6 spots to check out in Singapore’s Bukit list neighbourhood

One of Singapore’s most sought-after neighbourhoods, Bukit Timah offers lifestyle amenities, green space, and new residential projects

For years now, Bukit Timah has been a sought-after urban escape. Its over-riding tranquility and numerous city centre links ensure Bukit its enduring popularity with well-heeled locals and expatriates. The area’s natural assets are enhanced by Bukit Batok, an old quarrying ground, encouraging vigorous hikes through this busy but beautiful neighbourhood that’s augmented by new real-estate additions from big-name developers.

Greenwood Fish Market

This family-run enterprise on ultra-affluent Greenwood Avenue collects several market stalls, a store, the extravagant Clipper Bar, and a seafood restaurant under one roof. It brings the convenience of fresh catches— from the familiar halibut to the elusive monkfish—to locals straight from the fishrich waters surrounding Singapore. The restaurant serves international cuisines with imagination and exquisite plating, varying in style from Japanese to West Asian—even fish burgers and sandwiches —complemented by choice wine lists. More rarefied items come from Russia (caviar), Japan, South Korea, Oceania, Mauritius, South Africa, France, the Netherlands, Canada, and Chile. There’s also a bedazzling array of cheeses, truffles, oils, sauces, flavourings, tinned seafood, fine mushrooms, and breads. A second outlet sits by the scenic surroundings of Quayside Isle on Sentosa Island.

Watten House

A 180-unit high-rise on Shelford Road from UOL Group Ltd in collaboration with Architects 161 and Index Design, this project due for completion in Q4 2026 is conceived as a sequel of sorts to UOL’s acclaimed MeyerHouse. With commanding views and proximity to prestigious schools, Watten House is inspired by traditional Asian courtyards, lying adjacent to each other and interspersed with pools, gardens, ponds, walking trails, and a jacuzzi from Danish landscapers Henning Larsen. Inside, the apartments of three bedrooms or more have private elevators and maximise space with balconies and marble flooring, with the overall look intended to blend with its environment.

Bar Bar Black Sheep

Fifteen years old and tucked away on Cherry Avenue next to a residential block, here’s a real hidden treasure. It’s an unconventional set-up—not just a gastropub, but a one-stop shop: a mini-food court with TV, books, music, a water feature, a landscaped garden, and a car park. The busy bar serving “craft, draft, and unique wine” is complemented by a Spanish food stall (La Mesa). The 50/50 mix of locals and chilled-out foreigners sups European beers among the potted shrubbery and benches, and the whole enterprise exudes the genial informality of a Goan-style resort bar. There are also live music events and DJs, events such as International Curry Week, plus subsidiary outlets in Kent Ridge’s University Cultural Centre, Robertson Quay, and nearby Cluny Court.

Bukit Batok Nature Park

Dubbed “Little Guilin” by locals for its resemblance to the Chinese city’s scenic Elephant Trunk Hill, the Poh Kim Quarry public park is the distinguishing beauty spot of Bukit Batok, a small town a short walk south of Bukit Timah. Winston Churchill described his army’s 1942 surrender to the Japanese at what’s now an exhibition space, Memories at Old Ford Factory, as the “largest capitulation” in British military history (the Nissan company took over the base after their conquest). Once dominated by rubber and pineapple plantations, the area became industrialised after World War II. Built from the igneous rock that’s prevalent in the area, Poh Kim was heavily quarried for granite until the 1970s, when the government started to promote it as a beauty spot.

Perfect Ten

Its name proclaiming its greatness even before opening in July 2025, this luxury twin-tower development from DP Architects emphasises both grandeur and a sense of calm, looking over Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and holding over 200 spacious three-bedroom apartments. Landscaping group Salad Dressing Architects have gone to town with the exteriors, animating the chevron-shaped building with an “environmental deck”, waterfalls, planters, water features, roof gardens, jacuzzi, and a sky garden; a clubhouse laced with gold mesh has a kitchen island designed by Zaha Hadid. Inside it’s all chandeliers, marble flooring, Miele appliances, Villeroy & Boch fittings, and double-door fridges; smart features run throughout.

Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

It can be surprising to find expansive green lungs in a tiny country with 6 million residents, and spaces like this see Lee Kuan Yew’s vision of a “garden city” come to its full fruition—a diversity-rich rainforest around Singapore’s highest point. The 1.7 square-kilometre reserve’s other main features include the Eco-Link BKE, which allows pangolins, mousedeers, and macaques to traverse the Bukit Timah Expressway into Central Catchment Nature Reserve. The primary forest gathers plant, animal, and insect species such as giant trees, along with rare birds like the Asian fairy bluebird and the greater racket-tailed drongo, with its distinctive whistle and plumage. Interactivity is encouraged with an exhibition hall, nature walks, guided tours, and bird-watching huts, as well as opportunities to help with the reserve’s conservation efforts.

The original version of this article appeared in PropertyGuru Property Report Magazine Issue No. 187 on issuu and Magzter. Write to our editors at [email protected].