Anyway, I went to the Tiong Bahru Plaza for a movie recently and ended up going to the refurbished Tiong Bahru hawker center via the old Tiong Bahru estate. This is a prime area, for those who hanker for a taste of a slightly sleepy, rustic but more private residence. For those who stay on the ground floor, they have a backyard, or frontyard, to landscape, like some of these photos shown here. If one cannot afford a private terrace or bigger house, this is the next best thing, I guess. Some of the owners have a very good sense of aesthetics and amazing horticultural expertise, as demonstrated by the beautiful landscapes and healthy plants here. For instance, one owner seemed to be able to grow the Hydrangea macrophylla in a very healthy, flowering condition, with leaves that are not plagued by leaf spots and so on.
And then, there is the old hawker center with lots of good food. In fact, this was only the second time I was here. The last time I came, it was about 10 months ago. Surprisingly I saw clumps of this uncommon but established palm. Pardon me here because I do not know its identity as my knowledge of palms is really limited. They look impressively different and amazing.
If one is lucky enough, they would have a small open space in front of their compound and can get to appreciate some of the older trees, that never lost their favour with me. I, for one, was fortunate to see the beautiful pink flower Rose of India and carpet of Yellow Flame flowers there and then.
NB on 15 Mar 12: Yes, the very refreshing palm is Euterpe oleracea ( common name: Acai Berry).
