Singapore’s Historical Restaurants — In Search of the Flavors of Singapore’s Time-Honored Eateries, from Chilli Crab to Nyonya Cuisine

From Singapore’s oldest Peranakan restaurant to the original home of chilli crab, here are three of the city’s time-honored eateries.

Words Pitch by Pitch
Illustration Kim Eunbin
In collaboration with ASEAN-Korea Centre

A Tradition of Peranakan Home Cooking: Guan Hoe Soon

With a history of more than 70 years, Guan Hoe Soon is the oldest Peranakan restaurant in Singapore. It was started by founder Yap Chee Quee, who learned to cook in a Peranakan household, and it is said to be named by taking one character from the name of each of his three sons: Guan, Hoe and Soon. Set on a quiet street in Joo Chiat, in the Katong district, the restaurant greets guests with a vintage interior that carries three generations of history, along with an easygoing charm. Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s founding prime minister, was once said to be a frequent visitor. The atmosphere focuses on the food itself rather than formality, making it a comfortable place to eat, and prices are reasonable. Lunch and dinner draw crowds of locals and food lovers and the tables fill up, so it’s best to make a reservation.
True to its reputation as a leading name in Singapore’s Peranakan home cooking, Guan Hoe Soon offers a wide range of authentic Nyonya dishes. The menu is varied, from sayur lodeh (Sayor Lodeh), a vegetable stew in a curry flavored with fresh spices and coconut milk, to ayam buah keluak (Ayam Buah Keluak), a chicken dish cooked in a sauce made from a tropical nut. Ayam buah keluak is the restaurant’s most popular dish. Tender chicken meets the tangy bite of the sauce, creating a complex flavor that is the dish’s great strength. You can also enjoy the essence of Peranakan home cooking in dishes such as udang assam pedas (Udang Assam Pedas), spicy fried prawns, and steamed fish flavored with tamarind sauce. For travelers who want to taste Singapore’s own Peranakan cuisine, Guan Hoe Soon is a time-honored restaurant not to be missed.

Founded: 1953

Address: 200 Joo Chiat Rd, #01-01, Singapore 427471

The Home of Singapore-Style Indian Cuisine: Zam Zam

Zam Zam is the oldest Indian Muslim restaurant in Singapore. Located across from the Sultan Mosque in the Kampong Glam district, it has served for more than 100 years as a kind of living room for the Muslim community. Its founder was Haji Mahmud, who came from Kerala in India, and today his grandchildren’s generation has taken over the business. Because the kitchen has held to the cooking secrets passed down since it opened, diners can taste flavors that have outlasted a century. Incidentally, the name “Zam Zam” comes from the holy water drunk during the Islamic pilgrimage, and it is a word with special symbolic weight in Muslim society.
As befits a restaurant that has spanned a century, both its exterior and interior bear the marks of time. The moment you step inside, the smell of oil sizzling on the griddle and of spices hits you so strongly that it clings to your clothes. At the old wooden tables, locals and tourists sit shoulder to shoulder, enjoying their meals. Zam Zam’s signature dish is, without a doubt, murtabak (Murtabak). It is made by filling a thinly stretched wheat-dough prata with plenty of seasoned minced meat and egg, folding it in half, and pan-frying it until golden. Zam Zam’s method in particular has helped make its murtabak even more famous. A sheet of cooked prata is laid down on the griddle, generously topped with the filling, then covered with more dough and fried in two layers. The finished murtabak boasts an even crispier texture and a hearty portion. Depending on the filling, you can order mutton, chicken, beef or fish murtabak, and sizes range from small to extra large. Dip it in the rich curry sauce served alongside, and the nutty, spicy flavors deepen, so be sure to try it. Besides murtabak, nasi briyani (Nasi Briyani) is another treat: rice cooked with spices and topped with mutton or chicken. Because the restaurant is open from early morning until late at night, you can stop by at any point during your trip to round off a meal.

Founded: 1908

Address: 697-699 N Bridge Rd, Singapore 198675

The Original Chilli Crab: Roland Restaurant

Roland Restaurant carries on the lineage of the original chilli crab. Its current owner, Roland Lim, is the son of the late Cher Yam Tian, who first introduced chilli crab in the mid-1950s. His parents originally debuted chilli crab to the world in 1956 at a seaside stall on Singapore’s East Coast, and went on to open the legendary Palm Beach Seafood, a great success. In the mid-1980s, his parents sold the business and moved to New Zealand, and for a time the original’s lineage nearly died out. But their son Roland returned to Singapore and opened his restaurant in 2000, reviving his family’s chilli crab.
Set in Marine Parade on the East Coast, Roland Restaurant is huge, with room for up to 1,000 diners. The space, packed with large round tables, is full of the atmosphere of a 1970s-and-’80s-style restaurant. The menu is made up of typical Singaporean seafood dishes. Above all, you must try chilli crab, the dish that is practically a symbol of Singapore. Cooked in the original secret sauce handed down from the founder’s mother, the chilli crab is known for the harmony between Sri Lankan crab and the house chilli sauce. The sauce, a balanced blend of chilli paste and tomato ketchup, is sweet and tangy enough to keep your palate stimulated, and because egg is used to adjust its thickness, it delivers a mellow yet deep heat. Soak the crispy fried buns served with the crab in the leftover sauce, and you’ll find yourself polishing off the bowl down to the last drop. Dishes that have been popular since his mother’s days, such as black sauce prawns, chilli cockles and crispy baby squid, are still on the menu, so you may as well order generously and enjoy a varied, hearty meal.

Founded: 1956

Address: 89 Marine Parade Central, #06-750, Singapore 440089