Holland Village, Singapore
Encyclopedia
Holland Village is a small busy enclave near the Buona Vista MRT Station
close to the Queenstown
area in Singapore
. A popular venue for younger Singaporeans and expatriates, it is dominated by and often visited solely for its eateries and watering holes, along with some specialist shops selling non-traditional wares. The place is sometimes referred as "Holland V". Holland Village finally got its own MRT
station in 2011 with the same name
. The low-rise enclave is surrounded by high-rise HDB flats. In Holland Village there are movable barricades in the street as an anti-terrorism measure.
which in turn was named after Hugh Holland in 1907. Hugh Holland, who was an architect
and an amateur actor, was an early resident. The roads 'Holland Avenue', 'Holland Close' and 'Holland Drive' were officially named after the principal road in 1972. Holland Road is known as hue hng au in Hokkien
, meaning "behind the flower garden". The "flower garden" refers to the Botanic Gardens
.
, BreadTalk, The Coffee Bean
, Subway
, Indochine and Häagen-Dazs
, are located in Holland Village. A 24-hour kopitiam, a market and a food court
are also present with food stalls selling local and western dishes. Other eating places include Swensen's
, Thai Express
and several dessert
, Western cuisine and Japanese cuisine
outlets. The gentrification of the Holland V area is characterised by the more up-market dining options such as the numerous ethnic restaurants as well as franchises such as Tapas
Bar. Other prominent bars include Tango's, Baden and Harry's Bar. However, Wala Wala remains the grand dame of the bars along the Lorong Mambong stretch. This decade-old two-storey stalwart packs a crowd that ranges from students to yuppies with its laid back atmosphere and nightly live music.
Holland Village may have its share of local visitors but its reputation as an expatriate enclave attracts possibly more foreigners than locals to its restaurants and pubs.
In fact, the Village has been a cradle for a number of lifestyle trends in Singapore.
In the 80’s, Palm’s Wine Bar along Lorong Mambong started the trend for a nationwide spate of wine bars opening. During that period, other unique cafes like Batter Batter (famous for its butter-scotch and other pancakes) and Milano Pizza (which became a successful chain in the 80’s) also sprang up in Holland V.
In the 90’s the restaurant, Original Sin (own by the owners of Michelangelo’s), started a wave of upscale vegetarian dining when its Australian-Italian owners introduced Singapore to her first Mediterranean vegetarian dining experience in Chip Bee Gardens.
And Coffee Club, Singapore’s first gourmet coffee shop opened its first outlet in Holland Village in 1991. This was before the arrival of Starbucks, Coffee Bean and TCC years’ later.. while Wala Wala asserted its presence among the rest with a customer base as wide as its range of imported beers and its nightly band performances.
Today, the rows of shops along Lorong Mambong and Jalan Merah Saga house some of Singapore’s most famous and characteristic pubs and restaurants, many of which are fully booked during weekends.
supermarket
branch (part of The Dairy Farm Group), to antique shops. Other commercial amenities include banking services, Guardian Pharmacy, 7-Eleven
and a photo processing shop called Photo Finish. There are two shopping centres in Holland Village, Holland Road Shopping Centre and Holland V Shopping Mall.
Retail establishments are located along four streets and two shopping buildings. These streets are: (i) Jalan Merah Saga (ii) Holland Avenue (iii) Lorong Liput and (iv) Lorong Mambong. The shopping buildings are: (i) Holland Road Shopping Centre, which is along Holland Avenue, and (ii) Holland V Shopping Mall, along Lorong Liput. These two buildings are often casually referred to by sales assistants as Holland Village Shopping Centre, which is a non-existent building.
An entire directory of all the retail establishments on each of the four streets and within the two shopping buildings can be found at http://www.holland-village-singapore.com/category/lists-of-establishments-in-holland-village/
Finding car parks in and around Holland Village used to be a problem, especially within peak hours. However, with a new multi-storey carpark just completed at nearby Block 18, there is an additional 400 parking lots available. In fact, there are at least ten car parks in and around Holland Village. If one doesn't mind walking short distances, there are many options. The Holland-Village-Singapore web site at http://www.holland-village-singapore.com/2011/09/parking gives detailed information on car park locations, car parking rates and payment types. The web site also provides extensive visitor's information, including how to reach the village by bus, taxi and train.
