Home-based dinners are bringing back the missing soul in S’pore F&B scene

Trained chefs or not, these Singaporeans are welcoming strangers into their homes for dinner

“Anyone can cook,” said Chef Gusteau, a character from the Pixar hit Ratatouille. 

Call me old, but this quote resonates with Singapore’s F&B scene like no other, especially at this moment. Vulcan Post has covered multiple stories of Singaporeans who have made career switches to pursue their food dream, with more getting their start right from their home.

Recently, there’s been a rise in home-based businesses, particularly cafes that fulfill takeaway orders from their house windows or front porches. But some Singaporeans have decided to go one step further and open their doors to host dinners for strangers. 

And according to three private dining owners, doing so has not only allowed them to showcase their own culinary flair but also created lifelong relationships with people they wouldn’t have met if they had a traditional dine-in concept. Vulcan Post speaks to them to get their story. 

He cooked for big groups to pass time & continues to be booked out today

Nine years ago, Sam Wong was running a shoemaking and wholesaling business, but he was itching to do something in his spare time. It was then that his wife encouraged him to open up their house on Upper East Coast Road to host dinners for big groups, and launched Lucky House Cantonese Kitchen in 2016.

“I cook a lot,” the self-taught cook shared. “I cook soups, my signature roast duck… I throw in some steamed fish, fried veggies…”

Amongst the guests at his first dinner were You Jin (尤今), a journalist with Singaporean Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao, who is also a friend of his father-in-law. The dinner went, according to Chef Sam, very, very well, leading You Jin to write an article on the business.

But little did Chef Sam know that it would lead to something bigger, one that would leave his phone buzzing from customers who wanted to try his Cantonese family-style dinners.

“The article included the English name [of the business]. People went to Facebook and found my phone number there, so they started calling me [for bookings],” he shared.

Now 57 years old, Chef Sam continues to run his shoe business during the day, but Lucky House Cantonese Kitchen has become one of the seasoned players in Singapore’s home-dining scene, with reservations currently booked out until Jun 2026. 

While he admits he plans to slow down with age, the friendships he has gained over the years were what kept him going, especially from repeat customers. 

“Many of my diners have become very good friends. So sometimes they invite me to go to their house to eat,” shared Chef Sam. “Sometimes I meet them once every year and I see their kids grow, [from] when they are pregnant to one years old to five years old… it’s like a family thing.” 

“It’s not just a business transaction, it’s more about earning a lot of friends rather than earning a lot of money,” he emphasised. 

She left the Michelin life to pursue her culinary freedom

The same innate motivation to connect with others drove Pristina Mok to establish her own private dining experience, Fragment Dining, in her 4-room HDB apartment in Clementi. 

The 29-year-old hailed from almost a decade in fine dining, having worked at two three-Michelin-starred restaurants: Odette and Restaurant Zen. But despite these experiences that many young chefs covet, Pristina dreamt of having her own identity as a chef and breaking out of the labels placed on her. 

“When people asked me, ‘Since you’re a chef, what’s your specialty? What’s your cuisine?’ I didn’t know how to answer them, because I wasn’t cooking what I wanted, I was cooking for the brand,” she shared in an interview with CNA938. 

Then, in 2021, an opportunity came for her to participate in Magic Square, a pop-up restaurant concept that gave up-and-coming chefs a platform to showcase their own culinary flair and menus. This led her to figure out her next step and consider starting a home-dining business rather than opening her own restaurant. 

“I didn’t want to commit to a physical space because at that time, I felt that I was not very well-known yet. If I just randomly open up a place, why would people want to support me? So I felt that I still needed to practice a little bit more and thought of doing private dining then.”  

When she got the keys to her Clementi flat in Feb 2024, Pristina launched Fragment, offering an eight-course dinner featuring Singaporean and Southeast Asian flavours, prepared using European techniques and Japanese ingredients. 

The launch was part of the new wave of restaurant chefs who pivoted to private chefing after the pandemic forced many dine-in restaurants to close. “Private dining had been more popular during COVID-19, so I was honestly worried at first, but I decided to give it a shot anyway.” 

