A visit to Singapore Social

Photos and interview by Stacie Joy

Singapore Social is still settling into its new home at 15 Avenue A between Houston and Second Street, but the restaurant has already found an audience. 

Since opening in late April in the former Foul Witch space, the restaurant has been drawing diners eager for dishes rooted in Singaporean, Malaysian and Indonesian cooking — cuisines that co-owner Suriane Sahari (below) believes remain underrepresented in New York.

We caught up with Sahari before her return to Singapore to talk about the early response, favorite dishes, expansion plans and why the East Village feels a little like home. 

You’ve only recently opened your doors. How has it been so far? 

The majority of the people who come in are Southeast Asian. We have mostly Southeast Asian guests, and it was quite a shocker for us because we just blasted on Instagram and a majority know us from Instagram/social media. They were so thankful that we're open here because here we find that the Singaporean, Indonesian, and Malaysian cuisines are underrated in New York. 

That's why we want to represent it properly, with its authenticity, while still taking a fun approach to the New York crowd. 

What do you think of the East Village? 

Oh, it's been amazing. It's so lively, and it never stops. New York kind of reminds me a bit of Singapore. The diversity and the people, all so nice, so assertive. We are truly blessed.

So far, what is the best-selling menu item? 

The best-selling item has been our satay, the chicken satay. And our chicken rice — the roasted chicken rice and the nasi lemak ayam berempah (coconut rice with chicken, fried egg, peanuts and anchovies).

Actually, all of our dishes are equally selling! It's been all good, nothing down, nothing that's not selling. We are so proud, and it keeps us very busy because every one of our items is labor-intensive. It’s all housemade. So that's why it's a good challenge for us, labor-wise, because we need to have a lot of people.

And then bringing in the recipes, which are new to New Yorkers, is another good challenge, and we get to expand our food to all New Yorkers. 

Do you see yourselves expanding? 

In New York, definitely. Maybe we're looking for more of the Upper East Side, if it's possible. But we still want to get the momentum going first. Then maybe we think of expanding. We don't want to be overachieving something. 

New York is a great place. This is a great location. It's the people who play a lot of the part here, and we have people from Brooklyn and even New Jersey. Most of the Southeast Asians are there, and then they travel all the way here to eat. And then we are like, oh my God, you shouldn't. But thank you for coming all the way here. 

And getting the liquor license was very complicated. For me, as a first-timer here, there's a lot to do: paste this and that in the restaurant, and then they have to take pictures. There are many procedures here. It's different from Singapore, actually. 

Really? How so? 

Yeah, in Singapore, it's just quite straightforward. It's just everything in one. But here, you have to print certain things, then paste them on the wall, and you need a legal license and all.

So, it's different...it's definitely more complex, more steps as compared to Singapore.

If you were to eat a meal here, what would you pick? 

Oh, me personally? My favorite is the nasi lemak ayam berempah. It is so well seasoned, and it's just… whoa! And it's the whole day you can last on it. You don't have to eat anything else. 

Also, our coffee and tea are imported; sourcing was difficult because they were hard to find in New York. So, it’s a similar taste but different brands.

And we hope to expand the menu soon to add more noodle dishes, and maybe a famous Singaporean dish called carrot cake, made of radishes and rice flour. It has no carrots! 

Here's a look around the space...

Hours: 5-10 p.m. Monday through Friday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. 

-----

Sahari and her partner, chef (and other co-owner/co-founder) Jonathan Lim, has already returned to Singapore. They are both senior managers for Roberta's in Singapore. 

Roberta's co-founders, Brandon Hoy and chef Carlo Mirarchi, opened Foul Witch here in January 2023.