Previously, we’d viewed the houses at Tai Hwan and Li Hwan, so I thought we should cross Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and tour Mei Hwan Road/Drive/Crescent, to get a more complete sense of the area. First things first, here’s a map of the area so you know what you’re looking at.
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One thing you may have noticed is that Mei Hwan is a more private, self-enclosed estate. This is unlike Li Hwan and Tai Hwan which are connected to each other, as well as Serangoon Gardens and Chomp Chomp further north. So unless you live here, cars are less likely to drive through the estate. I was also very impressed by how wide the roads were.As shown, you can have cars parking on both sides of the road, and a car can still drive through (easily.)As you can see, there are no street signs forbidding street parking (such as a single white line etc) and it was very easy to find parking space.In terms of the properties I saw, it was a mix of semi-detached units and terrace houses.More terrace units than semi-Ds.Some of which were very large! (And reflected in the asking prices. At the time of writing, a corner terrace was going for $6.78 million (but it was 5,100 sq ft!)Thankfully for those with smaller budgets, there were more modestly-sized properties as well.Most of the houses were still in 2-storey condition, with the odd redeveloped, taller unit (as shown on the right, above.)In case the increase in building size wasn’t clear, here’s another photo - as shown, you can build higher, but not a lot higher.Another practical feature about the estate was the number of pedestrian exits/entrances it had - about 3 or 4, which is a lot given the small size of the landed enclave. (So pedestrians will always have a shortcut to the main road.) Let’s walk out this way and see where it leads - this is the closest pedestrian exit/entrance to Goldenhill Park Condo, FYI.On exiting the estate, you immediately reach this covered walkway - nice!In front of you is Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1, and across the road are the landed houses at Golden Rise (which separates Tai Hwan and Li Hwan.)This is what you see to the right - walk further down and you’ll reach one of the vehicular exits/entrances to Mei Hwan estate.We’re going to walk down the left instead, where you can find a bus stop.I must say this bus stop has the most buses I’ve seen stopping at it! (Lorong Chuan MRT is also about 10 minutes walk away - or slightly more if you live in a different part of the estate. So, for a landed enclave, Mei Hwan is pretty well-connected.)Better view of the houses at Golden Rise, across the road.The main road is fairly busy, but I didn’t hear road noise when inside the estate. Reached the second pedestrian exit/entrance, this time with a flight of stairs (so inaccessible for people in wheelchairs or with buggies.)There’s also a small drain around the estate (but I didn’t notice any weird smells.)The houses we see in the cul-de-sac, once we walk back in.The cul-de-sac is a very short street which meets a larger street shown above. As shown, the houses closer to Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 are slightly smaller, with the (mostly) larger houses set further back from the busy main road.Let’s head to the right to see the condo within the estate - Goldenhill Park Condo. It has a 2.1 plot ratio, so is quite a high-rise development, as shown above. However, I didn’t see many cars entering/exiting it. After turning left, you’ll pass these terrace units before reaching the condo.To the right is a playground and outdoor gym.As shown, it’s extremely spacious but doesn’t have particularly exciting facilities.Behind it is New Tech Park, a new mall in the vicinity, so let’s walk there to see if there’s a shortcut. (It’s a small mall compared to Nex, the other mall in the vicinity, but much closer to the landed estate!)Closer view of the outdoor gym. I like how it’s a buffer between the high-rise condo and the house in the estate.Very nice and tranquil place for a walk - I was there in the evening, but no children were using the playground.These are some of the houses across from the playground.At the end is this interestingly-shaped house.End of the park - alas, I could not find a short cut to New Tech Mall which means one would have to exit via Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and walk the long way round. (About 12 minutes on foot.)Looking back. As shown, this is a long playground.
Anyway, back to the rest of the estate then!
This is as crowded as the street ever got.Some of the more modern properties in the area.There were some signs not to park along the road on certain days due to street sweeping. (Friday, for this sign.)And Wednesday for this one.Looking down another street to the right - Mei Hwan Crescent - this one has vehicular access to Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1.
You can drive out, but not in. (There are 2 other spots where you can drive into Mei Hwan.)
You pass these terrace houses before you turn out.
Some of the houses have drains (or small alleys) in between them, which helps to increase the setback and adds to the feeling of spaciousness in this estate.Walking back to Mei Hwan Drive.As we walk along Mei Hwan Drive, yet another pedestrian path to the main road on our right. (We won’t go down this way, as it’s very similar to what we saw earlier.)At the end of Mei Hwan Drive is this wide open space.I walk to the right to see what’s there and it turns out to be a pre-school. To be exact, Shaws Pre-school at Lorong Chuan. (4.9 stars on Google at the time of writing) Across from the pre-school is one of the best parts of this landed estate: a very large open green space.Just look at how much open space there is here!
And the lovely unblocked views enjoyed by the houses on this end. The land is also slightly lower-lying than Mei Hwan - I don’t know if it’s a psychological effect, but the area around Mei Hwan did feel a lot breezier than the usual estate.Of course, no open space in Singapore lasts forever, and this area has been zoned residential with a plot ratio of 2.5 on the master plan.But for now, the residents are super lucky!Across from Shaw’s Preschool@lorong Chuan is another small cul-de-sac of houses - it’s quite private as there aren’t as many houses on this end and it’s also slightly elevated over the neighbouring land.
We’ve now come to the end of today’s tour of this peaceful enclave. Before I go, here are the Primary Schools within 1 km of some of the houses in the estate (it’ll depend on the house number): Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary, Yangzheng Primary, Townsville Primary, and St. Gabriel's Primary.
So now that we’ve seen the estate, did you find it as spacious as I did?
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