Chilli Padi Tok Panjang (The Rail Mall)

Old-timers around the local F&B scene would probably find this name pretty familiar — established in 1997, Chilli Padi is a dining establishment that is first founded at Kim Tian Road. The brand has come a long way since; whilst their Kim Tian Road location has since ceased operations a long time back, Chilli Padi has continued to make its mark in the Singapore F&B scene with the operations of their Chili Padi Nonya Restaurant in Joo Chiat all these years — there is also the now-defunct Chilli Padi Nonya Cafe that used to operate within National University of Singapore’s campus at Heng Mui Keng Terrace that had shuttered in February 2026. With the closure of Chilli Padi Nonya Cafe, Chilli Padi has found new digs within The Rail Mall for its latest concept named Chilli Padi Tok Panjang — they occupy the same space that was once occupied by the now-defunct Yoshi Yakiniku and Hitoyoshi Mart there. Focusing on Peranakan fare like how the brand has always been, Chilli Padi Tok Panjang is all about communal dining with traditional Nonya flavours — the menu being segmented into sections dedicated to Appetisers, Soups, Meat Specialty, Ocean Catch, Vegetables, Signature Staple and Sweet Delight. These folks also do serve up a Lunch Exclusive Heritage Signatures menu from 11am to 2pm that would work well for individual diners as well.

We dropped by Chilli Padi Tok Panjang on a weekday afternoon and found ourselves ordering the Stir-Fried Mee Siam from the Lunch Exclusive Heritage Signatures menu — Chilli Padi Tok Panjang does serve up a portion size of the dish that is more suited for communal dining as well in the Signature Staple section of its own menu; the version in the Lunch Exclusive Heritage Signatures menu is one that is individually-portioned for a single diner. Based on the description provided for the dish in the Signature Staple section of the menu, the Stir-Fried Mee Siam features elements such as stir-fried vermicelli, Taucheo (i.e. salted, fermented soybean paste), Assam and home-made sambal. Going straight for the Stir-Fried Mee Siam, we definitely enjoyed the saltish and umami notes from the Taucheo that provided a contrast of flavours of the sour tang from the Assam; the stir-fried vermicelli carrying a consistent note of both flavours all the way throughout the entire portion of the dish. Amidst those flavours would be the spiciness coming from the home-made sambal that came at a level of spiciness that should be comfortable for those whom are tolerable to lower levels of spiciness. Coming along with the dish would be some bits of beancurd puffs that provided a textural contrast, fried hard-boiled egg and prawns; the prawns being pretty fresh and carrying a naturally sweet note typical of crustaceans on its own as well.