Sinpopo @ Joo Chiat Road, Katong

I am loving my ‘break’ from work. Thank you, Telstra. #workisover-rated. So with some time on my hands as I search for new employment, I am taking the kids to school and having lunch with wifey pretty much every day now. And it is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. But, of course, it must end eventually – wish me luck for that. So today I found a new gem on East Coast. One I have walked past many a time but for some reason never ventured in. But today wifey and I did and I am so glad we did. This is a cracking place, this is Sinpopo in Joo Chiat Road, Katong, lunch with Wifey  because work is over-rated.

I’m going to steal some text from their menu to describe the style. Suffice to say though, it’s Peranakan, it’s a converted shop-house (still with original floor tiles in places), it’s minimalistic with basic colours and a mixture of textures like steel menus on the walls. It’s just uber cool. We really liked it and will be back with the kids for sure. 100% I know they will dig this spot too. Sinpopo in Joo Chiat Road, Katong is awesome. A must-try in my reckoning.

So to their menu, and I quote; “Sinpopo is an ode to Katong and its heritage. Since the 1950’s Katong has been well-known for its unique Peranakan culture and cuisine. Today, Katong is completely different. With a plethora of Western-style cafes and restaurants, large shopping malls and condominiums, Katong’s heritage and its heritage businesses are being crowded out. We want very much to keep it alive because it is a part of us. So we’re not just some hipster cafe. We don’t simplify or fusion-ise. We spruce up the old traditional recipes to keep them relevant.

We also designed the entire place ourselves as we’ve always believed that we are the best people to build our own brand. So even though we may take a longer time, we feel proud that we did it ourselves and it looks exactly the way we want it to be. The surfboard steel-top side tables, the mild steel tables and the tiered cutlery stand and the wall quotes that you see inside, are made in-house by us. That’s how much we want Sinpopo to be uniquely ours.”

I love this type of pride in your own place. Great work Sinpopo. Be proud because your space is amazing, and the food was of absolute quality. We will be seeing you soon. But 1st here is today, wifey and my lunch date together here is Sinpopo in Joo Chiat Road, Katong.

So there you have it, folks, wifey and I day #2 of lunching freedom from work. #workisover-rated. We are loving this, truly. And we found this absolute gem in heartlands Katong. This is die die must try believe me. Keeping the heritage food flag flying which I love. This is Peranakan food at its best. Sinpopo in Joo Chiat is right up there with the best of the best on Red Dot. You simply must give it a go. I recommend that pork chop too. Holy moly it’s good. Like WOW. So friends get your bum to I12 and walk across the street and come to Sinpopo in Joo Chiat.

ENJOY!!!