The best way to describe Wu You Eating Place is as a private dining experience set within a restaurant rather than someone’s home. This establishment is anything but conventional—its ambiance is both eclectic and eccentric. With mysterious crystal-filled cabinets, flamboyant faux plants dangling from the ceiling, and garish red plastic tablecloths, the owners have managed to create a setting that’s obviously homely yet eerily reminiscent of a seventies Asian horror movie.

If you are yearning for the comforting taste of a home-cooked meal, especially one reminiscent of a grandmother’s kitchen in Ipoh, this is the place to visit. The printed menu serves merely as a guide—the true selection is far more extensive, featuring specialty dishes* that require carefully sourced ingredients and days of preparation like their Hainanese pork trotters, double boiled chicken soup with sea cucumbers and dried seafood and tea fragrance deep fried red snapper just to name a few.

*These need to be pre-ordered

This unassuming eatery is run by a pair of siblings from Ipoh who longed for the familiar flavors of home and wanted to share them with Singaporeans. The brother, Bao Zhai, a professional decorator by trade, has no formal culinary training nor experience in restaurant kitchens—his skills were honed simply by his years of cooking at home. Fittingly, his kitchen looks like what you’d find in typical home, with no industrial wok or high-powered gas stoves, just everyday kitchen appliances. His sister, Bao Ma, is in charge of the soups, carefully simmering them for hours in a single large cauldron to extract the rich flavors of herbs and ingredients. As such, you don’t get a choice with soups, it is always going to be the “So...