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Singapore’s East Ocean Teochew Restaurant to shut down after 33 years of operation

Sandy Verma | December 4, 2025 8:24 AM CST

By Hoang Vu &nbspDecember 3, 2025 | 03:52 pm PT

East Ocean Teochew Restaurant in Singapore. Photo courtesy of the restaurant

East Ocean Teochew Restaurant, a well-known name for Teochew-Cantonese dishes and handcrafted dim sum, will close on Dec. 28 after 33 years in business.

In a statement posted on its website on Dec. 1, the restaurant’s management said the decision stemmed from the lack of successors.

“Over 33 years, we have been grateful for your support, allowing us to serve traditional cuisine, handcrafted dim sum, and festive specialties such as mooncakes, dumplings, and Chinese New Year cakes,” the statement read.

The restaurant will roll out special promotions on selected menu items and Chinese New Year festive cakes as a gesture of appreciation to long-time patrons, The Straits Times reported.

East Ocean is currently at Ngee Ann City, where it relocated to in 2012. It first opened in 1992 at Shaw Centre on Scotts Road.

Government data shows that food-and-beverage closures have surged, averaging 307 per month in 2025, up from 254 in 2024 and about 230 in both 2023 and 2022.

A total of 3,047 food and beverage businesses shut down in 2024, the highest in nearly 20 years, surpassed only by 2005 with 3,352 closures, Channel News Asia reported.

Analysts attribute the rise in closures to weaker consumer spending amid global economic uncertainty and the strong Singapore dollar, which has made overseas travel more appealing.