Guide to Lengkok Merak

We chat to MELISSA MONTGOMERY about her neighbourhood in Singapore. She lives on Lengkok Merak, near Grange Road and One Tree Hill.

From: Australia
Occupation: Property Sales Manager, Selo Group

The Specifics

What’s the name of the street where you live? Lengkok Merak.

What does it mean? Merak means peacock in Malay. All our streets (there are only four in our tiny suburb) are named after animals: the others are squirrel (tupai), rabbit (arnab) and bat (kelawar). We, of course, have the prettiest name!

Exact words you tell a taxi driver to get home? “Grange Road please, Uncle.”

What’s the name of your neighbourhood? One Tree Hill.

Closest MRT station? Orchard MRT.

How long have you lived here? It’s our third year in the neighbourhood; we recently moved into a house with a larger garden for our three young children, only 350 metres down the road from our old place!

Why here? It’s so central and convenient; we can walk to the Singapore Botanic Gardens, Orchard Road, Dempsey and even Robertson Quay. My twins even scoot to their local nursery just around the corner.

The Scene

When you walk out of your place, the first thing you see is: Construction! Sadly many of the original houses built in the 70s are being knocked down to build new ones.

The closest store to your front door is: Tanglin Mall is just a three-minute bike ride away.

Your street would make the perfect backdrop for a remake of: One Tree Hill, the TV series, of course! Or Edward Scissorhands as everyone’s gardens are perfectly manicured.

The unofficial uniform of your street is: Having a dog or a pram in tow

When you’re in need of a dose of culture, you: Check out Jane’s Tours; her walking and cooking tours are very insightful.

If you’re missing home, you: Have a Sunday barbecue with fresh Aussie meat from The Meat Club.

A mandatory stop for out-of-town guests is: Coastes Beach Club (it always surprises everyone that there is a beach in Singapore!) or Dempsey Hill for dining and shopping.

A common myth about your neighbourhood is: That it would be loud, as we are near the Orchard shopping precinct; in fact, it’s so quiet you would never know you’re in the middle of the city!

A massive late-night rager on your street is likely to be: Probably us having a dinner party and dancing up a storm!

The Superlatives

Your hands-down favourite neighbourhood joints are: The St. Regis seafood buffet, and breakfast at Dolcetto for $9.

You won’t find better local food than at: Zion Road Food Centre for the Sichuan dumplings.

We love a good bargain. The best deals in your neighbourhood are: Zion Road Food Centre by the river; coldest and cheapest beers in town!

The guiltiest pleasure in your area is: Window shopping at House of AnLi and Bungalow 55.

One thing you’d never change is: How friendly everyone is! It’s a real mixture of older locals who still live in the same house with their kids and grandkids, as well as many expat families.

But one thing you wouldn’t mind seeing go is: All the Grange Road traffic using Jalan Tupai as a cut-through to Paterson Road. It’s so dangerous; the cars speed down the road and there are so many children around.

The city gives you $5 million to soup up your street. You use it to: Build a park for children to play and widen the footpaths for child and pram safety

Like this? Read more in our Neighbourhood Guide section.

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This article first appeared in the September 2019 edition of Expat Living. You can purchase a copy or subscribe so you never miss an issue!