One of Singapore's last surviving farms is running out of time. Bollywood Farms, a 10-acre patch of countryside along Neo Tiew Road in Kranji, shuts for good when its lease expires on 31 December 2026, after the Singapore Food Agency re-zoned 390 hectares of Lim Chu Kang for defence and other farming use. The owners are lobbying for a three-year extension, but if you want to see this place, the clock is ticking.

The farm dates back to December 2000, when former Netball Singapore president Ivy Singh-Lim and her husband Lim Ho Seng, once CEO of NTUC FairPrice, won the tender for a weedy swamp and turned it into a working organic farm. Unlike most of the city-state, it still feels genuinely rural — no malls, no towers, just plots of vegetables, banana trees and lotus ponds.

Entry is free and no booking is needed. A self-guided trail runs along a straight main path with 12 plots branching off, taking you past a Kitchen Garden of chye sim, kangkong and laksa leaves, plus quirks like a mini ASEAN Vegetable Garden. Bollywood Farms claims to be Singapore's largest banana producer, growing more than 20 varieties that ripen naturally on the tree. Elsewhere you'll find sugar cane, jackfruit, papaya and a Butterfly Garden. Pack a hat — shade is scarce and the morning sun is brutal.

The star attraction for many visitors is Poison Ivy Bistro, which cooks with produce grown on-site. The blue pea flower nasi lemak costs $10, the Warriors Platter — chicken curry, dhal and farm vegetables served on a banana leaf — is $12, and banana bread with ice cream runs $4. The bistro counter also sells homemade treats like pandan and lemongrass tea bags ($12) and sea salt brownies ($8), plus fresh bananas and seasonal produce.

Families can book kids' programmes in advance, including Padi Planting, fruit salad making and a pot-your-own-plant session called Little Green Fingers.

The tricky part is getting there. There's no direct public transport: it's a 12-minute drive from Kranji MRT, and a Grab will set you back roughly $10 to $15, though drivers can be scarce out that way. Free parking is available if you drive.

For anyone who's only ever seen Singapore's polished city face, this is a rare chance to experience the Kranji countryside before it disappears — and to eat a meal grown metres from your table while you still can.