about temasek

Temasek restaurant opened it’s doors in 1992 and has been continuing to serve authentic Singaporean-Malay cuisine ever since. Tucked into a small alley way called the Roxy Arcade located in the heart of Parramatta Temasek was started by sisters Susan and Gladys Wong together with their brother Marc and mother Ow-Yeong, Singaporeans, born and raised. 

The recipes for our dishes were specially crafted by Susan with hard work and inspiration. Her mother Ow Yeong was naturally gifted with a technique for food. From watching her as a child growing up to the vast flavours she would eat in all her younger years living in Singapore Susan applied her inherited talent to what became her passion. Her interest and respect for food culture was inevitable.

The word Temasek comes from early Javanese and Malay literature, meaning “Sea town” one of the first records of settlement on modern Singapore land which was later on replaced with the word Singapura meaning “Lion City”. Just like Singapore’s early name, Temasek Restaurant was to be the first if not one of the earliest of it’s kind here serving exotic asian cuisine in Parramatta in ’92 with the hopes to showcase Singaporean-Malay food where it was not prominent just yet. Being so foreign, many were intrigued and we relied on word-of-mouth to gain an attraction. The name spoke for itself and translated into the food that was served on our tables.

Success came shortly after, making it a place of constant hustle and bustle. It became our own Singapura. A lion city within the walls of our restaurant and the rest of Temasek’s history followed.

Sadly, after a long battle with cancer Susan passed in 2014 leaving Temasek to her son Jeremy along side her sister Gladys to carry on the flame of her legacy, faces many of our customers are familiar with. For 28 years Temasek has been operating consistently staying true to its recipes in an ever changing industry. The food you eat at Temasek is a reflection of Susan’s native palate, unique to her own and we strive to upkeep the authenticity in honour of that.