Ol' Skool Makan #20: Rumah Makan Minang, Singapore -- Padang Cuisine At Its Finest



It was in December 2019, just a few months before the world shut down due to the pandemic. We were in Singapore for an event -- and for our almost-annual year-end wander -- when the craving for proper Malay–Indonesian comfort food struck. The original plan was to finally visit Hj Maimunah Restaurant, the award-winning spot proudly recognised by the Michelin Bib Gourmand. But the line that day was insane. So, after tossing the question to the good ol’ Facebook crowd, we found ourselves heading to Rumah Makan Minang on Kandahar Street -- and what a recommendation it turned out to be.

Oh man, this was Minang food at its glorious best. We fell hard for the rendang, ayam bakar, and tauhu telor -- rich, flavourful, and absolutely tingling on the taste buds. The ambience didn’t disappoint either; it had that warm, lived-in charm that makes good food taste even better.



Later on, a bit of digging revealed the restaurant’s fascinating backstory. Rumah Makan Minang began with the late family matriarch, Hajah Rosemah Binte Mailu, who migrated from Padang, Indonesia, to Singapore in the late 1940s. 

By the late 1950s, she was running a humble roadside stall on Kandahar Street in the vibrant Kampong Glam enclave. After a 1974 crackdown on itinerant hawkers, the stall evolved into a corner-shophouse operation, and by the 1980s, the business expanded under her daughter’s name into the beloved establishment that continues to serve soul-warming Minang cuisine today.


About Ol' Skool Makan

Ol' Skool Makan is my little tribute to Malaysia’s (and Singapore's) timeless eateries -- the ones that fed us before hashtags, food apps, and fancy plating. It’s about real food, real people, and memories that still smell like sambal and kopi-O.


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Dapatkan buku 'Kisah Hidup & Budaya Pop Anak Gen-X' di SINI

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