Some places stay with you even when you haven't visited them for years.
For me, Boh Geh Uncle Canteen, also known as Canteen 398, is one of those places. Tucked away at 398 Piccadilly Road in Seletar, this rustic, kampung-style canteen was one of those rare corners of Singapore that seemed to exist in a different era.
I didn't manage to visit the canteen again before it closed its doors in September 2026. But while going through my old photographs, I found a collection from my visit in 2012.
It was my first visit.
And I didn't know it then, but it would also be my last.
A Glimpse of Old Singapore
Boh Geh Uncle Canteen never looked like the typical coffee shops found across Singapore.
There were no polished interiors or trendy café fittings. Instead, the place was wonderfully rustic, with rust-brown zinc sheet walls, old mosaic flooring and large trees shading the outdoor seating areas. Nearby were vegetable and flower plots, adding even more to its kampung atmosphere.
It was the kind of place where the surroundings were just as much a part of the experience as the food.
Sitting beneath the trees, surrounded by old structures and simple food stalls, it was easy to imagine a very different Singapore — one where kampung houses, open spaces and neighbourhood eateries were a much more familiar part of everyday life.
Today, that kind of setting is increasingly difficult to find.
A Place With Decades of History
The story of Canteen 398 goes back much further than my own visit.
The building originally served as a corporal mess for the British Royal Air Force at RAF Seletar. Over the years, its purpose changed, eventually becoming a canteen serving Singapore Armed Forces personnel, nearby workers and regular customers.
By the late 1960s, it had become the humble food establishment remembered by many as Boh Geh Uncle Canteen.
The canteen was run by William, affectionately known as Uncle Boh Geh, together with his family. For approximately 57 years, the family kept this little corner of Seletar going.
That's a remarkable length of time for any small food establishment, especially in a city that has undergone so much change.
For generations of customers, Canteen 398 was not simply somewhere to grab a meal. It became part of the landscape and part of their memories of Singapore.
Simple Food in a Simple Setting
The canteen was home to only a small number of food stalls, including a popular Malay nasi padang stall that had been operating for around 20 years, as well as a Chinese stall serving economy bee hoon and chap chye peng.
The food was simple and familiar — the kind of everyday comfort food that didn't need much explanation.
Among the dishes people enjoyed were lontong, nasi goreng, chicken wings and begedil.
There was something fitting about the food being uncomplicated.
It matched the surroundings.
You weren't there for an elaborate dining experience. You came for a satisfying meal, perhaps a drink and a conversation, while enjoying the old-world atmosphere around you.
Sometimes, it is precisely these ordinary experiences that become the most memorable.
A Small Piece of Singapore's Past
After 57 years, Boh Geh Uncle Canteen closed its doors in September 2026.
It may never have been one of Singapore's famous attractions, and it certainly wasn't the kind of place that appeared on most tourist itineraries.
But perhaps that is exactly why it mattered.
Places like Canteen 398 represent a quieter side of Singapore — the everyday places that people might not think twice about while they are still around.
A small canteen.
A familiar stall.
A plate of nasi padang.
A table beneath a tree.
A conversation over food.
These are ordinary moments, but when a place disappears, those ordinary moments become part of its history.
Remembering Boh Geh Uncle Canteen
Singapore will continue to change.
Old buildings will disappear. New developments will take their place. Businesses will open, close and move on. Neighbourhoods will evolve with every generation.
That is simply the nature of a growing city.
But places like Boh Geh Uncle Canteen remind us that Singapore's story isn't only found in its landmarks and skyscrapers.
It is also found in the small places.
The old kopitiams.
The neighbourhood food stalls.
The humble canteens.
The places where people simply went about their everyday lives.
I didn't get the chance to return to Canteen 398 before it closed.
But I'm glad I have these photographs from 2012.
They give me one last opportunity to look back at a place I visited once, remember how it felt, and appreciate it in a way I probably didn't know how to back then.
Goodbye, Boh Geh Uncle Canteen.
Thank you for being a small but unforgettable part of old Singapore.
Some places disappear.
Their memories don't.
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