Unique Activities Along The East Side TEL: Easties Give Recs
Anyone with Eastie friends must have heard them say – more times than they care to hear it – that east side = best side. Now that the TEL Stage 4 is up, we decided it was time to hear these folks out and let them show us what they see as the greatest hits in their hood.
We asked a few die-hard Easties to recommend some of their favourite places in the area, ruling out the usual suspects, like cafes and Peranakan restaurants, and instead focusing on lesser-known charms along the TEL. As it turns out, there’s a lot that’s worth the ride. These are some of our favourites.
1. Master the art of kintsugi
Where: Kintsugi Art Studio, 2 Fowlie Road, #01-07 Sycamore Tree, Singapore 428505
Nearest TEL station: Marine Parade
“Kintsugi” means “golden joinery” and this Japanese art form involves exactly that: repairing broken pottery by bonding the pieces together with shimmery lacquer.
It's aid that the technique originated in the 15th century, when a Japanese warrior sent a broken tea bowl back to China for repair. Disappointed with the quality of the fixes, he sought a local craftsman to come up with a more aesthetically pleasing method of repairs, leading to the birth of kintsugi.
Since then, the practice has evolved into a form of therapy that symbolises the mending of one’s spirit and celebrates the beauty of imperfection.
One of the most legit places to pick this up in Singapore is Kintsugi Art Studio, a 10-minute walk from Marine Parade MRT station, where you can learn from Kyoto-trained artist Nilo.
Apart from enabling you to create your own one-of-a-kind art piece, each class also teaches you to embrace what’s broken (be it literal or metaphorical) and how to bring the pieces back together so they’re stronger.
Sessions – which have been described as “healing” by past participants – can get pretty intense, so don’t forget to reward yourself after your class with some happy carbs: the legendary Mr & Mrs Mohgan Super Crispy Prata is just a 5-minute stroll away.
2. Hunt for vintage comics
Where: Silver Kris Comics, 84 Marine Parade Central, #01-59, Singapore 440084
Nearest TEL station: Marine Parade
In a world of same-same stores and rising prices, Silver Kris is a welcome breath of woodsy, paper-scented air. Nonagenarian owner Liu Wei Kun – some say he’s the world’s oldest owner of a comic book store – has been selling comics since 1982, and his comics-stuffed, hole-in-the-wall shop at Marine Parade Central Market is anything but cookie cutter.
For one thing, prices haven’t changed for years: you can pick any three comics for $10, and Liu is more than happy to make recommendations if you tell him what you like.
But the real joy here is the fact that you can go bargain hunting for gems – it’s not unheard of to find rare editions and first prints from DC or Marvel amongst the curtains of pristine, plastic-wrapped issues that line the shop.
No surprise, then, that Silver Kris has its own legion of fans, who include local comic artist Sonny Liew, author of the popular graphic novel The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye.
IMAGE: SIM DING EN
IMAGE: SIM DING EN
IMAGE: SIM DING EN
3. Dine retro-style
Where: Hua Yu Wee Seafood Restaurant, 462 Upper East Coast Road, Singapore 466508
Nearest TEL station: Bayshore
Having dinner at Hua Yu Wee is like eating in a time capsule: one of Singapore’s oldest continuously operating restaurants, it’s housed in an elegant 1920s colonial bungalow located near the original eastern coastline (before the land reclamation of the 1960s to 1980s).
Here, the zi char-style food is fabulously old-school – from the roast chicken served with keropok and garnished with orchids, to fast-disappearing desserts like orh nee and ice jelly.
Most folks come for the chilli and black pepper crab, but the dishes we can’t quit ordering are the hor fun – that’s served half “wet” and slippery, half “dry” and crispy – and the deep-fried feng sha chicken with its zingy green chilli sauce.
There’s even outdoor seating in a charming lantern-lit courtyard if that’s your thing (although if you’re heat-intolerant like us, you’ll call ahead and chope a table in the air-conditioned area).
Don’t be fooled by how out of the way Hua Yu Wee looks on the map – even before the opening of the TEL Stage 4, the restaurant was packed, so reservations are essential.
Bonus: if you feel like a stroll after your meal, the lovely and under-visited Bougainvillea Garden in East Coast Park is a 30-minute walk away via Bayshore Road.
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