The proud old guard

An instrumental Titanic soundtrack plays in the background as dim sum is being trundled around on pushcarts. Musty vintage flowered carpets, a stage decorated in christmas lights left over from a previous wedding banquet, and live seafood swimming in aquariums, look straight out of scene of nostalgic Singapore in the 70s. The 16,000 sq feet Red Star Restarant was opened in 1974 by master chefs Sin Leong, Hooi Kok Wai, Tham Yew Kai and Lau Yoke Pui (the last two members have since passed away). Dubbed the “Four Heavenly Kings” of the culinary world by local media and the public, the quartet is responsible for the dishes that we know and love: yu sheng (raw fish salad), deep-fried yam baskets filled with stirred-fried vegetables and encircled by squiggly deep-fried vermicelli, and chilli crabs, a dish so iconic it is an integral part of our Singaporean identity.

The spritely 84-year-old master chef Sin Leong is in good spirits today as he, ever the hands-on restauteur, pours tea for customers and greets regulars by name while 73-year-old master chef Hooi Kok Wai is in the kitchen rustling up their signature dishes for our photoshoot. The pair may have officially hanged up their toques but they still visit Red Star Restaurant daily, mostly to oversee operations and to yum cha (have tea).

Excerpt from the August issue of epicure.