[ Food Week — Heritage Restaurants ] Some of you may already be familiar with Red Star — either from their extensive history as one of Singapore oldest and more premiere heritage restaurants, or during the recent news coverage of heritage restaurants struggling during this pandemic.

I'm quite a newcomer to the heritage restaurant scene. Prior to that, I'd no problems subsisting only on fine dining Chinese establishments — because the spread, food, and service were good, we never saw a need to eat elsewhere.

Ngl, when I was first made aware of this stratum of F&B restaurants, I was quite confused. Looking like a movie set straight out of 1970-80s HK, and boasting staff that are equally at home in the environment (finished with pushcarts and lippy service), I was confounded RS could still thrive amidst aggressive modernisation.

But once the food arrived and we settled in, everything fell into place.

The charm of RS lies in both its traditional-styled Hong Kong dishes — especially their dim sum, which you can still procure from pushcarts touted by seasoned wait stuff — and its ability to transport you to a time before your own; to a space where the pace of life was a tad slower, and the colours of one’s historical heritage was that much more brilliant.

Some may call it a gimmick — the entire experience isn’t the cheapest, with the average cost of our plates hovering around $4.50 — but during my visit, I found a raw authenticity in the unfettered adherence to tradition that transcends even today. Despite its founders being less involved due to age — RS is founded by 2 of the 4 Heavenly Kings of Canto Cuisines in SG, and used to be THE spot for HK film stars! — you can still taste the hallmarks of their influence (see the unabashed pizzazz, usually in the form of an abundance of shrimp in every dish; no complaints here!).

And there’s a wistful nostalgia when I see the staff go about their routine in effortless synchronicity, honed by decades of practice.

I still believe there is a place for food like RS’ in today’s SG: We just need to be reminded of their presence, and perhaps not be as dismissive of the less glamourous aspects of our food culture.