Holland Village, Singapore

Holland Village
Name transcription(s)
• Chinese	荷兰村
• Pinyin	Héláncūn
• Malay	Kampung Holland
• Tamil	ஹோலந்த கிராமம்
Aerial view of the Bukit Timah portion of Holland Village
Country	Singapore

Holland Village, often abbreviated as Holland V, is a neighbourhood located along the boundary between the planning areas of Bukit Timah and Queenstown in the Central Region of Singapore.

Holland Village is a popular shopping and dining destination for younger Singaporeans and expatriates. It is dominated by and often visited solely for its eateries and watering holes, along with some specialist shops.

The area is served by its own MRT station, which opened in 2011.

Holland Village was named after Holland Road which in turn was named after Hugh Holland in 1907. Hugh Holland, who was an architect and an amateur actor, was an early resident. 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.

Several areas are considered to be in the Holland Village area.

Holland Village is a crescent-shaped area of shophouses and small malls set around Lorong Liput and Lorong Mambong, surrounded by Holland Road and Holland Avenue.

On the other side of Holland Avenue is a neighbourhood that was formerly developed as British military housing in the 1950s, but is now owned by the Singapore government and rented to private individuals and, on Jalan Merah Saga, businesses. Chip Bee Gardens has a reputation for being an enclave of Western expatriates, although many Singaporeans and other Asians reside there too.

South of Chip Bee Gardens, Holland Close is a large HDB estate.

Many food chains in Singapore, such as Crystal Jade, BreadTalk, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Sushi Tei, Subway, and Häagen-Dazs, are in Holland Village. A 24-hour kopitiam, a market and a food court are also present with food stalls selling local 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 ethnic restaurants as well as franchises such as 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 students to yuppies with its laid back atmosphere and nightly live music.