My World Tuesday -A walk along Balestier Road - Balestier Market and Stone Lions

Today, I will introduce Balestier Heritage Trail. You need good walking shoes to walk the whole trail, I manage a few spots only cause some are closed on Sunday or under restoration.

The road 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. You can read more from source.

Balestier has a rich history and many Singaporeans come here for its delicious local food found in shophouses. Expect queues especially at well known stalls/restaurants.

I found the stone lions that once grace the Oasis Restaurant in Kallang. Seems like the lions had shifted here to Balestier Market but the Oasis restaurant has shifted to Toa Payoh. You can see my other photo of the same lion that was once at Oasis Restaurant in kallang in my previous post.

Because of the heavy traffic along Balesteir Road, this is the best position to photograph the two lions. These lions are not the original stone lions that once guard Merdeka Bridge (now Benjamin Sheares Bridge). These are just clone of the original lions. The original stone lions are now at SAFTI Jurong.

The market is no longer the wet market that I once knew. It is now privately owned and a food court. It was so quiet when I visited in on a Sunday, many stalls are emptied and not many customers in the food court.

I guess not every upgrading is good especially at Balestier Road where there are lots of famous eateries/restaurants in here.

In my opinion, a market should be a market and nothing else.


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