History & Origins
Katong is a URA planning subzone in the Marine Parade planning area within Singapore’s central region. Katong refers to the rippling effect of a sea mirage when looking at a shoreline, while Tanjong means cape in Malay. Rooted in prestige and wealth, Katong's history was built on the trading empires of wealthy English, Chinese and European settlers who bought parcels of seaside land to cultivate plantations. The famous Katong Park is situated there, and used to house a fort during the pre-war years.
Housing
A consensus by URA found that Katong is home to about 9,620 residents living in private developments. Some of the existing projects are Mountbatten Suites, East Mews, Ola Residences, Haig Eleven and Sycamore Tree. New projects include Amber Park, Amber45 and Nyon.
Transportation & Connectivity
Katong is served by 3 current MRT stations, Dakota (CC8) , Paya Lebar (EW8/CC9) and Eunos (EW7). There are also plans to build 3 future MRT stations in the area, these are Katong Park (TE24) , Tanjong Katong (TE25) & Marine Parade (TE26). Major roads through the area are Still Road (which connects to both ECP & PIE). Numerous bus routes also service the residents of Katong, these include 10, 16, 31, 32, 33, 40, 43, 134, 135, 135A, 197, 401 & 853C.
Education
Katong isn’t primed as an educational hub, having only 3 schools in the vicinity (Tanjong Katong Girls' School, Tanjong Katong Secondary School and Canadian International School), however, within a 10 min drive from the area are some of Singapore’s top schools, including Dunman High School, Tao Nan School and Haig Girls' School.
Shopping
Katong residents can do their shopping at 5 main malls, namely Katong Shopping Centre, Parkway Parade, Katong V, Katong Square and I12 Katong. Inspired by Katong's Peranankan heritage, Katong V is one of the newer malls in the area. It is a blend of F&B concepts, retail shops, educational centres, lifestyle stores and a supermarket. Interestingly, Katong Shopping Centre (865 East Coast Road) is where you can buy genuine Nonya kebayas, handbags and beaded shoes from tailors and seamstresses.
Recreation
Katong is famous for its food, especially Katong Laksa. Here, you can also find salt-baked chicken, Nonya kueh, traditional bakeries, curry fish head, roast duck and much more. The peranakan shophouses gives the area a chill hipster vibe that locals enjoy any day of the week.
URA Master Plan
Under URA's draft master plan 2019, the shophouses along Tanjong Katong Road have been earmarked for conservation and all commercial activities will be allowed to continue. There are also plans to create more parking spaces in the area to ease congestion.
Did You know?- A Malay fishing village by the name of Kampong Amber used to exist right outside Katong’s coastal border. In order to pave the way for new developments and land expansion, the villagers there were relocated to other neighbouring parts, their homes eventually replaced with industrial buildings
- Katong is famous for one particular Peranakan dish known as Katong Laksa, and it is so widely known, that even Gordon Ramsay came to Singapore to compete in a Katong Laksa challenged, and lost to the local chef of 328 Katong Laksa!
