Going down Food Memory Lane, Old Restaurants/Coffehouses of yesteryear

[halsey02]

Silver Spoon was known as Skillets if I remembered correctly.

It was a husband and wife team, I think. Both divorced, fell out, and change the name from Skillets to Silver Spoon.

Yeah, it was skillets, I think the wife took over or the husband?, or it split into two entity, leaving Silver Spoon @ the then, Supreme House...if my memoery serves me well, it closed in recent years, and fucntion as a small shop at the basment of Park Mall (Supreme House).

Still remember the set dinners there.....it was popular to bring your Girl Friend there...on a date, to eat, cinema.....climb the hill to fort canning...ha ha ha..or to disco

 

[Porfirio Rubirosa]

Scroll above Bro, one of my old fav haunts

Anybody had fond memories of A&W straddling across Dunearn/Bkt Timah? Popular with old NUS. Recall only drive-in then.

 

[Porfirio Rubirosa]

I think the disco was called Ridley's and no it is no longer in operation, the land was sold for residential development.

It was Sheraton for not a very long time...it is known better as ANA hotel, there was a disco there...is the hotel still there?

.

 

[yinyang]

Just an anecdote, folly of youth... as happened to my old buddies (now cronies). Coffee house was "in-thing" then, but with money in short supply (this was before any financial crisis) thought they owed themselves an ice cream treat. Hotel New HKong (now Allison?) was quite fashionable those days. Waitress asked 3 young chaps "boys, do you want your bananas split now?":p

Fast forward to disco going age, tried to be smarty pants and impress bar waitress "we wanna a screw driver (vodka orange?)". Got their uppance when waitress wise to such tricks retorted: "Oy, this not hardware shop okay!":p

 

[boii77]

You are welcome Please feel free to add on, the more the merrier and with diversity.

I also miss the original A&W restaurant drive in along Dunearn/Bukit Timah roads. Spent many a happy childhood weekend eating the hot spicy Chili Corne (with crackers); waffles with vanilla whip ice cream; Papa Bear burgers, yummy Coney Dogs (with the famous coney island meat sauce and raw sliced onions), curlie fries and those famous rootbeer vanilla ice cream floats served in the chilled tall A&W mugs which froze my hands. Thought I was Richie Cunningham from "Happy Days":p

yeah really love A&W.. now can oni eat during road trip to KL... coney dog, rootbeer float rawks!!

 

[halsey02]

I think the disco was called Ridley's and no it is no longer in operation, the land was sold for residential development.

I think it was silver...something!!

 

[halsey02]

yeah really love A&W.. now can oni eat during road trip to KL... coney dog, rootbeer float rawks!!

That is why, when I get into KL....one of the must eat thing to do is to head for Suria KLCC, in basment1 or was it 2?..A&W...one coney dog, root bear, one waffle with ice cream...ok! replace the root bear with ice cream/coke float...a sugarly sinful meal....

The other must eat, would be to the Noodle shop at BB Plaza, at the side facing the B Bintang Monorail Station..their noodles is like Merlin, Woh Hup of old...

the 'ngau lam min'...with the soya bean juice, almond flavour...

 

[johnny333]

I
There was this Indonesian restaurant at the old Plaza Singapura which had the yummiest satay even though I don't eat satay.

There was a restaurant called Ramayana?

 

[lolabunny]

That is why, when I get into KL....one of the must eat thing to do is to head for Suria KLCC, in basment1 or was it 2?..A&W...one coney dog, root bear, one waffle with ice cream...ok! replace the root bear with ice cream/coke float...a sugarly sinful meal....

The other must eat, would be to the Noodle shop at BB Plaza, at the side facing the B Bintang Monorail Station..their noodles is like Merlin, Woh Hup of old...

the 'ngau lam min'...with the soya bean juice, almond flavour...

I think I'm getting on the next plane out to KL!! :p You should watch all that oil and sugar!!

You can still get 'ngau lam min' at Crystal Jade or Hock Lam Street Beef noodles. Are they not as nice as the ones in KL?

 

[lolabunny]

There was a restaurant called Ramayana?

Yup! I have satay, but the ones there were good enough for me to eat just one stick! :p:p:p

They supposedly had great gado gado, but I don't really eat indonesian food.

