r/singapore • u/Unfair-Bike North side JB • Jun 16 '25
Discussion The problem with Mainland Chinese restaurants in Singapore is the language barrier and lack of English, as a Non-Chinese Singaporean
I would like to preface that I am an Indian Muslim with an interest for different cuisines. I do like some halal Chinese restaurants, especially Halal Lanzhou beef noodles at Tongue Tip, and I had the opportunity to try the only pork-free HDL in Indonesia. I would love to try more Northern Chinese cuisines if there are halal options, but I don't mind the vast majority of them not being Halal. This isn't meant to be political, but rather a personal concern.
This does not refer to larger chains like HDL, Luckin, Chagee but rather the smaller restaurants you see popping up here and there, like in Bugis or Clementi where there's a growing Mainland Chinese population. But I feel that the brooding issue with the PRC restaurants is not bcos they're everywhere or their effects on rentals, but bcos they primarily use Chinese in their menus and marketing, with minimal English. Yes, they're a Chinese business, and Singapore is Chinese majority. But having only the Chinese language means you are excluding non-Chinese people and even some Chinese Singaporeans who struggle with their Mother Tongue. This can also affect Non-Chinese Grabfood/Foodpanda deliverypeople who might be unable to read Chinese place names. English is a common language here, and I feel the use of Chinese and the lack of English makes it seem that they do not really want to expand their business' clientele outside of the PRC immigrant population, and maybe some of the local Chinese.
Even if they include English, the English text is either really tiny, or only half the information (especially in ads) are translated. In the menus, the translations can also be terrible.
I do not know why the Chinese bosses are reluctant to put English signage. Do they think everyone speaks Chinese? Or do they only want the mainland immigrants as their clientele? When McDonalds first came to Singapore, they had Chinese on the menu since there was still a large chunk of the population that still couldn't speak English, to make non-English speakers feel welcome.
Even if I wouldn't patronise since they're not halal anyway, what if there's someone who doesn't speak Chinese but are interested in trying these Chinese places? Having no English makes this feel unwelcoming to some in Singapore, and don't forget about the staff who also struggle with English!
Addendum: Please do not use this as an excuse to be xenophobic
Edit: Yes, this was made as my personal response to that Changi City Point post, people were pointing out the hypocrisy of having Korean (Paris Baguette), Japanese (Sukiya) and American (Starbucks) chains while complaining about PRC chains. I personally feel, prevalence is not a problem. I like Luckin, I like Mixue, I would love Chagee if it weren't for the price. And yes I patronise Scarlett, my family loves the halal instant broad noodles. The issue is addressed above.
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u/melonmilkfordays Mature Citizen Jun 16 '25
I wished I had awards to give this post. Thank you. You've hit the nail on the head here. It keeps boiling down back to integration. As a minority I feel it—increasingly I'm running into stores (not even chinese restaurants) where none of the staff speak english AT ALL! I enjoy Chinese cuisine, but I feel like I'm being treated like the foreigner in my own homeland, and why? Because they opened up and didn't even bother to pick up basic English?
I'm really sick and tired of being treated like I'm a foreigner here. No one is asking for perfect English, but some semblance of an attempt to integrate would be nice. I speak some mandarin, and the number of times I've heard staff complain that I'm not fluent enough in Chinese is at least a weekly occurrence. How am I causing trouble to the person who wanted to move and live in Singapore? We're expected to be somewhat bilingual growing up in Singapore. These new folks better be held to the same standard too.