Loving My Spot: Bishan + A giveaway!

Raised in Terrific Tampines, I love everything about the place except the long traveling times to other locations. I could be biased but I think that air in the East is fresher, you can find the bestest foods in the East and people of the East are more Kampung, as in friendly and neighborly.

I married Daddy and also married the place we're living in. I miss my home but have also developed much love for our neighborhood in Bishan since I moved here.

Transportation infrastructure

At the risk of sounding like a property agent, Bishan is THE BOMB in terms of convenience in getting around. Just look at my usual traveling times by car (True Story!):

Tampines - 10 to 15 minutes
Office - 10 to 20 minutes
Orchard - 15 to 20 minutes
Jurong - 25 to 30 minutes
Woodlands Checkpoint - 20 to 25 minutes

Not forgetting the train infrastructure. The circle line is a lifesaver! And it is a breeze to get around to wherever I usually need to go whenever Daddy is not around to chauffeur me. No sweat.

This convenience translates to having easy access to good food, entertainment, family and friends living in different locations and not forgetting more sleep in the mornings!

Bishan North Shopping Mall

Pet shops. Dental clinics. Wet market. Optical shops. Watch shop. Laundry shop. GP clinics. Medicinal halls. Fresh fruit stalls. Hairdressers. Beauty salons. Florist. Eating houses. Grocer. Bakeries. Cheers. Watsons. AXS machine. POSB ATM. OCBC ATM and a 24 hour NTUC

This heartland shopping mall along Bishan Street 23 is small but mighty.

My favourite Zi Char

























I love the Zi Char at one of the eating house within Bishan North Shopping Mall. They serve the usual dishes like prawn paste friend chicken, sambal kang kong, sweet & sour pork, steamed cod fish, fu rong egg but the taste.. the TASTE... is love.

Cheap groceries that aren't expiring

Located within the Bishan north shopping mall, this supermarket is highly highly recommended by the MIL for groceries at surprising prices. I asked her if the groceries are usually near their expiry date and she said no! The seasonal fruits and vegetables they sell are fresh too.

Many many.. many many Education centres

There are countless education / tuition centers ( I counted 10 just within Bishan North Shopping Mall alone) around Bishan Good for parents who believe in enrichment classes!

Bishan-Toa Payoh North Wood ball course

When I first saw it, I was very intrigued at the sight of this woodball course located by the Bishan North Shopping Mall. I've never heard about woodball (sua gu!) before this and curiosity killed the cat, I consulted wikipedia and this is what I learnt.

This woodball course is home to the Bishan North Woodball Club.

Salvation Army Donation Drop Off Point

I love it that we have a Salvation Army donation drop off point in our neighborhood. We've donated many a Micky mouse t-shirt (which Daddy used to collect) as well as other clothing items in very good condition, happy that they can be put to good use instead of sitting in our wardrobe.

It would have been great if the thrift shop was also located in Bishan but I found out that there aren't any here. They are located at the locations below, if you're interested.

The Ice-cream Man

This ice-cream man comes around often. When we hear his bell, we grab spare change and pop down for some good old traditional ice-cream.

He makes us happy each time he comes. The process of choosing flavours, choosing between bread or wafer and just watching the ice-cream man prepare our ice-cream makes us feel like children all over again.

I really hope that the little girl gets to experience this as well.

People watching

I took this picture somewhere near Bishan Park, where people watching is interesting, if you have a moment of leisure.

This elderly man strutted past us whilst we were sitting side by side on the kerb by our car, having an ice-cream each. He held on to his treasured plane like it was the most precious thing on earth. We later saw him set up and eventually fly his plane. It attracted much attention and the people who watched had smiles on their faces as they chatted about it.

Actually, it is easy to be happy.

Macdonalds at my backyard

Opens 24 hours during the weekends and fantastic for a late night Macdonald's craving!

During my maternity leave, I was stuck at home almost every single day (long story). On very rare days when I got to go out for a breather, it was bliss to be able to retreat in this peaceful oasis and get to eat my favorite junk foods. I remember returning home a very contended person, things like this make me happy.

