Staying Rooted: Old School Delights
Travel back in time and savour tasty local dishes in a family-run restaurant started out of passion
Story & Pictures by: Jeraine Ong
Take a step into a tiny restaurant located at Esplanade Mall, you can see a chalkboard on the wall, decorated cutely with little drawings. Fragrances of a plethora of food propels into the air-conditioned area.
As you walk into the restaurant, it feels as if time stood still for almost two decades. Then, you realise, it is actually a family business selling authentic local dishes like Beef Rendang, Laksa and Nasi Lemak.
“We believe in serving quality food, so, no MSG, no lousy ingredients. I want to bring happy memories to people,” says Olivia Teo, co-owner of Old School Delights (OSD).
“We started not because we want to make money, but more out of passion,” Olivia says.
Before the opening of OSD, Olivia used to work as a job placement officer for people with disabilities. She quit her job to help her brother and husband with the operations of the restaurant.
“It was only just a few of us at that time. We had to put aside whatever we were doing and focus on that,” recounts Olivia.
Their efforts were not in vain as OSD has been operating for close to 11 years since its launch in 2010.
To complement the vintage theme, OSD provides classic games like Old Maid, Snakes & Ladders as well as Five Stones for diners to indulge in, all free of charge.
“These are all our childhood memories and games that we played. I want to share them with people - especially the younger generation,” Olivia says with a smile.
Nonetheless, like many restaurants, OSD was badly hit by the pandemic. With The Esplanade closed, the restaurant had to be completely shut down during the circuit breaker period, without any delivery services. Even after the Circuit Breaker, OSD did not earn any profits until the end of 2020.
“It was really tough. We had really low sales and a shortage of manpower with our foreign workers stuck in their own countries. There were days where we opened 9 to 5 and would only make around 40 to 50 dollars a day,” Olivia recalls.
As a result, OSD had to cut costs and staff strength. They also had to remove some dishes from their menu.
During this time, OSD received help from the government through the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS), which was introduced to provide wage support for employers to retain their local employees during this period of economic uncertainty.
“The Esplanade also helped us with the rental fees. Without their aid, we would have closed down a lot faster,” Olivia says.
With the restrictions against COVID-19 easing slightly, Olivia speaks about what she wishes to achieve with OSD.
“It would be nice to have another outlet. But because of manpower shortage and the challenges we’re facing right now, especially with the pandemic, my hope is for customers to leave OSD happy and satisfied after their meals,” remarks Olivia.
