Jalan Besar & Kallang

Jalan Besar is a long one-way street of hardware suppliers, lighting wholesalers, auto workshops and canvas shops, which moved in when the land between Rochor and Kallang was still swamp. The cafes came much later, and so did Time Out, which named it Singapore's coolest neighbourhood for 2026. Walk it as a working district that learned to pour espresso. Give it a morning for the hardware and the tiled terraces, then come back after dark for dim sum.

Start on Petain Road, where 18 Chinese Baroque shophouses, terraced buildings with a shopfront below and rooms above, went up in the early 1930s with tiled fronts. They were conserved in 1991 and are still private homes, so take photos from the street and leave the five-foot way, the covered walkway along the front, to the people who live there. On Tyrwhitt Road, Chye Seng Huat Hardware at number 150 is a 1950s hardware store that PPP Coffee turned into a roastery and 360-degree coffee bar in 2012, with a retail annex inside. At 100 Tyrwhitt Road, Jalan Besar Stadium, officially Jalan Besar ActiveSG Stadium, opened on Boxing Day 1929 and, with 6,000 seats, is still Singapore football's home ground. Come for a match rather than a look around.

For lunch, head to Berseh Food Centre at 166 Jalan Besar, a hawker centre over two floors of small food stalls, each keeping its own hours. Upstairs, Fu Zhou Poh Hwa fries Fuzhou oyster cake to order, oysters and minced pork in a crisp batter, and takes Tuesdays off. For supper, Swee Choon Tim Sum at 183–193 Jalan Besar has served dim sum since 1962, from 7am into the small hours. Nearby, Beach Road Scissor-Cut Curry Rice at 229 Jalan Besar does Hainanese curry rice in a kopitiam, an old-style coffee shop, and Time Out chose it as the street's dish for 2026. We'd start with Swee Choon, since it's open every day on fixed hours, weekend queue and all, and save the curry rice for a second night.

The Kallang deserves its own half-day, or a night you already have a ticket for. The sports precinct around 1 Stadium Drive took that name in 2025, and puts the 55,000-seat National Stadium, the Indoor Stadium, OCBC Arena and OCBC Aquatic Centre beside the water. Kallang Ice World, on Level 3 of Leisure Park Kallang, is Singapore's remaining full-size ice rink. Kallang Riverside Park's 5 hectares follow Kallang Road, Stadium Road and Crawford Street and stay open 24 hours, and the Kallang Gas Holder in the park is a remnant of the 1862 Kallang Gasworks. For lunch on this side, Geylang Bahru Market & Food Centre at 69 Geylang Bahru is across the road from its MRT station, and Hui Wei Chilli Ban Mian there holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand.

Where to eat

• Berseh Food Centre, 166 Jalan Besar: a two-storey hawker centre, with Fu Zhou Poh Hwa's oyster cake at #02-34, typically 10.30am–6pm, closed Tuesdays
• Swee Choon Tim Sum, 183–193 Jalan Besar: dim sum since 1962, 7am–2am Sunday to Thursday and 7am–4am Fridays, Saturdays and public holiday eves
• Beach Road Scissor-Cut Curry Rice, 229 Jalan Besar: Hainanese curry rice in a kopitiam. Its hours vary, so check it's open before you go
• Chye Seng Huat Hardware, 150 Tyrwhitt Road: coffee from PPP Coffee's roastery in a 1950s hardware store, closed Mondays
• Geylang Bahru Market & Food Centre, 69 Geylang Bahru: typically 6am–11.45pm, Sundays from 7am. Hui Wei Chilli Ban Mian at #01-58 typically closes Fridays