August 26, 2024
LONDON – Theatregoers and tourists in London’s glittering West End looking for a bite before the shows are making their way to a Singapore-style eatery serving bak chor mee, wonton mee, char kway teow and other favourites.
Called Singapulah, the restaurant is decked out with items such as Milo tins and an old orange telephone and showcases Singapore brands which change every six months, to give local household names like Dodo fish balls and Hiap Giap noodles a chance to shine abroad.
With globally changing appetites and a growing desire for authenticity, there might be more opportunities for the Singapore taste profile to be taken abroad, including in London, where new offerings are finding a place among the old favourites of salads and sausage rolls.
Enterprise Singapore director for Europe Alan Yeo said he believes it is “the right time” for Singapore’s eateries and food manufacturers to tap the demand.
“There’s a desire among the younger people, especially in the UK, to try new things. Post-Covid, people have become very adventurous, ordering online and getting into new food, and we see that as a unique opportunity,” he said.
Mr Jay Sim, business development director of restaurant group Chew On This, which owns Singapulah, agreed.
“The British palate has changed significantly over the years,” he said. “Previously, when we started (Singapore and Malaysian restaurant) Rasa Sayang in London in 2008, we got complaints when we served a whole sambal seabass because customers found it disgusting that the head was still there.”
Patrons also thought the pink, gelatinous chicken meat in chicken rice was uncooked.
“But over the years, with the internet and travel shows on Netflix, such things boost the want and desire to eat things that are authentic. So nowadays, the head on the fish is a sign that it is the real deal. In London, the perception is quickly changing, so a lot of authentic concepts are now primed for popularity,” he said.
He noted that the restaurant occupies a prime position in Shaftesbury Avenue, a main thoroughfare between Chinatown, Soho and the West End, which attracts a melting pot of tourists and theatregoers.
The three-storey eatery, which opened in February, can seat 100 people.
It was bustling with customers when The Straits Times visited but Mr Sim said the first wave of food manufacturers that the restaurant collaborated with took a huge leap of faith in coming on board.
He said: “When we presented the idea to them… it was just an idea and we asked them to imagine it.”
Singapulah owner Ellen Chew said that having support from Enterprise Singapore was helpful in increasing the confidence of the food manufacturers in the project. It now features 13 food manufacturers in its first wave, with the next planned for September, involving eight to 10 new manufacturers.
And while prices might not be the same as in Singapore, they are considered competitive in London, especially on a high street where the restaurant is situated, Mr Sim said.
A bowl of bak chor mee is £16.95 (S$28.80), while a plate of wonton mee or char kway teow is £14.95.
Some of the food offerings from Singapulah include laksa, char kway teow and bak chor mee. PHOTO: SINGAPULAH/THE STRAITS TIMES
Just a short walk away from Singapulah, Singapore curry puffs are also making inroads into British food culture, through Old Chang Kee’s outlet at Covent Garden which opened its doors in 2018. A second outlet was opened in Goodge Street in 2019 and it is planning a third by the end of 2024.
Old Chang Kee UK director Sandra Leong said it was a personal choice to bring the brand to Britain. “I really missed curry puffs and I felt it would sell well in this market. It is pastry with curry inside, which are already two things British people know and love,” she said.
The business, which is a joint venture between Ms Leong and Old Chang Kee Singapore, has seen turnover grow by 20 per cent in the 2024 financial year, compared with a year ago.
But the road has always been riddled with challenges, especially with her desire for authenticity while also appealing to a very different palate and meal habits.
Unlike Singapore’s snack kiosks, the British outlets offer small sitting areas with a quick service concept.
Old Chang Kee UK also offers options like salad noodles and vegan meals like tofu curry and jackfruit rendang to cater to the stricter dietary concerns there.
“We don’t stray from the classic flavours, like the chicken curry puff with egg, which is still our bestseller. But we do have beef rendang puff which we don’t have in Singapore. It is a good entry point for people here because the most similar item is a pasty with beef in it,” she said.
A chicken curry puff costs around £4.
She also found other ways to bring the curry puff to the British public.
A chicken curry puff at Old Chang Kee UK costs around. PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES
When the shops had to close during the pandemic, Old Chang Kee UK kept afloat by offering meal kits, sending curry puffs across the country.
Post-pandemic, it offers office catering for companies that buy lunch for their office workers. In this way, the curry puffs have reached a whole new British crowd.
The majority of the business – around 70 per cent – still comes from walk-in customers, while 20 per cent comes from deliveries and 10 per cent from catering and meal kits.
Another vital aspect of opening a beloved Singaporean brand in another country is marketing. Ms Leong said that Old Chang Kee UK had to go through social media channels and work on building its customer base.
The business collaborated with popular ramen brand Bone Daddies and did a menu exchange, whereby the ramen chain made laksa ramen to honour Old Chang Kee’s Singapore roots. Meanwhile, Old Chang Kee UK created a katsu curry puff as a fusion of both cuisines.
“I think localisation is key, but localisation without losing who you are is where we want to be,” said Ms Leong.
Challenges
Apart from having to cater to a different palate and eating habits, Singapore businesses in London also face manpower and logistics issues.
She said she faces operational challenges because of political instability and Brexit, which mean immigration rules keep changing, aggravating staffing issues. She has around 20 staff, with fewer full-timers than part-time staff.
Disruptions to global shipping, such as the unrest in the Red Sea, have also driven up costs. She estimates that shipping costs have gone up by at least 20 per cent.
“We also purchase ingredients in the UK and a lot of suppliers of Asian produce have the same troubles so they can’t get the produce in… But because we have quite a compact menu, we are not so exposed and we are not buying a huge range of very exotic things,” Ms Leong said.
She has to order in advance as transit times have gone from around 28 days to around 40 to 45 days.
Ms Chew from Singapulah said shipping costs have gone up threefold and delivery timelines have also been disrupted. While one container previously cost around £1,500, it is now £4,500 due to the ongoing conflicts.
“But we operate in a restaurant setting, rather than a supermarket, so we still can absorb some of the costs,” she said.
She deals with the challenges by planning ahead and deciding which products need to come in first. She is also exploring air freight, as the rates are now competitive compared with sea freight.