Forum: Fewer and fewer places ‘with character’ due to gentrification

UPDATED Jun 10, 2025, 05:00 AM

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A sense of nostalgia swept over me as I read the article (Empty shops, boarded windows: Has Holland Village lost its mojo?, June 7)

As a teenager who went to school nearby in the 1990s and subsequently, navigated a budding social life as a young adult in the early 2000s, “Holland V” has always held a special place in my heart.

Having first dinner dates as junior college students at Fosters, aptly described as “An English Rose Cafe”, was as commonplace as having ice-cream dates at the now-defunct Haagen-Dazs in Lorong Mambong.

Other fond memories include bumping into home-grown singer Stefanie Sun at the old Holland Villlage Food Centre (before its makeover) who said “hi” with a tip of her baseball cap as mutual acquaintances exchanged warm greetings while having a late night supper.

Wala Wala Cafe Bar was one of our go-to places for weekend and midweek gatherings as young adults – fun times spent on scintillating conversations that got increasingly animated as the nights wore on.

Singapore has the unenviable and delicate task of striking a good balance between the old and new.

As more and more places go through development, spurred on by rental prices and market forces, is our uniquely Singaporean version of gentrification resulting in fewer and fewer places “with character”, such as Tiong Bahru and Holland Village?

We need to do more so that such havens, which played an important role in our personal stories, do not fade into our distant collective memories.

Teo Eng Keat Julian

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