ONE SELLS HIS own Singapore-style ramen in a hawker centre and is set to open in Hong Kong. A modern Asian-Peranakan restaurant will get a spin-off in Singapore and Beijing. Meanwhile, two modern tze char joints are expanding - one with its second outlet and the other with a localised burger joint. Another - a hipster nasi lemak cafe - is branching out into related businesses.

It sounds like things are looking up for Singaporean cuisine - that fiddly grey area between street food and heritage fare that local-born chefs navigate with varying levels of success. They either get criticised for selling over-priced hawker food and fusion versions of bak chor pasta; or raise eyebrows with fine dining mod-Sin cuisine. And then there are those who find a niche that diners are comfortable with, which allows them to not just sustain their business but even grow it.

Gwern Khoo, a Shatec graduate who co-founded A Noodle Story after watching the ramen trend spike in Singapore five years ago, knew he couldn't fight head-on with Japanese ramen chains. And "it would be suicidal" to sell the same dishes as older-generation hawkers in Amoy Street Food Centre where he set up. "They are more experienced, and they pay subsidised rent. So I chose to create something not found in the market." That "something" is a Singapore-style ramen served dry with sambal chilli, or "Japanese ramen meets Hong Kong wonton noodles with the flavour of local mee kia tar."