
Where Malabar Meets Arab Street: The Story Behind Our Name
Two histories, one address. How Kerala's Malabar coast and Singapore's Arab Street came to share a corner of Kampong Glam.
Read the storyEst. 2026 · Café Malabar
Stories from our kitchen, our street, and the long spice road that brought us here.

Two histories, one address. How Kerala's Malabar coast and Singapore's Arab Street came to share a corner of Kampong Glam.
Read the story
Every Kerala village has one — the chaya kada, where the morning starts with a glass of tea pulled a meter high. Here's what makes it special.
Read the story
Not all biryanis are the same. Malabar's Thalassery style uses a different rice, a lighter hand with spice, and a slow steam that lets each grain stand alone.
Read the story
Flaky, chewy, layered like a paper accordion. The Malabar parotta is Kerala's most theatrical bread — and its most misunderstood.
Read the story
Rice, meat and spice sealed inside a length of green bamboo, then steamed slowly. The bamboo's sap does the seasoning — no lid required.
Read the story
A banana-leaf bundle, tied with string, opened at the table. Kizhi biryani turns a plate of rice into a small ceremony.
Read the story
Steamed rice cylinders, lacy pancakes, string hoppers, and a bowl of black chickpea curry. The Kerala breakfast is unlike any other in India.
Read the story
One is clear, black and citrusy — the digestif of Malabar. The other is thick, sweet and spiced — the workingman's tea of the Gulf.
Read the story
A short walk from Sultan Mosque, halal Malabar food quietly holds a corner of Arab Street. Here's what to order, and why it's here.
Read the story
Five minutes on foot from Bugis MRT, past the Sultan Mosque, sits a small Kerala kitchen doing Malabar biryani, hand-slapped parotta and pulled chaya. Here's exactly how to get there.
Read the story