Review: Martina’s Kitchen at Seletar Aerospace park is worth the trip, save for a few shortcomings

Peranakan cuisine has evolved in different directions in Singapore’s dining scene these past few years — some stick closely to recipes handed down through generations, while others rework them into tasting menus, modern interpretations, and even churn out cocktail pairings.

What’s less common is a kitchen built explicitly as a bridge between the two camps: One that keeps a grandmother’s name on the door, while giving her recipes that she’s passed down a more contemporary spin.

That place is none other than Martina’s Kitchen, tucked within one of Seletar Aerospace Park’s black-and-white colonial houses, where heritage is inspiration and also its setting.

The backstory

Martina’s Kitchen is named after Martina Koh, a Nyonya born in 1920, who married a Chinese artist from Anxi, China, and raised six children in a household where Malay aromatics and Chinese pantry staples were in constant negotiation.

The restaurant frames her as a home cook ahead of her time — someone already rethinking rich, oil-heavy classics for her own family, at a time when traditional cooking was rarely about restraint, long before the refrain of “less salt” became as prominent as it is today. 

Her granddaughter, Eileen Tay-Wong, formalised Matina’s reworked recipes by opening the first outpost of Martina’s Kitchen in Seletar in end 2024, and later on, a second, larger location at Aperia Mall in June this year.

In setting up Martina’s Kitchen, Eileen is deliberate about wanting to cater to younger diners who might want to enjoy Peranakan fare, but are unsure of how to approach it, whether in the kitchen or to partake in it. 

The result is a menu that keeps recognisable traditional anchors — babi pongteh (braised pork belly), kueh pie tee (pastry tart shell filled with stewed vegetables and prawns), Nyonya chap chye (braised mixed-vegetable stew) — while taking creative liberties in other aspects, such as not using MSG and swapping in roasted chestnuts for pork belly in her version of pongteh.

To ensure its food remains accessible to anyone, Martina’s Kitchen also offers a wallet-friendly weekday executive set lunch, starting from S$15, that come with a main course and a drink, from 11am to 3pm.

While Martina’s Kitchen’s main focus is Peranakan fare, it also has a western section, with items such as fish and chips (S$22), signature lamb rack (S$48), and spaghetti carbonara (S$15). It might seem random, but with diners likely coming in with differing preferences, it makes sense for the restaurant to have alternatives flavours for the table.

As for its space, Martina’s Kitchen at Seletar leans into a “living museum” approach, with walls painted in vibrant pink and green (colours commonly associated with Nyonya culture), artefacts such as beaded shoes on display, and a small shelf of Peranakan culture books at the corner of the dining room.

There’s also a stage within the dining area — there is live music from 6.30pm on Saturdays and diners can even submit song requests! 

Our verdict

It’s quite obvious that Martina’s Kitchen earns its “living museum” billing; the space is genuinely lovely, and its tucked-away Seletar location means it’s a world away from the bustle of the city. (In fact, we counted only two other occupied tables when we visited for a weekday lunch.)

Getting there, however, is part of the trade-off. Seletar Aerospace Park isn’t an easy commute, especially if you’re not already in the north.

If the journey still feels like too much, there’s always the newer, more convenient Aperia Mall outlet, but then you lose out on being able to dine in a charming colonial bungalow. 

With an a la carte menu that hovers around S$12 to S$48 for a main, prices here aren’t exactly low — though the executive set lunch does truly provide good value.

But its prices make more sense when you consider Martina’s Kitchen’s unique, heritage setting, and the fact that most dishes are generously portioned and designed for sharing.

Whatever else you order from the extensive menu, be sure to sneak in the mackerel otah (S$15.50) — not cheap for a side, but worth every dollar.

And if you still need another reason to check out this Seletar outlet, it has a location-exclusive cocktail, the Colonial Days (S$28), a vodka-based cocktail, which impressed us quite a bit, especially for a venue tucked away in Seletar.

What it’s good for

That mackerel otah, an otah omelette of sorts, earns its billing. Despite its yellowed appearance, don’t mistake it for a regular omelette. It arrives as a thick, fluffy disc, laced with spiced mackerel, subtly sweetened by diced onions.

It’s nothing mind-blowingly inventive, but it has a nostalgic pull to it, tasting like something grandma would make for a weekend visit. It also plays well as a supporting act to whatever else on the table.

For mains, though, Martina’s Kitchen dry laksa (S$18) is the one dish worth ordering on reputation alone — we’re sure many others who have visited agree with this, too.

