Standing Buddha, Burmese Buddhist Temple

Balestier, Newton, Novena and Toa Payoh are in central Singapore.

Understand

Strung along the North-South Line just north of Orchard Road, these four rather dissimilar districts serve to absorb Singapore's urban sprawl and house its inhabitants. None are particularly attractive from a tourist's point of view, but they are popular for short and longer-term stays in Singapore — quiet and reasonably priced, but close enough to be convenient.

Balestier offers one of Singapore's largest clusters of cheap hotels, second only to Geylang. As you might guess, here too the main customers are patrons of the nearby whorehouses and gambling dens, although they maintain low profile and this isn't really a cause for concern.

Newton and Novena are rapidly gentrifying suburbs just north of the city, housing a significant expat population and services geared to them. Just one MRT stop further north, though, is the canonical Singapore heartland suburb of Toa Payoh (pron. "Tuah Pah-yoh"), housing well over 100,000 Singaporeans in HDB housing blocks.

Get in

Newton, Novena and Toa Payoh are easily accessed on the North-South MRT Line. Balestier does not have convenient access by MRT, although it's possible to hike over from Toa Payoh or Novena stations (10-15 minutes). However, there are quite a few bus services along Balestier Rd, probably the most useful one being SBS 145 to Boat Quay and Chinatown.

See

Toa Payoh has no sights as such, but it's an interesting example of the elusive "real Singapore". Just take the MRT to the station and walk around the vast sprawl of Toa Payoh Central, much of which is taken up by an outdoor shopping arcade filled with little neighborhood shops and places to east.

The Balestier area has two sights of minor interest:

• Sasanaramsi Burmese Buddhist Temple, 14 Tai Gin Rd (off Balestier Rd), ☎ +65-6251-1717, http://www.bbt.org.sg/. Daily 6:30 AM to 9:00 PM. Completed in 1990, this is the world's first and only Burmese temple outside Burma itself, equipped with an eye-catching golden spire. Inside, the most remarkable features for the lay visitor are the Buddha statues enhanced with swirling LED halos; be sure to climb up to the third floor to see the largest and most stunning of the lot. Free.

• Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, 12 Tai Gin Rd (off Balestier Rd), http://www.wanqingyuan.com.sg/english/. Built in the late 1800s as Wan Qing Yuan (晚晴园), the villa was offered in 1906 to Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat Sen, who stayed here eight times while in exile. The villa has been lovingly restored and was reopened to the public in 2001, but the contents of the museum inside are a little dull unless you have a keen interest in history. $3.

Do

Playing a chukka at the Singapore Polo Club

• Singapore Polo Club, 80 Mount Pleasant Rd (bus 54, 162, 166 from Novena MRT), ☎ +65-68543999, http://www.singaporepoloclub.org/. Dating back to 1886, the colonial-style clubhouse is a good spot to quaff a gin tonic below lazy ceiling fans while watching toffs pootle about on the polo field. Practice sessions Tue, Thu, Sat and Sun at 5 PM, plus scheduled competition events, all free and open to non-members. Riding lessons also available, although these are primarily intended for members and residents and various conditions apply.

• Toa Payoh Sports Hall and Swimming Complex, 301 Toa Payoh Lorong 6 (Toa Payoh MRT), ☎ +65-62567153. Daily 9 AM-8 PM. Huge swimming pools, very basic ClubFITT gym, badminton courts. Gym $2.50, pool $1.

Buy

Most of Balestier's shops — over 40 at last count — are devoted to selling light fixtures and other interior decoration items. Unless you want to surprise the folks back home with a lovely Singaporean toilet bowl, it's probably best to head elsewhere — both Novena and Toa Payoh have large shopping centers around the MRT stations.

• Novena Square, 238 Thomson Rd (Novena MRT), ☎ +65-63505110, http://www.novenasquare.com/. Novena's largest shopping mall, right on top of the MRT station. Will almost double in size in November 2006 when the sport-themed Velocity expansion opens.

Eat

Food around here is cheap and plentiful.

