Pó Restaurant can be found in the lobby of The Warehouse Hotel; the warehouse itself dates back to 1895 and was once linked to Singapore’s spice and commodity trade during the colonial era, along the Singapore River. The restaurant in this historic setting, offers one of the city’s most well-thought-out interpretations of Nanyang Heritage Cuisine, it combines history and culture in modern handcraftsmanship, with regards to both its presentation and its food philosophy.

Stepping into Pó Restaurant gives you the impression of stepping into someone’s home, where the heart of the restaurant is its take on Nanyang Heritage Cuisine, its charm is welcoming yet contemporary. Thus, we notice that the restaurant has a warm, inviting, elegant and understated feel. Indeed, Pó strikes the client with its intriguing duality: comfort and sophistication, tradition and reinvention.

The origins of the name “Pó” is from the word for grandmother in Chinese, “popo”. We see then that the theme that the Chef is trying to infuse throughout the menu is one of heritage and home. The Chef has started to bring the direction of the kitchen towards one where the flavours draw more deeply upon Nanyang Heritage Cuisine, instead of focusing on the influences that modern Singaporean cuisine brings. The dishes are heavily shaped by the culinary journeys of early migrants from Southern China who brought with them their traditions and then settled across Southeast Asia, in turn influencing Malay, Peranakan and regional cuisine.

Pó’s menu features noodle dishes enriched with shellfish umami, charcoal-grilled meats marinated in Southeast Asian spices, and creative renditions of local staples like satay, sambal, and rendang. Its signature dish is its famous Popiah Platter, diners are invited to roll their own spring roll where the ingredients are given to them in a deconstructed version, a hands-on and interactive approach to dining on Nanyang Heritage Cuisine, which emphasises its home-cooking style and communal roots.

History and Nanyang Heritage Cuisine continue to influence the dining experience by inspiring the drinks list. The cocktails that are available at the restaurant have flavours that can be found in the region, along with the spices that were once traded along the Singapore river just beside The Warehouse Hotel.

There’s more to Pó than just food and cocktails, it’s also its aim of presenting Nanyang Heritage Cuisine through a more contemporary lens, letting diners rediscover the nostalgic flavours of the region in a way that makes it more than just a simple meal. Its location in the lobby of The Warehouse Hotel also showcases its storytelling, culture and hospitality in a culinarily poetic way.

Pó’s cuisine is for patrons who want to immerse themselves in the city-state’s gastronomic identity, who want a meal that introduces them to the ever-evolving landscape of modern Nanyang Heritage Cuisine, yet in a way that seems home-cooked. Pó is more than just a restaurant, it is the personification of Nanyang Heritage Cuisine writ real.