Explore Little Streets in Singapore – Haji Lane and Bali Lane
Kampong Glam, Singapore
A Singaporesighs.com Exclusive

Keeping it real, on a little street in Singapore

A narrow street with a grungy and colourful character, Haji Lane marches to the beat of its own drum, away from the tourist trails.

Where in Singapore can you find the most un-Singaporean-like street? In the last three years, little Haji Lane – once a narrow, nondescript back lane a stone’s throw from tourist-thronged Sultan Mosque – has found some fame with its independent fashion boutiques and homeware stores. But that fame seemed to have plateaued in this fast nation with a limited attention span. Oddly, and some say thankfully, the neighbourhood is frozen in its original, fringy, doing-my-own-thing flavour. Few visitors today are aware of its existence, even as they traipse past neighbouring Arab Street.

The regulars here will tell you that Haji Lane is no place for a tai-tai or a princess – it’s the diametric opposite of the golden ghetto of Orchard Road. But for the adventurous visitor, Haji Lane is can be a very eye-opening detour. Edgy and spirited, Haji Lane will certainly not disappoint shoppers with a taste for independent fashion boutiques and quirky small shops. That is why it remains a favourite haunt for art students, young creative types and the occasional expat.

There are now more than 20 shops along Haji Lane, according to Eileen Teo, who runs Salad, a fashion and home accessories store and one of the street’s first and most attractive stores. Another homeware store is Pluck, whose intimate café is a cheery complement to its retro merchadise. Small fashion boutiques such as Barong, Billet Doux, Dion de Cruz, Knowitnothing, Birdbrain and Dulcetfig give the street its indie vibe and cater to both sexes. There is also a vintage clothes shop called House of Japan, where you can buy used branded clothing from Japan. At the Egyptian restaurant Altazzag and small Morrocan café Mosi, you can rest your feet and have a kebab or hummus.

Along Haji Lane, you may see spots along the walkways laid with Afgan rugs and cushions. This is where you can lie down and smoke the shisha, a water-pipe popular in the Arab world, and watch the world trickle down the narrow street. But in this unconventional neighbourhood, you may also chanced upon a badminton game in progress in the middle of the road, between a girl in Muslim headscarf and her spaghetti-strap-and-hot-pants partner, who deftly holds on to her cigarette as she deflects her opponent’s low serve. It’s a uniquely Singapore vignette that few tourists will get to see.

If you are lucky, you may also find an art exhibition in progress at one of the nameless, hole-in-the-wall spaces featuring works by artists who may design club flyers, theatre props and government-regulated grafitti in their day job. Their wild, unfettered imagination is Singapore pop art at its best. Just look for the gathering of young, often good-looking, crowd. If your stars are perfectly aligned, you will also walk into a street party or fleamarket, either here or along neighbouring Bali Lane.

Bali Lane is where you will find Straits Records, the local underground record label and gathering place for Singapore’s indie bands and music lovers. There are free performances every now and then in front of the store, featuring local bands such as Pinholes, Cesspit and Force Vomit. These sessions attract a predominantly young Malay crowd, and the mood is spontaneous, friendly and welcoming. Whether it is punk, raggae or rock-and-joget*, live music at Straits Records never fails to capture the spirit of the Haji Lane area.

A few doors away is Nabin’s, a small restaurants serving Arabic cuisine. Mr Nabin, its Nepali owner, is trying to carry on a tradition inspired by The Samar Café, which became the neighbourhood’s most high-profile restaurant after it was proclaimed the “best place to forget about the clash of civilisations” by TIME magazine in its “Best of Asia 2007” guide. Unfortunately, the Cairo-coffee-house-style restaurant closed less than a year after that. Perhaps it was too much fame, too soon.

Also on Bali Lane is Scorebot, a 24-hour café cum training school dedicated to stock traders. Anyone can come in and have a meal and drinks downstairs, but upstairs is where traders of various instruments and disciplines learn about dynamic hedging strategies, algorithmic forex trading or any auto-trade processes.

Gritty, friendly and relaxed Haji Lane is definitely, and refreshingly, NOT your typical tourist spot. In perfectionist Singapore, it is reassuringly without artifice.

* Traditional Malay dance

S.T. Leng is a freelance writer based in Singapore.

Text by S.T. Leng. Photos by Eugene Tang. All Rights Reserved.