I passed up on some opportunities to visit Greenwich V, including a blogger invite. It’s a new mall opened not too many months ago at Seletar Hills. I’ve heard the mall has quite a different concept. Of course, every mall tries to be unique, but this one is a little more different than any of the others. So, I’ve been meaning to come by one of the weekends.
Greenwich V is situated at the corner of Seletar Road and Yio Chu Kang Road. No, it’s nowhere near Seletar Reservoir, in case you’re wondering. Road names in Singapore can get somewhat confusing. I used to live in Seletar Hills, so I’m somewhat familiar with the neighbourhood.
What is Greenwich V? It’s a smallish mall. While other malls go for big and trendy and everything-under-one-roof, Greenwich V is none of that. It reminds me a lot of myVillage, also a smallish mall in the heart of the Serangoon Garden housing estate. Similar to the spirit of myVillage which tries to blend into its neighbourhood, Greenwich V reflects the charming ambience of the Seletar Hills estate.
While most malls are multi-storied fully air-conditioned complexes, Greenwich V has just two stories (not including the basement parking). When you climb up to the second storey (don’t worry, there are lifts too), you’re going to be surprised. It’s an open-air concept.
I kid you not. All the above photos are of the second storey. The outdoor setting exudes a relaxed, natural chic and charming village-like ambience. I wonder what happens when it is pouring heavily. How do shoppers get around, since there doesn’t seem to be much shelter?
You’d find all the standard “necessities” expected from any neighbourhood mall. There is a Cold Storage, Home Fix, Guardian Pharmacy, 7-Eleven, Coffee Bean, Gong Cha (did I tell you I like their House Special Ice Coffee?), Toast Box and a food court. There are more dining options, including a Japanese restaurant, Chinese restaurant, Cedele, Awfully Chocolate, etc.
I think that seems like a nice mix of retail tenants. For people living in the neighbourhood, there’s plenty of useful things you can get here, no need to travel to town or other “bigger shopping hubs”.
I do have a complaint about the valet parking service though. When I collected my car, I tipped the valet. I did that rightaway, before collecting my car, which turned out to be right next to the lobby anyway. He offered to help transfer some shopping bags from my supermarket trolley to my car. Nice. I asked where the trolley return bay was, and he told me there were none in the basement parking level, and I had to return it upstairs. Hmm, how inconvenient. While I was busy tidying my boot, he pushed away my trolley. I remembered about my $1 coin deposit, and wanted to, ahem, ask about it. I had already tipped him eh. But he was so fast, he had already disappeared into the lift. Then, as I was driving out, I noticed there was a trolley return bay on that level after all.
That sort of made me quite annoyed with the valet. A little misadventure like this can easily spoil the image of the place.
This is not a mall that you need to travel out of your way to go visit. Except maybe just once or twice to see the unique concept of the mall. I love how the mall manages to retain the charm of a quiet neighbourhood. For people staying in the vicinity, especially in Seletar Hills, but even further up like in Seng Kang, this can be a great neighbourhood haunt.
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