Katong Peranakan Walk & Laksa Lab, Singapore

Katong Peranakan Walk & Laksa Lab photo 2

Katong Peranakan Walk & Laksa Lab photo 3

Duration

3 hours

Group size

Up to 10 guests

Languages

English, Mandarin, Malay

The take

A slow Katong morning that starts on the pastel terraces of Koon Seng Road while the street is quiet and ends at the stove, cooking a laksa you then sit down to eat. Katong still argues over whether laksa noodles should be cut short, and the recipe cards let you carry on at home.

Meet Mei Lin

Mei Lin is fourth-generation Peranakan and grew up on Joo Chiat, so this is a walk through her own neighbourhood. She starts on Koon Seng Road, whose conserved terraces are the picture most people already have of Katong, then heads to East Coast Road for kueh and a laksa you cook together.

Highlights

Koon Seng Road's pastel Peranakan terraces before the tour groups
A kueh tasting at a heritage bakery
Katong laksa you cook from scratch, then sit down to eat

What you'll do

1
9:30 AM
Koon Seng Road terraces
Walk the two rows of restored Peranakan terrace houses on Koon Seng Road and take your photos while the pavement is still empty. Tour groups usually turn up by about 11am.
2
10:30 AM
Kueh tasting
On to a heritage bakery to taste kueh, the bite-sized Peranakan cakes often made with coconut and pandan, and to work out which ones you'd queue for again.
3
11:30 AM
Laksa lab
Cook Katong laksa from scratch, then sit down and eat it. For a comparison later, 328 Katong Laksa at 51 East Coast Road serves its cut noodles with a spoon only, daily 9.30am to 9.30pm; the 216 East Coast Road branch stays open until 10pm.