Home Tour: A couple’s omakase private dining in a Tiong Bahru walk-up apartment 

For many people, the COVID-19 pandemic was a period of upheavals, whether in their careers, relationships or health. It was the same for Justin Leong and his partner Eileen Teo, who both decided to pivot after a period of reflection during that time. Eileen was running a shop at Haji Lane for 16 years and Justin was working as a graphic designer. They emerged with the call to do something different. “We decided to give private dining a chance,” Justin says. One of his motivations was receiving positive feedback whenever he cooked for his friends.

Private dining also appealed to their creative spirit, which was vital to them. However, they worried that conducting it in their 3-room HDB flat would be disruptive to their neighbours. So, they rented the unit out and hunted for their ideal space.

Who Lives Here: Founders of Fatt Leong Private Kitchen, Justin Leong and his partner Eileen Teo
Home: 2 Bed, 2 bath, ground-floor walk-up at Tiong Poh Road
Size: 1,400 sq ft

Fatt Leong Private Kitchen

This 1,400 sqft ground-floor apartment at Tiong Poh Road perfectly fit their venture, Fatt Leong Private Kitchen. It was not simply because of the location but also it was already renovated – and it was just how the couple liked it. Justin shares, “We wanted something warm, homely, and not over the top. It must be comfortable.”

Terracotta tiles warm up the floor, which gives the space a warm ambience. “The terracotta tiles are easy to maintain. It’s important that we can clean the space to its most pristine condition,” Justin adds.

Walk Up Apartment Layout

The 2-bedroom home has a long hallway leading to the bedrooms, two bathrooms and then the kitchen. The couple lined it with empty wine bottles to add to the ambience. With the kitchen located a distance from the living and dining areas, the guests can enjoy privacy while dining. The kitchen is where Justin now creates his ever-changing menu for his seasonal omakase menu, exploring new ingredients, cooking styles, flavours and techniques to offer something new to his guests. Eileen creates cakes and desserts to complete the dining experience.

DIY Interior Design

The couple did not engage an interior designer. Justin and Eileen drew upon their individual skills and talents as a graphic designer and a home stylist trained in interior design respectively. Their main task was to find the right furnishings, which were mostly second-hand from Carousell. They focused on furnishings in fabrics and earthy colours to match the warm terracotta floor tiles.

For three months, the couple diligently sourced for ideal pieces after dinner. They put them all together in their new space within two days. “Unlike buying from the showroom, we had to be more imaginative to see how the pieces fit into the environment,” he shares. Along the way, they made mistakes and sold off some of the pieces, replacing them with more suitable pieces.

Furniture

The three-and-a-half seater sofa was ideal for the space. But it could not fit through the 70cm-wide doorway of the Tiong Bahru walk-up apartments. “Since it’s a ground-floor unit, Eileen and I worked together with the delivery men to move it via the windows,” Justin laughs.

The furniture pieces also complement the patterned wall feature in the living room. The feature is reminiscent of the ornate concrete air vents found in many old structures in Singapore.

With its white subway tiles on the walls and mosaic floor tiles in black and white, the New York style bathroom fits the overall feel.

For the couple, the homely ambience is central to the experience of private dining. Justin says, “We want to set it up like a home. It’s the thrill of offering something different and unexpected. Here, it is not fine dining. Our equipment consists of home appliances. In that spirit, we want our guests to know that it’s possible to cook restaurant standard cuisine without fancy equipment.”