The ‘new and improved’ Tiong Bahru is a tricky estate to navigate. It’s a place where authentic and pseudo antique meet, where a retiring policeman and a controversial art collective are neighbours, and where cardboard collectors and property gamblers walk together on the streets. You can’t tell what’s what in the Art Deco buildings just by looking at them.
Some of these places are really tough to figure out (like Cheng’s on Yong Siak Street, which tells you on the menu they have chicken curry, but conveniently leaves out the $15 price tag), but The Tiong Bahru Club Singapura, which recently opened on Eng Hoon Street, is a little easier.
Sure it looks convincing as the setting for a family dinner in Growing Up, but it’s also got a menu designed to look like the Good Morning towel and happy hour promo (5 — 7pm daily) ads , which would be absent in a bona fide old school bistro.
The latter would also not offer such a diverse menu — at The Tiong Bahru Club Singapura, you can take your pick from their All-Day, Asian Tapas, breakfast, Burgers & Pastas and Mains sections.
But the greatest tell-tale sign is probably the prices. Dishes start at $8 for some tapas and $10.80 for a main, which today can be reasoned somewhat with generous portions and cute plating.
Their specials are what you’d expect from mum’s cooking, if she came from an impressively mixed heritage family. There’s the classic Club ’88 Devil’s Chicken Curry, Kampung Fried Rice and hot Indian snacks like samosas, and then there’s modern-day grub like cheese sticks, okra fries and stuffed jalapenos.
In the roughly 30-seater restaurant is a section styled like a taproom, offering HB Dunken, Weisse and Lager on tap (featured in their happy hour promo) and in bottles, plus ciders and wine. There’s even a chai bar, offering anything from the Classic Masala to the Mumbai Bazaar.
The Tiong Bahru Club Singapura is not the real deal if you’re looking to sit with Mr. Tay types, but it’s still a fun experience (if anyone asks, it’s a “heritage bistro”, according to owner Jerry Singh).
And really, there’s no place in the world quite like this estate. At least Vogue seems to think so.
The Tiong Bahru Club Singapura is at #01-88, 57 Eng Hoon St., 6438-0168. Open Mon — Fri 8am — 10pm, Sat — Sun 8am — midnight.
Photo: Ilyas Sholihyn
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