Btw, the restaurant someone described as DORAEME? You've got the food wrong. Nice guess though. :p:p:p

 

[snrcitizen]

Better still when there was a morning after 'sunshine rise' followed by a hearty breakfast:p

You animal, but I envy you. Hahaha!

 

[snrcitizen]

Was that the restaurant next to the alley?

I remember eating there & found the food "spicy" compared to the more popular Rendezvous.

Couldn't remember the exact location, bro. Just vaguely remembered they were probably two doors away. Thanks for confirming my choosing Rendezvous at that time as the better choice over the other outlet.

I don't go to the current Rendezvous though, as some other bros here have also noticed they are now even pricier and the quality has dropped.

 

[snrcitizen]

The two brothers from HK who operated Happy Valley Restaurant were very involved with horse-racing in S'pore/Malaysia.

They lost heavily, got indebted and they were on the run and eventually the both of them were brutally murdered in their
hotel-room in Taipeh during the late 70's or early 80's.

In the racing fraternity, they were known as HK kias or HK chais. At their peak, they were so influential that they could move
the totes/dividends at the racing centres.

Thanks for the background information on the Happy Valley owners. Never knew anything about them until now. From your description they are surely colorful but obviously involved with shady characters to meet with such a tragic end.

 

[Merl Haggard]

Thanks for the background information on the Happy Valley owners. Never knew anything about them until now. From your description they are surely colorful but obviously involved with shady characters to meet with such a tragic end.

Have been thinking about those wild days after posting my reply to you and could recall that the younger brother's name was Nicholas.

 

[snrcitizen]

It was Sheraton for not a very long time...it is known better as ANA hotel, there was a disco there...is the hotel still there?

Remember Hotel Malaysia or something...near to where Tanglin Mall is, it is now a service apartments..

I had some thoughts about the Sheraton name today and if I am not mistaken, the full name was Century Park Sheraton until ANA took over and Baron's Table was there only when it was ANA. Not quite clear about a disco there.

Hotel Malaysia was built at the cross roads between Tanglin Rd and Holland Rd (correct me if I am wrong), across the road from Tanglin Mall, and I patronised the coffee house which was named....."The Coffee House". There was a waitress there I was acquainted with before she started working there.

From extremely vague recollection, that hotel was renamed (new management) but maybe some bro can help here because I could not remember what was the new name before it was converted to service aprtmt.

 

[Merl Haggard]

There was a restaurant called Ramayana?

Yes, that was opened by the Indonesian mistress of Mr Ho Leong Tin, the original owner of Cockpit Hotel. That was my favourite Indonesian restaurant.

 

[snrcitizen]

Have been thinking about those wild days after posting my reply to you and could recall that the younger brother's name was Nicholas.

Were they your acquaintances or did you know them through business dealings?

 

[snrcitizen]

Yes, that was opened by the Indonesian mistress of Mr Ho Leong Tin, the original owner of Cockpit Hotel. That was my favourite Indonesian restaurant.

I find Indonesian food sold here to be too sugar sweet for me. Never been to Indonesia, but someone told me that Indonesians prefer their food that way. Do you feel the same way?

 

[kuntakinte]

Hahahahaaaa.....

YOU BET !!

Still remember the set dinners there.....it was popular to bring your Girl Friend there...on a date, to eat, cinema.....climb the hill to fort canning...ha ha ha..or to disco

 

[Merl Haggard]

I had some thoughts about the Sheraton name today and if I am not mistaken, the full name was Century Park Sheraton until ANA took over and Baron's Table was there only when it was ANA. Not quite clear about a disco there.

Hotel Malaysia was built at the cross roads between Tanglin Rd and Holland Rd (correct me if I am wrong), across the road from Tanglin Mall, and I patronised the coffee house which was named....."The Coffee House". There was a waitress there I was acquainted with before she started working there.

From extremely vague recollection, that hotel was renamed (new management) but maybe some bro can help here because I could not remember what was the new name before it was converted to service aprtmt.

Malaysia Hotel plus land was bought by Khoo Teck Puat, owner of Goodwood Park Group for $45m in the 60's.

In the early 80's he sold it to HK Wheelock Group for $200m and they renamed it Marco Polo Hotel.

In 2002, Wheelock tore it down to build two blocks of high-end luxury apartments, called The Grange.