alkaff mansion & garden terrace @ telok blangah hill park




yesterday, i made a shocked discovery: the alkaff mansion that sat atop telok blangah hill was hoarded up and without any sign of life. according to a report, the restaurant ceased operation in august 2004.

i had been there for a birthday celebration many years ago and had attended a wedding banquet there in the 80s. although it was not air-conditioned, it had a certain class of its own.

originally known as mount washington, alkaff mansion was the home of a wealthy arab family in the 1920s. it opened as a restaurant in 1990. the rijsttaffels - buffet, indonesian style with dutch influence - was very popular. so was the western food.

later, i made my way to the garden terrace. climbed right up to the top to catch a panoramic view of the surroundings. could see mt faber with its cable cars in the distance. by 2009, when the pedestrian bridge is ready, park visitors can walk from telok blangah hill to mt faber and also to kent ridge.

[on 6 november 1989, it was announced in the straits times and business times, of the government's plans to construct a 140 m long and 4 m wide suspension bridge linking mt faber park and telok blangah hill park. estimated to cost $5m, the approximately 27 m, about nine-storey high "mt faber-telok blangah hill bridge", will be built across henderson road at telok blangah green. in future nature-lovers will be able to jog or walk from mt faber to telok blangah hill when singapore's tallest "pedestrian suspension bridge" is built to link these two parks.]

the bougainvilleas planted on the terraces did not appear to have been getting the due attention. in fact, they looked a bit neglected. some pruning had been done recently but the leaves and the cut stems were not removed.