Balestier

Balestier is a subzone located in the district of Novena in the Central Region of Singapore. The road links Thomson Road to Serangoon Road and the road continues on as Lavender Street. The road is home to rows of shophouses, low-rise apartment and commercial buildings as well as a shopping mall known as Shaw Plaza. There are several lighting and electrical shops along the road and the road is home to the Ceylon Sports Club. The area is known for its food such as bak kut teh, chicken rice and tau sar piah with budget hotels sprucing up in the area. In the area, there are several apartments and condominiums.

Etymology and history

The precinct was named after Joseph Balestier, the then colony's first American consul from 1837 to 1852 and the owner of a 1,000-acre (4.0 km²) sugar plantation called Balestier Plain, which failed and was put up for sale. Balestier was in Singapore between 1834 and 1852 and was a botanist and agriculturist. The road was named after him as it was where his plantation was located. Balestier hired a number of immigrants on his estates. The Chinese labourers settled in the area and built a temple which still exists known as Go Cho Tua Pek Kong, with the area having the last free-standing wayang stage in Singapore that was built in 1906. The rows of shophouses was constructed in the late 19th century have been since conserved, though some have made way for new development. These shophouses were to provide services to residents. In the 1880s, several bungalows were constructed, with one still remaining at Tai Gin Road known as the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall (formerly the Sun Yat Sen Villa or Wan Qing Yuan).