Shiok Singapore Kitchen, a cherished restaurant in downtown Menlo Park for the past 25 years, will close its doors by the end of this month.
Restaurant owner Dennis Lim explained that, though the restaurant had consistently been paying rent, the landowners had recently sold the building and gave them 30 days to vacate. Alongside Shiok, two neighboring businesses—Ela Lingerie, an 18-year-old store, and Gerry’s Cakes, a 40-year-old establishment—will also have to vacate.
“They just don’t have any regard for us. On Christmas day, they tell you, ‘Hey, I sold the building.’ Then a day later, they say, ‘I need you to vacate in 30 days,’” Lim said. “We have a livelihood, my staff has a livelihood, everyone does. And just like that, in a month’s time, all our livelihoods are gone.”
“They treat you like garbage. They take your rent for 25 years, but the moment they don’t need you, they say to get out in 30 days. It’s just business, I suppose,” he continued.
The M-A Chronicle contacted the building representative agent, but they didn’t respond in time for the publication of this article.
The family-owned restaurant originated in San Carlos in 1999 under Lim’s mother, Rosalind Tan, and his sister, when there wasn’t much authentic Singaporean cuisine in the area. “When people tried this food for the first time, they loved it. And they said, ‘We don’t have anything like this in the Bay Area, you guys should open a restaurant,’” Lim said.
But, as the establishment grew in popularity, they needed to relocate to a larger building. The family soon moved to downtown Menlo Park in 2000, and Shiok Singapore Kitchen quickly became a local favorite.
“Our business has always been a family business. Everybody works here—our friends, friends of friends, family, neighbors, neighbors’ kids. It’s always been that way, and being here for 25 years has been great because we’ve been here so long that we’re a part of the community,” Lim explained.
“It’s very likely we will shut. Maybe last week or the week before, I was still holding some hope that we could move somewhere. But it just doesn’t look like it. Not this fast,” he said. He asked his landowners for more time but estimated that Jan. 26 will be his last day.
Yacop Halim worked here 20 years ago. “I actually still haven’t processed what’s happening here. This is almost like a comfort food or home-cooking spot,” Halim said.
“I’ve been coming to Shiok for as long as I can remember. Since 2013, so since I was five years old,” customer Aaron Chung said. “It was always where I wanted to go whenever we were deciding which restaurant to go to.”
“In the Bay Area, before COVID, there were only two genuine Singaporean restaurants. After COVID, one of them closed, so this is kind of the last existing Singaporean restaurant in the area,” customer Ana Chung said.
“We’re all very upset that they’re being evicted. It’s been a fixture for a long time,” Ana added.
Despite the impending closure, they hope to reopen in a new physical location someday. In the meantime, they plan to continue offering takeout via UberEats, DoorDash, and their website.
“We have promised to support them even when they are doing delivery or online,” customer Jay Chung said.
“Hopefully they keep cooking. Where they are, I’m going to track them down,” said Halim.
Lim and Tan wanted to give parting words to their customers. “I just want to say thank you. Thank you for supporting us for the past 25 years. Even during COVID, we shut down for two years, but we survived it because of the neighborhood, and because the customers kept ordering from us. The community has been a big part of why we have been able to stay in business for so long,” Lim said.
For those wanting to experience the restaurant before its closure, Lim and Tan recommended their signature dishes: chicken rice, roti prata, and laksa. Visit Shiok Singapore Kitchen at 1137 Chestnut St., Menlo Park.
