When Melody Tan first joined Yum Cha at 23, with just 18 months of work experience under her belt, she was always the youngest and least experienced person in the room. It wouldn’t have been a problem except that she was also the boss’s daughter, which automatically granted her a “senior” position. “A lot of our staff were very traditional, especially the chefs. Order and hierarchy are a big thing for them, and they were not quite sure how to deal with me,” recalled Tan, now 39.
Her father, Jack Tan, opened Yum Cha in 2000 with his brothers. An experienced businessman, the senior Tan had one crucial piece of advice for his daughter: “He told me, ‘Be humble and respect every single person in the restaurant because there is something to learn from everyone, even the cleaner or the dishwasher. You have to treat them well and understand their role’,” she said. “So that’s the mentality and attitude I went in with, and I’m very fortunate that everyone was willing to teach me and help me improve when I made mistakes.”
Seventeen years later, Tan is the restaurant’s executive director and has helped steer it into a new generation, making difficult changes as it evolves with the times.
One of the dishes Yum Cha's chefs created to celebrate SG60: Bak Kut Teh Xiao Long Bao. (Photo: Yum Cha)
Singapore used to have numerous dim sum restaurants like Yum Cha, but this wood-floored institution, which sits on the second floor of a shophouse in the heart of Chinatown, was among the last of them to offer pushcart service. For years, staff would roll carts heaving with dim sum around the dining room, proffering steaming baskets of har gao and cheong fun, plates of fried dishes like foo pi juan (deep-fried beancurd skin rolls), and bowls of congee to hungry diners. It was a defining trait (and trope) of nostalgic dim sum restaurants, which came with a host of problems. “There was a lot of food waste because some things don’t get sold,” Tan explained.
Popular items like siew mai ran out quickly, frustrating diners. Many would watch the carts make their way across the dining room, only to find their favourite dishes had already been taken by the time the cart reached their table. “We had our fair share of complaints, so we thought about letting diners order (from the menu) while we also had the pushcarts. But that meant we would use double the manpower,” Tan said. “Also, we have over 200 seats and by the time the cart comes to the last table, the food is not piping hot anymore, so that became an issue of quality.”
Eventually, Tan nixed the pushcart service so that diners now order from the menu and food is served as soon as it leaves the kitchen. Staff still push around the occasional cart bearing dishes such as salted egg lotus chips and roast pork – “things that are accompaniments to the dim sum, which you would already have on your table”.
In 2025, Yum Cha celebrated its 25th anniversary with a specially created menu that includes Oolong Tea-Marinated Egg, Matcha Egg Tart, Braised Pork Belly with Royal Shui Xian Tea and more. (Photo: Yum Cha)
Another defining trait of old-school dim sum restaurants: too many items on the menu –Yum Cha once offered as many as 100 dim sum items alone. That can overwhelm diners with choice while leaving the kitchen to manage excessive inventory. Tan has since halved that number and begun offering seasonal dishes to showcase her chefs’ creativity.
For Yum Cha’s 25th anniversary and to commemorate SG60 last year, the restaurant’s chefs created celebratory menus with dishes like pu’er tea broth dumplings, laksa cheong fan with lobster, and otah siew mai. When friends and family came to dine, Tan would ask, after their meal, which items they’d ordered and what they enjoyed. “Most of them said, ‘Actually, we just ordered the usual dim sum, and we were full. We didn’t get a chance to try anything new,’” she recounted.
Those responses speak to how, for Singaporeans, a meal at Yum Cha is about simple, comforting pleasures. The dim sum served may not be as elegant as those in popular Cantonese restaurants across the city, but regulars continue returning for familiar heartwarming fare. For tourists, who, according to Tan, make up about 40 per cent of the restaurant’s clientele, Yum Cha’s draw is its somewhat hidden location and the promise of an old-world, Nanyang-style dim sum meal.
Few people come to Yum Chato “try something new”, and while new and seasonal dishes might make up about 20 to 30 per cent of an average bill, Tan still feels they are important aspects of reaching out to her customers. “We still try, because with the anniversary menu, for example, people saw (the promotions for it), thought it was interesting, and came back. At least we get the message out that we have something new and remind customers that we are here, still crafting.”
Yum Cha is growing its catering arm as part of its next phase of expansion, with a central kitchen supporting a dim sum-focused catering offering. (Photo: Yum Cha)
The stiff competition in Singapore’s restaurant industry, particularly from deep-pocketed Mainland Chinese restaurant chains, has driven Tan to focus on value, scale and positioning. “The restaurant business is very dynamic. It’s constantly changing,” she said. “Someone is coming up with something new every day, so you have to find your footing. Where do you belong? Is your value still there? Do people still like you? Is your food still interesting?”
These questions inform her strategy. Last year, the company opened a central kitchen helmed by her brother, 34-year-old Nikko Tan. It allows Yum Cha to offer catering services while improving consistency across its food. “With the central kitchen, we can put in proper SOPs and offer something different because it is dim sum-focused catering,” she explained.
Asked about Yum Cha’s long-term plans – including its second branch at Changi City Point – Tan said, “We’ll take it one step at a time. Right now, we’re putting a lot of effort into growing our catering arm because we think there’s plenty of potential there. The feedback we’ve received so far has been good, and dim sum offers something different from the usual fare, so we have a unique selling point. We are also looking out for spaces to bring our concept to the heartlands.”