, Holland Village is usually reached from other parts of Singapore either by bus
or taxi
, and is linked to Orchard Road
via Holland Road
. Holland Village MRT Station
, CC21 on the Circle MRT Line
, provides Mass Rapid Transit
rail
access to the area when it opened on October 8 2011. The Circle Line links Holland Village to Farrer Road, the northern end of the Botanic Gardens and Bishan
. In the other direction the line will pass by One-North
, which is an area dedicated to R&D activities, and HarbourFront
, with its VivoCity
shopping complex and ferry terminal.
division of Holland-Bukit Timah Group Representation Constituency
with its Member of Parliament
being Minister (Prime Minister's Office) Lim Swee Say
since 1997. The constituency belonged to Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency
from 1997 to 2001 and Holland-Bukit Panjang Group Representation Constituency
from 2001 to 2006. Before 1997, the division was a Single Member Constituency.
Buona Vista MRT Station
Buona Vista MRT Station is a Mass Rapid Transit station located in the town of Buona Vista in Singapore, that is part of the East West Line and the Circle Line, and served as an interchange between the two lines. It is the second station complex in Singapore that serves both an above-ground line ...
close to the Queenstown
Queenstown, Singapore
Queenstown1 is one of the early housing estates in Singapore, built before Toa Payoh and Ang Mo Kio, and was a test bed for much of Singapore's public housing...
area in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. A popular venue for younger Singaporeans and expatriates, it is dominated by and often visited solely for its eateries and watering holes, along with some specialist shops selling non-traditional wares. The place is sometimes referred as "Holland V". Holland Village finally got its own MRT
Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore)
The Mass Rapid Transit or MRT is a rapid transit system that forms the backbone of the railway system in Singapore, spanning the entire city-state. The initial section of the MRT, between Yio Chu Kang Station and Toa Payoh Station, opened in 1987 establishing itself as the second-oldest metro...
station in 2011 with the same name
Holland Village MRT Station
Holland Village MRT Station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit station on the Circle Line in Singapore. It is operated by SMRT Corporation...
. The low-rise enclave is surrounded by high-rise HDB flats. In Holland Village there are movable barricades in the street as an anti-terrorism measure.
Etymology
Holland Village was named after Holland RoadHolland Road, Singapore
Holland Road is a long road in Singapore, running roughly east-west linking Clementi in the west to the Singapore Botanic Gardens where it joins Napier Road and then Orchard Road....
which in turn was named after Hugh Holland in 1907. Hugh Holland, who was an architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
and an amateur actor, was an early resident. The roads 'Holland Avenue', 'Holland Close' and 'Holland Drive' were officially named after the principal road in 1972. Holland Road is known as hue hng au in Hokkien
Min Nan
The Southern Min languages, or Min Nan , are a family of Chinese languages spoken in southern Fujian, eastern Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan, and southern Zhejiang provinces of China, and by descendants of emigrants from these areas in diaspora....
, meaning "behind the flower garden". The "flower garden" refers to the Botanic Gardens
Singapore Botanic Gardens
The Singapore Botanic Gardens is a 74-hectare botanical garden in Singapore. It is half the size of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew or around one-fifth the size of Central Park in New York. It is the only botanic garden in the world that opens from 5 a.m...
.
Food and Drink
Many food chains in Singapore, such as Crystal JadeCrystal Jade
Crystal Jade Culinary Concept Holdings is a restaurant-chain serving Chinese cuisine based in Singapore. The group has restaurants in Asian countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China, Japan, Vietnam and South Korea...
, BreadTalk, The Coffee Bean
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is a Los Angeles, California-based coffee chain, owned and operated by International Coffee & Tea, LLC. The first Coffee Bean opened in September 1963. The chain has over 750 locations in 22 countries...
, Subway
Subway (restaurant)
Subway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. . Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with 35,519 restaurants in 98 countries and territories as of October 25th, 2011...
, Indochine and Häagen-Dazs
Häagen-Dazs
Häagen-Dazs is a brand of ice cream, established by Jewish-Polish immigrants Reuben and Rose Mattus in the Bronx, New York, in 1961. Starting with only three flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and coffee, the company opened its first retail store in Brooklyn, New York, on November 15, 1976...
, are located in Holland Village. A 24-hour kopitiam, a market and a food court
Food court
A food court is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dining. Food courts may be found in shopping malls and airports, and in various regions may be a standalone development...
are also present with food stalls selling local and western dishes. Other eating places include Swensen's
Swensen's
Swensen's is a global chain of ice cream restaurants that started in San Francisco, California.-History:The company was started in 1948 by Earle Swensen. Swensen opened his first shop at the corner of Union and Hyde Streets, along the cable car tracks in Russian Hill in San Francisco at what had...
