Bookshop Crawl - Chinatown
The largest historic district in Singapore is Chinatown. It comprises four subdistricts: Kreta Ayer, Telok Ayer, Bukit Pasoh, and Tanjong Pagar. The many religious monuments in the area, clan and trade associations, and the conservation shophouses each with its own history all speak of the depth of Chinatown's roots for the Chinese as well as Singaporeans in general.
As far as literary history, during the colonial period, itinerant Chinese storytellers used to tell stories derived from the canon of Chinese literature, such as Romance of Three Kingdoms, to crowds of eager listeners in the area. After independence, Chinatown itself became a backdrop of many works of literature such as Goh Poh Seng’s If We Dream Too Long, Suchen Christine Lim's The River's Song, and Tan Chee Lay’s poem 'Chinatown, I'.
In the interwar years, there was a concentration of Chinese-language bookshops around Chinatown’s South Bridge Road but after the Occupation, few bookshops remained. Nevertheless, today, Chinatown has the highest number of bookshops of all the island’s historic precincts. Among these bookshops, those participating in Singapore Indie Bookshop Day are Littered with Books, Book Bar, and bommoi in Tanjong Pagar; Grassroots Book Room in the adjacent Bukit Pasoh; and Eliko Picture Books & things nestled within Chinatown Complex in the heart of Kreta Ayer. Other bookshops to look out for in Chinatown include To Be Continued Bookstore, The Bookstore by Books Beyond Borders, and Hook On Books. Five of the bookshops listed above were established within the last five years.
For those on a bookcrawl in Chinatown seeking caffeine, there is no shortage of characterful cafes, ranging from the latest roasters for a third-wave V60 fix to the more traditional coffee shops for home-grown Nanyang brews. Booksellers recommend the analogue music wonderland Corner Corner cafe inside RPM D.Bespoke at 16 Duxton Road (a few doors down from Littered with Books) for light roast coffee and groovy vinyl appreciation. If you're a lover of fine teas, SILK Tea Bar at 26A Sago Street is an experience not to be missed. For those craving something more traditional, there is Nanyang Old Coffee at 268 South Bridge Road, on the way to Eliko Picture Books & things.
The Route: Start at Outram Park MRT Station
The best way to experience Chinatown is on foot because the streets here are so walkable and the buildings and shops so unique. This is an excellent precinct for a satisfying bookshop crawl.
To reach Chinatown for this crawl, take the MRT to Outram Park station.
Exit Outram Park MRT via Exit 4 and you'll find yourself on Teo Hong Road. Turn right and walk on this road until it becomes Bukit Pasoh Road. On this quiet road, enjoy the architecture of heritage shophouses, contrasting with the massive Pinnacle@Duxton development that looms over the precinct. About mid-way along the road, you should be able to spot the grand three-storey shophouse building that is home to Grassroots Book Room.
Inside, everything in Grassroots Book Room feels thoughtfully put together with antiques and Nanyang memorabilia scattered among the bookshelves and tables laden with paperbacks. Originally founded by writer and Cultural Medallion recipient Yeng Pway Ngon, the titles here are mainly in Chinese, with a sizable number of English titles at the front half of the shop. The Chinese books are roughly organised by origin: China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and of course Singapore. The shop has a quirky connection with Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Price and sells many collectibles that relate to this plucky explorer. Perhaps after enjoying a refreshment from Nice Day cafe at the back of the bookshop, step out onto Bukit Pasoh Road again and walk up the gently sloping hill section of the road towards Neil Road.
Use the nearby traffic light to cross Neil Road and then head towards the next destination: bommoi. On the way, take some time to enjoy the linear Duxton Plain Park, with its great big heritage trees. There are enough benches and gazebos here for some page time. The road noise is surprisingly muffled, allowing you to catch snatches of birdsong. Access the park by going down a staircase next to Pinnacle@Duxton.
Back on Neil Road, walk to bommoi. The bookshop is located on the second floor of a shophouse, so look out for its staircase entrance along the five-foot way. At the top of the stairs, as you push open the glass door, you will be greeted by cool air and a cosy space with white walls and contemporary Korean-chic bookshelves designed by the bookseller herself. Almost all the books here are in Korean and the bookshop has over the years become an important hub for the small Korean community in Singapore. Stairs inside the shop lead up to the bommoi book attic that serves as a reading space that sometimes hosts bookclubs and events. Watching imperiously over the bookshop is the resident cat, Sarah.
On Neil Road, walk back the way you came and turn into Craig Road. As you walk down Craig Road, you will notice Tong Mern Sern Antiques Arts & Crafts: you can't miss the provocative yellow banner outside the store. Continue down Craig Road and turn left into Duxton Road to reach Book Bar.
Dedicated to Asian literature, Book Bar has become a fixture among fans of SingLit, Singapore's home literature. Repurposed wine crates at the full-length window display in front hint at the 'bar' of Book Bar. The bookshop serves a selection of wines, cakes, and coffee at the back of the shop. Chat with Book Bar’s knowledgeable booksellers to get recommendations on your next read. Inebriated or otherwise, and perhaps after picking up some books, step back on Duxton Road and walk along the same road to the next destination: Littered with Books.
Established in 2010, Littered with Books mainly trades in novels, ranging from genre to literary fiction. There are also children’s books at the back of the shop as well as non-fiction culinary and history titles. While the books are arranged according to genre, true to its name, the bookshop furnishings, from its hand-knotted rugs and steadfast eschewing of straight lines, exude a comfortable, lived-in, almost Bohemian, vibe. In the middle of the bookshop, at the base of what would have functioned as the airwell in this century-old shophouse, stands a grand papier-mâché tree that seems to have grown in the last few years; its branches now reaching all the way to the glass door in front. This is a bookshop that is evidently well-loved by both proprietor and patron.
A relatively long walk awaits. From Duxton Road, get on to Neil Road and head towards the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. When you pass the Jinrikisha Station, cross the road and continue to walk towards the temple. From here, as you walk along South Bridge Road, you can take either of two ways to reach Eliko Picture Books & things. The shorter way is to turn left into Sago Street to Chinatown Complex. Eliko is located on the ground floor (for clarity, the ground floor is above the wet market). The ground floor of Chinatown Complex can feel like a maze, in a good way. Your smart phone map apps won’t help you here so you have to navigate the space by looking at the shop lot numbers. Look for #01-079.
The other way is slightly longer but you will pass some interesting cafes. Walk further along South Bridge Road and only turn left into Smith Street. At that junction, you will see Nanyang Old Coffee. Walk further along Smith Street and you will see more cafes, among them is Cafe Monochrome with its intentionally disorienting two-dimensional decor. Keep walking down the car-free part of Smith Street and continue on the pavement of the asphalt road. Turn left into Chinatown Complex just before Yip Yew Chong’s mural of the Chinese letter-writer (pictured above). Walk up the stairs and after a few steps you will reach Eliko – without going through the maze.
Eliko Picture Books & things is a hidden treasure within Chinatown Complex. Being small, Eliko does without the mainstays of other bookshops such as a cash register and a stock room, but it does retain the most essential requirement: a space for readers to browse and to read. In general, the books inside the shop are not for sale, but patrons have to pay to browse and sit inside the shop. While there are some books for sale outside the shop, the collection inside comprise rare illustrated books, some vintage, in English, French, Czech, and Portuguese.
From here, you are just a few metres away from Chinatown MRT to head home, after a day well spent among books and booksellers.
