Exploring Duxton Hill

The sky was overcast today, but that made it perfect for Wan Lin and I to take an afternoon stroll in the area around Duxton Hill. Wan Lin is so lucky to be living a stone’s throw away from the area, amongst the charming bookstores, patisseries and little bistros. We started the afternoon off with a leisurely (and inexpensive!) dim sum lunch, then discovered alleys, spent time in Littered with Books, and enjoyed the sprightly-coloured old shophouses along the quiet streets.  I’ve got some snaps to share and recommendations to make, if you’d like to see!

ps. wrote this last week but somehow forgot to post it! it’s been waiting as a draft for 5 days now. whoops!

Yixing Xuan Teahouse / 30-32 Tanjong Pagar Road Tasty and relatively inexpensive dim sum. The selection is small, and the dumplings are by no means exquisitely-fashioned, but it’s an easy place to have a slow meal. There’s always something comforting about food that bears no pretense! We ordered a selection of 5 dim sum plates, fried rice and a green tea + red bean pancake to share, and had a tall glass of cold tea each (regular milk tea for me, honey milk tea for her). The bill came to about $13 each, and we still had a fair bit of food left over!

ReStore / 124 Tanjong Pagar Road / restoreliving.com My favourite find of the afternoon! The modest space doubles up as a restored vintage furniture store and a cafe, carrying coffee, tea, bagels and other good things. I love how the store is split lengthwise, so neither the furniture nor the cafe seating hide behind each other. The pairing of fresh, fun fabrics with the old wood stains is so genius. I hope this store sticks around so I can return when I have a little apartment of my own to decorate!

Everybody’s favourite biscuits from childhood. I especially like the pineapple jam sandwich ones.

Littered with Books / 20 Duxton Road Lovely little quiet place to lose yourself in for a while. They have a good selection of books across most major genres at reasonable prices, and cute handwritten recommendation cards plastered on some shelves. The staff is also welcoming and smiley — we browsed for a long time and walked out empty-handed, but the staff remained nothing short of polite. That’s an important touch, and I’ll be coming back the next time I’ve got a book in mind. I love the map illustration plastered on the second floor wall (barely visible in the top right hand corner of the picture above), and the dark wood interior. The only thing they are missing is a store cat to match their sign!