I was vulturing around the internet, looking for travel news to add to my day job’s weekly newsletter, when a familiar face and name stopped me in my tracks.
It was a photo of Skinny, the owner of Fatty’s restaurant in Bencoolen Street, Singapore.
Suddenly, I was swept back to simpler times, when I was a newly wed living in Singapore in the early 2000s.
We rented a condo across the road from a Chinese restaurant that we loved called Fatty’s.
The decor was nothing fancy, but the food was delicious and we dined there regularly, always taking visitors there for a feed too.
Many years and a divorce later, I took DD there during a European stopover. We sat under the stars and ordered the Indonesian chicken and beef Kway Teow, which were just the way I remembered them, as was the waiter/owner Skinny.
Sadly for me, but happily for Skinny he is finally retiring at 75 and Fatty’s is closing down after 100 years.
Skinny and his brother were the third generation owners of the restaurant and they worked hard for all those years so their kids could go to university and pursue careers outside the restaurant business.
I also discovered that Fatty’s has a remarkable history, which is being honoured by Qantas.
The airline has introduced two new dishes to its Singapore lounges, inspired by a decades‑long relationship with the restaurant, which was a much‑loved stop for generations of Qantas pilots and cabin crew.
Wing Seong Fatty’s story began in World War Two, when founder Au Yuen, and his son Au Chan Seng, fondly known as ‘Fatty’, would smuggle food parcels to Australian and British prisoners of war. As the story spread among Australian Servicemen and RAAF pilots, Fatty’s became a place that crews found their way to and kept coming back.
For Qantas pilots in particular, Fatty’s became the familiar table at the end of a long flight, a place where the welcome never changed, no matter how much the world around it did. For generations flying the Kangaroo Route through Singapore, it was as much a part of the journey as the flight itself.
When Fatty’s announced it was closing, Qantas worked with the Au family to bring two of its signature dishes to the Singapore lounges in Changi Airport as a way of carrying something of Fatty’s forward.
The crispy spring rolls and nuclear chicken (which I think is my beloved Indonesian chicken) will be served in the First and Business lounges respectively.
“Fatty’s has been more than just a restaurant. It’s been part of the Qantas story in Singapore for decades,” said Nick McGlynn, Qantas’ Executive Vice President for Asia.
“Singapore has been one of our most important international bases since the late 1940s, and Fatty’s has been woven into that history from the early days.
“Fatty’s holds a unique place in the hearts of our crew and customers. Showcasing their dishes in our lounges is our way of honouring a place that has shaped the experience of flying through this city for generations.”
Qantas Chief Pilot Dick Tobiano said: “For generations of Qantas pilots, Fatty’s has been far more than a restaurant. It’s been part of our shared experience, a place where crew from different bases and fleets come together to share the same table.
“We’re very grateful to the Au family and their friendship over the years, and on behalf of Qantas we wish them a well-earned retirement. They will certainly be missed.”
Yes they will! I’d love one last dinner at those plastic tables, with Skinny unceremoniously slapping my favourite dishes down in front of me.
What an amazing story and I feel privileged that it’s part of my history too!
Song of the day: The Beatles “In my life”
housegoeshome 
Leave a comment