How New Bahru Is Truly Supporting Singapore's Creative Scene And Lifestyle Businesses

Even before it’s set to open officially next year, New Bahru has become the most talked‐about and visited new lifestyle destination we’ve had in decades for its ambitious concept: A sophisticated cultural playground to discover and support made‐in‐Singapore creative businesses spanning F&B to fashion. Here’s why its success means a win for all.

By Noelle Loh, 14 Aug 2024

One of the things that jumps out about New Bahru – the lifestyle cluster that has taken over what was formerly Nan Chiau High School on Kim Yam Road in River Valley – most is that it’s really nice. The brains behind it, the home‐grown hospitality giant The Lo & Behold Group, seem to have it so well thought out, as if to leave zero room for imperfections.

Its list of 40‐plus tenants reads like the crème de la crème of Singapore‐based, mostly millennial‐run creative businesses – from Kaia Nelk’s cult art and design shop Studio Yono, founded online just two years ago, to Rishi Naleendra’s critically acclaimed Sri Lankan restaurant and cocktail bar Kotuwa. Regardless of background, all are tried‐and‐tested successes that have been tasked to come up with something fresh for New Bahru – the top‐in‐class assembled to help this remodelled institution score high in creativity and culture, if you will. (Studio Yono opens its first standalone store while Kotuwa unveils an exclusive new location and look on site.)

Practically every corner is peak aesthetic. The reception of boutique fitness studio Off Duty Pilates, for example, looks like that of a designer luxury hotel, while granola‐maker‐turned‐breakfast‐cafe Dearborn draws queues with its Instagrammable pink‐tiled outdoor seating area as much as its delicious artisanal grub. The overall look and feel of New Bahru – pleasing, playful, picture‐perfect – is the result of some of Singapore’s most globally in‐demand, inventive and exclusive tastemakers coming together. Among them: architecture firm Farm, the botanical design studio This Humid House on landscaping, and the aptly named Nice Projects – co‐founded by Singaporean Sacha Leong – as creative consultant.

Off Duty Pilates New Bahru — The aesthetic of Off Duty Pilates feels like stepping into a luxury hotel.
Athirah Annissa

What some see as stylish, charming and downright vibey, others have labelled as gentrification or – even more unkindly – overly fancy. Still, that has not stopped visitors from all walks of life thronging New Bahru’s grounds daily since it started welcoming visitors at the end of this June. Come this September, expect even more of its carefully curated tenants to open. There are also plans for more community initiatives, details to be announced.

Like it or not, this here – a joint venture with local construction company Sunray Group Holdings – can be said to be Singapore’s most daring answer to a model creative village. Tania Chan, chief marketing officer of The Lo & Behold Group, explains why getting it in slick shape matters and could impact the Singapore creative community as a whole.

Odem New Bahru — The artisanal interiors of the makkoli bar and restaurant, Odem.

Athirah Annissa

New Bahru touts itself as a destination for “made-in-Singapore” brands. What’s your definition of one?

“Our mission as a group has always been to make our city more lovable. When we say ‘made-in-Singapore brand’, we’re referring to the people and businesses that share in this common mission of making our city more exciting and dynamic. They don’t necessarily have to be Singaporean‐owned, but they have to be primarily operating in our city and pushing the envelope in their respective fields. At the same time, there’s a group of names that has been flying the Singapore flag culturally overseas – the skincare label Allies of Skin, for example. Some of the conversations that we’re still looking to have at New Bahru are with brands that are ready for their homecoming.”

What’s with The Lo & Behold Group’s affinity for championing Singaporean-ness?

“The journey started in 2005 – next year marks our 20th anniversary. Back then, Singapore was well known for being strict, efficient, clean and green, but not so much for having interesting things to do, especially in the lifestyle space. A lot of what we saw were foreign imports or local iterations trying to mimic foreign brands and imports. (The Group’s managing partner Wee) Teng Wen was back in Singapore after having lived in New York and he felt that there was something really lacking – this cultural confidence – and he wanted to show that we don’t need to be like everyone else and that we should be proud of ourselves as a city. That was the starting point for (the Group’s first venture) Loof, a rooftop bar that would play on Singaporean idiosyncrasies ...

