A new landlord and new tenants have transformed the former Turf City complex into lifestyle hub The Grandstand.
Singapore, November 9, 2012
It makes so much sense, you wonder why nobody thought of it earlier. Despite the vast number of high-income and family-centric residents in the Bukit Timah area, there hasn't yet arisen a single shopping mall or one-stop shopping, dining, education and entertainment destination to serve their needs. Until now.
Enter The Grandstand, a souped up version of the former Turf City premises placed in the hands of a brand new landlord, Cogent Land Capital.
They've channelled in approximately $11 million in renovation costs to turn the former Bukit Timah Turf Club racing grounds into a retail, sports, wellness, enrichment, and wine and dine destination.
At least 70 per cent of leasable premises are now in operation, with around 85 per cent of all leasable space tenanted out so far, says Cogent Land Capital's CEO Benson Tan. One-third of the premises will be devoted to food and beverage outlets, with the rest occupied by enrichment schools for children, sports and fitness facilities and retail units.
While the first wave of F&B tenants - such as Hansang Korean Restaurant, Ristorante Da Valentino, Jack's Place and Restaurant Hoshigaoka - moved in earlier in July, the second batch of new tenants have been slowly trickling in.
Headlining the wave of upcoming entrants is Mad, a modern Asian bistro that is a collaborative effort between five local brands, including the TungLok Group, Bar Stories, Bakerzin and veteran artiste Dick Lee. Co-founder of Bar Stories Berlin Lee believes that there is a dearth of good ****tail bars in the Bukit Timah area, something that Mad aims to rectify.
Another new tenant, investment banker-turned-burger entrepreneur Cheng Hsin Yao, says he picked The Grandstand because its landlords were more receptive to taking on first-time tenants than landlords of most city-centre locales, who prefer established chain eateries. Given the complex's slightly larger unit sizes, Mr Cheng also plans to use his The Grandstand outlet as a central kitchen should he open more outlets in the future.
Edwin Tan, head chef of Japanese restaurant Yoyogi, says he was attracted by the ample outdoor space that the centre-most row of units get at The Grandstand. A quarter of his upcoming 2,000 sq ft restaurant will be outdoors, and he plans to convert the alfresco terrace into a Japanese tapas bar.
The ample free parking of more than 3,000 lots are also a draw - and a luxury that he doesn't enjoy at his current Mohammed Sultan Road space.
Although several of the ground floor units are still covered in construction hoardings, Cogent Land Capital says that they expect the complex to be fully up and running by January next year.
While most F&B tenants BT Weekend spoke to are pleased with the progress so far, many hoped for more retail outfits and independently run shops rather than mass market chains, and for some, even a library or a cinema to make it a complete lifestyle destination.
Meanwhile, several of their suggestions are already being addressed. Cogent Land Capital says that they are currently building six more toilets on the ground floor, and eventually plan to build shelters for the carpark once the complex has successfully been launched. Besides existing shuttle bus services for non-drivers from Toa Payoh MRT and Clementi MRT, two new shuttle services to and from Botanic Gardens MRT and Newton MRT will be added in the coming months.
Says Jenny Poh, a retired teacher who lives a 10-minute drive away from The Grandstand: "I've always been envious of my friends in the East who have all those famous eateries in Katong at their doorstep. Now, hopefully, I will have something similar to call my own too."
East and West
Mad (opens end-November) Where: #01-20/22
The lure of Singapore's booming food and beverage industry has gotten so irresistible, it seems that even Dick Lee now wants in. The veteran actor, producer and singer's latest venture is a restaurant collaboration with the TungLok group and three other homegrown F&B brands in Singapore.
Named Mad - in reference to Mr Lee's Mad Chinaman nickname and also short for "modern Asian diner" - the eatery set to open at the end of November will feature Asian and Western dishes served in tapas portions.
"East is East, West is West. We won't be fusing the two, I'm not going to put cheese in dimsum," says the TungLok Group's executive chairman Andrew Tjioe, who is venturing into Western cuisine for the first time. Mr Lee, who is overseas until next week, could not comment by press time.
Besides traditional Asian bites such as dim sum, Mr Tjioe also plugged in a charcoal-powered Josper oven and got on board Spanish chef Roberto Hernandez Sevillano, formerly of the Esmirada Group's Bodega Y Tapas restaurant, to shape up Mad's Spanish-inclined European fare.
"Just like how we put Japanese and Chinese cuisine together when we did Tongle (TungLok's private dining restaurant), we want to show that you don't have to go fusion to serve different cuisine.
Each one can be unique on its own and you can have them together in one space," adds Mr Tjioe. The 8,000 sq ft purpose-built Mad will be fitted out by local architects Formwerkz in Mr Lee's signature flamboyant style. Besides the food, Mad will also feature ****tails by equity-partner Bar Stories; a wine cellar and tasting room by local wine distributor Top Wines; and a bread retail corner by veteran local patissier Daniel Tay's Bakerzin Artisan Breads.
****tails-wise, expect plenty of coffee concoctions and tea infusion ****tails with fruity flavours such as cherry and pomegranate, reveals Bar Stories' Kino Soh, who will be the head mixologist at Mad. Bar Stories' signature tipple such as their honeydew sake, strawberry shortcake will also be brought over and drinks will range from $16 to $20.
The wine list of at least 150 labels will average $60 a bottle. Says Mr Tjioe: "We don't need to sell Chateau Petrus. We want this to be the kind of place people can come back to two to three times a week."
Besides being the face of the brand, the ever-youthful Mr Lee will also be behind the music selection at Mad, which will evolve over the course of the day, reveals Mr Tjioe. A small boutique will retail custom-produced Mad merchandise alongside accessories and other crafts made by local artists handpicked by Mr Lee.
"The concept is a strong one that I believe will work in many other places, even in Japan, where he has many followers," observes Mr Tjioe. "But we are just starting, let's concentrate on this one for now."
