Forgotten Singapore Dishes Making a Comeback
Singapore's culinary landscape is a vibrant tapestry woven from the threads of its multicultural heritage. While iconic dishes like Hainanese chicken rice, char kway teow, and chilli crab have become global ambassadors of traditional Singapore food, a quieter yet concerning trend has been the slow disappearance of many forgotten Singapore dishes. These masterpieces, once staples in homes and hawker centres, are fading from memory amid evolving lifestyles and tastes. Thankfully, there’s a rising Singapore food revival led by passionate chefs, cultural preservationists, and food historians. This movement is about more than flavors—it's about reclaiming nostalgic Singapore dishes and local food traditions, strengthening cultural ties, and connecting generations through food in Singapore.
The Importance of Culinary Heritage Preservation in Singapore Food
In Singapore, food is much more than sustenance—it's a cornerstone of national identity. Every dish, whether rice noodles from Chinese immigrants or rich Malay cuisine, tells a story of migration and adaptation. Yet, a variety of factors threaten many recipes: the laborious preparation of rice cakes or pork rib soup doesn’t suit modern, fast-paced urban life; others fade because of shifting palates and relentless urbanization. These forces, compounded by the rise of quick-serve eateries over open-air food courts and traditional hawker stalls, have resulted in a host of disappearing hawker dishes.
“When a dish disappears, we lose more than a recipe—we lose a piece of Singapore’s collective story,” says renowned food historian Lee Mei Hua. Recognizing this, efforts to document and preserve Singapore's culinary legacy have ramped up. Heritage restaurants, cookbooks, and digital archives play a pivotal role in cataloguing recipes—from steamed rice with grated coconut to complex peranakan cuisine—ensuring future generations experience authentic food in Singapore beyond globalized trends.
Forgotten Chinese-Singaporean Dishes and Food Centre Revivals
The Chinese community has contributed countless beloved classics, but many forgotten Singapore dishes deserve a spotlight:
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- Hei Zho (Prawn Rolls): This Teochew delicacy features a savory filling of prawns, minced pork, water chestnuts, and sometimes even fish paste or diced Chinese sausage, wrapped in bean curd skin and deep-fried. Though it’s traditionally eaten during festivals, Hei Zho almost disappeared before being revived at hawker stalls and restaurants like Guan Hoe Soon and Simply Peranakan Cuisine, which honor the authentic blend and serve it with tangy chilli sauce.
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- Kong Bak Pau (Braised Pork Belly Buns): Impossible to forget once tasted, this specialty highlights pork belly slow-braised in dark soy sauce, aromatics, and spices. Sandwiched between fluffy steamed buns, it’s a perfect harmony of sweet, salty, and savory flavors. Chef Chen at The Naked Finn now spotlights this dish, adding touches like pandan leaves and pork lard for authentic richness.
- Feng Li Su (Phoenix Pear): Originally served during Lunar New Year, this deep-fried pastry filled with glossy, sweet pineapple jam used to be a labor of love. It’s making a comeback in modern bakeries, using rice flour and updated techniques to replicate the nostalgic taste.
These revivals are now a part of many a food centre’s transformed breakfast or lunch menus, with recipes that preserve the essence of Singapore food history.
Disappearing Malay Heritage Dishes at Hawker Centres
Singapore’s hawker centres used to burst with a mosaic of Malay cuisine—many of which are now vanishing.
- Botok-Botok: In this herbal, nutrient-rich parcel, fish marinated in lemongrass, turmeric, and chillies, layered with grated coconut cream, then wrapped in banana leaves and steamed until tender. Because of the intensive process, only establishments like Hjh Maimunah continue offering this dish alongside rice dumplings and other classics.
- Kueh Bengka: Made by families for generations, this dense, chewy cassava cake is infused with coconut milk and baked until caramelized atop. Modern food historians have worked with home bakers to document and share recipes online—look for it at traditional stalls in airport road food centre and Joo Chiat.
- Nasi Ambeng: A standout communal dish, nasi lemak rice forms the base, ringed by beef rendang, sambal goreng, fried chicken, and hard boiled egg. Once nearly extinct, it's featured in pop-up kitchens run by Malay food enthusiasts and committed hawkers intent on sharing the joys of fragrant rice cooked with aromatic pandan leaves.
Vanishing Indian-Singaporean Specialties and Rice Flour Traditions
Many unique Indian specialties with Indian and Malaysian cuisines roots face extinction, especially those involving labor-intensive uses of rice flour and traditional methods.
- Pachaipayaru Vadai: These golden fritters, made from split green gram, are more textural and earthy than mainstream fried snacks, often served with a dollop of spicy chilli sauce. Stall owners in Little India hawker centres are committed to retaining their grandmothers’ spice blends for this rare treat.
