To new beginnings for Rempapa and Choon Hoy Parlour

There’s a bittersweet energy in the room at Rempapa these days. Chef Damian D’Silva has put together a limited-time Peranakan menu — a deeply affectionate curation of staples and “almost-lost” recipes — as a closing chapter for the Paya Lebar dining room before the brand reopens at National Gallery Singapore in late October. The menu runs through Oct 5, and while the address will soon change, the mission remains: to celebrate and carry forward Singapore’s heritage flavours (main image).

It’s a menu that reads like a family album, and you taste that intimacy from the first spoonful. Rempapa’s Nasi Ulam — the kind of dish you schedule your week around — appears on select days only, because it depends on the freshest market herbs. When it lands, it sings: finely sliced leaves brightening every grain, salted fish and flaked mackerel adding briny bass notes, and little pops of krill and prawn for depth. (Available Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, subject to chef’s herb pick.)

For me, two dishes anchor this “last dance”. First, Hati Babi Bungkus — charcoal-kissed parcels of minced pork and liver, hand-wrapped in caul fat. Rempapa’s version is assertive yet balanced: a touch of vinegar keeps the richness in check; pickled mustard greens on top add lift; sambal belacan on the side brings it all into sharp, savoury focus. It’s one of those bites that pulls you back for another before you even realise your hand has moved.

Second, the Babi Chin Pork Leg — not the usual belly, but collagen-rich front leg braised in preserved soya bean paste with coriander seeds, shallots, garlic and red chillies. The texture is plush, almost spoonable, the flavours warmly garlicky without shouting. It’s “dinner with the aunties” comfort, refined with Chef Damian’s quiet exactitude.

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There’s a generosity to how the kitchen treats vegetables here, too. Sayur Kachang Rempah Titek — long beans stewed in a heady rempah of shallots, candlenuts, chillies and belacan, lifted with prawn stock and sweet potato — tastes like a lesson in restraint: sturdy, savoury, homely. You leave wondering why we don’t talk about vegetables with the same fervour we reserve for meat.

Of course, the classics turn up with their best foot forward. Ayam Buah Keluak is made the old way — the nuts packed only with their own flesh, a little pork fat and salt — and stewed with chicken in a rempah-rich gravy rounded by tamarind and coconut.

What I love about this final Paya Lebar menu is how it doubles as a reminder: Rempapa isn’t a museum; it’s a living archive, always nudging heritage forward. If you’ve been meaning to go (or return), now’s the time; the Peranakan menu is available daily at lunch and dinner.

See also: Celebrating grandfather recipes at Gilmore & Damian D’Silva

As for what’s next, D’Silva has always been clear-eyed about Rempapa’s purpose: to elevate and preserve Singapore’s multi-cultural foodways while mentoring the next generation. A move to the National Gallery doesn’t change that and if anything, the venue feels like a fitting stage for a cuisine that has always been artful in its own right.

Choon Hoy Parlour
15 Stamford Rd, #01-84A

A few MRT stops away, Choon Hoy Parlour (CHP) has shifted from Beach Road to Arcade @ The Capitol Kempinski, right next to its sister brand, The Masses, and the move feels like a glow-up without losing the plot. The new space is split over two levels with a cosy bar below, and the team leans into an “yesterday-meets-today” energy: kopitiam cues, sunlit arches, and a retro-modern palette that’s as playful as the menu. Most excitingly, CHP now houses what it calls the largest baijiu selection in Asia outside China, with flights and cocktails designed to make the spirit approachable.

Chef-owner Dylan Ong and head chef Benji Chew frame the new menu around “Singapore Soul Food” — heirloom recipes and hawker classics stitched together with personal memory. That philosophy reads sincere rather than slogan-y; prices stay accessible, the room stays convivial, and the plates arrive with a wink rather than a lecture.

Start with the Chilli Crab Kueh Pie Tee. It sounds cheeky but it’s also very tasty: crisp shells packed with soft egg, sweet-tangy chilli crab sauce and tender crab meat, crowned with a feather-light egg yolk floss. The one-bite package hits all the textures you want, and it earns its place on my “must-order” list.

Oriental Charcuterie Board

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If you’re sharing (and you should), the Oriental Charcuterie Board is a clever “talking-point” plate: XO lap cheong, duck liver sausage, waxed duck with apricot and kampot pepper duck sausage, anchored by house-made you tiao and tempeh, then brightened with pickled mango, achar and fu ru labneh. It’s an East–West remix that feels inevitable once you’ve tasted it.

Two signatures showcase why CHP has become a personal favourite for “comfort with personality.” First, (and one of my personal favourites) the 6G Kampung Chicken — a reimagined Hainanese-style bird perfumed with a spectrum of ginger (young, old, galangal, and even ginger flower oil). It’s tender, aromatic and nostalgic without being stuck in amber; I found myself spooning the gingery juices over rice.

Second, the Claypot Waxed Meat & Yam Rice. Tableside mixing releases that irresistible, smoky-umami cloud; the XO sauce (dried scallops and hei bi) binds waxed meats, yam, crispy lard, garlic and chives into a glossy, almost sticky mound of goodness. It’s the dish that threatens to end the conversation because everyone is too busy eating.

Assam Stingray

There’s also mischief on the seafood side: the Assam Stingray, simmered gently in a Malay-style gravy of tamarind, ginger, lemongrass and lime, then paired with brinjal, okra, tomato and pineapple. It’s bright, gently sour, and very scoopable.

Don’t skip dessert. The Trio of Orh Ni layers yam, sweet potato and purple potato with coconut ice cream, chewy taro balls, ginkgo nuts and a delicate pork-lard tuile. It’s familiar enough to be comforting, but modern enough to be fun, exactly the “yesterday’s flavour, today’s flair” promise the team keeps referencing.

And because this is Choon Hoy Parlour 2.0, the drinks programme deserves attention. Those curious about baijiu can ease in with guided flights and a roster of cocktails, including Jing & Tonic and High Balls among them, or go full enthusiast with tasting notes and even on-site barrel-aging for select expressions.

The new address in The Capitol Kempinski sits cheek-by-jowl with The Masses, making this a neat two-stop pilgrimage for devotees of Chef Dylan’s accessible, value-driven cooking. Lunch set menus and a communal menu make it easy to sample broadly — and yes, to bring the extended family.