Spring Court Restaurant Heritage Cuisine

We saw Mark Wiens on HBO last night - he was reviewing some Singapore establishments . I took note of the more interesting stories - such as this one. Spring Court Restaurant. This is the oldest restaurant in Singapore, dating back to 1929. That’s pre- independence. It’s been passed down several generations, and is currently helmed by a Madam Soon Puay Keow.

Yea, that got me interested too - tracing roots. As with most settlers from China during the turn of the century, most landed in Penang, Malacca or Singapore.

Pre-mobile phone era

Spring Court sports eye-catching signboards are mounted on the building that houses what maybe Singapore’s oldest family-run Chinese restaurant. Spring Court, also known as “Wing Choon Yuen”, is where reunions, birthdays, weddings and business deals alike have been celebrated for generations.

They’ve a few (10 actually) evergreens since the heydays. Apparently the recipes have been preserved, all intact. Some of these reviewed by Wiens include the roast chicken with prawn, chilli crab and popiah. Ironically we didn’t opt for any of those for today's late lunch.

We instead opted for the hor fun with scrambled eggs and prawns, roast duck, tung poh yoke, and yong tau foo.

Hor Fun - 7.5

Roast Duck - 6.5

Tung Poh Yoke - 7.5

Yong Tau Foo - 7

We also chose a few dim sum staples for my daughter but suffice to say all are average (between 6 - 6.5 max). Clearly Spring Court added dim sum onto their menu much, much later.

I'd give this place a solid 7 overall (our first visit). We plan to come back to sample their top 10 dishes especially the roast chicken & popiah. I think a big family table of 10 pax with a lazy Susan adds to the nostalgia - think a modernist take on Sek Yuen in Kuala Lumpur. And yes, they still serve some of the classics like the fried sharks fin in scrambled egg (wrapped in lettuce - remember!?) and yam basket.

If you’re visiting Singapore on a short trip (that’s all trips), do pay Spring Court a visit. If you like nostalgia and eating down memory lane, this is a no regrets move.