- Putu Mayam: Also known as string hoppers, these lacy nests are made with delicate rice noodles, steamed, and eaten with shaved palm sugar and freshly grated coconut. Despite being challenged by modern tastes, places like Heaven’s Indian Curry still make them daily, continuing a breakfast ritual tied deeply to both Indian food and malaysian cuisines.
- Kuih Kaswi: A gentle, yielding steamed cake, darkened with palm sugar, and covered in grated coconut. Traditionally enjoyed at family gatherings, it's now enjoying a modest return at niche stalls in berseh food centre and Geylang.
Eurasian and Authentic Peranakan Food Rediscoveries
Some of the most laborious—and rewarding—heritage recipes are found in Peranakan food and Eurasian cuisine, celebrated for layers of flavor and cross-cultural innovation:
- Pang Susi: This Eurasian delight features a sweet potato bun encasing savory minced pork filling—delicate, fluffy, and rare. Family bakeries and restaurants like Quentin’s are resurrecting it, using time-worn techniques.
- Babi Pongteh: Iconic in authentic Peranakan food, this pork belly stew is slow-cooked in fermented soybeans, mushroom, and garlic until the meat is meltingly tender. Chefs at modern Peranakan restaurants like Candlenut and Peranakan Inn stay true to the original, often serving the stew with steamed rice and crispy fried shallots.
- Feng: Not to be confused with Chinese desserts, this is a labor-intensive Eurasian curry using offal, pork, and spice, requiring hours to create a deeply savory flavor. Only a few coffee shop eateries and festive pop-ups preserve this rare specialty.
- Assam Prawns and other Peranakan dishes: The complex, tangy flavors of okra, seafood, sweet corn, and tamarind remain a staple in peranakan cuisine. Home cooks, food bloggers, and chefs at open-air food courts have expanded the reach of these favorites.
The Food Centre Revival Movement: Chefs and Hawker Centres Leading the Way
The revival of forgotten Singapore dishes is championed by visionary chefs and devoted hawkers alike. Chef Damian D'Silva of Rempapa is known as a “culinary anthropologist,” compiling revived Singapore recipes spanning peranakan, malay, and indian food, as well as iconic Chinese dishes like carrot cake (made with white radish and pork lard) and bak chor mee (flat or yellow egg noodles tossed with minced meat, vinegar, and spicy sambal).
Hawker stalwarts at places like airport road food centre, berseh food centre, and Chinatown’s Smith Street are safeguarding recipe integrity—serving old-school char kway teow with cockles, bean sprouts, eggs, and a kiss of dark soy sauce; or steaming rice flour kuehs. New-age pop-ups and supper clubs provide experimental spaces for young chefs to riff on tradition using quality ingredients, elevating oyster omelette, fish cake, and minced pork into modern delicacies.
Digital communities—blogs, YouTube channels, and the “Singapore Heritage Food” Facebook group—crowdsource recipes, while cookbooks focus on everything from pandan leaves laced desserts to stir fried rice noodles infused with touches of local coffee and spicy sambal.
Conclusion: Savouring the Comeback of Forgotten Singapore Dishes
Preserving the flavors of the past means so much more than indulging cravings—it's about respecting history and safeguarding identity in one of the world’s most vibrant food capitals. Whether it's savoring soy sauce-rich stews, biting into fragrant nasi lemak wrapped in banana leaves, or slurping up egg noodles in hearty pork broth, each taste is a tribute to the island’s soulful roots.
Singapore’s future as a food nation depends not just on innovation but on respect for tradition—the chef honoring chicken rice with fragrant rice and rendered chicken fat, the home cook making steamed rice cakes by hand, the coffee shop recreating nostalgia with a cup of local coffee and toasted bread. As diners, seeking out these best hawker stalls, supporting heritage eateries, and asking about the story behind a dish can help keep the rich diversity of Singapore food alive for generations to come. Next time you visit a bustling hawker centre, open air food court, or cozy peranakan restaurant—be adventurous. Indulge in both the familiar and the almost-forgotten, and take part in Singapore’s delicious, ever-evolving legacy.
New-age pop-ups and supper clubs provide experimental spaces for young chefs to riff on tradition using quality ingredients, elevating oyster omelette, fish cake, and minced pork into modern delicacies. Similarly, fine dining spaces like The Black Pearl rooftop restaurant celebrate Chinese culinary artistry while embracing Singapore’s evolving tastes. Meanwhile, the rise of vegan restaurants in Singapore’s plant-based revolution highlights how chefs are redefining what contemporary dining can be—innovative, sustainable, and full of flavor.
