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Sungei Buloh
Photograph: Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

The ultimate guide to Kranji

Kranji, Singapore's rural countryside, is known for its sprawling farmlands, nature reserves and farm-to-table dining concepts

Delfina Utomo
Dewi Nurjuwita
Written by
Delfina Utomo
&
Dewi Nurjuwita
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Singapore's not just a concrete jungle with sleekskyscrapers, HDB flats and historical buildings. Step away from the hustle and bustle of the city and head on to Kranji, a rural area in the northwest that's home to sprawling farmlands, a beautiful reservoir park, and lesser-known restaurants offering kampung-style farm-to-table experiences. Spend a day in this peaceful district and you're bound to come back feeling more zen, with a greater appreciation for taking things slow-paced. 

RECOMMENDED: The ultimate guide to Singapore's neighbourhoods 

Things to do in Kranji

  • Things to do
  • Lim Chu Kang

Strap on your best walking shoes and trudge through the swamps of Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve to learn more about the flora and fauna that call this mangrove forest home. Weekly, volunteer-led tours – they regularly change – introduce the plants, birds, insects and other indigenous species found in this ASEAN Heritage Park (Singapore has two, the other being Bukit Timah Nature Reserve). 

This wetland reserve of mangrove swamps, ponds and the secondary forest is also home to 140 species of birds. Take a spot at observation hides or rent binoculars to bird-watch. There are also nature trails where you can also spot mudskippers, monkeys and climbing crabs on the mangrove boardwalks.

  • Things to do
  • Sungei Kadut

Unleash your inner speed demon and zoom across the tracks of KF1 Karting Circuit, the largest go kart facility in Singapore. Located within walking distance of Kranji MRT station, their flagship branch boasts a 960m track with 18 exhilarating corners, complete with a snazzy lighting system inspired by F1 races.

Novices can race at up to 30km/hour without requiring a driving license, while seasoned motorists can take the advanced karts that reach more exhilarating speeds of 50km/h.

If a journey to the west is too out of the way, there's also their second outlet at Expo, which is also conveniently accessible via public transport.

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  • Things to do
  • Lim Chu Kang

Established in 1988, Hay Dairies keeps about 800 goats of mixed breeds, and all of them get to live like bleating royalty. That’s because every goat here chews on hay shipped straight from the US, as well as special feed flown in from Australia. Perhaps that’s why Hay Dairies’ goat milk tastes so much better than off-the-shelf brands in your supermarket fridge – we kid you not. Drop by in the morning to catch the goats being milked (from 9 to 11am), then bring a few bottles home at the end of the day.

  • Things to do
  • Lim Chu Kang

Home to 170 species of birds, 54 types of butterflies and 33 different kinds of dragonflies, this nature reserve is the perfect recreation area to observe and enjoy the island's wildlife. At 57 hectares and with a range of natural and green habitats, Kranji Marshes is Singapore's largest freshwater farmland. It was cultivated since the ’70s when the Kranji reservoir was dammed, forming a wild diversity of terrains such as marshland, grassland and secondary forests. 

Check out five unique things you can do at Kranji Marshes here.

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  • Things to do
  • Lim Chu Kang

What began in 2000 as the brainchild of Ivy Singh and her husband Lim Ho Seng has since grown (pun intended) to one of the most beloved farms on the island. Known for more than just its organic produce, Bollywood Veggies has, over the years, expanded to include a culinary school and a museum. There’s even a bistro that uses fertiliser- and pesticide-free ingredients harvested from the backyard. It certainly doesn't get any fresher than this. 

  • Things to do
  • Sungei Kadut

The long MRT trip to Kranji affords plenty of time to contemplate the serried rows of public housing that represent one of the Singapore government’s greatest yet most perplexingly drab achievements. By contrast, the serried rows of 4,000 white gravestones at this peaceful hillside cemetery have a serene, if solemn beauty. Dominated by the huge, wing-like Singapore Memorial, and fronted by a Sir Edwin Lutyens-designed memorial stone, the site includes several monuments for servicemen massacred in the early days of the Japanese Occupation, and one for those lying in ‘unmaintainable graves’ elsewhere in South-east Asia. The inscriptions tell countless tales of death and sacrifice, and you can easily spend an hour piecing together a picture of the British Empire in all its diversity. Also here are the tombs of the first two presidents of Singapore.

