Singapore’s Peranakan Heritage: Joo Chiat Trail, Singapore, Singapore

Unique to the Nusantara region, the Peranakan culture is birthed through the intermarriage of Chinese settlers and local Southeast Asians.

The apex of Peranakan culture leads to an inspiring blend of colorful architectures, eye-catching crafts and mouth-watering food which combines not only the best of both culture, but transgresses into its own singular expression of life.

This post will guide you through the Peranakan heritage which can still be found alive in the Joo Chiat area. For its outstanding cultural identity, Joo Chiat was also declared as Singapore’s first Heritage Town in 2011.

To get into the starting point of your hike, alight at Paya Lebar MRT station Exit A. From there, it is just a short 10-minute walk to the Joo Chiat complex.

There is also an underway plan to build Marine Parade MRT station near the other end of the Joo Chiat Road. Once it opens in 2024, access to both ends of Joo Chiat will be a breeze.

This halal bakery serves scrumptious modern and traditional pastries. Definitely try the onde-onde, made using pandan-infused dough filled with gula melaka (palm sugar) and rolled with steamed grated coconut. The sweet goodness truly befits the store name! ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).