It has been out in the news for a while: Prince Coffee House will be closing in mid-July. This well-known and loved Hainanese Western restaurant first opened its doors in the 1970s in the now-demolished Shaw Tower on Beach Road, the building where Jade and Prince Theatres were located. It got its name from the cinema run by the Shaw Brothers film distributors. I remembered having a meal there as a teenager. It later moved to Coronation Plaza before returning to the Beach Road area, near the entry to Arab Street.
You cannot call the establishment retro, simply because it looked much like what it was some 50 years ago, unchanged and unmoved by the tide of time. Old photographs and posters line its walls, and the age becomes apparent; this is an establishment from the days of disco and flared pants.
The food is typically Hainanese Western, a reminder of when Hainanese cooks served meals to British colonial masters in their black and white bungalows. Pork chops and ox-tail stew is de rigeuer, and the tenderloin steak in brown sauce is the top-priced item on its menu. The servers have long collected their CPF, and its founder "Uncle" Jimmy Lim - the friendly face of Prince - had gone home before we arrived.
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| Grilled pork chops |
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| Classic stewed ox-tail |
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| Tenderloin steak on hot-plate |
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| The French onion soup was disappointingly watered down but the yam cake was excellent. |
When its lease runs out in mid-July, Prince will close its doors for the last time. I am philosophical about its closure. Prince had its day, when fine-dining Western food was exorbitant (still is) and beyond the reach of locals, and Hainanese Western was a valid and tasty alternative. It had a good run, and it is time to say good-bye. Its tradition will be carried on by a new generation of chefs with new ideas and menus, which will surprise and delight us. Thank you for the memories.
