Restaurant in Singapore, Singapore
Bib Gourmand Peranakan. Book ahead.
True Blue Cuisine holds back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand awards (2024–2025) and sits in a heritage shophouse on Armenian Street, making it the most credible mid-price entry point into Singapore's Peranakan dining scene. At $$, it undercuts Candlenut on price while still offering a setting and kitchen that reward returning visitors. Book a week out minimum; weekday dinners are the quietest option.
True Blue Cuisine at 47 Armenian Street is the right call for anyone who wants to eat Peranakan food in a setting that earns its heritage context rather than performing it. If you are visiting Singapore for the first time and want one meal that covers both the cuisine and the culture without crossing into tourist-trap territory, this is a sound choice. If you have been once and ordered cautiously, this visit is the one to go deeper: commit to more courses, consider the full progression of dishes rather than ordering piecemeal, and treat the meal as a structured tasting of what Peranakan cooking actually does across heat, acidity, and spice.
Two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand awards (2024 and 2025) confirm what the 613 Google reviews — averaging 4 stars , suggest: the kitchen is consistent, the value is real, and enough people return to say so. At the $$ price point, True Blue Cuisine is one of the few Bib Gourmand holders in Singapore where the combination of setting, cuisine complexity, and award recognition makes the meal feel like a proper occasion without requiring a special-occasion budget.
The address , Armenian Street in the Civic District , matters more than it might seem. The conservation shophouse setting shapes how the meal feels from the moment you arrive. The layout across the two units at 47/49 creates distinct seating zones: some tables sit within rooms decorated with Peranakan antiques and porcelain, others in more open areas. If you are returning after a first visit, ask for a table in the more enclosed interior section. The spatial intimacy changes the pacing; you slow down, and the food benefits from that.
For a cuisine that is built on layered flavors , rempah spice pastes, long-cooked proteins, the interplay of coconut milk and tamarind , having a room that encourages you to sit and stay rather than eat and leave is an advantage. Peranakan dishes are not fast food presented on fine china; they are the result of time-intensive technique, and the setting at True Blue reinforces that rather than working against it.
Peranakan cuisine does not follow a European tasting menu arc in the conventional sense, but a well-ordered meal here does have progression. Think of it in three movements: opening dishes that are bright, sour, and aromatic; a middle stage built around richer proteins and slow-cooked curries; and a close that lands on sweet, with traditional Nyonya kueh or dessert options that pull the meal back to the lighter register it began with. If you are returning to True Blue, resist the impulse to order all your favorites at once. Instead, pace the meal so that the richer dishes arrive in the second half of the order. The kitchen's strength shows leading when you let that structure play out.
The cuisine itself , rooted in the food traditions of Straits-Chinese Peranakan culture, which blends Chinese ingredients with Malay spice techniques , rewards diners who approach it with some curiosity. It is genuinely distinct from both Chinese and Malay food, and True Blue is a reliable place to experience that distinction clearly. For peer comparisons within the Peranakan space, Candlenut operates at a higher price tier with a Michelin Star to match, while Pangium takes a more contemporary approach to the same culinary tradition. True Blue sits between tradition and accessibility.
Booking difficulty is rated Easy, but that does not mean walk-in is the default strategy. Armenian Street draws heritage-district foot traffic and the restaurant's Bib Gourmand status has expanded its profile beyond local regulars. Book at least a week out for weekday dinners; two weeks for Friday and Saturday evenings. If your travel dates are fixed, book before you fly. Weekend lunches are popular for family groups, so if you are dining as a couple and want a quieter room, a weekday lunch or early weeknight dinner will serve you better.
The $$ price range puts this in the accessible tier for Singapore dining, where it is realistic to spend SGD 40–80 per person depending on what and how much you order. There is no minimum spend pressure, which makes it a reasonable option for solo diners as well.
For broader context on eating and staying in Singapore, see our full Singapore restaurants guide, Singapore hotels guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide.
If you are tracing Peranakan cuisine beyond Singapore, the George Town scene in Penang is worth your attention. Strong options there include Auntie Gaik Lean's Old School Eatery, Richard Rivalee, Bibik's Kitchen, Ceki, Flower Mulan, Ivy's Nyonya Cuisine, Jawi House, and Kebaya Dining Room. For Singapore-specific Peranakan context, Chilli Padi in Joo Chiat and Indocafé are both worth comparing. For hawker-adjacent eating in the same city, 328 Katong Laksa covers a different part of the Peranakan-influenced food story.
Yes, with caveats on expectation-setting. The Bib Gourmand recognition, the Armenian Street heritage setting, and the considered service make it a credible special-occasion choice at the $$ price tier. It is not a white-tablecloth celebration restaurant, but for a birthday dinner or a meaningful meal with family or a partner where the food and setting carry the evening, it delivers. If your occasion calls for formal service and a longer tasting format, Zén at $$$$ operates in a different league. True Blue earns its place for occasions where authenticity and value matter as much as ceremony.