The Library

I was purely attracted by the design of our library in Bishan. Just look at the colored glass reading corners! Driven by my curiosity on what it would be like to sit in one of these reading sanctuaries and devour a book, I went to the library and spent more time than I planned exploring the place.

To my surprise, there were more such colored glass reading corners in the library. Good for those who prefer not to bask in the sunlight at those reading corners.

































This is how the sunlight facing colored glass reading corners look like from the inside.

There is also a Children's Collection section within the Bishan Library located at one of the basement levels. I went down and read many a children's book, dreaming about the day when the little girl would grow up enough for me to take her on library trips.

I was surprised to come across a project room within the library. It is well located at a corner of the library and, I believe, intended to be used by library patrons for discussions. Quiet and conducive , I love it and wished we had such facilities when I was still studying.

The Bishan library has really got it all covered in my opinion. They even have a cafe for people like me, who love to have a cake to go with my book.

CPF Board

Don't know about you but when I do have CPF matters to settle, it irks me to have to wake up early in the morning on a Saturday to queue up for service in the CBD area.

When I found out that there was a CPF office in Bishan, I was damn happy.

Junction 8 nursing room

They recently revamped their nursing rooms and this one located at B1 made me go whoa...and next thing you know, I was busy snapping away.

Nursing in public was easy for me when the little girl was little-er. Now that she is a big baby, she objects to nursing under a nursing cover and I appreciate a good nursing room greatly.

So far, I love the nursing room at Somerset 313 best (it's like mummy heaven except for the creepy crawlies) but this comes a close second and I'm very glad it is so near home!

Spacious enough for 3 strollers I think. individual nursing room, seat for the waiting hubbies. I was quite happy with it.

Joy Joy's PD

The little girl's PD is Dr Oh Meng Choo from the Kidz Clinic @ Bishan. I major love her for many reasons and have learnt a lot from Dr Oh on breastfeeding, nutrition for the little girl and you can really ask her anything under the sun.

I'm seeing her this morning for JoyJoy's vaccination.. See if I can get some photos of her clinic!

Top schools

When mummies of school-going children talk about Bishan, they inevitably talk about the good schools located here. Whilst this could very well be the reason why we couldn't afford a resale flat from the open market, I know I should be very very very thankful that we're living so close to the good schools.
Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park

Boy oh boy! This place is a gem! I was going to write about it but I realized with delight that Steph Tan of Steph Tan Photography will be writing about it. So I'll leave it to her to show you around.

Places I have yet to explore

I haven't been to some parts of Bishan yet.. like the golf course and the prawning place. They sound promising!

Giveaway!

Because this is the first time i'm participating in a blog train, I asked the lovely owner of Fleuristes Jewelry if she would let one of my readers own a creation of his / her choice and she said YES! The winner of this giveaway can pick any unsold piece of jewelry that he / she fancies!

Her jewelry pieces are all lovingly crafted by hand. I bought one of her pieces with my own money and love it so much! No doubt that the giveaway winner will enjoy the prize :) Results will be announced on National Day!

All you have to do to participate in this give away is to leave me a comment and I'll get the little girl to pick a random winner!

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Fleuristes Jewelry and I have not received any compensation whatsoever for this.

This post is part of a blog train hosted by Sarah of The Playful Parents in celebration of Singapore's 47th birthday. Hop over to Sarah's to find out what 18 other fabulous mummy bloggers love about their spot!

Tomorrow, Adora of the The Gingerbread Mom brings you around Telok Kurau (Katong) for more loving!


About Adora

Adora is mum to Poppy, 4, and Calla, 3 months. She tackles meal-time mayhem, kitchen disasters and playground politics on a daily basis. In between breaths, she writes for parenting magazines on a freelance basis and runs a crafts-for-kids business. She enjoys cheap chocolate, smelling her baby’s neck, and would really like a good night’s sleep.