parents' age (ie 60s-70s) may remember this location along Queensway as the place you went to get your visa to visit Malaysia. So if this is true, it's 'Malaysian' land.

Notice how it's still well-kept... there's regular gardening going on there. So it belongs to someone. I wonder why was it that when Sim Lian bought over the old condo that used to be at Viz, they didn't buy over that land in front of it. After all, we own that tiny strip of land that gives us a pathway to the main Queensway road, right next to the Queensway Water Booster Station. Maybe the Malaysians refused to sell the land?

Let's just hope that they will continue to keep this land empty, and not build (a) a whooping huge condo to completely ruin our view and block the morning sun (b) a mosque (c) a workers' dormitory (d) a petrol station. As far as the Masterplan 2008 shows, that land is locked in as residential.

Let's also hope that should that land go on sale, Viz owners might want to seriously consider snapping that up (with the help of a developer) and expand the estate, rather than let someone else slap a 12 storey condo in front (probably named "Better Than Viz :P:P:P") and spoiling the great view!

Tags: Malaysian Land, viz@holland, viz holland, viz @ holland, queensway, holland

Venturing into Old Singapore - Margaret Drive (and Food Centre!)

For those who don't know, despite being called "@Holland", Viz is situated in the Queenstown area, and Queenstown has a long history in Singapore's development into the modern city state it is now. Queenstown is known for many 'firsts' - first branch library, first satellite town, first HDB flats, first neighbourhood shopping complex. And many of these are still in existence along Margaret Drive.



If you turn into Margaret Drive from Queensway (heading past McDonalds and the Esso Station), you'll see a part of Singapore that has yet to be redeveloped (although that will happen in 2010 when the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme tears down the remaining old HDB blocks to make new pigeon holes). Already the newer Dawson Place HDB blocks and Dawson 21 estate (designed by WOHA architects) have modernised the area, erasing some of the prominent histories of the area.

You can read the history of Queenstown here. This links to the Heritage Trails site, which contains a lot of information about specific locations in Queenstown and Margaret Drive.

Here's some interesting points that remains there, at least until the bulldozers and developers come, destroying the past in the name of modernity (and greed):

• Block 6C is I believe still occupied (about 50%) but it has a subculture that's developed over the years - skateboarders would train and learn there outside the Go Sports shop, one of the remaining shops in the block. You can find skateboarders of all races hanging out there. You can read about that here.
• Opposite 6C is an area long abandoned. You can spot a lone fire hydrant near the 'jungle', abandoned stone table-tennis table, and some stone benches.
• Going further in, the left side houses a Foreign Workers' Dormitory. Previously it was Queenstown Polyclinic.
• Opposite the dormitory is the Margaret Drive Food Centre, two stories of stalls, although quite a number of them are no longer occupied. There are some notable stalls here, in particular:
• Famous Char Kway Teow - This guy's stall has a damn long queue that starts as early as 5pm and lasts till 9-10pm (until his kway teow runs out). He cooks each order individually, hence the long queue. Yet people will queue up and wait, and wait. You can read a review of it here.
• Poh Piah - Featured as one of the 4 best poh piah stalls in Singapore, you can find this humble stall on the ground floor facing the carpark area. You can read a review of it here.
• On the side row as the Char Kway Teow is a You Char Kway stall, that sells deep fried banana balls, Ham Chee Peng, Butterfly can't-remember-the-name roll etc. They close early too, so take note. You can read a review of it here.
• Finally on the upper floor is a famous chicken rice stall, which also has a long queue of regulars. You can read it's review here.
• Finally, there's the western stall (same row as the Char Kway Teow stall), which have regulars frequenting it.
• Diagonally across the road is the National Library Queenstown Branch. For those of us staying in Viz where space for books can be a premium, there's nothing better than using the library to borrow books to read. Secondhand books are practically worthless in Singapore anyways, so visit the Library which stocks new and old books. New books can be 'ordered' from other libraries or 'reserved', such as Dan Brown's Lost Symbol (which we finally received notice that it's arrived at Queenstown... after almost 5 weeks' wait!).
  