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Kranji Reservoir Park
  • Things to do
  • Walks and tours
  • Tengah

In Kranji Reservoir Park, you’ll find a memorial plaque that pays tribute to the brave soldiers who lost their lives in the Battle of Kranji during World War II. Aside from savouring this morsel of Singapore’s history, visitors can soak up the nature-related revelry offered in the park, such as picnics on the wide-open fields and fishing at designated areas. And of course, early-risers can also catch sight of the gorgeous sunrise, where the best spot for viewing is somewhere near the Kranji Dam.

  • Shopping
  • Antiques
  • Sungei Kadut

Swing by Wihardja's showroom, located in one of Singapore's oldest industrial estates at Sungei Kadut. The home-grown furniture maker is known for their high-quality solid wood furniture in teak and suar at affordable prices. Whether it's Balinese-style teakwood furniture and accessories or customisable furniture made from the multiple wood colours available, you might just find the perfect addition to your home. 

Where to eat in Kranji

  • Things to do
  • Event spaces
  • Lim Chu Kang

Take your alfresco dining experience to the next level at this multi-purpose indoor and outdoor venue nestled amidst lush greenery in the Kranji countryside. One of the rare places in the city where you can get an authentic farm-to-table experience, the menu features ingredients that are sourced from local farms and lovingly crafted into the menu.

Start your meal with a classic Caesar salad ($15) featuring a classic mix of baby romaine lettuce with croutons, farm-fresh boiled quail eggs, vegetarian bacon bits and parmesan cheese with caesar dressing before tucking into the mains. The pan-roasted lamb ($28) is roasted to perfection, and finished with fresh mint sauce, accompanied by garden greens and mashed potato. Don't forget to cool down from Singapore's heat with fresh juices ($4) ranging from orange to lemongrass and aloe vera. 

  • Restaurants
  • Lim Chu Kang

Book a table at Poison Ivy Bistro, owner Ivy's brainchild which takes farm-to-table food back down to earth with its wholesome and hearty cooking style and affordable prices. The seasonal ala-carte menu ensures that there's something new to try every time you dine at Poison Ivy Bistro – from delicious curries to meat dishes and homemade cakes. 

The Nasi Lemak platter ($12 or $22) is a great option with blue pea rice, bollywings, sayur lodeh, sambal goreng, kranji eggs, ikan bilis and peanuts, keropok, sambal chilli and farm tempura. If you're there early for breakfast, order up the Kranji Fresh Eggs ($10) with scrambled and sunny side eggs. 

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Owen Seafood Restaurant
  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Bukit Timah
  • price 2 of 4

Singapore Turf Club may not immediately come to mind when choosing a place for your monthly family dinner, but this Chinese restaurant at The Grandstand is paradise for seafood lovers. First of all, the restaurant has over 100 kinds of fresh seafood to choose from. Another selling factor its famous dishes like the Fried Canadian Lobster with Pumpkin Sauce ($35 per lobster), savoury Sauteed Diced Beef 'Kobe' Style (from $18) and more. 

 

Bars in Kranji

  • Bars and pubs
  • Breweries
  • Sungei Kadut

Sunbird Brewing Company is the latest entrant to join Singapore's burgeoning local craft brewing industry. The Mandai-based brewery operates from a capacity of five hectolitres across a full-grain, three-vessel system. Pop on by the brewery to experience for yourself the beer-brewing process and taste Sunbird's range of four beers – the 'Fly in Light' Pale Ale, ‘Birds of Paradise’ White IPA, ‘ Eclipse of the Sun’ Scottish Ale, and ‘Fluff Up’ Belgian Witbier. 

Cheval Café, Bar & Bistro
  • Bars and pubs
  • Café bars
  • Sungei Kadut

Look out for horses as you sip on your tipple at Cheval. This café, bar and bistro located within the Singapore Turf Club Riding Centre offers a good selection of alcoholic drinks – red and sparkling wines, frozen cocktails like frozen margarita, and draught beers – at affordable prices. If you catch the Happy Hour promotion from noon to 9pm, you’d be treated to deals like $12 house-pour wines.

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