Over the years, we’ve had concepts that are not quite as obviously Singaporean, but we realised over time that with every project we undertook, we’d inevitably try to add to the local landscape and showcase more sides to this city. This explains our love of old buildings (The Warehouse Hotel, for example, resides in an 1895 godown), or why we ventured into Dempsey at a time when it was underserved (the Group opened The White Rabbit, a chic restaurant and bar, in a restored chapel on Harding Road back in 2008; today, it’s the French brasserie Claudine that’s co‐owned by the Group) ... For a lot of us in the Group, we get very sad when we see people come to Singapore and only see the standard attractions. This is not to take away from these attractions, but to really get under the skin of the city, we’ve always felt that a lot more can be done.”

A peek inside the restaurant Kotuwa reveals its rainbow-hued interiors and quirky details, such as door knobs shaped like crab pincers.
Athirah Annissa

How do you find Singapore’s lifestyle scene today and how has that shaped New Bahru?

“Singapore in 2024 is very different from the one we knew when the Group started. It has been very heart‐warming to see so many other local entrepreneurs push the envelope and all add in their own way to the Singapore story. For example, most of the tenants we have in New Bahru were not around 20 years ago. Even on the indie front, there are so many players who’ve been bold enough to follow their passions and do something that they truly believe in. It’s exactly why we thought the time is right for a concept like New Bahru: We need a certain critical mass of businesses and entrepreneurs who are ready for their next move. There’s so much new talent here.

To borrow terms from the start‐up world, there’s a growing number of local talents who are operating in the zero‐to‐one phase in which they’re experimenting and trying to see if things work. If they don’t, it’s OK and they make tweaks. They bring this energy and desire to do, to try, to optimise and to evolve. At the same time, there are many talents who are in the one‐to‐10 phase. These are the ones who already have a pretty solid product; might already have their own store or a successful online business; and are looking to make the next step. Their needs are very different from those who are in the zero‐to‐one phase. It was very exciting when we started thinking about New Bahru knowing that there’s such a wide gamut of talent to draw on and that we could potentially also support.”

“In an ideal world, collaborations happen organically, which is why the decision on who should be part of New Bahru was not made lightly. We wanted people who bought into our vision and already had community-building built into the DNA of their existing businesses.”

Tania Chan, chief marketing officer of The Lo & Behold Group

I guess New Bahru focuses more on those in the one-to-10 phase?

“Specifically for New Bahru, we’re looking at the one‐to‐10s. As a development, and with our experience and network, we feel that we’re best placed to curate and contribute to this group of businesses. For example, one of the first things that we did was to pull together all the leading interior designers in Singapore whom we’ve either worked with or really respect. We shared with them the tenants and their projects, and while we could not mandate that they extend some help, what we could at least do was inspire them with everyone’s vision and get them to want to be a part of things, so that should a tenant approach them, hopefully, that excitement and friendliness would translate.

Dealing with an enclave where people are more in the zero‐to‐one phase calls for an entirely different approach. With what the Group has built over the years though, we’re probably going to be most beneficial to those in the one‐to‐10 phase. That said, the most ideal community that we want to build is one that encourages and nurtures the next generation. To try to do that, we’re already in talks to create fairs and pop‐ups as well as with organisations that have a database of emerging talents whom we can connect our tenants with. We’re also keeping spaces for artists to showcase their work because we want artists to be present in our development.”

Rye New Bahru — The earthy yet sophisticated interior of womenswear label Rye.

Athirah Annissa

How else does a concept like New Bahru benefit creative businesses and the creative community in general?

“Perhaps the term ‘giving back’ can come across as too charitable and a more accurate way of describing how we see ourselves as an incubator is not so much through financial or commercial means, but social means. Besides our connections and network that offer social clout to our tenants, what has been really nice to see is the tenants being able to rally together on their own, especially because many of their owners are always present and working on site. For many of them, their space in New Bahru is their flagship or only store, after all. Daniel Sia, the culinary director at The Coconut Club (which has a unit on the ground floor), wastelling me there’s a real kampung spirit when you know your neighbours are at the same stage of growth as you are. It has been exciting hearing about how being in this proverbial kampung has allowed for exchanges that have led to collaborations, learning something new or simply getting some help. Dearborn, for example, was completely slammed when we had our Sneak Peek event in June and Marcus Leong – the general manager of Artichoke (another tenant) who’s a good friend of Dearborn founder Christopher – went by before Artichoke opened to help run tables. When Bar Bon Funk, Keirin Buck’s new cocktail bar in New Bahru, needed leather covers for its menus, we went to Crafune – the leather craft specialist next to its unit – instead of our usual supplier and now, we’ll be working together ... In an ideal world, collaborations happen organically, which is why the decision on who should be part of New Bahru was not made lightly. We wanted people who already have community‐building built into the DNA of their existing businesses.”