, Thai Express
Thai Express
Thai Express is a chain of restaurants serving Thai cuisine.The first restaurant was opened in Holland Village in Singaporein May 2002. Since then, there have been other outlets in Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Australia, Mongolia...
and several dessert
Dessert
In cultures around the world, dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of sweet food. The word comes from the French language as dessert and this from Old French desservir, "to clear the table" and "to serve." Common Western desserts include cakes, biscuits,...
, Western cuisine and Japanese cuisine
Japanese cuisine
Japanese cuisine has developed over the centuries as a result of many political and social changes throughout Japan. The cuisine eventually changed with the advent of the Medieval age which ushered in a shedding of elitism with the age of shogun rule...
outlets. The gentrification of the Holland V area is characterised by the more up-market dining options such as the numerous ethnic restaurants as well as franchises such as Tapas
Tapas
Tapas are a wide variety of appetizers, or snacks, in Spanish cuisine. They may be cold or warm ....
Bar. Other prominent bars include Tango's, Baden and Harry's Bar. However, Wala Wala remains the grand dame of the bars along the Lorong Mambong stretch. This decade-old two-storey stalwart packs a crowd that ranges from students to yuppies with its laid back atmosphere and nightly live music.
Holland Village may have its share of local visitors but its reputation as an expatriate enclave attracts possibly more foreigners than locals to its restaurants and pubs.
In fact, the Village has been a cradle for a number of lifestyle trends in Singapore.
In the 80’s, Palm’s Wine Bar along Lorong Mambong started the trend for a nationwide spate of wine bars opening. During that period, other unique cafes like Batter Batter (famous for its butter-scotch and other pancakes) and Milano Pizza (which became a successful chain in the 80’s) also sprang up in Holland V.
In the 90’s the restaurant, Original Sin (own by the owners of Michelangelo’s), started a wave of upscale vegetarian dining when its Australian-Italian owners introduced Singapore to her first Mediterranean vegetarian dining experience in Chip Bee Gardens.
And Coffee Club, Singapore’s first gourmet coffee shop opened its first outlet in Holland Village in 1991. This was before the arrival of Starbucks, Coffee Bean and TCC years’ later.. while Wala Wala asserted its presence among the rest with a customer base as wide as its range of imported beers and its nightly band performances.
Today, the rows of shops along Lorong Mambong and Jalan Merah Saga house some of Singapore’s most famous and characteristic pubs and restaurants, many of which are fully booked during weekends.
Shops and services
Holland Village has a great variety of commercial amenities ranging from a Cold StorageCold Storage (supermarket)
Cold Storage is the second-largest supermarket chain in Singapore behind NTUC FairPrice, owned by Dairy Farm International Holdings.It operates 3 supermarket brands in Singapore and Malaysia; Cold Storage , Market Place and Shop N Save .-History:Established in 1903, Cold Storage started as a small...
supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
branch (part of The Dairy Farm Group), to antique shops. Other commercial amenities include banking services, Guardian Pharmacy, 7-Eleven
7-Eleven
7-Eleven is part of an international chain of convenience stores, operating under Seven-Eleven Japan Co. Ltd, which in turn is owned by Seven & I Holdings Co...
and a photo processing shop called Photo Finish. There are two shopping centres in Holland Village, Holland Road Shopping Centre and Holland V Shopping Mall.
Retail establishments are located along four streets and two shopping buildings. These streets are: (i) Jalan Merah Saga (ii) Holland Avenue (iii) Lorong Liput and (iv) Lorong Mambong. The shopping buildings are: (i) Holland Road Shopping Centre, which is along Holland Avenue, and (ii) Holland V Shopping Mall, along Lorong Liput. These two buildings are often casually referred to by sales assistants as Holland Village Shopping Centre, which is a non-existent building.
An entire directory of all the retail establishments on each of the four streets and within the two shopping buildings can be found at http://www.holland-village-singapore.com/category/lists-of-establishments-in-holland-village/
Parking
The Holland Village of today consists of (i) the village's two well-known lanes, Lorong Mambong and Lorong Liput (ii) a section of Holland Avenue, which includes Holland Road Shopping Centre and (3) the lane, Jalan Merah Saga, within Chip Bee Gardens, which is across Holland Ave and the two above lanes.Finding car parks in and around Holland Village used to be a problem, especially within peak hours. However, with a new multi-storey carpark just completed at nearby Block 18, there is an additional 400 parking lots available. In fact, there are at least ten car parks in and around Holland Village. If one doesn't mind walking short distances, there are many options. The Holland-Village-Singapore web site at http://www.holland-village-singapore.com/2011/09/parking gives detailed information on car park locations, car parking rates and payment types. The web site also provides extensive visitor's information, including how to reach the village by bus, taxi and train.
