Ponggol Seafood — Famous 55-year-old seafood restaurant quietly shuts its doors

Popular seafood restaurant Ponggol Seafood has quietly shut its doors at The Punggol Settlement. This comes after more than 5 decades of delighting Singaporeans with their seafood and zi char fare.

According to The Straits Times, Ponggol Seafood’s last day of operations was on 1 May 2024 before they formally shuttered the next day on 2 May. The publication also revealed that the restaurant had been “battling losses for a year”, culminating in their decision to close.

The establishment itself has yet to come forth with any official announcement about the closure. I’m sure that many of their loyal fans, especially ones who’d frequented the restaurant growing up. Let’s take a walk down memory lane, shall we?

Ponggol Seafood first opened its doors in 1969 and was then known as Punggol (Hock Kee) Seafood Restaurant, or Hock Kee for short. Its original owner, Mr Ting Choon Teng, had a firm belief in serving up quality seafood at affordable prices.

Of course, this drew many Singaporeans and tourists to the restaurant to feast on their fresh fare against the picturesque seaside views of what was then Punggol Point. The valet parking it offered was another huge plus.

They later relocated to Harbourfront in 1992 and proceeded to open several other outlets islandwide.

In 2014, they returned to the very place they started out, now known as The Punggol Settlement. Despite the restaurant’s modernisation over the years, it retained a rustic charm that continued to evoke memories of the cherished kampung days among long-time patrons.

Ponggol Seafood’s menu included a great variety of timeless seafood classics crafted from recipes conjured by Mr Ting. In particular, they were famed for their Chilli Crab doused in a luscious chilli-tomato sauce and signature Mee Goreng stir-fried with lots of seafood in a flavourful chilli paste.

Their other well-loved dishes included Deep-Fried Soon Hock Fish and Crispy Baby Squid with Sauce, all of which will be dearly missed by many.

Sadly, Ponggol Seafood has informed The Straits Times that they do not have immediate plans to reopen the restaurant. Regardless, we extend our best wishes to the owners in their future endeavours!

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