There are food-related groups on WhatsApp or Facebook where food lovers and purveyors, owners and chefs, hang out to chat about food, get announcements of promotions or pop-up locations, and learn of group buys. See links to these such groups in the Directory.
Group buys are a way to access food from home-based chefs or far-off restaurants. A group buy usually starts with a date/time for pick-up, date/time for ordering, and at a certain time, a posted link to a web page for ordering off a small menu. Once the quantity available is fulfilled, the buy is "sold out". Payment is typically made using Venmo, Paypal, or Zelle.
To receive announcements on group buys, join a WhatsApp group administered by the one or more volunteer coordinators. See links to these such groups in the Directory.
Pick-ups for food packaged to-go (perhaps with reheating or prepping instructions) are made available at a time window for collection, usually outside the coordinator's residence or other volunteering drop-off points.
Please respect the community and volunteer-oriented spirit of everyone volunteering to bring Singaporean/Malaysian/Indonesian-style food to you at affordable prices. Kindly read all their instructions before contacting them directly, and cooperate wholeheartedly with all directions to minimise fuss and confusion.
| Type | Restaurant |
|---|---|
| Location | Fixed |
| Hours | Regular |
| Dine-in | ✓ |
| Pick-up | ✓ |
| Delivery | Likely |
| Group Buys | Possible |
| Licensed | ✓ |
There do exist a number of restaurants in the SF Bay Area that offer Singaporean, Malaysian, and Indonesian-style dishes. Of these, the majority are Malaysian restaurants, where the style can be quite similar to the Singaporean. There are also some Southeast Asian, Chinese and Vietnamese style restaurants that offer dishes similar to Singaporean favourites, especially Bak Chor Mee and Hainanese Chicken Rice. Thus, these restaurants are in the directory.
Beware, though of some restaurants offering “Singapore Noodles” or the like. This is actually a dish invented in Hong Kong but named after Singapore. For the restaurants in the SF Bay Area that offer Singaporean-style dishes, do note they have to cater to a cosmopolitan and American audience as well. Thus, some of their menu may be be made more palatable to the American taste. You are welcome to inquire when dining or even calling ahead to see if they can make it more local-style, or perhaps even do an off-menu dish.
Most, but not all, restaurants now offer some sort of pick-up and delivery via delivery-services (i.e. Grub, Doordash).
| Type | Home-based chefs |
|---|---|
| Location | Home |
| Hours | Usually ad-hoc |
| Dine-in | – |
| Pick-up | ✓ |
| Delivery | Unlikely |
| Group Buys | ✓ |
| Licensed | Maybe |
Some of the most authentic dishes reminiscent of your home favourites come from private individuals who have honed their craft cooking for themselves, their families, and their friends. A few have taken their skill to cook or bake for the community. How far they have taken this enterprise varies.
Orders are usually coordinated with the chef for pick-up, but a more practical way to order are via volunteer-coordinated group buys with pick-ups at pick-up points, usually residential addresses.
Offered menus typically varies with each group buy. The menu compiled in the directory is based on what they have offered previously.
In terms of licensing, home-based chefs may possibly be unlicensed in general. They are preparing out of their home kitchens and not a commercial kitchen. Some may have a food safety certification and some may have their home-based kitchen certified for certain types of food products.
| Type | Pop-ups |
|---|---|
| Location | Temporary |
| Hours | Limited |
| Dine-in | Maybe |
| Pick-up | Maybe |
| Delivery | Maybe |
| Group Buys | Maybe |
| Licensed | ✓ |
Pop-ups are timed opportunities to purchase in-person, often for dine-in nearby or at a sponsoring restaurant's venue. You can sometimes see some home-based chefs “graduate” to pop-ups.
| Type | Food Truck |
|---|---|
| Location | Usually varies |
| Hours | Usually regular |
| Dine-in | Maybe |
| Pick-up | Maybe |
| Delivery | Maybe |
| Group Buys | Maybe |
| Licensed | ✓ |
Food trucks may have variable locations and opening hours. Some of them move from place to place, others tend to stay in one place. Some places have temporary seating so you can sort of dine-in there. Most require you to buy in person rather than order online for pick-up. Please check their web sites, Instagram or Facebook feeds, etc. for the latest location and operating times.
| Type | Kitchens |
|---|---|
| Location | Usually fixed |
| Hours | Usually regular |
| Dine-in | – |
| Pick-up | ✓ |
| Delivery | ✓ |
| Group Buys | Maybe |
| Licensed | ✓ |
Kitchens are businesses that don't have a dine-in location, yet aren't mobile like food trucks, but primarily operate out of a commercial kitchen (thus fully licensed), and offer pick-ups and deliveries. Group buys are likely. Please check their web sites, Instagram or Facebook feeds, etc. for ordering info.