SINGAPORE: After a century of dishing up Cantonese fare, Wing Seong Fatty’s at Burlington Square in Bencoolen will put up the shutters on June 28.
The restaurant said in a notice uploaded on Facebook in April that it found itself without a successor to continue the business.
It added that shareholders and management are ageing and the younger generation are pursuing their own careers.
The post added that the difficult decision had been made after much consideration.
The restaurant was opened by the current owner’s grandfather Au Yuen in 1926, according to the eatery’s website.
Originally named Wing Seong Restaurant, it was located in a two-storey shophouse in Albert Street, a stone’s throw from its current premises.
The founder’s son Au Chan Seng helped to manage the restaurant, said the Facebook notice, adding that the younger Au was fondly known as “Fatty” for his stout build.
Over time, Wing Seong Fatty’s became synonymous with the establishment, the notice added.
In 1987, the restaurant relocated to Albert Complex, where the third generation took over the business, said the notice. It later moved to its current and final premises at Burlington Square in October 1999.
Wing Seong Fatty’s was also a haunt for many crew from airlines such as Qantas, British Airways and Emirates, its website said, describing itself as a “cult place”.
It said the main reason was that during World War II, Mr Au Yuen would take his son Chan Seng to secretly give food to prisoners of war (POW).
Some of them included Australian service members who ended up working for national carrier Qantas after the war, according to a 2022 The Sydney Morning Herald article.
When Qantas in 1947 launched the Sydney-London route, also known as the Kangaroo route, the first overnight stop was Singapore, the Herald reported.
“For former POWs returning to the Changi peninsula, there was now only one dinner option they would ever choose, and it has stayed that way for 75 years,” the article read.
The HARS Aviation Museum in Australia said in a Facebook post in January that Wing Seong Fatty’s is “more than a restaurant but a genuine piece of history for veterans and aircrew alike”.
The restaurant expressed its gratitude for its customers’ support.
“We extend our heartfelt thanks for your loyalty, patronage and friendship over the past century,” the notice read, addressing the eatery’s customers. “It has truly been our privilege to serve you.” - The Straits Times/ANN
