International Joo Chiat
Hello! Ciao! Konnichiwa! Hola! (We’re international!)
Walking around Joo Chiat, one finds plenty of international cuisine.
There’s Margarita’s for Mexican food.
Al Forno’s for Italian. An Italian restaurant opened by an Italian and featuring an Italian chef, it’s true blue Italian food. Not to forget the pizzas are to die for.
LeViet, a Vietnamese café.
Waraku Casual Dining and Hong Kong Café.
Kashmir, a North Indian culinary restaurant.
And some Pinoy Cuisine.
Wineries opened by expats.
A Swiss chocolate bakery opened by a Swiss selling Swiss pasteries (Swiss rolls, nah joking, there won’t any) and CHO-CO-LATE!! (Next year’s Valentine’s Day!)
And it’s not just food in the area, we even found a shop selling tatami!
There is a burgeoning expat community in Joo Chiat. This is due to a variety of reasons. Property in the area are mostly landed property and some condominiums (towards the Parkway Parade area), which are popular housing types for the expats. The area also attracts foreigners looking to experience a more local way of life. The old-world charm of the traditional shophouses also adds to its appeal. With the growing expat community, restaurants catering to the tastes of its international residents increase, which in turn attracts more foreigners, and so it goes in a never-ending loop.
Check out an interview with an expat on why she and her family chose to move to Joo
Chiat.
http://www.expatliving.sg/article/property/singapore-property-guide/property-watch-joo-chiat-february-2011
A casual conversation with the shop owner of Echoes of the East, who is also a resident of the area, reveals that in fact, many expats have taken to living in conserved shophouses. Just a couple of streets away, exploring the row of conserved shophouses along Marshall Road reveals her words to be true.
We spy a little Caucasian girl returning home from a walk with her maid and baby
sister. (We weren’t stalking! I swear! It was a very coincidental coincidence,
but we weren’t stalking!)
A picture of the traditional five-foot way.
The neighbourhood was a curious mix of modern and traditional elements.
DATE: Tuesday, March 6, 2012
TIME: ||7:55 PM ||