Damian D’Silva’s New Eatery Looks Like French Bistro; Serves Sedap ‘Forgotten’ Kueh & Curries
The indefatigable chef and Masterchef Singapore judge is back with restaurant Rempapa, serving rare Singapore heritage dishes.
Chef Damian D’Silva is back with a new establishment. And this time, it goes beyond the food of his Peranakan and Eurasian heritage. At Rempapa, Damian has extended his menu to encompass the multi-faceted cuisines of our nation. That means besides the likes of babi pongteh and curry debal, there are also Indian-style curries with putu mayam and Javanese ayam kalasan (fried chicken). More than that, he’s introducing age-old dishes that have never been available in restaurants or that have all but disappeared from our culinary canon.
Damian is a familiar name to Singapore’s die-hard foodies. The Masterchef Singapore judge has spent the last decade celebrating the food of his Peranakan and Eurasian heritage at restaurants such as Folklore, which he left in 2019 to open Kin at private members’ club The Straits Clan. Kin closed in June this year when The Straits Clan was bought over by The Mandala Group.
The name Rempapa is a nod to the spice bases that underpin all our local dishes, along with Damian’s reputation as the grandfather of Singapore heritage food. The new restaurant, located at Park Place Residences at PLQ, is in partnership with OUE Restaurants, which owns concepts like Hashida, Fufu Pot, and the newly opened Hanare.