We met up at Makansutra Gluttons Bay at the Esplanade. We shared many beers, good laughs and dishes from a few food stalls.
The over twelve food stalls were curated and handpicked by KF Seetoh founder of Makansutra.
I like the vibes here - relaxing, international crowd with many locals, the colourful stalls and dishes, cooking aromas floating in the breeze from Marina Bay, and the music from the open air concert steps away.
I enjoyed all the dishes but this oyster omelette čµē
stood out, caught my attention with the first mouthful.
It's nothing fanciful or indulgent, anyway historically, oyster omelette was starvation food, salvation during food shortages in old China.
It's the old taste profile lodged in my memory deep in my mind's recesses, long forgotten until triggered by a mouthful of this oyster omelette.
Intrigued, I went to speak with the lady boss.
She is Ms ē and she had worked with åč®°ēčē
Hup Kee Fried Oyster Omelette at Newton Hawker Centre for over twenty years. (I didn't ask how they are related but Hup Kee's lady boss is Ms ēē妹.)
Founded in the 1960s, Hup Kee Fried Oyster Omelette was one of the hawker stalls at the old Glutton's Square, opposite Cold Storage (now Centrepoint) at Orchard Road. National Archive of Singapore photo.
Hup Kee relocated to Newton Food Centre with another thirty other hawkers when Glutton's Square closed in 1978. National Archive of Singapore photo.
The wife of the founder (who passed on in 2025) still runs the Hup Kee stall at Newton Food Centre today.
Back at the Gluttons Bay stall, Ms ē serves oyster omelette čµē
, oyster egg čµč as well as fried kway teow and curry laksa.
Over twenty years of Hup Kee Kung Fu.
Ms ē splashed a ladleful of sweet potato batter into the sizzling wok to make a crisp and tender crepe, broke several eggs onto it, making a fried sweet potato starch omelette.
Portioned the omelette into serving size.
Huge, succulent fat oysters ready for the wok.
Tossed in the oysters with some chopped spring onion.
Add a dash of fish sauce, the umami love potion.
Dressed with coriander and served with a house blended chili sauce.
Soft egg, soft plump oysters, thin crispy and soft crust, eggy omelette, creamy juicy oyster, savoury sweetness and fish sauce umami.
(The version without the sweet potato crisp is known as oyster egg čµč.)
Magic.
Missing the lard, as Ms ē uses vegetable oil (same at Hup Kee). But, a wider audience can enjoy this ancient Teochew Chinese dish.
I didn't use the chili sauce as I long preferred my food neat. Actually, I should have tasted a little to tell you what it is like (next time... ).
Read more š
One of Singapore's favourites Lim's Fried Oyster closed after owners retired in 2025
My Singapore favourite, Ah Chuan in Toa Payoh has closed after the owner retired
The most famous oyster omelette of Johor
Fried oyster in Xiamen, Fujian
Oyster omelette and the recovery of Taiwan from Dutch rule
Surprisingly the best oysters used to be from Muar, Johor
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Written by Tony Boey on 24 Aug 2026


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