• Newton Circus (Newton MRT). Known for its seafood, but is also one the few places in Singapore where touts and overcharging can be a nuisance. Still, the hawker centre has always had a special spot in the hearts of Singaporeans, especially those in the heartlands. Newton Circus is located just at the fringe of the CBD, surrounded by landed property, just a less than 5-minute bus ride from the trendy Orchard Road and beside a main road that is just off the Pan Island Expressway (PIE).

• 2nd Mini Steamboat Delight, 273 Thomson Road #01-04 (Novena Garden, opp Novena Square), ☎ +65-62550600. Choose chicken (mild) or tom yam (lethal) soup, add in your choice of ingredients and chow away. The menu is vast and includes lots of exotic (and expensive) seafood choices, but if you stick to the basics portions are cheap and generously sized. Try the fish glue ($4), a spicy fish paste that tastes much better than it sounds. $20.

• Wee Nam Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice, 275 Thomson Road #01-05, ☎ +65-62556396. This no-frills restaurant wins no prizes for appearance or service, but it gets packed every evenings with crowds who want to sample their famous chicken rice. The roasted chicken is better than steamed, ask for boneless to make it easier to eat. Also try the shui jiao (dumpling with minced pork and prawns).

Balestier is locally famous for two products: the flaky bean jam pastry tau sar piah, and the pork rib soup bak kut teh. Thanks to the crowd they serve, most restaurants in Balestier are open until the wee hours.

• Founder Bak Kut Teh, 347 Balestier Road, ☎ +65-63526192. Has a respectable claim to being the first bak kut teh joint on the road, and is certainly the only one with air-con. The sour pickled vegetables and pig's organ soup are also worth a try. Watch out though: their soup is very peppery indeed. $8.

• House of Tau Sar Piah, 529 Balestier Rd, ☎ +65-65203008. Not necessarily the original, but certainly large and popular. Offers a wide variety of fillings, try the savoury tau sar piah with a salty butter filling. $0.50-0.70/piece.

• Loong Fatt Eating House & Confectionary, 639 Balestier Road. Arguably the original tau sar piah shop, which has received Makansutra's highest rating of "Die, die must try".

• Teo Seng Teochew Porridge, 457-461 Balestier Rd, ☎ +65-62563031. 9 AM to 4 AM daily. Large eatery serving up Teochew-style porridge, which means a bowl of watery soup (or steamed rice if you wish) and lots of tasty side dishes. Best experienced with a larger group, so you can sample. $4-.

Drink

• Montero's Pub, 1 Newton Rd #01-01 (Goldhill Plaza), ☎ +65-62599053. A Western-style neighborhood pub with pool table and a good selection of beer. $8-$10.

Sleep

Budget

• Fragrance Hotel, 255, 263, 418 Balestier Rd, ☎ +65-62526888, http://www.fragrancehotel.com/. Singapore's largest chain of cheap hotels has no less than three outlets along Balestier Road, all of which are unexciting but perfectly acceptable. $48-.

Mid-range

• Quality Hotel, 201 Balestier Road, ☎ +65-63559988, http://www.qualityhotel.com.sg. Solid, recently renovated 3-star hotel. Probably the best digs in this part of town. Free shuttle service to Novena MRT and Orchard Rd. $95-.

• Hotel Royal, 36 Newton Road, ☎ +65-62534411. Three-star hotel with a collection of no less than four dodgy nightclubs, which kind of sets the tone. Completed a much-needed renovation in 2005. Note: Don't confuse this with Royal@Queens or Royal Plaza! $100-.

Splurge

• Sheraton Towers, 39 Scotts Road (Newton MRT), ☎ +65-67376888, http://www.sheratonsingapore.com/. Comfortable but rather dull business hotel. There's nothing (except Newton Circus) in the vicinity, but Orchard is just one MRT stop away. Somewhat overpriced unless you get good discounts. $250-.

Contact

• @ Corner, 1 Goldhill Plaza #01-11 (opp Novena MRT on Thomson Rd). Large netcafe popular with gaming addicts. Promotional rates from just $2/hour.