Satay Pushcart Hawker Ah Pui Closes His Standalone Restaurant Just Over A Year After Opening

At first, it was very hard to track down the elusive Ah Pui, who used to peddle his wares at various spots in the Tiong Bahru neighbourhood. A fan who later set up a cafe called 195 Pearl’s Hill in Chinatown invited Ah Pui to sell his satay there. Demand was so high that Ah Pui had a six months’ waiting list, wrote ieatishootipost food blogger Dr Leslie Tay.

Opened his own restaurant

But just about four months later in June 2021, Ah Pui left with his disciple to open a standalone restaurant called Ah Pui Tiong Bahru Satay at Smith Street in Chinatown. While Ah Pui still personally manned the grill there, the waitlist had dwindled down to almost no wait time at all.

Restaurant closing after a year in business

Sadly, the restaurant is closing after just over a year in business. A post on its Facebook page, titled “Goodbye is the hardest word to say!”, explained that “we are very sad to announce that we will be shutting down Tiong Bahru Ah Pui Satay.” Its last day of operation is Nov 6.

The reason for the closure, according to the post, is that “Uncle Ah Pui’s health is not well and he needs a good rest.” The restaurant also thanked “everyone who has ever supported us before or said a kind word about us”, and urged people to “please come and support us otherwise you have no chance to eat this delicious satay anymore! We are selling all the satay and drinks before he closes his shop.”

Ah Pui Tiong Bahru Satay is at 28 Smith St, S058942. Tel: 9279-0933. Open daily 11.30am to 10.30pm. www.facebook.com/APSatay

Photos: Ah Pui Tiong Bahru Satay