Whenever someone asks me where I stay and I reply: "Pasir Ris", I am usually met with a groan and "wah shag bro damn far", or in the taxi driver's case whenever I need a ride home from the airport, a dirty look because their long wait in the snaking queue would only yield a fare way below their expectations.
And with the recent Pasir Ris Mall joining White Sands and Downtown East as hotspots for families and young adults to hang out on the weekends, it's not as dead as one would assume. The added incentive of the well-known Pasir Ris Park and its forgotten sibling, Pasir Ris Town Park, springs to mind.
But Pasir Ris isn't simply just the place all botak recruits book in or where young adults gather for chalets. Walk with me as I take you on a visual tour of my homeground and show you why this "bicycle town" has more to offer than meets the eye.
"East side best side", I always say, even though technically I stay in the West side of Pasir Ris.
Word of advice: Road conditions to take note of in Pasir Ris West
Fortunately, Pasir Ris West is readily accessible via TPE. Three exits can be taken to access different parts of the residential town. Exit 5 (the one near IKEA Tampines) leads you first to the Pasir Ris industrial area, then to Lorong Halus. Exit 4 takes you into the heart of Pasir Ris West, with Elias Mall dead ahead. And finally, Exit 3 brings you closest to White Sands or Pasir Ris Mall, with Downtown East just a stone's throw away.
Pasir Ris West offers easy access to Punggol thanks to the addition of a bridge connecting Pasir Ris Industrial Drive 1 to Punggol Central. The Pasir Ris Flyover also offers a 5 to 10-minute drive to Tampines Mall. In this case, West side best side.
Expect peak hour jams, especially if you're leaving Pasir Ris West via the TPE between 06:00pm to 07:30pm.
Also, do take note that the roads around Pasir Ris Mall and White Sands, especially Pasir Ris Drive 8, have - in the last year or so - seen some changes in routes due to ongoing construction works. If you haven't been to this corner of Singapore in a hot minute, this might catch you unaware.
Alright, enough talk. Let's move on to the juicier portions of the tour in our chariot of the day: The Deepal S07.
1. Jamirah Indian Muslim Food, Coffee United @ Elias Mall (because the curry maketh the prata)
As someone who will staunchly defend what he loves, this is (in my totally unbiased opinion) the best prata in Singapore, and I will die on this hill. The reason I keep going back weekly isn't just because of the location, it's because the curry is seriously tasty.
Sinful? Yes. Affordable? For sure. Contented? More than. I'm going to channel my inner Seth Lui here and advise you on which of three curries you should go for, depending on your preferences.
If you don't specify which curry you want, the owners will give you fish curry, which has a tiny kick with a hint of sourness. If you prefer curry that's a little watery, this is the one for you. If you prefer a curry with a little more kick and a little more "thick", definitely go for the chicken curry (my personal favourite). If you prefer something milder, yet still somewhat viscous, then dhal curry is the one for you.
As far as prices go, a plain prata goes for $1.30, whilst an egg prata goes for $2. If you're feeling adventurous, Jamirah Indian Muslim Food also offers strawberry prata and peanut butter prata, although I've never tried them. I like my dishes simple and savoury.
They don't just serve prata, but it's undoubtedly their best seller. On weekend mornings, I've tried beating the long queues by arriving at around eight in the morning, only to be greeted with a snaking line and a minimum 30 to 45-minute wait. Also, they stop making fresh prata around 12:00pm on weekdays (closer to 01:00pm on weekends) and will only resume doing so around dinnertime, so do plan your trip accordingly.
Where to park: Block 624A (multi-storey carpark), entrance is located along Elias Road
Ease of parking: 2/5. Driving here may be challenging if you're behind the wheel of something like a full-sized SUV or MPV. For context, we drove a Deepal S07, and it fared relatively well against the tight corners - but you could see cars a size above struggling. Exiting the carpark is also another issue altogether, as the last turn requires one to turn left quite un-intuitively and sharply.
Parking rates: Normal HDB rates, $0.60 per half-hour charged by the minute, from 08:00am to 05:00pm, $1.10 per entry from 05:00pm to 08:00am, on Mondays to Saturdays. $1.10 per entry from 08:00am to 08:00am the following day, on Sundays and public holidays.
2. Bumboat/Sampan Playground, 623 Elias Road (A piece of history wedged in between modernisation)
Located right beside Elias Mall, this Bumboat Playground is actually listed as a cultural landmark according to Google and honestly, I'm not surprised. This playground was constructed in the 1980s and has been around ever since I can remember.