Transport
Within Singapore's transport systemTransport in Singapore
Transport within Singapore is mainly land-based. Many parts of Singapore are accessible by road, including islands such as Sentosa and Jurong Island. The other major form of transportation within Singapore is rail: the Mass Rapid Transit which runs the length and width of Singapore, and the Light...
, Holland Village is usually reached from other parts of Singapore either by bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
or taxi
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
, and is linked to Orchard Road
Orchard Road
Orchard Road is a road in Singapore that is the retail and entertainment hub of the city-state. It is regularly frequented by the local population as well as being a major tourist attraction...
via Holland Road
Holland Road, Singapore
Holland Road is a long road in Singapore, running roughly east-west linking Clementi in the west to the Singapore Botanic Gardens where it joins Napier Road and then Orchard Road....
. Holland Village MRT Station
Holland Village MRT Station
Holland Village MRT Station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit station on the Circle Line in Singapore. It is operated by SMRT Corporation...
, CC21 on the Circle MRT Line
Circle MRT Line
The Circle Line is Singapore's fourth Mass Rapid Transit line, operated by SMRT Corporation. This underground line is currently long with 28 stations and is fully automatically operated...
, provides Mass Rapid Transit
Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore)
The Mass Rapid Transit or MRT is a rapid transit system that forms the backbone of the railway system in Singapore, spanning the entire city-state. The initial section of the MRT, between Yio Chu Kang Station and Toa Payoh Station, opened in 1987 establishing itself as the second-oldest metro...
rail
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
access to the area when it opened on October 8 2011. The Circle Line links Holland Village to Farrer Road, the northern end of the Botanic Gardens and Bishan
Bishan
Bishan is a neighbourhood of the city-state of Singapore situated in the Central Region, measuring approximately three by three kilometres. Primarily a housing estate, Flats here are generally more expensive compared to other estates due to its location in the central region, which commands a...
. In the other direction the line will pass by One-North
One-North
one-north is an ongoing 200-hectare business park development by JTC Corporation to house R&D and high technology activities in the biomedical sciences, infocomm technology and media industries...
, which is an area dedicated to R&D activities, and HarbourFront
HarbourFront
HarbourFront is a district situated in southern Singapore, within the Bukit Merah Planning Area. Harbourfront is also the gateway to Sentosa....
, with its VivoCity
VivoCity
VivoCity is the largest shopping mall in Singapore. Located in the HarbourFront precinct, it was designed by the Japanese architect Toyo Ito. Its name is derived from the word vivacity...
shopping complex and ferry terminal.
Politics
Holland Village is within the Buona VistaBuona Vista
Buona Vista is a neighbourhood and subdivision of the city-state of Singapore, but is often referenced as a town. As a major subdivision, it is served by the Buona Vista MRT Station which links it up with the MRT system. It also has a bus terminal.-Geography:...
division of Holland-Bukit Timah Group Representation Constituency
Holland-Bukit Timah Group Representation Constituency
Holland-Bukit Timah Group Representation Constituency is a four-member Group Representation Constituency located in the central, western and northern areas of Singapore...
with its Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
being Minister (Prime Minister's Office) Lim Swee Say
Lim Swee Say
Lim Swee Say is a politician from Singapore. A member of the governing People's Action Party , he is currently a Cabinet Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and the Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress....
since 1997. The constituency belonged to Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency
Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency
Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency is currently a five-member Group Representation Constituency in central Singapore....
from 1997 to 2001 and Holland-Bukit Panjang Group Representation Constituency
Holland-Bukit Panjang Group Representation Constituency
Holland-Bukit Panjang Group Representation Constituency is formerly a five-member Group Representation Constituency which it only appears in 2001 elections....
from 2001 to 2006. Before 1997, the division was a Single Member Constituency.
TV shows about Holland Village
- Holland V on MediaCorp Channel 8MediaCorp TV Channel 8MediaCorp Channel 8 is a 24-hour free-to-air Mandarin Chinese general entertainment television channel in Singapore...