我2019年申请NUS 的时候,就住在Pasir Ris(碧山). 因为这边的宿舍比较便宜. Pasir is an up and coming suburban housing estate on the eastern side of Singapore's Central Area with easy access to city centre and shopping malls as well as good schools, healthcare facilities etc... It has a very large concentration of Chinese residents here so it will be hard for you to blend into the rest of society but this was not my case when I lived there in late '19/early '20.
The area had lots of bars, restaurants, coffee shops along Orchard Road but also near Orchard MRT station (about 5 mins walk) have many cheap food outlets like hawker centres, noodle places etc where you can get your fill of spicy chilli cravings at reasonable prices (for locals and expats alike). In short, I enjoyed living here despite being surrounded by Chinese people.