‘Not Reopening In Near Future’: Young Chef Renee Tang’s Jelebu Dry Laksa Restaurant Closes After 1.5 Years At VivoCity
Jelebu Dry Laksa, known for its mod, refined take on the traditional dish, took off as a home-based business and expanded to a restaurant in collaboration with local hospitality group Tipsy Collective.
After opening to much fanfare in September 2022, Jelebu Dry Laksa will be closing its doors permanently on Feb 16 this year.
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The VivoCity restaurant, which is known for its mod, refined take on the traditional dry laksa dish, got its start as a home-based business in 2020 by young chef Renee Tang Eyrn, 30. She named her biz after her home address at Jelebu Road in Bukit Panjang.
Her homemade rempah-coated laksa deliveries stood out as they were served with decadent ingredients like Boston lobsters and tiger prawns. She later shifted her home kitchen operations to a full-service, retro-style restaurant in partnership with homegrown hospitality group Tipsy Collective, which runs the Tipsy chain of bars islandwide.
Closure reason
Responding to 8days.sg’s enquiry, a rep for Tipsy Collective explains that the group had decided to close Jelebu Dry Laksa “as part of their opening strategic evaluation”.
The rep adds: “Tipsy Collective periodically reviews its portfolio to align with their overarching priorities. In this context, the decision to close Jelebu Dry Laksa is part of their effort to refocus on key ventures – the Tipsy Bars and the Tipsy Lifestyle divisions.”
Other than the Tipsy-branded bars, the group launched cocktail lounge Wallich Manor at Sofitel Singapore, mod Filipino restaurant Kubo Woodfired Kitchen, and local bars Lady Wu and O/T Bar. A Malaysian outlet for Tipsy Flamingo opened earlier this month in Kuala Lumpur, though it’s not co-owned by celeb couple Pierre Png and Andrea de Cruz like the one in Singapore.
Last September, Tipsy Collective also unveiled massive beach club Tipsy Unicorn at Sentosa’s Siloso Beach, though the initial opening was pushed back by the unexpected passing of the group’s co-founder Derek Ong, who was 35.
“Not reopening in near future”
According to the rep, Jelebu Dry Laksa will not be reopening in the near future, but “the intellectual property of the brand remains with Chef Renee, thus any future plans for the brand will be considered separately in collaboration with her”.
Renee herself “had also decided to take a step back from the brand to explore her culinary passion further”. She will be launching a new “upcoming concept” that’s not under the Tipsy Collective, but details are still in the works for now.
Photos: Aik Chen/ Instagram @tangeyrncooks
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