Singapore’s historic Malay-Muslim quarter reveals royal palaces, golden domes, perfume merchants, Islamic bookshops and century-old eateries across a handful of atmospheric streets.
Singapore is adept at building upwards, yet some of its most revealing stories remain at street level. Around Bugis and Kampong Glam, they are written into old road names, shophouse façades, the fragrance of attar and bakhur, and the call to prayer drifting above the traffic. This is a neighbourhood where old trades sit beside boutiques, cafés and cocktail bars, making the past most rewarding when encountered on foot.
Long before malls and MRT lines transformed the area, the streets around North Bridge Road formed a commercial quarter shaped by migration and trade. Kampong Gelam, often written as Kampong Glam, became the seat of Malay royalty and home to Malays, Arabs, Bugis, Javanese, Baweanese, Chinese and Indians. Tailors and goldsmiths worked along North Bridge Road, while the wider district supported textile merchants, blacksmiths, rattan traders, perfumers and businesses serving Muslim pilgrims. Bugis changed more dramatically. Malay Street, Hylam Street, Malabar Street and the old Bugis Street disappeared during redevelopment, with Bugis Junction opening in 1995 across their former footprint. Beneath its glass canopy, old street names and shophouse-style façades still hint at what stood here before.
We begin at Frasers House, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Singapore. The hotel calls itself a “living house of craftsmanship”, taking cues from the tailors, goldsmiths, woodcarvers and perfumers who once worked nearby. Its Heritage Wing references Singapore’s shophouse traditions, making it a fitting threshold between contemporary Bugis and the historic quarter beyond. A short walk brings us to the gilded dome of Sultan Mosque and the pull of Muscat Street.
As bakhur drifts from perfume shops, Sultan Mosque rises above the neighbourhood. The first royal mosque was built for Sultan Hussein Shah in the 1820s beside his palace. By the following century it required rebuilding, and architect Denis Santry of Swan & Maclaren designed the structure seen today. Its Indo-Saracenic architecture combines Indian-Islamic forms and European influences through onion domes, arches and minarets. At the base of the golden domes is a more modest detail: glass bottle ends, traditionally said to have been contributed by poorer members of the Muslim community so they too could play a part in its construction.
Nearby, the Malay Heritage Centre adds cultural context. Housed within the former Istana Kampong Gelam, part of the royal compound associated with Sultan Hussein Shah and his descendants, the centre reopened in April 2026 following an extensive restoration. Its permanent exhibition, Dari Rantau Ke Rumah, or From the Region to Home, unfolds across six galleries with 279 artefacts. Rather than presenting Malay identity as singular, the displays explore migration, trade, kinship, women’s contributions and Singapore’s relationship with the wider Malay Archipelago, including Javanese, Bugis, Minangkabau and Orang Pulau histories.
Outside, nature offers another clue to the neighbourhood’s name. Gelam trees, Melaleuca cajuputi, once grew here in abundance. Their timber was used for boats and firewood, while the bark served for awnings and sails, and the leaves produced cajeput oil. Today, jungle fowl pick through patches of grass as visitors move between Sultan Gate and Bussorah Street.
Arab Street, Baghdad Street and Kandahar Street map the precinct’s connections to the Islamic world. On Bussorah Street, Wardah Books continues another strand of that history. Founded in 2002, the independent shop specialises in English-language Islamic books and occupies a shophouse once associated with Chief Kadi Haji Ali, recalling Kampong Gelam’s former importance as a centre for Malay publishing, bookselling and religious scholarship.
Food carries just as much history. Singapore Zam Zam has served murtabak and biryani since 1908, while neighbouring Victory Restaurant dates to 1910. Warong Nasi Pariaman has served Minangkabau nasi padang since 1948, retaining a tradition of cooking over charcoal.
At K’s Keria, the history is younger, but the flavour is familiar. A queue snakes along Bussorah Street for one thing only: mini kuih keria, sweet potato doughnuts glazed with gula melaka. Sweet, dense and sticky with caramelised palm sugar, they are best eaten warm while wandering between the batik stores, souvenir shops and restaurants. On our visit, Cardi B spills from a nearby speaker just as the call to prayer begins again, an unforced collision of contemporary Singapore and enduring tradition.
Our final stop takes us back towards Bugis. ATLAS occupies the ground floor of Parkview Square, an Art Deco fantasy so theatrical that comparisons with Gotham City are understandable. Inside, gilded detailing, murals and soaring ceilings frame a monumental gin tower holding more than 1,300 bottles. The spectacle is matched by a serious beverage programme centred on gin, Champagne and European-inspired cocktails. The ATLAS Martini feels like an obvious conclusion to the walk. The bar ranked No. 42 on Asia’s 50 Best Bars in 2024, when it also received the Rémy Martin Legend of the List and Bareksten Best Bar Design awards. It is an extravagant ending to a journey that begins with royalty and artisans, winds through faith, food and literature, and finishes beneath a gilded ceiling.
Kampong Glam’s draw lies in these contrasts: prayer and pop music, royal history and street snacks, old trades and contemporary hospitality. Singapore may be defined by reinvention, but here change has not completely erased what came before. You simply have to slow down enough to notice.
Where: Kampong Glam, Singapore
Contact: www.marriott.com