LONDON – While you can still find the odd street food vendor hawking Singapore Noodles, gone are the days where that abomination of a dish served as the sole ‘representative’ of our island city’s cuisine. But while Singaporean food occasionally pops up in the form of snacks or takeaways (like from our friends at Old Chang Kee), there has yet to be a full-fledged Singapore restaurant to be set up in London, showcasing the depth and variety of Singaporean food.

That is, at least until Singapulah came along.

Opened by Singaporean and ex-Kopitiam executive Ellen Chew, who’s known for successful restaurants from Chinatown’s Rasa Sayang, to Lobos Tapas in London Bridge and Soho, Singapulah is the UK’s only dedicated Singaporean restaurant. Originally located on Soho’s Frith Street for a few months, they’ve finally moved to a more permanent venue in Victoria, and looks similarly primed for success. Singaporeans looking for an authentic taste of home can drop by for familiar favourites, from laksa to chwee kweh to of course – Bak Chor Mee.

“Four years ago, things changed significantly for us. What we’re doing now is not just about the concept of a pop-up. We are actively working with the government to elevate Singaporean culture and cuisine,” says Jay Sim, Singapulah’s business development director. “We’re collaborating with Singaporean food manufacturers to showcase dishes that also highlight the involvement of these manufacturers. In our industry, no one typically shares their sources, but we want to bridge the gap between manufacturers, buyers, and distributors—this is why we’re working closely with Enterprise Singapore to help smoothen that process.”

Jay then describes a bad experience that led them to wanting to do better in the first place, one where he tried frozen kueh that didn’t meet expectations, and wanting to help those suppliers do better. “It was a complete miss, but with this project in mind, I decided to go to the factory and try again—it was super good. This project ensures the representation of these products at an exhibition hall, providing quality assurance with food manufacturers,” he says. “So over here, our goal is similar to how the Malaysians, Thais, and Indonesians have their cultural showcases, so why not us? We have such a rich culinary culture that’s underrepresented. This is a platform for Singaporeans to bring their friends and say, ‘This is us.'”

Adds Ellen: “After COVID, we realized we really do love Singaporean food. We grew up with it, but there were so many nuances we had forgotten. When you’re overseas and you taste it again, you’re reminded of what you missed. It’s not just about the products but also about bringing the storyline to life—meeting people directly from the source, like noodle makers. When you run a restaurant, you get suppliers, but these guys tell you exactly how to cook it and for how long. How often do you get this opportunity then, to do things the way you want to? These are people who are so passionate about their craft, and ready to tell the story of why certain ingredients are used or why our coffee tastes different.”

With a tagline that states ‘Made In Singapore, Born In London’, Singapulah also pays plenty of homage to our local brands, including utilising some familiar names that any Singaporean is sure to recognise. From utilising dim sum from Sin Mui Heng, to DoDo fishballs and fishcake, to Hiap Giap noodles, to Kwong Cheong Thye sambal and dark sauce, to more modern brands such as Udders ice cream in their desserts (yes, even durian flavour), the menu on Singapulah is exactly the distinct taste of home amidst the already diverse tastes from other ethnic groups all around London. Even for anyone new to terminology used, the menu also contains plenty of detailed descriptions, and even a glossary of noodle types to help visitors distinguish between mee tai bak to mee pok.

If anything, re-opening the restaurant in its new location has been overwhelmingly positive, with plenty of Singaporeans, Malaysians and other Asian visitors curious to get a taste of home when they re-opened earlier this year. “We chose this timing to create buzz when things are usually quieter, avoiding the December rush. People might wonder, ‘What’s this queue about? What’s all this food?’ It piques curiosity, especially among those who only know Singapore for F1 and a few other things,” says Ellen. “The British often see us as just a small dot in the world, but our response is, ‘Small but bright.’ Even in our uniforms, we amplify our presence and want them to appreciate our food.”

But it was not without its challenges of course. “Opening a restaurant in London was overwhelming compared to Singapore. Here, things tend to improve rather than decline, and visitor numbers only continued to grow after the initial hype,” says Ellen. “Managing multi-floor operations was really challenging for us. We want more customers, but the staff can’t always cope, and people aren’t very forgiving. People are entitled to their feelings of course, whether they’re angry or otherwise. But the question is, what can we do about it?”

“I’m not used to running a restaurant with such a huge queue. It’s still going on, even after the first few days. There was a lot of buzz even before we launched,” says Jay. “Regarding criticism or complaints, we might give a discount or try to recover with a complimentary dessert, but it’s a case-by-case basis. In general though, we know which comments to engage with or brush off – for instance, people say, ‘$28 for bak chor mee, are you crazy?’ But we can have a conversation to explain it and the cost of the ingredients. It’s like when I once visited a second-hand furniture shop with painstakingly restored mid-century pieces, and people still complained that it was expensive. New things just invite people to scrutinize every detail on a microscopic level, like KF Seetoh’s Urban Hawker in New York.”

Still, both Jay and Ellen have not been daunted, and have seen the queues continue to snake and grow, offering them new opportunities to expand and refine what the restaurant offers. “A lot has changed, and I get excited by new stuff. There’s a need to learn new things. Working with food manufacturers helps make the project a success. Crossing customs is tough because it takes time to experiment, and things we take for granted in Singapore don’t always work elsewhere. For instance, if you go to any supermarket and use the noodles, it’s a flop. We have to import the noodles. Even the eggs—European eggs and Singaporean eggs are different. You can’t separate the whites and yolks the same way, which changes how the dish turns out,” says Jay.

“We need to constantly buck up our game. After so many years, there’s a sense of complacency. Before this, I worked on other brands, and people would ask, ‘What’s the next thing you’re going to build, Ellen?’ They see me as someone who can create something from nothing. I don’t want to create a restaurant just for money but also for passion and creativity,” says Ellen. “This place is about appreciating Singaporean food. We want people to feel it. Some might ask, ‘Why are there strange things and dim sum done differently?’ We wanted to create curiosity, and I think we succeeded in that. We hope people never stop asking questions—even durian ice cream, which has never been sold here before, or helping platform brands like Supermama to retail their products at a true blue Singapore location.”

At the end of the day, this is a project that is all about representing Singapore for the long-term – that’s why the team signed a lease for 15 years. “We’re not afraid of the commitment because we know we can make it work,” says Ellen. “We have an incredible team we’ve put together, and it’s gotten so much positive feedback, with all of us working together. We keep the relationship alive, and we’re still partners. It’s a Singaporean mentality to ‘bao ga liao’ (do everything), going above and beyond the job description, but if I’m doing it, everyone’s doing it together.”

“It’s been a couple of months since we opened, and I’m extremely happy and overwhelmed with the attention we’ve received. It sets the bar very high for what we do next. We’ve made a lot of real friends, not just in business but also personal connections. It’s not just about making money but building bridges to see what we can do with the products, and bring everyone closer and more connected to each other.”

Singapulah London is located at 53 Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1D 6LB, in the United Kingdom. More information available at their website here