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Her father, Jack Tan, opened Yum Cha in 2000 with his brothers. An experienced businessman, the senior Tan had one crucial piece of advice for his daughter: “He told me, ‘Be humble and respect every single person in the restaurant because there is something to learn from everyone, even the cleaner or the dishwasher. You have to treat them well and understand their role’,” she said. “So that’s the mentality and attitude I went in with, and I’m very fortunate that everyone was willing to teach me and help me improve when I made mistakes.”
Seventeen years later, Tan is the restaurant’s executive director and has helped steer it into a new generation, making difficult changes as it evolves with the times.
OUT WITH THE OLD
One of the dishes Yum Cha's chefs created to celebrate SG60: Bak Kut Teh Xiao Long Bao. (Photo: Yum Cha)
Singapore used to have numerous dim sum restaurants like Yum Cha, but this wood-floored institution, which sits on the second floor of a shophouse in the heart of Chinatown, was among the last of them to offer pushcart service. For years, staff would roll carts heaving with dim sum around the dining room, proffering steaming baskets of har gao and cheong fun, plates of fried dishes like foo pi juan (deep-fried beancurd skin rolls), and bowls of congee to hungry diners. It was a defining trait (and trope) of nostalgic dim sum restaurants, which came with a host of problems. “There was a lot of food waste because some things don’t get sold,” Tan explained.
Popular items like siew mai ran out quickly, frustrating diners. Many would watch the carts make their way across the dining room, only to find their favourite dishes had already been taken by the time the cart reached their table. “We had our fair share of complaints, so we thought about letting diners order (from the menu) while we also had the pushcarts. But that meant we would use double the manpower,” Tan said. “Also, we have over 200 seats and by the time the cart comes to the last table, the food is not piping hot anymore, so that became an issue of quality.”
Eventually, Tan nixed the pushcart service so that diners now order from the menu and food is served as soon as it leaves the kitchen. Staff still push around the occasional cart bearing dishes such as salted egg lotus chips and roast pork – “things that are accompaniments to the dim sum, which you would already have on your table”.
In 2025, Yum Cha celebrated its 25th anniversary with a specially created menu that includes Oolong Tea-Marinated Egg, Matcha Egg Tart, Braised Pork Belly with Royal Shui Xian Tea and more. (Photo: Yum Cha)
IN WITH THE NEW
Another defining trait of old-school dim sum restaurants: too many items on the menu –Yum Cha once offered as many as 100 dim sum items alone. That can overwhelm diners with choice while leaving the kitchen to manage excessive inventory. Tan has since halved that number and begun offering seasonal dishes to showcase her chefs’ creativity.
For Yum Cha’s 25th anniversary and to commemorate SG60 last year, the restaurant’s chefs created celebratory menus with dishes like pu’er tea broth dumplings, laksa cheong fan with lobster, and otah siew mai. When friends and family came to dine, Tan would ask, after their meal, which items they’d ordered and what they enjoyed. “Most of them said, ‘Actually, we just ordered the usual dim sum, and we were full. We didn’t get a chance to try anything new,’” she recounted.
Those responses speak to how, for Singaporeans, a meal at Yum Cha is about simple, comforting pleasures. The dim sum served may not be as elegant as those in popular Cantonese restaurants across the city, but regulars continue returning for familiar heartwarming fare. For tourists, who, according to Tan, make up about 40 per cent of the restaurant’s clientele, Yum Cha’s draw is its somewhat hidden location and the promise of an old-world, Nanyang-style dim sum meal.
Few people come to Yum Chato “try something new”, and while new and seasonal dishes might make up about 20 to 30 per cent of an average bill, Tan still feels they are important aspects of reaching out to her customers. “We still try, because with the anniversary menu, for example, people saw (the promotions for it), thought it was interesting, and came back. At least we get the message out that we have something new and remind customers that we are here, still crafting.”
AND BEYOND
Yum Cha is growing its catering arm as part of its next phase of expansion, with a central kitchen supporting a dim sum-focused catering offering. (Photo: Yum Cha)
The stiff competition in Singapore’s restaurant industry, particularly from deep-pocketed Mainland Chinese restaurant chains, has driven Tan to focus on value, scale and positioning. “The restaurant business is very dynamic. It’s constantly changing,” she said. “Someone is coming up with something new every day, so you have to find your footing. Where do you belong? Is your value still there? Do people still like you? Is your food still interesting?”
These questions inform her strategy. Last year, the company opened a central kitchen helmed by her brother, 34-year-old Nikko Tan. It allows Yum Cha to offer catering services while improving consistency across its food. “With the central kitchen, we can put in proper SOPs and offer something different because it is dim sum-focused catering,” she explained.
Asked about Yum Cha’s long-term plans – including its second branch at Changi City Point – Tan said, “We’ll take it one step at a time. Right now, we’re putting a lot of effort into growing our catering arm because we think there’s plenty of potential there. The feedback we’ve received so far has been good, and dim sum offers something different from the usual fare, so we have a unique selling point. We are also looking out for spaces to bring our concept to the heartlands.”
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