Kampong Glam

Rating:

By Veron Ang

I experienced Kampong Glam over the weekend. It’s an attraction that the Singapore Tourism Board has been promoting aggressively in recent months. This sure turned out to be a very unique experience!

Shown in the picture above is the Sultan Mosque, or Masjid Sultan. Being the biggest mosque in Singapore, it is an iconic building, yet somehow I don’t remember having seen it in real life before (!!!). What I do remember is that in a primary school project many years back, I had made a (rather comprehensive) book introducing all the tourist attractions and iconic buildings that we have in Singapore, and the Sultan Mosque was one of them!

Arab Street

Sultan Mosque is located at Bussorah Street, which is adjacent to Arab Street and Haji Lane. Over here you can shop bazaar-style and eat at Malay restaurants and cafés. There are a number of interesting shops that sell wicker baskets, Malay clothing, and cloth, with nice-sounding names such as “Alladdin’s World of Silk”. My favourite shop is, however, one that sells beautiful country-style furniture.

Country-style furniture

Boy, I’ve been looking for these in ages! I totally dig those painted floral designs but very few places actually sell such furniture. What I didn’t count on is the fact that I would actually find it here, of all places!

Country-style furniture

My favourite one is this exquisite jewellery cabinet on the right. It has different compartments for rings, necklaces, earrings, etc! It carries a price tag of a cool $250! If I can find a good spot in my room to place this I would probably get it.

Muslim food

When the Muslims broke fast at about 7pm (due to the Ramadan), all the shops closed and refused to do business anymore (I know because I tried to enter one shop and was shooed away). Dinner was a communal affair as everyone gathered in groups to enjoy their first meal of the day, which tended to be buffet style.

So there you go, my first Kampong Glam experience! Definitely wouldn’t be my last.

Tags: Arab Street

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About the Editor

Veron Ang is the Founder and Chief Editor of Sparklette, a Singapore restaurants guide, lifestyle and travel blog. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in computer science from the National University of Singapore and runs a web design firm at Sparklette Studio. To get in touch, head on over to the contact page or follow @Sparklette and @VeronSG on Twitter.

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Responses Leave a comment

ry

the country shop is beautiful. what’s the name of the shop, i wanna go too!
Reply
Posted October 16, 2006 at 7:45 pm
Veron
3438 comments

I think it’s called “tabletop creations”. The shop is situated right in front of the mosque entrance so you wouldn’t miss it. Actually there’s an even bigger shop selling similar country-styled furniture along Arab Street, but I got shooed away before I could even enter.
Reply
Posted October 16, 2006 at 7:56 pm
py
183 comments

It is another nice place to visit, other than the colourful Little India. :)
You may wish to check out the Original Singapore Walks. I went for one of the walks about the Kampong Glam area and I love it.
Reply
Posted October 16, 2006 at 11:30 pm
Veron
3438 comments

Yep! I’m thinking of going on my own Little India trip this weekend. My previous trip there during the International Museum Day was a little rushed, although we did get to check out the Museum of Shanghai Toys and dine at a nice North Indian restaurant. Still it didn’t seem too “cultural” at that time.
Reply
Posted October 17, 2006 at 12:35 am
py
183 comments

Have fun!!
Reply
Posted October 17, 2006 at 10:53 pm
Lain
18 comments

Ahhh, I had never been to Kampong Glam. I remembered that I wasn’t feeling well when my class went there for excursion when I was 12. :(
Anyway, the jewelry cabinet looks really great. I love how it can get things so so so organised. :D
Reply
Posted October 19, 2006 at 12:01 am
weisheng

hey there!
i spotted this on youtube ” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT4dpFpiTgk “, i thought it was really interesting and wanted to share!
Reply
Posted October 19, 2006 at 4:54 pm
nana
1 comment

Went to kampong glam 2 wks ago. I like the lazy mood there. I can’t believe i miss out this shop. I have always love country furniture & wanted to shop for some for my new flat. Any1 got the exact shop name & add?
Reply
Posted June 16, 2007 at 12:17 am
Veron
3438 comments

Please see comment #2.
Reply
Posted June 18, 2007 at 10:20 am
tricia
1 comment

woah…tis website sooooooooooooooooooooo beautiful….luckily my frien tell me gt tis website…
Reply
Posted August 28, 2007 at 3:34 pm
leong leyi
1 comment

hello! Ihave been to kampong glam before and i love it there i buy some thing there and i love thier perfume!!!!!!!!!
Reply
Posted May 28, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Regine Chan
1 comment

I have never been to Kampong Glam but i think it is quite fun and interesting. i saw the picture of the shops!!!! the pictures was very beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish i could go there and buy the things there!!!!!!!! it looked and sounded fascinating!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reply
Posted July 8, 2010 at 7:53 pm