Singapore’s iconic Wing Seong Fatty’s Restaurant has officially closed after more than a century. But thanks to Qantas, its legendary recipes, remarkable history and unforgettable hospitality will continue to welcome travellers passing through Changi Airport.
Some restaurants serve great food. Others become part of a city’s identity.
For over 100 years, Wing Seong Fatty’s Restaurant was one of Singapore’s most beloved dining institutions, quietly building a legacy that extended far beyond its modest storefront. It wasn’t just famous for its food. It became a second home for generations of Qantas pilots, cabin crew and Australian travellers passing through Singapore.
Now, after announcing its closure, one of Singapore’s oldest restaurants has found an unexpected new chapter.
Instead of disappearing into history, two of Fatty’s signature dishes will live on inside the Qantas First and Business lounges at Singapore Changi Airport, allowing thousands of travellers to experience a piece of this extraordinary culinary story every year.
We Were Invited to Fatty’s Final Tasting Before It Closed Forever
We were fortunate enough to attend Fatty’s final media tasting, just weeks before the restaurant officially closed its doors.
It quickly became one of those rare invitations that reminds you why food tells stories better than almost anything else.
Meeting the Au family, chatting with Skinny Au, the restaurant’s third-generation custodian, and watching the kitchen prepare dishes that have been perfected over decades felt incredibly personal.
There was no pretence.
No carefully manufactured hospitality.
Just genuine warmth that has welcomed everyone from neighbourhood regulars to international airline crews for generations.
It’s the kind of atmosphere that can’t be replicated through modern restaurant design or Michelin stars. It comes from a century of looking after people.
The Incredible Story Behind Fatty’s and Its Connection to Qantas
Few restaurants can say they helped shape aviation history.
The story begins during World War II, when founder Au Yuen and his son Au Chan Seng, affectionately known as “Fatty”, secretly provided food to prisoners of war despite the enormous personal risk.
Their kindness became well known among Australian servicemen and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) personnel stationed in Singapore.
As commercial aviation expanded after the war, that reputation followed.
Qantas crews flying the famous Kangaroo Route between Australia and Europe made Fatty’s a regular stop whenever they landed in Singapore.
Over the decades, visiting Fatty’s became something of an unofficial tradition.
Captains, cabin crew and engineers from different generations all shared the same experience: incredible food, familiar faces and a welcome that never changed.
Qantas Is Preserving Fatty’s Legacy at Singapore Changi Airport
When news broke that Fatty’s would close after more than 100 years, Qantas wanted to ensure the restaurant’s story didn’t end there.
Working closely with the Au family, the airline recreated two of the restaurant’s most iconic dishes for its premium lounges at Singapore Changi Airport.
Travellers flying through Singapore can now enjoy:
- Fatty’s famous crispy spring rolls in the Qantas First Lounge
- The legendary Nuclear Chicken in the Qantas Business Lounge
It’s a fitting tribute.
For decades these dishes fuelled generations of Qantas crew before long-haul flights.
Now they welcome travellers from around the world, continuing a relationship that stretches back to the late 1940s.
More Than Just Food
During the farewell celebrations, Qantas hosted a private dinner honouring the Au family.
One of the evening’s most emotional moments came when Skinny Au was presented with a commemorative book filled with photographs, memories and handwritten messages from Qantas crew members whose lives had crossed paths with Fatty’s over the years.
It wasn’t simply the closing of a restaurant.
It was the celebration of friendships built across generations.
Qantas Executive Vice President for Asia, Nick McGlynn, described Fatty’s as an important part of the airline’s history in Singapore, while Chief Pilot Dick Tobiano reflected on how the restaurant became a meeting place where crew from different fleets and countries always found themselves sharing the same table.
A Century of Singapore Food History Lives On
Singapore has no shortage of excellent restaurants.
But very few become woven into the cultural fabric of both a city and an international airline.
Wing Seong Fatty’s achieved exactly that.
Although its original doors have now closed, its story is far from over.
Every crispy spring roll served inside the Qantas First Lounge and every plate of Nuclear Chicken enjoyed in Business Class carries forward a tradition that began more than 100 years ago in a humble Singapore restaurant.
Some legacies are preserved in museums.
Others continue to be shared around the dinner table.
Fatty’s now belongs to the latter.
