New IVINS Restaurant Binjai Park : Smaller But Nicer

IVINS Restaurant at Binjai Park has undergone a major makeover. The popular Peranakan restaurant in Bukit Timah is still in the same location. Its size is reduced by half but looks much nicer. The other part of the old space is occupied by another food outlet which we shall discuss later.

The Renovated IVINS Restaurant Vs The Old IVINS

This is a file picture of the pre-renovation restaurant in 2024. It was spacious with minimal decoration. It was nice to have more space in between tables. But the large hard surfaces led to a noisy atmosphere when the restaurant got crowded (which was quite often).

Here are pictures of the new IVINS restaurant after the 2025 renovations.

The atmosphere is warmer and cosier. The look is more polished and the floor tiles remind us that it is a Peranakan restaurant. But most importantly they seem to have done some acoustic treatments for the space. The sound level was well controlled even though it was almost a full house during our lunch on a weekday.

They had even thoughtfully provided a comfortable waiting area for IVINS customers.

The New Neighbour: 7 Gourmet

The other half of the old space is now occupied by a shop known as “7 Gourmet”.  It appears to be a grocery store specialising in Japanese food and products. It also serves some cooked food items.

IVINS Restaurant Menu

Together with the more upmarket restaurant decor, the menu had also been revamped. It is now large with glossy photos. Loyal IVINS followers will be glad to see that the range of familiar Peranakan classics appear to remain the same. As for prices, they seem to have increased slightly but it is premature to conclude whether they have become more expensive as the portion size might also have increased.

IVINS Weekday Peranakan Set

For solo diners or even a couple dining together the weekday set meal appears to be a good way to try many dishes at the same time. The price depends on the choice of main dish – starting from $17.90 (ayam curry) to $20.90 (beef rendang). We chose this option on our first visit to the newly renovated IVINS Peranakan.

Set Lunch at IVINS Peranakan Restaurant

We selected beef rendang and ayam buah keluak as our main courses for lunch. Our side dishes were Nyonya chap chye, tauhu goreng and bakwan kepeting soup (x2).

The chap chye and bakwan kepeting soup were light and clear in flavour, close to what we remembered them to be. It is not as intense as some other Nyonya restaurants such as Daisy’s Kitchen. They are different styles, each nice in its own way.

More intense flavours were certainly present in the main courses. Each of the beef rendang (picture above) and the ayam buah keluak (picture below) were substantial dishes – both in terms of portion size and taste. The chicken buah keluak in particular deserves special mention for its wonderful nutty flavour. Bearing in mind the portion quantity is meant for a single person set lunch, we think it is very generous.

Lunch came to a sweet end with classic Peranakan restaurant desserts – pulot hitam and buboh cha cha. Both were not bad but we preferred the latter.

IVINS Peranakan Restaurant
21 Binjai Park
Singapore 589827 

Opening Hours: 11 am – 3 pm; 5 pm – 9 pm
Closed on Thursdays

Ratings:
Food: 3
Service: 4
Value: 4
Atmosphere: 3.5
Overall Rating: 4 TOPs