Designed to mimic a "tongkang", which is essentially a large, open cargo boat, eagle-eyed observers may note that its design is very similar to the bumboats ferrying tourists up and down the Singapore River. It features "eyes", stemming from a Chinese belief that it would help the boat navigate through the waters and avoid danger, as well as tyres that - like the real bumboat - help with cushioning any impact.
Still featuring a sandpit, something you rarely see nowadays, its design is reminiscent of a generation ago, when infrastructure design oozed with local cultural references. And so, the Bumboat Playground stands as a testament to time, a quiet little spot that used to echo with the gleeful screams of the little ones, as their caregivers sat at the nearby coffeeshop or benches, sipping their drinks and/or mingling.
Parking is the same as the first location
3. Bird-Watching Tower, Pasir Ris Park (poltergeists, flamethrowers, and binoculars?)
Though known best for hosting secondary school BBQ sessions or a place to hangout before going to the nearby chalet, Pasir Ris Park has way more to offer than just that. You can ride horses, hunt for crabs at low tide, or take a walk through the mangrove swamp and visit the bird-watching tower, which is pretty infamous for two things.
Firstly, urban legend has given it the moniker of the "Suicide Tower". As the story goes, a young boy who had a "third eye" saw something in the tower and told his friends about it, prompting the group to cycle there at night, where the boy jumped to his demise. Before jumping, he told his friends that there were entities in the tower who pushed him off. Secondly, last November, a man in his 40s was shot by police after luring them to the area with the intention of harming them with an improvised flamethrower.
Curious to see what malevolent spirits still remained, or what the man's point of view was when he decided to make this his "last stand" of sorts, the Sgcarmart team ascended the tower in the hopes of discovering a poltergeist or a murderer. But all we found was a lone construction worker having a break in the shade.
What I will say though, is that it does make for a good viewpoint, although half of it was blocked by trees. And I guess there has to be a certain degree of silence when partaking in said activity, of which we clearly weren't.
Where to park: Pasir Ris Park Carpark C
Ease of parking: 4.5/5. The carpark here is spacious enough, with many lots available.
Parking rates: Free parking from 06:30am to 08:30am, $0.60 per half-hour from 08:30am to 06:30am, on Mondays to Sundays, including public holidays.
4. Adventure Playground, Pasir Ris Park (Hey Siri, play The Climb by Miley Cyrus)
It seems that most of the "landmarks" around Pasir Ris were constructed in the 1980s, as this play complex was also built during that period. Among its many notable features, a tall rope structure stands, leading up to a long, winding slide down.
The Sgcarmart team tried out a few of the playground structures, most notably the flying foxes and the tall rope structure in which a long slide offered a faster way down. With age catching on and with body sizes ill-fitting, these remained the only ones we managed to experience. I did try to scale the rope pyramid structure, but a tighter fit at the top hindered my progress.
Still, this is definitely a cheap and fun way to spend an afternoon, and a great way for your kids to expand their energy. For sure, it tired out these millennials.
Where to park: Pasir Ris Park Carpark D
Ease of parking: 5/5 (because it's free). There were many parking lots available when we arrived. Working on the presumption that most visitors to the park are younger kids from the nearby schools or residents living within walking or cycling distance, parking shouldn't really be a problem.
Parking rates: Free
5. Lorong Halus RC Track (Pasir Ris Coast Industrial Park 6)
Tucked away beside a sparsely used road and located near the Lorong Halus Jetty is a small, dirt track where enthusiasts gather to indulge in a shared interest.
The Lorong Halus RC Track offers a quiet little corner for RC-car enthusiasts to pit their machines and their wits against others, or to improve their handling skills. When the Sgcarmart team arrived, the track was empty. Not surprising, given it was a weekday afternoon.
Still, we lingered around for a little while, trying to put ourselves in the shoes of said enthusiasts and imagining we were competing in a world rally championship with nothing to lose (except our minds, in this humidity).
With this being the last location on the agenda for the Sgcarmart team, we took a moment to appreciate the tranquillity and relative peace of the area, silently accepting that nothing lasts forever, before pulling ourselves up and trudging back to the rat race.
Where to park: By the roadside
Ease of parking: 5/5. I mean, it's a long road. If there's a huge gathering, one probably needs to park a little further and walk a little more.
Parking rates: Free
Don't forget to check out our previous road trips around the island here:
Sgcarmart Explores: Japan Edition (ft. the Nissan Ariya)!