Thick vermicelli is tossed in a rich spice paste with real belachan (fermented shrimp paste) backbone, topped with plump sea prawns, fish cake, and tau pok (beancurd puff). 

While there are no cockles in this version, the well-calibrated spice helps you forget the absence of it. The heat is assertive enough to register, but not so aggressive that it’ll punish a sensitive stomach. 

I surprised myself when I found myself liking it a lot more than I thought I would. Granted that having a dry version meant a less messy eating experience, which made it a lot more enjoyable, but I also found the flavours for this more pronounced. 

The good news? It’s available as a lunch set  (with a choice of coffee, tea, or canned drink), too, at no extra cost, which makes an easy choice if you ever come here for a midday meal. 

Given that it was a Peranakan restaurant, we would have been content if the beverage list included a few usual local quenchers. 

But Martina’s Kitchen also has a small selection of speciality beverages, both zero-proof and alcoholic, that not only provide cool relief after a trek to its location but are also great for lounging with.

Besides being a refreshing drink, the Suntan Babies (S$15) — a sweet-sour pineapple juice spiked with Asian dried sour plums and garnished with gummy babies — also earns its keep as a bright palate reset between richer bites. 

If you’re looking for an alcoholic beverage that’s great for the camera and to drink, the Colonial Days (S$28), a boozy drink of vodka, rum, Cointreau orange liqueur, and orange wine, doesn’t disappoint. 

The bright blue-and-purple concoction, flecked with edible sparkles is pretty, alright.

It might look like it’ll taste syrupy sweet, but take our word for it: It is a properly stiff cocktail that’s equal parts boozy and equal parts sweet and sour. It’s probably one best saved for a weekend visit, when a little inebriation is part of the plan.

What it could improve on

Sadly, not everything landed as squarely. The Nyonya curry duck (S$28) was a genuine disappointment. We had ordered it as it’s not often you’d spot duck as a protein in a local restaurant (save for a speciality one, of course) and we had wanted to like this dish.

The gravy does its job — earthier and nuttier than the fiery or coconut-heavy curries most diners default to. 

But the star protein itself, the duck, was tough and chewy, and required real effort to pull apart, rather than falling the bone as we would have expected, especially for a slow-cooked dish. 

If you’d like to give it a go, perhaps ordering it on a weekday, as a set lunch (where it’s served with roti prara) at S$22 might be less of a gamble, compared to the a la carte price we paid. 

With the cocktails setting a high precedence, we had hoped for the desserts to follow that trajectory, however the chendol (S$6) dessert failed to come through for us. 

It had all the right ingredients — shaved ice, coconut cream, gula Melaka, pandan jelly noodles, red beans, jackfruit, and attap seeds — but the key component of shaved ice fell through. 

The shaved ice was too compacted and broke off in larger frozen chunks, rather than as delicate shavings, which would mix well with the other ingredients. As a result, it felt like we were having chendol ingredients with chunky ice cubes, rather than as a cohesive shaved-ice dessert. 

For a restaurant that’s spent nearly two years building a reputation on its tucked-away location and attention to detail, Martina’s Kitchen mostly delivers on both.

The setting alone justifies the trip out to Seletar — a pink-and-green heritage house, beaded slippers, a shelf of Peranakan books, and the rare luxury of a quiet weekday lunch in Singapore.

The kitchen backs that up more often than not. The mackerel otah, dry laksa, and drinks with real personality are reason enough to make the journey.

A few dishes miss the mark, but their stumbling point — mainly in the execution — is an easy fix, and doesn’t really get in the way of its compelling concept.

If you’re weighing the commute, we’d say save it for the weekend when there’s more to head down for — a weekend sing-a-long, the convivial weekend vibes, and the ability to knock back a drink or two. Oh, and don’t forget to order the dry laksa and mackerel otah, too.

Our quick takes

Is it conducive to conversation? Yes. The music consists mostly of mellow Cantonese ballads — except on Saturday evenings, when there’s live music and the floor opens up to song requests. 

Is a reservation necessary? If you’re coming to dine here on a weekday afternoon, you’ll probably be lucky enough to get a table. However, evenings and especially weekends tend to be busier, so reservations are highly recommended then. 

How to get there? Martina’s Kitchen is a 30-minute bus journey from the nearest MRT station, Sengkang. From there, board the LRT to Thanggam LRT station, and take bus number 102 for three stops. Once you alight, it’s a short five-minute walk and you’ll reach Martina’s Kitchen at Seletar Aerospace Park.

HungryGoWhere paid for its meal at this restaurant for this review.

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