Cafeography
Singapore · Tiong Bahru & Outram

Cafés in Tiong Bahru & Outram

Cafés in the 1930s Streamline Moderne flats of Tiong Bahru and along Kampong Bahru Road.

Photo: Kenny Foo, Pexels License

Tiong Bahru means "new cemetery", from the Hokkien thióng, cemetery, and the Malay bahru, new, after a burial ground on the site of today's Singapore General Hospital.1 In 1927 the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT), set up in 1920 to ease a housing shortage, bought about 70 acres here as a test case for public housing, and its first block, Block 55, was ready in December 1936.12

The pre-war flats are Streamline Moderne, a late Art Deco style of curved horizontal lines that earned them the nickname fei ji lou, aeroplane flats; twenty blocks were gazetted for conservation in 2003.1 Since the mid-2000s, cafés and independent shops have filled the ground floors between them.1

Local tip: Start at Tiong Bahru Market in the morning, before the afternoon storms, then walk to Moh Guan Terrace and Eng Hoon Street, where Pralet opens at 09:00 except on Mondays.

At a glance

29Cafés listed
5With opening hours
08:00Earliest opening
23:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Double Shot Coffee Kampong Bahru, from 08:00 (Mon 08:00–17:00 · Wed–Sun 08:00–17:00).
  • Closes latest: Chapter 55, until 23:00 (Daily 11:30–23:00).
  • Most listed streets: Eng Hoon Street (2), Kampong Bahru Rd (2), Kampong Bahru Road (2).
  • Most common features: outdoor seating (10%), specialty (10%), open late (7%).

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Coffee chains in Tiong Bahru & Outram

Getting to Tiong Bahru and Outram

Tiong Bahru station is on the East–West Line, and Havelock, on the Thomson–East Coast Line since 13 November 2022, is closer to some parts of the estate.14 Outram Park, the station nearest Singapore General Hospital, serves the eastern end of the area on three lines.3

The SIT flats and the horseshoe blocks

The curved horseshoe flats on Moh Guan Terrace and Guan Chuan Street went up in 1939–1940, and four-storey post-war blocks followed from 1948 to 1954 around Lim Liak Road and Seng Poh Road.2 The pre-war blocks were designed by Alfred G. Church, while the post-war ones follow the plainer International Style.1 Flock Café is at 78 Moh Guan Terrace, itself a conserved SIT building.1

On Eng Hoon Street, the Qi Tian Gong temple to the Monkey God was founded in 1920 in an attap hut in a taro garden.2 Pralet bakes on the same street at No. 17, open Tuesday to Sunday, 09:00–18:00.

Market mornings and the bird corner

A first wet market went up on Tiong Poh Road in 1945, named after the merchant Khoo Tiong Poh. Tiong Bahru Market, also called Seng Poh Market, was built in 1955, closed for rebuilding in 2004 and reopened in 2006 as a two-storey building; the heritage trail of the National Heritage Board starts there.12

The bird corner at the junction of Seng Poh Road and Tiong Bahru Road dates from the early 1980s, when songbird owners gathered there, and in 2008 the owners of the Link Hotel reopened a structure for hanging birdcages.1

Mornings are the best time to walk the estate. Afternoon thunderstorms are frequent in Singapore, and the northeast monsoon, from mid-November to early March, brings the wettest months; December averages about 330 mm of rain.5

Kampong Bahru Road and Outram

Toward Outram, Kampong Bahru Road has Highlander Coffee at No. 49 and Strangers' Reunion Waffles at No. 35, and Double Shot Coffee Kampong Bahru opens 08:00–17:00 every day except Tuesday. Kaffe & Toast, on Hospital Drive, opens earliest, at 07:00 on weekdays, and closes at 13:00 on Saturdays.

For the evening, Chapter 55 is open until 23:00 daily, and Merci Marcel until 23:00 from Monday to Saturday and 22:30 on Sundays.

Sources

  1. Tiong Bahru, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Tiong Bahru Heritage Trail, Roots.sg, National Heritage Board, accessed October 2026
  3. Outram Park MRT station, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  4. Havelock MRT station, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  5. Climate of Singapore, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
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In Tiong Bahru & Outram, also browse: Specialty coffee Bakery cafés Outdoor seating Open late

FAQ

Tiong Bahru & Outram cafés: questions

When were the Tiong Bahru flats in Singapore built?

The Singapore Improvement Trust bought the Tiong Bahru land in 1927, and its first block, Block 55, was ready in December 1936. The curved horseshoe flats on Moh Guan Terrace and Guan Chuan Street followed in 1939–1940, and post-war blocks from 1948 to 1954. Twenty pre-war blocks were gazetted for conservation in 2003.

Which MRT station is closest to Tiong Bahru estate in Singapore?

Tiong Bahru station on the East–West Line serves the estate, and Havelock station on the Thomson–East Coast Line, opened on 13 November 2022, is closer to some parts of it. Outram Park, the interchange nearest Singapore General Hospital, serves the eastern end around Kampong Bahru Road.

Where are the cafés in Tiong Bahru estate, Singapore?

Flock Café is at 78 Moh Guan Terrace, in a conserved Singapore Improvement Trust building, and Pralet bakes at 17 Eng Hoon Street, open Tuesday to Sunday 09:00–18:00. Toward Outram, Kampong Bahru Road has Highlander Coffee at No. 49 and Strangers' Reunion Waffles at No. 35.

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