Running Fragment has allowed Pristina to not only showcase her individuality, but also opened doors for her to connect with her neighbours. 

She revealed that one of her neighbours discovered her venture after watching a social media video featuring Fragment. 

“People started sending it to the Telegram (neighbourhood) group chat, and then they’re like ‘Eh, this is our neighbour!’,” she shared with a laugh. Since then, her neighbours have begun sharing their home-based businesses, which range from salons to lash services, and a home cafe that Fragment collaborated with over Christmas last year. 

“I’ve actually had a number of our neighbours who came to dine at my place. And the funny thing is that they didn’t tell me that they are my neighbours until I asked ‘Do you all live nearby?’ and they said ‘Oh, I live just downstairs,” added Pristina. 

Food brought them together & this is how they’re sharing their love

Despite not being trained chefs like Pristina, Raphael Koh, and Kitty Yu always had a love for food. In fact, it was what brought them closer when they first met in New York City whilst pursuing their undergraduate studies in design and fine arts. 

Grocery runs at Trader Joe’s and meal prepping together became their favourite dates, and engaging in spontaneous conversations with passers-by while dining out became something they aimed to bring back to Singapore. 

“Even just in the street, people just ask, ‘Hey, how are you? What are you gonna do next after this?’ It’s just that little connection that really made me think about how people communicate in Singapore, or how open or shut out we are from one another,” shared Raphael. 

The former designer revealed that launching a home-based business has always been at the back of his mind, and when the couple started renovating their HDB flat in Canberra, he started searching on Instagram for inspiration.    

“I’m someone who likes dinners more, so to do something in a low-stakes food-related experience would be something,” shared Raphael. He eventually pitched the idea to Kitty, who runs her own online bakery on the side. She agreed, and the couple launched Not Quite Supper Club in Nov 2025. 

I was first introduced to Kitty during my visit to Hip Xiong Photo Studio this Oct, where she was working full-time as a baker and barista at the cafe downstairs. 

She invited me over for their pre-launch dinner and shared that the experience was going to be different from other fine-dining and food-focused experiences. Curious to see how their concept differed from others, I accepted.

The dinner was an intimate affair of eight, and I dined with other creatives in the media industry. We were treated to a five-course meal, with some dishes inspired by Kitty and Raphael’s own memories as a couple, like the hot honey peaches.

“Raphael gave me one single peach on our very first date, and it was something that just stuck with me until today,” Kitty shared during the dinner.

While it was difficult for me to classify Not Quite Supper Club’s experience in a box, the experience as something similar to a family gathering: one where it felt like reconnecting with relatives I had not met in a long time, and catching up over a family-style dinner.

The organic, low-frills experience is part of its charm—and this was something the couple designed.

“I guess because we are both from design, we thought a lot about the perspective of the audience coming in, like what is the temperature of the room? What do they smell? Are they intimidated by the lights? What do they touch and feel? You have to consider every single sense,” explained Kitty.

“What makes an unforgettable dining experience would be helping people connect over great food in a comfortable and cozy setting,” added Raphael.

It’s not about the money

A shoe wholesaler who just cooked to pass the time, an ex-Michelin chef looking for an identity, and a designer couple who want to share their stories with others. These three private dining businesses could not have drastically different origin stories. 

However, they all communicate the same message: they open their houses not for the cash, but out of personal desires to meet and bond with others they would not have met if they had a traditional F&B concept. 

As more home-based businesses and dinners gain traction in Singapore, perhaps this trend highlights something that our local food scene is missing: soul, and that might be the key to reviving it. 

• Learn more about the home dining businesses here:
  • Lucky House Cantonese Kitchen
  • Fragment Dining
  • Not Quite Supper Club
• Read more stories we’ve written on Singaporean businesses here.

Also Read: Your complete step-by-step guide to starting a Home-Based Business in Singapore

Featured Image Credit: Lucky House Cantonese Kitchen, Fragment Dining, Not Quite Supper Club