Serving up a feast of song, sorrow, and Straits-Chinese splendour
Held in a Peranakan mansion setting within Shangri-La’s Island Ballroom, Dinner with Emily revue is a moving tribute to tradition, ambition, and the resilience of women
By Sebastian Lim
SET against the sumptuous backdrop of Shangri-La Singapore’s Island Ballroom — transformed for one night into a lavish Peranakan mansion on Emerald Hill — Dinner with Emily, held on July 27, 2025, at 7pm, was not just a musical revue; it was a full-bodied cultural experience. Spanning three emotionally charged acts and four exquisite dinner courses, the evening wove together music, memory, and mouth-watering cuisine to tell the story of one woman’s journey through love, heartbreak, and legacy.
Before the show began, guests were welcomed with cocktails in the foyer, accompanied by a silent art auction featuring works by Hong Sek Chern, Poh Siew Wah, and Chua Say Hua. On display were also a collection of jewellery such as kerosang pendants, brooch and hair ornaments for auction as well. They were donated by Dato Lillian Tong, of Penang Peranakan Mansion.
##CROSSOVER: Click here to read our story, Revisiting an icon through song, story, and dinner, at www.newasiacurrents.com
The ambiance was further elevated by a pre-show choral performance by the Vox Camerata Chamber Singers and cast members of Dinner with Emily who offered a tantalising preview of the musical revue to come. The evening officially commenced with the arrival of the Minister for Health, Mr Ong Ye Kung and his wife as guests of honour.
One of the first items for the evening after the welcoming address by Dezz Moey, Artistic Director of Musical Theatre Ltd, who then invited Winfred Khoo, Managing Director of CWC Enterprise Pte Ltd on stage, was to announce that historian and sinologist Prof. Wang Gungwu, would be presenting a copy of his book, Road to Chinese Modernity: Civilisation and Natural Culture to Minister Ong.
Cultural banquet in four courses
Before Act One, guests were served the appetizer: a DIY Pie Tee platter of top hat pastry to be filled with jicama stew, crispy garlic diver crabmeat, chili chukka sauce, sweet soy, and calamansi. It was a delightful and well-balanced opener — each bite was an explosion of layered flavour, perfectly mirrored to the cultural richness to unfold on stage.
Act One: Young Dreams and Grand Beginnings (1922)
Act One opened in splendour, with Emily at 24 (portrayed by Johanna Van) welcoming guests to a banquet alongside her older husband Kheong (Ivan Choong). The duet Welcome to Emerald Hill set the tone for a tale steeped in tradition and quiet ambition.
Emily’s backstory unfolded through poignant flashbacks — losing her father at 10, being raised by her strict Aunt Twa Koh (Candice de Rozario), and her fierce resolve to become a "diamond" — flawless and indispensable. In Beni Macham Berlian and I'll Be a Diamond, Johanna’s soprano soared with youthful fervour, capturing Emily’s early determination.
The act culminated in a lively market scene and a reprise of Welcome to Emerald Hill, now echoing Emily’s rise to becoming the commanding Nonya Besar (matriarch) of the household.
Intermission I featured the soup course: a richly flavoured prawn bisque pong tauhu, bamboo short coriander, cabbage, and shallot oil. While intensely aromatic, the soup leaned toward the oily side — though still warmly comforting for fans of classic Peranakan broths.
Act Two: Dreams and Disappointment (1950)
Now in her 30s, Emily (now played with quiet authority by Candice) is a mother of four, pouring her hopes into her eldest son Richard (Leslie Tay). She dreams of him becoming a lawyer in England, as captured in the duet Mother and Child. But Richard’s heart lies elsewhere — with horses and the freedom they represent.
Intermission II offered guests a choice of main entrée: Chargrilled rendang beef short ribs with long-term mushroom, sambal eggplant, pickled beets and pineapple, and crispy kangkong; or seared sea bream with Nyonya sauce, otah otah, and the same accompaniments.
Both the beef rendang and the sea bream, paired with pickled beets and sambal eggplant, were the highlight — balanced, tender, and subtly bold. A satisfying counterpoint to the story’s emotional weight.
Act Three: Love, Betrayal, and Reckoning (1952)
The final act saw Kheong emotionally drifting into the arms of Diana (Johanna again), a younger woman whose duet with him, Manis Manis, turned from playful to dangerously romantic. When Emily discovers the affair, a searing confrontation follows, climaxing in the trio Jantong Hati, where betrayal, longing, and regret intertwine in a haunting harmony.
In her solo Love Was All I Wanted, Candice delivered a raw and vulnerable performance, unveiling Emily’s deepest truth: beneath the ambition and pride, she had always yearned for love. In a dreamlike close, the spirits of Kheong and Richard return, seeking and offering forgiveness. The final reprise of Emerald Hill Waltz was both an elegy and a celebration, honouring the house that bore witness to their lives.
Curtain call and reflections
The cast received a heartfelt ovation as Winfred Khoo, Dezz Moey, director Eleanor Tan, and playwright Stella Kon joined them on stage. Stella shared that the melody of Emerald Hill Waltz brought back memories of her own childhood in a real Emerald Hill mansion. “I was worried about staging this in a hotel ballroom, but Eleanor’s theatrical direction brought out all the pathos and intimacy,” she said.
Eleanor was glad the audience accepted this new format. “The theme of love, family, and belonging remained universally engaging, and ensured that this period piece still found resonance with a contemporary audience,” she added.
Dessert was a delicate finale with delightful miniatures: cheng teng jelly with white fungus, gingko nuts, rainbow lapis, sweet potato kueh keledek, and the iconic ang ku kueh. Each bite was a nostalgic, sweet echo of the Peranakan legacy celebrated on stage.
Dinner with Emily, presented by Commonwealth of World Chinatowns and supported by Musical Theatre Ltd, is a triumph of storytelling — intimate, lavish, and resonant. Through song, cuisine, and stagecraft, it honours the strength of women like Emily, who dared to dream, suffered in silence, and built legacies that still linger in the walls of old houses and in the hearts of generations.
It is also an evocative tribute to Singapore’s Peranakan heritage and the strength of the women who carried it forward. The show reminds us that the legacies we build are shaped as much by heartbreak as by hope.
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