 With the development of Joo Chiat into a small town, the East Coast – stretching from Mountbatten to Siglap – was no longer solely a weekend retreat for the Europeans and rich Chinese and Eurasians who owned the luxurious seaside bungalows there.Joo Chiat area can be thought of as a ‘linear activity corridor’ linking Geylang, Katong and Marine Parade.The area used to house comfort ladies during the Japanese occupation and after the war, it became an active retail and entertainment hub in the 1950s and 1960s, with popular supermarket Tay Buan Guan, Red House Katong Bakery and food specialties such as Katong Laksa.