![](\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Data-for-D23-1024x275.jpg?fit=1024%2C275\")
\nSeveral private residential projects have sprung up in Choa Chu Kang in recent years. (Photo: Erwin Soo, Wikimedia Commons)
\nFormerly a kampung, Choa Chu Kang has transformed over the years into a self-contained satellite town with homes, eateries and recreational options. However, it still retains much of its laid-back charm.
\nBy Joanne Poh
\nTigers once roamed Singapore, and the nation\u2019s very last one was shot in Choa Chu Kang in the 1930s.
\nSince then, Choa Chu Kang has undergone a massive transformation, and has even had a television personality named after it \u2013 Phua Chu Kang, one of the country\u2019s best-loved television characters.
\nA rural past
\nThe Choa Chu Kang area was formerly a kampung (Malay for village) scattered with plantations and a mostly Teochew population. Hokkien residents later settled there, adding to the existing gambier and pepper plantations by introducing pineapple, coconut and rubber plantations, as well as some poultry and vegetable farms.
\nThe area\u2019s name is derived from the word kang chu, which in Teochew is a reference to the headmen charged with the care of the gambier and pepper plantations which used to line the river. The first such headman in the area had the surname of Choa, and his memory lives on in the name of the area.
\nThe former kampung was later developed into an HDB town. The Choa Chu Kang of today is divided into seven subzones, namely Choa Chu Kang Central, Yew Tee, Teck Whye, Keat Hong, Peng Siang, Kranji and Pang Sua.
\nThe first HDB flats in the area were built in present-day Teck Whye in the 1980s, and the residential cluster was later expanded and then joined by what is now Yew Tee.
\nA vibrant place to live
\nOver the years, Choa Chu Kang has grown into a populous neighbourhood with its fair share of hidden food haunts, recreational options and a unique natural and agricultural landscape envied by residents of other towns.
\n31-year-old Charlene Tan is a Choa Chu Kang resident who goes for runs or walks almost every day along the Pang Sua Park Connector. \u201cIt\u2019s a nice, quiet and breezy place for a run after work or at night,\u201d she says.
\nShe cites Choa Chu Kang Sports Centre and Choa Chu Kang Park as popular spots for residents hoping to de-stress on weekends.
\nBut no neighbourhood in Singapore would be complete without great food options.
\nTan recommends Rasa Istimewa C2K Restaurant at Choa Chu Kang Park, which is famous for its sambal stingray, and West Co\u2019z Cafe at YewTee Point. She and her family have been visiting these eateries for years.
\nChoa Chu Kang has benefitted greatly from the opening of the Downtown Line on the MRT network linking the northwest of Singapore to the city centre.
\nEugene Lim, Key Executive Officer at ERA Realty Network, says, \u201cChoa Chu Kang differs from the typical HDB estate in that it has an LRT system in place connecting it to Bukit Panjang MRT station on the Downtown Line. This is in addition to the Choa Chu Kang and Yew Tee stations on the North-South MRT Line. Residents of Choa Chu Kang therefore have access to two different MRT lines.\u201d
\nIn addition, residents enjoy the convenience of having two major shopping malls close to home. Lot One is the area\u2019s biggest mall and houses a cinema, library and supermarket, as well as a wide selection of shops and F&B establishments. YewTee Point is the area\u2019s other major mall, and is well known for its wide range of eateries.
\nFamilies can also take advantage of the fact that there are numerous schools in the area, including Bukit Panjang Government High School and Pioneer Junior College.
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