District 11 is where you’ll find a good number of private homes, be they landed or high-rise. It is also dotted with renowned schools, places of worship, eateries, retail outlets and just about everything that’s needed for daily convenience.
Bukit Timah
About 10km from the CBD, Bukit Timah is an elite residential district known for its high land value. It has some of the densest clusters of landed property and luxury condos, and very limited public housing. Many expatriates and well-heeled Singaporeans live here.
Not surprisingly, there are many international schools and top academic institutions here, most notably the Nanyang Primary School, Raffles Girls’ Primary School, Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road), St Joseph’s Institution, Singapore Chinese Girls’ School, Hwa Chong Institution, National Junior College, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, German European School, and the Swiss School of Singapore.
Aside from being an enclave of the wealthy, Bukit Timah is also home to Singapore’s highest hill. Standing at 164m, Bukit Timah Hill sits within the 163-hectare Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, which has one of the richest and most diverse equatorial ecological systems.
Bukit Timah Nature Reserve
The 25km Bukit Timah Road, which is the longest road in Singapore running from the north to the south of the island, got its name from the hill.
If you’re wondering if the region is so named because it was a former tin ore mining area (“timah” is tin ore in Malay), let us enlighten you that there was never such activity in this area. Bukit Timah probably got its present name due to a mispronunciation among the British! The area once had an abundance of temak trees, and its original name was Bukit Temak.
In 1933, the Bukit Timah Race Course was opened and served as a thoroughbred horse racing facility until its closure in 1999. Today, the site is home to The Grandstand where you’ll find food outlets, childcare centres and a Giant supermarket. More popular eateries can be found in Sixth Avenue and Turf City.
Bukit Timah Race Course
The Malaysia-Singapore railway service known as Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) had a station in Bukit Timah along its railway network from Johor Bahru to Tanjong Pagar. But today, KTM only runs its service up to Woodlands in Singapore’s northernmost end.
Currently, Bukit Timah has 6 MRT stations, spanning 2 lines – the Downtown and Circle lines. The Bukit Timah region was later extended and District 21 (Upper Bukit Timah) was formed.
Dunearn Road
At 25km, Bukit Timah Road is one of the longest roads in Singapore. It splits into two roads at Newton Circus. To the west, it continues as Bukit Timah Road while to the east, it becomes Dunearn Road. Both roads are parallel but are separated by a canal.
The Bukit Timah canal filled up after a heavy downpour
Aside from the canal, another distinctive feature of Dunearn Road is the big trees along the road that provide shade and character. These tall trees include the Broad Leaf Mahogany, Kenanga, Droopy Cassia, Rhu, and Jambu Laut.
Part of Dunearn Road is under the canopy of big trees
Today, many top schools are located around Dunearn Road, notably the Singapore Chinese Girls’ School, Hwa Chong Institution, St Joseph’s Institution, Nanyang Girls’ High School, National Junior College, and Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road).
It’s difficult not to notice the Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) from Dunearn Road
In days past, one will also find these buildings along Dunearn Road: Sheares Hall (a hostel catering to students from the University of Malaya), the Singapore Turf Club, and the Home Nursing Foundation (now occupied by the World Health Organisation).
In 1970, a bougainvillaea park was built where Watten Drive, Watten Estate Road, Watten Park, and Dunearn Road met.
There are also many landed homes, apartments and condominiums fronting the tree-lined Dunearn Road.
A venue for relaxation and key events, Raffles Town Club sits prominently at a junction of Dunearn Road and Whitley Road
Besides schools and residences, Dunearn Road also boasts commercial buildings. Most prominent would be the Raffles Town Club and the Novotel Orchid Inn. There’s also a Sime Darby Centre, Breast Cancer Foundation, Dunearn Court, Dunearn Estate, Watten Estate and Swiss Club Park along the road.
Close to Dunearn Road too are quite a few churches and temples, such as the Poh Ming Tse Temple, Kuan Yin San Temple, Gospel Light Christian Church, and the Bethlehem Bible Presbyterian Church.
Chancery
Chancery Lane is in the Novena/Thomson area, which is in the outskirts of the CBD. Most of the residences here are freehold landed properties and luxury condominiums.
Orchard Road is a mere 5 minutes’ drive away. Novena MRT station and shopping malls (Novena Square, Velocity, United Square) are only a short stroll away. The Revenue House (IRAS) is located opposite Novena MRT station while Tan Tock Seng Hospital is located directly behind the station.
Nearby malls offer shopping convenience
If that’s not enough, Thomson Road offers even more amenities such as shops, eateries and malls.
There are also popular schools in the area, namely the Raffles Girls’ Secondary School, Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road), and the Singapore Chinese Girls’ School. Two prestigious clubs – the Pines Club and the American Club – are in the vicinity too.
Newton
Sandwiched between Orchard Road and Bukit Timah, leafy Newton is best known for the Newton Circus and Newton Food Centre.
Traffic is always heavy at Newton Circus
The 12m-wide Newton Circus is a roundabout that is the focus of eight converging roads: Bukit Timah Road, Dunearn Road, Newton Road, Keng Lee Road, Kampong Java Road, Bukit Timah Road, Clemenceau Avenue, and Scotts Road.
Find a plethora of tasty hawker food at the airy Newton Food Centre
The Newton Food Centre is located next to Newton Circus. This large food centre serves some of the best hawker food in town and is favoured by many, from locals to foreign visitors, families to the club-going crowd.
There are lots of private residences here comprising terraces, semi-d’s and apartments, along with hotels, schools and shops.
Although the Istana (official residence of the President of Singapore) is usually considered as part of the Orchard area, it actually sits within the territory of the Newton Planning Area.
In this article, we’ve given you a good overview of Singapore’s District 11. If you want to know more about the area, particularly about its residences, schedule a visit with us or book a free consultation with our trusted and renowned representatives.
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