Morning New Bahru — One of Morning’s super – and super‐stylish – coffee machines.
Athirah Annissa

What is some advice you have for creative businesses in the zero-to-one phase?

“In the zero‐to‐one phase, you should be experimenting and iterating, and being somewhat scrappy because you’re trying to figure out what your product‐market fit is. Once you know what that is, though, you have to level up. You have to know what to invest in, what aspects of your business you need to over‐invest in, and the areas in which you should continue to be scrappy. At the end of the day, when you’ve found something that you truly believe will work, and can garner a following and generate commercial returns so that it’s sustainable in the long run, a different lens needs to be applied. If you want to showcase what you have to the world, you have to be able to bench against others, whether locally, regionally or globally, and that needs to come with a level of not so much polish, but intentionality. It’s not about how expensive or beautiful or aesthetic your space is, but about having an intentionality when you’re curating, conceptualising and displaying your products, and thinking about the story that you want to tell. That’s how people can then understand you and in turn support you.”

Soil Boy New Bahru — The artisanal plant design studio Soilboy, where pots are designed by co-founder Ivan Woo and crafted by a ceramicist in South Korea.

Athirah Annissa

Tell us more about some of the businesses that are at New Bahru and why they’re a good representative of what New Bahru stands for.

“One good example is Morning, which is co‐founded by Leon Foo – one of the earliest purveyors of third‐wave coffee in Singapore (he’s behind PPP Coffee and the cafe Chye Seng Huat Hardware). The brand is basically a coffee tech platform that rivals, say, Nespresso. Thanks to its machines, app and the brewers it has been able to work with, making coffee with its equipment means you’re able to determine the specific settings needed to make your drink as brewers deem fit – something most coffee machines are not able to do. Singapore has never been one of the movers of third‐wave coffee, but for us to be thinking so differently and breaking boundaries, bringing the innovation and technology that we’re so well known for and distilling it into a lifestyle product is truly world‐class. Dominic Tan, the CEO of Odem, is likewise self‐made. He’s not a trained chef, but is behind the really successful casual Korean chain Ajumma’s – he had learnt his kitchen skills from YouTube, perfected them on his own, then systemised his whole set‐up so it could grow at scale. We love him because of this obsession, precision and attention to detail of his – and to think he’s self‐taught. When we reached out to discuss what we think New Bahru needs, it was him who suggested launching a spot that specialises in makgeolli, which he’s really, really passionate about. It’s very difficult to import it into Singapore, so again, his persistence is paying off because Odem is now known as much for its drink programme as its food.”

"If you want to showcase what you have to the world, you have to be able to bench next to others whether locally, regionally or globally and that needs to come with a level of not so much polish, but intentionality. It’s not about how expensive or beautiful or aesthetic your space is, but about having an intentionality when you are curating, conceptualising, displaying your products and thinking about the story that you want to tell. That’s how people can then understand you and in turn support you."

Tania Chan, chief marketing officer of The Lo & Behold Group

Might New Bahru’s approach risk being intimidating for the younger generation?

“Well, one thing I hope the younger generation knows is that local businesses need the support of the community to thrive – without which, the people behind them would also most likely again feel that it’s impossible to win at home and they’d have to go overseas first to try to do well, and only if they do, then they’ll think about a homecoming. This is fundamentally different from, say, Seoul, where locals shop at local brands and see the value in paying a premium for them. This allows the local brands to win on home soil: They have the most beautiful experiential stores, and the love of both international and local fans. Isn’t this how things should be if a city wants to grow as a cultural capital?”

THIS INTERVIEW HAS BEEN EDITED FOR BREVITY AND CLARITY.

This article first appeared in the August 2024 Passion Edition of FEMALE