Dempsey Hill: a tropical escape in Singapore’s creative and culinary hub
Once a military outpost, this historic precinct is now marching to a different beat.
The insistent crowing of roosters transports me to the backyard of my Queensland country childhood. I’m just not expecting free-range chooks in the middle of Singapore, heralding dawn during my walk in the tropically verdant surrounds of Dempsey Hill, once military barracks, now a restaurant, retail and creative hub that feels like a hidden enclave.
Sunrise is at a civilised time after 7am and doesn’t vary much throughout the year in Singapore with its location near the equator; similarly, sunset hovers around 7pm. I like to walk early to beat the day’s steamy heat. Hence I am on a 3km stroll from my digs at luxury hotel Conrad Singapore Orchard, near Orchard Road, past impressive buildings on embassy row, through the heritage-listed Botanic Gardens (open at 5am) and up a kindly slope to the old Tanglin Barracks.
It’s perfect timing as a few restaurants in the repurposed army buildings, with their white walls, tall ceilings, square columns and wide verandas, are open and I settle in at The Dempsey Project for a big breakfast with a mid-Eastern twist and a perfect cup of coffee. Fellow diners are locals, with some power-breakfasting going on, but mostly friends catching up before work. Before I move on, I check out the richly stocked gourmet pantry and linger longer at the ice cream bar.
Delivery vans are the main vehicles at this lazy hour; the pace picks up around lunchtime and into the evening, but the mood remains relaxed. For a compact precinct – originally formed by 10 barracks, with traditional thatched attap roofs, later clad in red tiles – there is surprising diversity in restaurant offerings, reflecting Singapore’s reputation for international cuisine. Chinese, Malay and Indian (the city’s main cultural mix) rule for starters, but add in Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Spanish, Peruvian, seafood (try Jumbo for its chilli crab), plus the showstopper of Australian barbecue.
Perth-born Dave Pynt’s Burnt Ends is an open-kitchen, open-flame, laid-back (and communal) place with a Michelin star to its credit and rankings on World’s and Asia’s Best Restaurants lists. The menu changes according to what Pynt deems delectable on the day. He has just released a book, with Max Veenhuyzen, titled Burnt Ends Bar & Grill, with recipes and tips on techniques. It promises “a scent of that smoky goodness that’ll leave you buzzing with inspiration”.
Pencil in, too, a meal at Candlenut restaurant in the Como Dempsey precinct. It is also Michelin starred, a first for a Peranakan restaurant, and specialises in traditional Straits-Chinese cuisine. Malcolm Lee is the chef and his mum’s chicken curry, with potato and kaffir lime leaf, is a go-to dish. Set aside mooch time at Maywell Lifestyles, tucked behind a vine-clad exterior, and Redsea Gallery, which displays contemporary art.
The namesake Dempsey was General Sir Miles Christopher Dempsey, a D-Day hero, who was appointed commander in chief of Allied Land Forces in Southeast Asia in 1945. The property on which the barracks were built had been sold to British forces in 1860 after a beetle blight destroyed a nutmeg plantation. Cobras, rats and mosquitoes were the bane of early barrack occupants. Under Japanese occupation in World War II, 15,000 Australian POWs were marched 25km from here to Changi camp. In the 1970s the barracks became the Central Manpower Base of the Singapore Ministry of Defence and it is where 18-year-old males reported for compulsory military service. In display photos, anxious parents gather in the main square to farewell their sons. As I leave, parents with their son and friends are arriving to celebrate his birthday. Happier times for a historic site.
Graham Erbacher was a guest of Conrad Singapore Orchard.
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Rooms at Conrad Singapore Orchard from about $S400 ($468) a night.
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