Singapore Noodles

What is Singapore Noodles?

If you’re familiar with Singaporean cuisine at all, your first reaction to the title of this newsletter might be, “Singapore noodles? What even is that!”

When I first moved abroad, Singapore noodles was the one dish that I noticed on the menu of most Asian restaurants and I didn’t know what it was! Never heard of it in more than two decades of living in Singapore. It was yellow noodles stir-fried with turmeric powder and an array of ingredients that often includes fish cake and char siu. It also appeared at the Asian or ethnic food aisle of almost every supermarket. Whenever locals heard that we were from Singapore, they would point us to a restaurant with “good Singapore noodles” because they think that it is an actual national dish. (The dish was, in fact, invented in Hong Kong by chefs who used the name to add panache to their stir-fried noodles.)

It soon made me realise how little Asian cuisine is known and truly understood outside of Asia. This newsletter is cheekily named Singapore Noodles; even though it is ironically named after this pseudo-Singaporean dish, it is a newsletter that showcases the food that Asians really eat.

What will I receive?

You will receive a newsletter from me every week. Some weeks, you might receive a deep dive, such as my guide to pineapple tarts. I might be excited about perfecting my pandan chiffon cake or ngoh hiong. Other times, I’d be spilling the beans on my favourite places to eat, share all about my food adventures, or take you into the kitchen of a fellow cook. You might also get updates on the projects that I am working on, like my upcoming vegetarian Asian cookbook!

A paid subscription grants you access all the recipes in my newsletter. Unpaid subscribers get to read the stories in the newsletter and the occasional free recipe, and are warmly welcome too. If you’re looking for a particular recipe, you can look it up via the index.

Who are you?

I’m Pamelia Chia, a born and bred Singaporean currently living in Melbourne. Though I was formerly a professional cook with a background in food science, I am now a cookbook author and writer. My first cookbook Wet Market to Table (Epigram Books, 2019) was a bestseller in Singapore, and I am one half of Seasonings Magazine, an indie publication focused on festival food in Singapore. I am currently working on a second cookbook on vegetarian cooking inspired by Asia, Plantasia, to be released late 2023. You can find me on Instagram here and here, and visit my website here.