“One thing about Singaporeans is that we love food,” she says, explaining how some of her fondest memories in Singapore are centred around food. As a child, her father would take her to Sungei Road to eat laksa, which was then made with shorter and fatter mee tai mak noodles, rather than the rice vermicelli that is more common today. It’s these kinds of memories that Chew wanted to evoke with her newest restaurant. “Why don't we do something differently, and use the mee tai mak that is so rare to create that memory that I had back then?”

Singapulah began as a pop-up in 2019 alongside Arôme Bakery. What’s different about Chew’s permanent concept is its prominent backing from government agencies such as Enterprise Singapore and the Singapore Tourism Board.

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In addition, it has partnerships with Singaporean manufacturers, who supply those Singaporean ingredients that are hard to get anywhere else in the world. LG Foods, for instance, supplies the mee tai mak for Singapulah’s laksa; Dodo, the Singapore-style fishballs; and kueh from Lek Lim Nonya Kueh. 

It is these partnerships that are essential to the restaurant’s operations. Back in 2019, Chew told Restaurant Online UK that she would “not compromise or alter the [pop-up] menu based on the local palate”. The same is true of her permanent concept today, where the key to authenticity lies in its ingredients; with Singaporean manufacturers on board, Chew has greater control over what comes out on the plate. “I've spoken with the manufacturers about how I want [the ingredients] to be,” she says. “Once you have the right ingredients, you can make [the dishes] as close as you can. If you have to rely on the ingredients here, there’s no way you can do it!” 

It’s not just about nailing the food, however—it’s also a matter of pride. “I want to show that Singapore is not just a food hub, but also a place of innovation and technology,” Chew says. She singles out the kueh pie tee shells supplied by Red Lips Food, which are able to remain crispy in ambient temperature. “In the past, we never would have been able to make this without losing that crispiness, but it’s through innovation which allows us to bring this product over here without having to freeze them.” 

The behemoth restaurant is a culmination of Chew’s journey in the restaurant business since 2008, with the opening of Rasa Sayang in Chinatown. “I saw many opportunities because the food [in Chinatown] back then was so cookie-cutter,” she says. “It was always dim sum and roast duck.” Chew recalls it was a struggle to even get the landlord on board because they didn’t even know where Singapore was.

A rough start was a guarantee—take locals who didn’t quite understand the cuisine, or appreciate being served a whole fish with bones—but soon enough Rasa Sayang began attracting a lot of Malaysian and Singaporean students. “We wanted to give them a slice of home,” Chew says.

Over the years, the cultural discourse has become more sensitive towards the awareness and appreciation of different and diverse cultures, driving demand for “authentic” cuisine. Chew has certainly added to this trend—all of her concepts include some element of Asian flavours, and is regularly invited to speak on the BBC about yu sheng, the quintessential Singaporean Chinese New Year tradition.

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Jay Sim, Chew On This Group’s business development director, adds that with the recent influx of Hong Kong immigrants, there are many more Asians in London who can “see through the smokescreens”. “You need to be on your A-game to impress people,” he says of delivering authentic food that lives up to the original. 

It certainly doesn’t hurt that Singapore’s profile on the global stage is becoming more popular, especially with annual spectacles like Formula One and, more recently, playing the exclusive Southeast Asian host to Taylor Swift. This is why Chew says that the opening of Singapulah comes at the right time, despite being delayed for several years due to the pandemic, when the cultural awareness of Singapore is this high.

Of course, the going was never easy. Rental agreements, bureaucracy, a maze of red tape and even labour disputes have posed incredible challenges to Chew over the years. She recalls crying at night when she first started. “It’s really quite daunting—you don’t have the support, and you only have your other half with you,” she says.

But 16 years on in the cutthroat restaurant scene in the United Kingdom, Chew has developed a sort of thick skin. “In the past, I was more afraid to tell the chefs what to do, because you depend a lot on the chefs to cook the food,” she recalls. Now, Chew is able to “take control” of the food and direct it to how it should taste. 

As for the most fulfilling part of her career, Chew thinks that the key to the whole business is to “enjoy the whole process” with the right team, all working towards the same goal. “I sometimes work 18 or 20 hours a day but I think it’s important to show that you do it. [Your team] will also do it with you,” she says. Another thing that never gets old: customers thanking her for bringing a slice of home thousands of miles away from the motherland. “The best comment that we’ve heard is, ‘You make us proud to be Singaporean,’” Sim says. Flying the flag high in a global city as competitive as London? We’ve got lots to be proud of, indeed.

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