Samy’s Curry Restaurant in Singapore

With its rustic charm, Samy’s Curry is one of Singapore’s oldest and truest South Indian restaurants. Spanning nearly five decades of serving free-flow biryani and other iconic dishes, Samy’s continues its time-honoured tradition of using banana leaves as a plate. A meal at Samy’s is about tradition and familiarity for the South Indian diaspora, as it is about flavour.

Singapore in the 1960s, having just gained its independence from the British and finding their footing as a small nation. Eager to make a name for themselves in the midst of ongoing conflict amongst their neighbours in South East Asia. Despite the potential of civil unrest, merchants still found the island to be a resourceful trading hub. These merchants would stay for a few months trading their spices, silk and other goods. Over time, whilst trying to assimilate into Singaporean cuisine, merchants would miss their native cuisine. As a way to navigate this problem, they hired chefs from their country. One of whom would become the owner of Samy’s Curry Restaurant.

Mr M. Veerasamy practised his craft when these merchants went to work. He found himself experimenting with new recipes and offering them to his neighbours for their thoughts. Clearly, they loved it, as his food became so popular, people requested him for weddings and celebrations. With enough encouragement, Veerasamy opened a small stall by the road. Samy’s Curry grew more popular, and he found himself moving across different parts of the island before settling the restaurant’s feet in Dempsey Road. And it has remained there for the past 50 years.

Although many decades have passed, in an instant, you will feel transported to an earlier era of Singapore when you walk into Samy’s. The restaurant’s unassuming ambience, paired with Dempsey Hill’s leafy setting, evokes a sense of timelessness. Patrons can enjoy Samy’s iconic dishes, such as their fish head curry, Masala chicken, and their free-flow briyani. Whether seated indoors or enjoying the open-air surroundings, diners are invited into a space where tradition, memory, and everyday life quietly converge.