Local Knowledge: Asian Bistro by Fugu 8’s Singaporean Fare Is Worth Crossing the River For

When head chef and co-owner Desmonte Chew closed his beloved Leederville-based Singaporean restaurant Fugu 8 at the end of 2024, the outcry was swift. Where would the food-loving north-west community go to get their Singaporean laksa and hokkien mee?

“I guess almost every food has its own story,” Wen Liu, co-owner and Chew’s wife, tells Broadsheet. “When we opened Fugu 8 in 2018, the equipment was really old and the kitchen was so small. Now we are lucky to find this place.”

Now, Chew and Liu continue the story of Fugu 8 south of the river in Willetton. They’ve expanded from 20 seats to 60 seats and renamed the space Asian Bistro by Fugu 8. Thankfully, the menu, which was inspired by Chew’s childhood in Singapore, has stayed the same.

There’s the Katong laksa and mee pok served with pork – minced, sliced and balled – all topped with crispy pork lard for good measure. Nostalgic drinks like Kickapoo (a citrusy soft drink) and kopi (coffee with your choice of condensed milk or sugar) also have their place on the menu.

“We’ve kept a lot from [Chew’s] childhood memories, like the Hainanese curry rice. It’s scissor-style cut rice like the traditional curry rice from over 30 years ago at a very old shop next to his home,” says Liu. The diner’s chosen protein – chicken cutlets, braised pork belly, pork chop or tofu – is swiftly cut up with a pair of scissors and placed on top of the rice before the chef pours curry and braising broth over the entire dish. “It looks very messy,” admits Liu, “but it’s homey.”

But Liu and Chew aren’t simply trading on the nostalgia of Chew’s home in Singapore (Liu is from southern China but moved to Perth after qualifying as an accountant in Sydney): they’re also preserving Singapore’s hawker culture.

“Our bak chor mee (thin egg noodles with pork) is influenced by the one in Bedok 85 market, which is famous in Singapore for that dish,” says Liu. The couple have family in Singapore who visit Perth yearly, allowing them to check that their fare is still up to the standards set by local Singaporean hawker favourites.

The significance of Singapore’s hawker cuisine has been recognised by Unesco for its intangible and irreplaceable importance. But the cuisine is under threat due to rising rent, cost of operations, ageing hawker stall owners and the knock-on effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It's never been more important for traditional venues to step in and keep these recipes alive. It’s not just the flavours of the hawker stall that survives with Fugu 8, but the spirit and work ethic. This infallible grit has been a constant throughout Chew’s career, which has taken him from cooking Western food at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore to opening Fugu 8 and the eventual move to Willetton.

“He still goes out in the morning to get vegetables fresh and then checks the stock himself in the morning,” Liu laughs. It’s the traditional way to do it.

Asian Bistro by Fugu8
Unit 5/41 Burrendah Boulevard, Willetton
(08) 9310 1168

Hours:
Mon to Fri 11am–2.30pm, 5–8pm
Sat 10.30am–3pm, 5–8pm

@asian_bistro_by_fugu8