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| Tho Ce Choi Pan | Jl. Merdeka No.32, Melayu, Kec. Singkawang Bar., Kota Singkawang ☎ +62 812 1357 1999 ⏰ 7:30am - 8pm |
We heard a lot about choi pan or Hakka style dumplings of Singkawang operating at Rumah Marga Tjhia. The West Kalimantan town of Singkawang has a Hakka & Teochew Chinese population along with Malay and Dayak (mostly Salako).
Singkawang is known as land of Tidayu or Tionghua, Dayak and Malayu. It is also known as Cidayu (Cina, Dayak, Malayu). With around 60% Chinese population, Singkawang is also referred to as the Hong Kong of Kalimantan. Singkawang's chap goh mei (last day of Chinese New Year) celebrations is legendary (but that's another story for future).
It was raining heavily when we reached Rumah Marga Tjhia. Note the big canal or river on our left.
The rain didn't dampen our enthusiasm....
.... and the caretaker gave us a good tour of Rumah Marga Tjhia. Built in 1901, the well preserved building is made with much kayu belian or Borneo Ironwood. Belian is termite proof and one of the hardest / strongest wood in the world.
謝宁時 was the original owner of this house. Previously, it was a residence and trading house. Cargo boats plying between Singapore and Singkawang pulled right up the river to the front of the house. Today, it is used as the association house of the 謝 Tjhia clan. The seventh generation descendants of 謝宁時 still live in the house.
Pekong 伯公 is the main deity worshipped in the house shrine.
Initially, I was a little disappointed when told that the famous chai pan shop was no longer at Rumah Marga Tjhia 🥹
I was a little concerned that the chai pan shop might close for good and was quite relieved when our guide said they merely moved to a new place (in Apr 2025).
It was still raining when we reached Choi Pan Tho Ce's new location.
The double-storey restaurant looked modern, well appointed, even a bit ostentatious.
I was a little surprised and delighted as I expected Choi Pan Tho Ce to move from Rumah Marga Tjhia to another traditional setting.
The menu with everything on one page - all Bahasa Indonesia only as Singkawang is not a well touristed town.
The main show was choi pan which come in four types of fillings -bangkuang (jicama), ku chai (chives), rebung (bamboo shoot) and talas (yam).
There are other side dishes, desserts, and beverages.
Four of us, we ordered a set of four for all four types of choi pan. We were greedy, I am not shy to say. However, we were not greedy in the glutton sense but greedy in the food & heritage geek sense. We wanted to know what choi pan is like in Singkawang.
We have choi pan also in Kulai in Johor, Malaysia. I was eager to know how the Singkawang version differs from the Kulai renditions. I didn't have choi pan when I visited the Hakka village in Fujian, China.
The Kulai version is significantly bigger and skin is thicker. Taste profile of the fillings such a jicama, chive, etc are similar between Kulai and Singkawang. But, the Singkawang version is milder in flavour (not as salty) and I can taste the ingredients' natural flavour a bit more.
The Singkawang choi pan is dressed with fried garlic topping while the Kulai version is served with no topping.
Choi Pan Tho Ce's choi pan was dainty, but four pieces still make a substantial, filling meal, especially for ladies.
Rujak, I love the Indonesian way of doing rojak. The fruits and root vegetables were fresh and juicy. The sauce was nutty with hand crushed peanut, and umami savoury sweet with fermented prawn paste and palm sugar.
More nutty than the Singapore version but less sweet than the Penang version.
Must have cendol when in Indonesia as the dessert originated from Java and spread across Southeast Asia.
Choi Pan Tho Ce's rendition is good. The pandan infused cendol noodles were soft tender and slightly sweet and fragrant. The coconut milk and palm sugar concoction was not overly sweet.
Good place to chill, have a light traditional meal, snacks and drinks when you visit Singkawang. Must try this Singkawang people's favourite - this is the place you will feel the Cidayu spirit of Singkawang.
Restaurant name: Tho Ce Choi Pan
Address: Jl. Merdeka No.32, Melayu, Kec. Singkawang Bar., Kota Singkawang, Kalimantan Barat 79111, Indonesia
Tel: +62 812 1357 1999
Hours: 7:30am - 8pm
Halal
Written by Tony Boey on 3 Sep 2025
Who is Tony Johor Kaki?
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