Continuing from the earlier blog post on "Visit Tiong Bahru and Walk Into The Past", this sequel will offer glimpses of the shops and market in Tiong Bahru.
There are coffee shops which offer local food such as variants of the much relished Tiong Bahru porridge, bak kut teh (peppery pork ribs soup paired with rice and tea cuppas), Hainanese curry rice, yong tau foo (mackerel fish paste stuffed into portions of bitter gourd, tofu, bean curds, lady's finger, etc.) as well as restaurants, cafes and bakeries.
Then, there are shops which provide a wide-range of goods and services such as household items, drinks and snacks (think convenience stores), hair salons, legal services, books (Books Actually), spas and dog grooming.
To cap it all, the heart of the action in Tiong Bahru would be its market comprising a so-called wet market (the floors are dry now due to progress) on the ground floor which sell all the imaginable stuffs such as fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, dried goods, flowers and clothing, and a humongous food centre upstairs which sells a representative smorgasbord of local delights (every day food, if you remove the hype) -- only the truly good ones are worthy to be labelled as "local delights", strictly speaking, and you can easily discern from their long queue of die-hard fans and awards garnered.
The above are just glimpses and would not do full justice to the vibe, heritage and all that makes for the distinction of Tiong Bahru. You gotta visit this enclave, experience it personally and then create your own memories of it.