True Blue Cuisine is a heritage shophouse restaurant, not a bar-forward concept. Bar seating in the conventional sense is not confirmed in available data. The format is table dining. If bar seating or counter service is important to your visit, contact the restaurant directly to confirm options before booking.
For Peranakan food in Singapore, Candlenut is the higher-end alternative with a Michelin Star and a more polished tasting format. Pangium takes a contemporary reworking of the same traditions. Chilli Padi in Joo Chiat and Indocafé round out the local options at comparable or lower price points. True Blue's advantage over most alternatives is the combination of Bib Gourmand credibility, the Armenian Street location, and a setting that adds genuine context to the meal.
Peranakan cuisine frequently uses shellfish, pork, and eggs as core ingredients. The cuisine is not inherently accommodating of vegetarian, vegan, or halal requirements, though individual dishes may vary. Contact the restaurant directly before visiting if you have specific restrictions , phone and website details are not confirmed in available data, so reaching out via reservation platform or in person is the most reliable approach.
Yes. The $$ price point makes solo dining financially direct, and the layout of a shophouse restaurant typically includes smaller tables suited to one or two diners. Peranakan food is dish-sharing cuisine by design, so solo visitors may get a narrower view of the menu than a group of three or four, but a solo meal here is entirely practical. Book a weekday lunch for the quietest room and the most comfortable solo experience.
True Blue Cuisine operates as an à la carte or set-menu format rather than a formal tasting menu in the multi-course degustation sense. The Bib Gourmand recognition signals that the kitchen delivers consistent quality at accessible prices, which means a well-ordered multi-dish meal across the menu functions like a tasting progression even without a fixed format. Order across the meal's natural arc , lighter, aromatic dishes first, richer curries in the middle, Nyonya sweets to close , and you will get a complete picture of what the kitchen does. For a formal tasting menu structure, Candlenut is the Peranakan option with that format at a higher price.
At $$, it is one of the stronger value propositions in Singapore's heritage dining tier. Two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand awards are a direct signal that the price-to-quality ratio is recognized at an independent level, not just by volume of Google reviews. For comparison, Summer Pavilion at the same price tier delivers Cantonese fine dining with a Michelin Star, so $$ in Singapore can reach high. True Blue is worth the price specifically because the setting, the cuisine's complexity, and the award track record align. It is not the cheapest Peranakan meal you will find in Singapore, but it is the one where you are most likely to leave with a clear sense of what the cuisine actually is.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| True Blue Cuisine | Peranakan | $$ | Easy |
| Zén | European Contemporary | $$$$ | Unknown |
| Jaan by Kirk Westaway | British Contemporary | $$$ | Unknown |
| Iggy's | Modern European, European Contemporary | $$$ | Unknown |
| Summer Pavilion | Cantonese | $$ | Unknown |
| Waku Ghin | Creative Japanese, Japanese Contemporary | $$$$ | Unknown |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Yes, within a specific register. The conservation shophouse on Armenian Street and consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition (2024 and 2025) give it enough occasion weight for a birthday or anniversary dinner at the $$ price point. It is not a white-tablecloth blowout, but it is a considered, meaningful meal with a credible heritage context — which for many people is more interesting than a formal tasting room.
Bar seating is not documented for this venue. True Blue Cuisine operates out of a conservation shophouse at 47 Armenian Street, and the space is shaped by that architecture. check the venue's official channels before assuming counter or bar options are available.
For Peranakan food at a similar price band, compare other Armenian Street and Civic District options. If you are stepping up in format and budget, Jaan by Kirk Westaway and Waku Ghin represent Singapore's fine dining tier but are a different category entirely — multi-course, significantly more expensive, and not Peranakan. True Blue is the call if you want cuisine-specific depth at a $$ spend backed by Michelin validation.
Peranakan cooking relies heavily on shrimp paste, coconut milk, and pork in many dishes, which limits options for strict vegetarians, vegans, and those avoiding shellfish or pork. No specific dietary accommodation policy is on record for True Blue Cuisine. Raise requirements when booking rather than on arrival.
Workable but not optimised for solo diners. Peranakan food is structured around shared dishes, so eating alone limits how much of the menu you can cover. A two- or three-person group gets significantly more out of the format. If you are solo, focus on a single-plate dish rather than ordering a spread.
A set or tasting menu format is not confirmed in the venue data, so verify the current menu structure before booking. What is confirmed is that True Blue Cuisine holds Michelin Bib Gourmand status for 2024 and 2025, which specifically recognises good cooking at a reasonable price — making any structured meal here a lower-risk spend than a comparable unrecognised option.
At $$, yes — this is one of the clearer value cases in Singapore dining. Two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand awards signal consistent quality at an accessible price, and Peranakan cuisine at this address carries genuine heritage context rather than tourist-facing approximation. For the spend, it competes with almost nothing in the same cuisine category.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
