community gardens in bukit panjang

bukit panjang ('long hills') can be found in the central north-western region of singapore. there are seven sub-zones in bukit panjang; senja, sujana, fajar, bangkit, bukit panjang, dairy farm and the nature reserve.

quite a number of official as well as some not so official community gardens are located at the fringe of the estate, close to the nature reserve.





because of its rural background (even up to the 90s, it was still very much a rural area) and quite a number of the older residents used to live in and work on farms in this area, bukit panjang has more than its fair share of community gardens. people, who used to till the land and plant crops, find comfort in going back to their old ways, especially after their retirement.




there are at least three official community gardens and the same number of more of unofficial (illegal) community gardens/farms. food crops are the main items in all these so-called community gardens. the senior citizens are usually there early in the morning or in the late afternoon.

you can actually buy your greens from these part-time farmers. they may not be much cheaper than what you pay at supermarkets and the wet markets but, at least, they are freshly picked.

good food in and around bukit panjang estate

there may seem to be a dearth of good food outlets in bukit panjang housing estate but if you scout around the periphery of the estate, there are actually quite a number of eateries that attract regular customers from other parts of singapore.

a few of these are found along upper bukit timah road. they include the well-rated (by makansutra) karu's indian banana leaf restaurant, choon seng hng restaurant at the khek community guild building and chun sheng yuan, just after the linear. at this coffee shop, the dry prawn noodles is very popular, so is the chye tow kway (carrot cake).

karu's curry fishhead, tandoori chicken and nasi briyani are popular, especially with the mindef people who are just across the road at bukit gombak. the chinese restaurant at the khek community guild building offers teochew porridge in the day and cze char dishes for both lunch and dinner.

over at 10th mile junction, there is 'different taste cafe and restaurant'. this restaurant which started at the katong jackie's bowl, now has outlets at frankel avenue and downtown east. the place offers some tasty singapore dishes at affordable prices.

from the fringe, we move to the core of the estate itself. at fu yuan canshi of blk 259, there are two stalls that stand out. one is the braised duck rice and noodles and the other is the fried and bbq chicken.

the popular choo chiang roasted meat noodle house has a branch at block 445 fajar road. the roti prata at the same coffee shop is also quite popular.

for our muslim residents, there is the 'banquet' at greenridge food centre. another food court which is quite crowded in the evening is the one at block 163a, just below the multi-storey car-park.

the streets of bukit panjang town


















































the main landmark in bukit panjang town is the bukit panjang plaza. the other landmarks include the light rail tracks and the al-iman mosque, near bangkit.

the street names are all in malay.

bukit panjang : long hills, a ridge

bangkit : to rise up; from the rising up of the land towards the hill

fajar : dawn

jelapang : criss-cross

lompang : empty

jelebu : distant, hazy

saujana : a plain stretching to the horizon

segar : fit, healthy

senja : sunset, evening

petir : thunderclap

pending : a large waist buckle