S’porean Opens Hawker Food Restaurant In London, $29 Bak Chor Mee With DoDo Fishballs On The Menu
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Singapulah restaurant
A Singapore-style restaurant aptly named Singapulah recently opened at London’s Soho district, and its menu will pique the interest of any pink IC carrier. The zi char and hawker-style dishes served include Laksa, Wonton Mee, Bak Chor Mee, Fishball Noodles, Nasi Lemak, Chilli Crabs with mantou, Cereal Prawns, Kueh Pie Tee and rainbow Kueh Lapis.
A shelf holds nostalgic trinkets like Milo tins, Khong Guan biscuit tins, retro toys, Yeo’s packet drinks and even an orange public phone (we wonder if it still has the public phone smell too).
In an interview with The Straits Times, Ellen shared that her restaurant partnership is a platform for Singaporean brands to gain more exposure overseas, test their products in a foreign market and reach out to new customers.
What are the prices like?
Like how foreign cuisines are pricier in Singapore, hawker fare in London also comes at higher price points. The Bak Chor Mee here costs £16.95 (around S$29), and comes with classic fixings like house-braised mushrooms, meatballs, DoDo fishballs, pork lard, dried flatfish, slightly more atas torched pork belly and Hiap Giap noodles tossed with sambal from Kwong Cheong Thye.
The Singapore Laksa, Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng and Seafood Sa Po Mee in a claypot are also £16.95, while Fishball Noodles and a Blk 53 Wonton Mee cost £14.95 ($25.50).
The pricing is not unusual for high cost of living cities like London and New York; local makan guru KF Seetoh’s food court-style Urban Hawker eatery in New York City serves prawn mee by local stall Prawnoholic at US$18 (then S$26 at the time of its opening in 2022).
According to Prawnoholic’s young owner Alan Choong, that’s because operating costs are way higher in the US, where he had to adhere to minimum wage guidelines and pay each of his three hawker assistants a salary of up to US$5,000 a month (then S$7,200).
For an apple-to-apple comparison, diners can also expect to pay a premium at the more casual Old Chang Kee outlet in London for below-$10-in-SG items, like Classic Laksa (£11, S$18.70), Beef Rendang Nasi Lemak (£13.95, S$23.40) and Signature Chicken Curry Puff with Egg (£3.95, S$6.70).
Singapulah is at 53 Shaftesbury Ave, London W1D 6LB, United Kingdom. Open daily, Mon-Sat 5pm-10pm, Sun 5pm-9pm. www.singapulah.co.uk
Photos: Instagram/ @michellu, @rachelrrae_, @mr.stevenwallis/ Singapulah
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