• Across from the Queenstown library is a multistory carpark. Situated WITHIN the car park is the NTUC Fairprice, which will not be visible from Margaret Drive. You need to drive or walk in to spot this secluded supermarket. Still, it's the closest supermarket to Viz (aside from the more upmarket Cold Storage at Holland V). However, note that the fresh meat variety (and freshness) can be limited at this NTUC.
  
• Jalan Penjara, across from the multistorey car park, houses the now-empty Queenstown Remand Prison, a golf driving range, a spa, a restaurant for tourists, and a carpark area that was converted for use by remote-controlled car hobbyists. These have since moved out.
• If you go further down Margaret Drive, past Dawson Road on your right, you will eventually reach the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS) Centre, which houses a 2nd hand thrift shop which both sells, and accepts, 2nd hand items. If you have any, feel free to drop by the shop. Do take note of the opening hours - Tues and Thurs from 1030-3pm. Shop sells clothing, accessories, household items, toys, books. "Good as New Charity Shop" 800 Margaret Drive, Tel 74641043. They are looking for household and electrical items in particular.
  
• And for those who prefer the New and the Modern, you can read about the new developments at Dawson here.

Do feel free to explore a part of Singapore most Singaporeans would not bother to venture to nowadays, preferring the glitz and shine of Orchard Road to the memories of Margaret Drive.

Tags: viz @ holland, viz holland, viz@holland, holland, queensway, margaret drive, old singapore

From Viz to HV (Holland Village): The Short(ish) Cut

We learned about this when we stayed at Holland Crest. There's a 'short cut' that allows Viz residents to walk to Holland Village (HV) in about 10-15 minutes (leisurely walk). Instructions are below but be warned: the walk involves using a drain gutter sidewalk .. that bit of cement next to the drain! This sidewalk is not 'maintained' and is actually next to a house. I don't recall any jumping involved but you will need...

1. A torchlight if you're walking after sunset
2. Anti-mossie spray, as you'll be walking through a fairly dark/secluded area with mosquitoes.
3. Good slippers/shoes

The area you'll be walking, in between Jalan Hitam Manis (Chip Bee area) and Viz, is fairly secluded and DARK at night, so just take the usual precautions.

So here are the instructions (Click on image to enlarge):

Map 1: From Viz to Stairs

1. You start from the sidegate, past the tennis court. Bring your access card to get back in.
   
2. The sidegate will take you on a narrow path past Holland Peak (tennis courts), and then Holland Crest (4 storey building that's gone en-bloc in 2006 but has yet to be torn down).. Holland Crest is distinguishable by its red bars on the balcony.
3. The path will bring you to a set of stairs leading to the road in between 2 HDB blocks. Take the stairs down but do not go in between the HDB blocks (if you do, you'll be heading towards the hawker centre/wet market).
4. Instead head right 'up' the gentle slope towards the park and abandoned playground.
   

[Note - Going in between the 2 HDB blocks (Blks 101 and 103) will bring you to the Commonwealth Market where there's some pretty decent hawker food. I'll share this in a future post on eating spots nearby]

Map 2: Stairs to Park/Abandoned Playground

1. Go through the park and look for the abandoned playground. You should have a massive construction site to your right (the former Holland Mansions).
2. Look for rows of 2 storey terrace houses (Jalan Hitam Manis) ahead of you. There are actually 2 rows of terrace houses, separated in between by a drain.
   
3. Go to that drain and use the sidewalk to reach Jalan Hitam Manis.
4. Once at Jalan Hitam Manis, head to your left, going past Jalan Kuning and Jalan Puteh Jerneh. You'll reach ACS International School at the L junction as you continue to follow Jalan Hitam Manis.

Map 3: Jalan Hitam Manis to Holland Village

1. Continue along Jalan Hitam Manis until you reach Taman Warna.
2. Turn left at Taman Warna, heading towards Chip Bee Gardens eateries (follow the lights and noise LOL).
   
3. Once there, Holland Village should be straight ahead of you.
4. The total walk should be a very leisurely 10-15 minutes, or faster if you're fitter than us. Which is likely as we're quite unfit LOL.

That's it. Follow the instructions backwards to head back to Viz (doh). Just bear in mind the drain sidewalk (remember where it's at when you exit it), and bring torches as it can get pretty dark around the playground area.

Tags: viz@holland, viz holland, viz @ holland, queensway, holland, property, singapore