Wednesday, 7 October 2026The story behind the things you thought you knewIssue Nº 006 · New story every weekday
Backstory Asia

Singapore: a port city's origin stories

Almost nothing here started here. Almost everything here was perfected here.

Singapore is a port. Ports collect things. Almost nothing on this bureau started here. A great deal of it was reshaped here.

Katong laksa was made famous by two brothers who hawked it in the 1950s. Kopi took its roast from Hainanese cooks who had worked in British kitchens and then opened shops of their own. Roti canai arrived with Tamil Muslim migrants and took a new name, roti prata, on this side of the causeway.

Nearly every story here is shared with Malaysia or Indonesia. We say so on every page. The shared part is the good part.

This bureau lists every story tagged Singapore, desk by desk.

Food · Noodles

An illustration of the Backstory Asia globe mascot studying two bowls of laksa through its magnifying glass, a coconut curry laksa and a sour asam laksa, with rice noodles on one side and a stone mortar of spice paste, chillies, lemongrass and turmeric on the other, in an old Peranakan kitchen by a harbour.
Illustration: Backstory Asia, AI-generated

Laksa: born where Chinese noodles met Malay spice

The noodles came with Chinese traders, the paste from Malay kitchens. In 1950s Katong, two hawker brothers gave Singapore its own version of the bowl.

Published 8 October 2026

Food · Noodles

An illustration of the Backstory Asia globe mascot studying a plate of instant mi goreng through its magnifying glass, a fried egg on top, beside a dry noodle block and five small sachets of seasoning powder, oil, sweet soy sauce, chilli sauce and fried shallots, on a warung counter at night.
Illustration: Backstory Asia, AI-generated

Indomie: Japanese know-how, an Indonesian staple

Instant noodles were a Japanese idea. In 1972, Jakarta firm PT Sanmaru made Indomie the Indonesian version, and its 1982 Mi Goreng became a category of its own.

Published 8 October 2026

Food

Food: story, one-line hook, and place
Roti canai: the flatbread that crossed an oceanYou think roti canai is Malaysian. The name says otherwise.Malaysia · Singapore
Laksa: born where Chinese noodles met Malay spiceThe noodles came with Chinese traders, the paste from Malay kitchens. In 1950s Katong, two hawker brothers gave Singapore its own version of the bowl.Malaysia · Singapore · Indonesia
Indomie: Japanese know-how, an Indonesian stapleInstant noodles were a Japanese idea. In 1972, Jakarta firm PT Sanmaru made Indomie the Indonesian version, and its 1982 Mi Goreng became a category of its own.Indonesia · Malaysia · Singapore
Nasi lemak: the farmer's coconut rice first printed in 1875It began as a hearty breakfast for Malay farmers. Its first print record is from 1875: a Malay-French dictionary defines it as rice cooked with coconut milk.Malaysia · Singapore
Hainanese chicken rice: from Wenchang to SingaporeThe dish starts with Wenchang chicken from Hainan island. Hainanese cooks reworked it in 1920s and 1930s Singapore into the chicken rice plate you know today.Singapore · Malaysia

A new story publishes every weekday.

The desks

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