Food Picks: Last chance to have Rempapa’s Peranakan dishes
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Head to Rempapa's restaurant in PLQ to indulge in a menu of classic and not-so-common Peranakan dishes.
PHOTO: REMPAPA
Follow topic:
- Chef Damian D'Silva"s Rempapa is moving to the National Gallery later this year
- Rempapa at its current location is offering Peranakan classic dishes until Oct 5, including Ayam Buah Keluak ($28) and Hati Babi Bungkus ($14)
- Diners can enjoy Nonya kueh for dessert (from $8 for four pieces), such as kueh kosui and kueh bengkah.
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SINGAPORE –Chef Damian D’Silva’s Rempapa is relocating to the National Gallery later in 2025, where it will morph into a restaurant serving mostly one-dish meals.
Before that happens, the 68-year-old chef, whose mother was Eurasian-Peranakan, is presenting a menu of classic and not-so-common Peranakan dishes at the restaurant’s current location at PLQ until Oct 5.
What a treat it is to be able to indulge in these homey dishes. I do wish he had included his Buah Keluak Fried Rice on the menu, but am glad there is Ayam Buah Keluak ($28).
What I love is that the flesh from the black nuts is not mixed with prawns or pork. Just some pork fat and salt are added, so I get the full power of the deeply complex, slightly bitter nut. Mix it in with rice, spoon over some of that rich, coconut milk-enhanced gravy and I don’t even need the chicken the nuts are braised with.
I home in on Papaya Masak Rempah Titek ($22), not commonly found in Peranakan restaurants. Firm, orange chunks of semi-ripe papaya are cooked with a Nonya spice paste of chillies, shallots and belacan, together with salted fish and dried shrimps. Salted fish adds so much depth to this dish and I drink up the gravy.
My favourite dish in the meal is Hati Babi Bungkus ($14), ground pork and liver wrapped in caul fat. It is a laborious dish to make. Imagine having to clean the caul fat. The work pays off, though.
I love the sweet, earthy scent of ground coriander, the sweetness from shallots and the smokiness that can come only from charcoal grilling instead of frying the liver balls. Very crucial is the luak chye (pickled mustard greens). The restaurant’s version is bracing, full of sinus-clearing mustard.
There can only be Nonya kueh for dessert (from $8 for four pieces). I don’t have to tell you that Rempapa’s kueh kosui, kueh bengkah and sarang semut, or ant’s nest cake, are terrific.
Where: 01-01 Park Place Residences at PLQ, 2 Paya Lebar Road rempapa.sg
MRT: Paya Lebar
Open: 11.30am to 3pm, 6 to 9pm (weekdays), 11am to 3pm, 6 to 9pm (weekends)
Info: Call 9459-1603 or go to
