Singapore Sights: Old Hill Street Police Station, Singapore Chili Crab in Clarke Quay

I did go to famous destinations in Singapore during my 4 day visit in June such as Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay, Sentosa, and various hawker centers – I will cover all of these in future posts. But today I wanted to spotlight something I didn’t see in any guidebook but I noticed as a cool sight based on Instagram posts in Singapore: the Old Hill Street Police Station. And, conveniently, it is FREE. And in this same area you can visit JUMBO Seafood for iconic Singapore Chili Crab for lunch or dinner before or after your stop here.

The Old Hill Street Police Station is pretty easy to get to if you are taking the public transit – aka MRT train, which is how I mostly got around during my visit. You only need to walk a couple blocks away from the Clarke Quay stop. Clarke Quay is an area you probably will hear about in researching Singapore – it’s a historical landmark area and home to a lot of restaurants, nightlife spots, and river cruises.

But somehow the Old Hill Street Police Station didn’t get a mention even though it’s only literally a block or so away.

Part of this may be because although it is a sight, it is all there is – there isn’t much to do here except for admire how it looks. There are a couple glassed in posters with a little information within the inside arch of the building, but no other resources. You cannot even go into the building that houses what was originally Singapore’s first jail, then a former police station (both as offices and as living quarters for officers and their families). The building was erected in 1934.

During the Japanese Occupation, it still held a similar though darker version of the original jail concept: it was used by the Kempeitai as a holding area for prisoners and some say also as torture chambers. After the occupation it was a police station again. Then over time it turned into a location for various government departments until today when it is used by the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) and Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth.

It as in the year 2000 that the building was renovated and the became “the building with the colorful windows”.

Still, the 927 windows in a rainbow of colors are extremely photogenic be it daytime or nighttime, right?

The colorful Peranakan colors with the British colonial neo-classical 1930s architecture might make you wonder why there isn’t a lot more color in our lives in buildings when something as simple as this can be appreciated by everyone and anyone.

And don’t forget one of the JUMBO Seafood locations is here! If you want your version of Singapore chili crab to be a little less spicy and have an intriguing savory nuttiness to it, JUMBO is a great bet, and you could choose to sit on their covered patio to dine with a view of the Singapore river. Or enjoy air conditioning inside, totally understandable choice.

If you can, try to get a party together and order their second signature crab, the Black Pepper Crab. In fact they offer six different crab flavor preparations. They also offer you an option of which kind of crab to use for that preparation style – I recommend the Mud Crab because I didn’t travel 20 hours in flight (not counting on the ground and layover time) to eat Alaskan or Dungeness crab that I could also get here in the US. The Mud Crab is also very meaty and not as delicate as the other two types.

Bring your own napkins wherever you go – they are not provided in any hawker center and not at JUMBO either. They’ll have a wetnap for you but you’ll want to use that at the end, so in the meantime make use of the lemon water bowl and your own tissues as you dissect this delicious mess. The little bowl of peanuts they offer at the beginning with the tea are not free, turn it down if you don’t want to be charged.

Another tip is you only get a few pan fried buns with each crab but the sauce is soooo good you’ll want to eat it with a spoon and rice. They have a variety of fried rice and noodles but the simple cheap option is $1 plain white rice per bowl to not fill up and miss other meals. Additional pan fried buns are a little less then $1 each.

Also do not wear white, that red sauce may splatter as you crack crab, despite the bib! As an extra credit, if you have a vegetarian in your party Jumbo does offer a separate vegetarian menu too with vegetarian seafood. And, in worst case, it looks like JUMBO Seafood offers delivery through certain services.

This is my second post of my travel series from my trip to Singapore – stay tuned for ones on Peranakan style architecture, Hawker Centers, and Gardens by the Bay and more in the coming weeks!

Have you been to Singapore, or have Singapore Chili Crab and if so where did you try it? What did you think of it as a crab preparation and flavor dish? Would you stop to visit the Old Hill Street Police Station?

Singapore Travel Posts

• Dinner at the world’s only Michelin starred Peranakan restaurant
• Singapore Sights: Old Hill Street Police Station, Singapore Chili Crab in Clarke Quay (this post)
• Peranakan Style Buildings in Singapore
• Guide to visiting Hawker Centers in Singapore
• Is visiting Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay Sands worth it?
• Other sights in Singapore: things to do in Singapore 
• Things to see in Changi Airport