Holland Village, Singapore

SG neighbourhood
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englishname=Holland Village
chinesename=荷兰村
pinyin=Héláncūn
malayname=fill in
tamilname="fill in"

Holland Village is a small commercial enclave near the Buona Vista MRT Station close to the Queenstown area in Singapore. A popular venue for younger Singaporeans and expatriates, it is dominated by and often visited solely for its eateries, along with some specialist shops selling non-traditional wares. The place is sometimes referred as "Holland V". Holland Village will get its own MRT station in 2010 with the same name. The low-rise enclave is surrounded by high-rise HDB flats. In Holland Village there are movable barricades in the street as an anti-terrorism measure. [ [http://www.tau.ac.il/jcss/newsasia2712.htm Channelnewsasia.com ] ]

Etymology

Holland Village was named after Holland Road which in turn was named after Hugh Holland in 1907. Hugh Holland was an early resident in Singapore, he was an architect and an amateur actor. The roads Holland Avenue, Holland Close and Holland Drive were officially named after the principal road in 1972. Holland Road is known as "hue hng au" in Hokkien, meaning "behind the flower garden". The "flower garden" refers to the Botanic Gardens.

Food and Drink

Many food chains in Singapore, such as Crystal Jade, BreadTalk, The Coffee Bean, Burger King, Subway, Indochine and Häagen-Dazs, are located in Holland Village. A 24-hour coffee shop, a market and a food court are also present with food stalls selling Chinese and Western dishes. Other eating places include Swensen's, Thai Express and several dessert, Western cuisine and Japanese cuisine outlets. The gentrification of the Holland V area is characterised by the more up-market dining options such as the numerous ethnic restaurants as well as franchises such as Marmalade Pantry and Tapas Bar. Other prominent bars include Tango's, Baden and Harry's Bar. However, Wala Wala remains the grand dame of the bars along the Lorong Mambong stretch. This decade-old two-storey stalwart packs a crowd that ranges from varsity students to yuppies with its laid back atmosphere and nightly live music. [ http://www.visitsingapore.com/publish/stbportal/en/home/about_singapore/ezine_home/Apr06/fine_finds/Wala_Wala.html] [ [http://www.singaporesights.com/dining/restaurants/wala-wala-caf-bar-2 Wala Wala Café Bar | Wala, Bar, Village, Ndash, Holland | SINGAPORESIGHTS ] ]

Shops and services

Holland Village has a great variety of commercial amenities ranging from a Cold Storage supermarket branch (part of The Dairy Farm Group), to antique shops. Other commercial amenities include banking services, Guardian Pharmacy, 7-Eleven and a photo processing shop called "Photo Finish". There are two shopping centres in Holland Village, Holland Road Shopping Centre and Holland V Shopping Mall.

Parking

Although there are a number of car parks in and around Holland Village, parking still remains a problem during peak hours. The car parks in Holland Village have increased with a new two storey car park near the back of the Cold Storage supermarket.

Transport

Within Singapore's transport system, Holland Village is usually reached from other parts of Singapore either by bus or taxi, and is linked to Orchard Road via Holland Road. Holland Village MRT Station, CC21 on the Circle Line, will provide Mass Rapid Transit rail access to the area when it opens in 2010. The Circle Line will link Holland Village to Farrer Road, the northern end of the Botanic Gardens and Bishan. In the other direction the line will pass by the one-north biomedical research area and Harbourpoint, with its Vivocity shopping complex and ferry terminal.

Politics

Holland Village is within the Buona Vista division of Holland-Bukit Timah Group Representation Constituency with its Member of Parliament being Minister (Prime Minister's Office) Lim Swee Say since 1997. The constituency belonged to Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency from 1997 to 2001 and Holland-Bukit Panjang Group Representation Constituency from 2001 to 2006. Before 1997, the division was a Single Member Constituency.

TV shows about Holland Village

*Holland V on MediaCorp Channel 8

References

*Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2003), "Toponymics - A Study of Singapore Street Names", Eastern Universities Press, ISBN 981-210-205-1