Wartime Cafe & Tour at Baroque House
Wartime Cafe & Tour at Baroque House
[SG Culture Pass] Wartime Cafe & Tour
From
Wartime Cafe & Tour
From
Highlights
Step back in time at the Wartime Café & Tour — a unique heritage dining and storytelling experience hosted in a 106-year-old pre-war shophouse on Rowell Road. Curated and guided by artist, shophouse conserver, and heritage researcher Sonia Ong, this immersive two-hour event combines a historically inspired meal with an intimate architectural tour of the lovingly restored Baroque House. The café recreates authentic wartime dishes from original recipes, offering guests a sensory journey into Singapore’s past.
Enjoy delicacies like Coconut Fish Custard, Sweet Potato Kang Kong, and Homemade Coconut Ice Cream, all served with single-estate Ceylon tea. After the meal, join a 60-minute guided exploration of the shophouse’s hidden stories, architectural details, and artistic curiosities. A meaningful and reflective experience, this tour appeals to history lovers, art enthusiasts, and anyone seeking to reconnect with the resilience and warmth of Singapore’s past.
- Authentic Wartime Dining: Enjoy handmade dishes recreated from historical recipes including Coconut Fish Custard and Sweet Potato Kang Kong.
- Historic Shophouse Tour: Explore a 106-year-old pre-war conservation building designed by JB Westerhout.
- Personal Storytelling: Hear from artist and heritage conserver Sonia Ong about the shophouse’s restoration journey.
- Cultural Immersion: Discover wartime stories of hardship, creativity, and hope in a truly atmospheric setting.
- Small-Group Experience: Intimate guided session limited to small groups, with English and Mandarin options available.
Itinerary
Duration: 2 hours
Wartime Dining Experience (60 mins)
1 hourMeal IncludedBegin with a heritage-inspired meal in a pre-war shophouse, featuring authentic recipes recreated from the wartime era.Meal
Enjoy a Coconut Fish Custard, Sweet Potato Kang Kong and Homemade Coconut ice cream all lovingly hand made from scratch by the proprietress Sonia Ong, served with a glass of single-estate Ceylon. Please be reminded that this is a hardship meal simulating wartime and is far from a feast.Guided Shophouse & Art Tour (60 mins)
1 hourGuided Tour IncludedJoin host Sonia Ong for a guided exploration of Baroque House, learning about its architecture, history, and artistic restoration. The old shophouse is dark and the tour requires some giant stair-climbing for the best parts of the tour.
What's included
INCLUDED
NOT INCLUDED
Customer reviews
Additional information
- Tours operate daily at 12:00 PM and 7:00 PM.
- Each session lasts approximately 2 hours.
- This is a heritage dining experience designed to simulate wartime scarcity; portions are modest.
- The old shophouse has stairs and uneven flooring—participants should have basic fitness.
- A minimum of 4 participants is required for the event to proceed. You will be notified at least one day in advance if rescheduling is needed.
- Ideal for history, architecture, and art enthusiasts.
- Suitable for adults and children aged 16 and above.
- Children under 16 must be accompanied by a paying adult.
- Children below 16 must be accompanied by a paying adult.
- Not recommended for very young children due to the heritage setting and stairs.
- Not wheelchair accessible due to stairs in the shophouse.
- Participants should be able to climb multiple flights of stairs.
- Instant confirmation upon booking.
- Bookings must be made at least 48 hours in advance.
- Please book before 9:00 AM 2 days prior to tour date to guarantee your booking.
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before scheduled start time.
- No refund for cancellations made within 24 hours of the experience.
- Present your Pelago booking confirmation or mobile voucher upon arrival.
- Physical ticket is not required.
Location
Provider
Baroque House
USD 56.92
Why Pelago?
- Trusted by millions of travellers
- Best price guarantee promise
- Choose from 200,000+ activities
- Earn KrisFlyer miles with every booking
- A Singapore Airlines company
Excellent guide. Informative and pleasant
insightful and exciting. unique
Need to tidy up the place a bit. Explanation is very good
Interesting lunch experience. However, dinning area was cluttered with collection that were dusty n could re-arranged to create an ambience of old times.
Need to keep the place more tidy.
Though I enjoyed looking at some paintings and the nice warm tea, the whole place was very messy with things everywhere and a musky smell. ‘Wartime’ tiny portion of cold food was served on folded paper boat. Didn’t think it was worth it.