Kombi Rocks: Peace, Love & Horfun

Visiting a retro destination in my 60s flower child ensemble
Vintage Dress – Bazaar
Black and white vintage bag – Dustbunny Vintage
Flower necklace and flower ring – Forever 21
Handmade glass floral earrings – DIY
Golden woven flats – Siam Center, Bangkok
Hairband – DIY

Tucked away in a row of old shophouses opposite Serangoon Stadium, is a retro diner named Kombi Rocks which makes me feel like stepping into a time machine back into the sixties everytime I visit. It’s also a good excuse to put on my pretty vintage dresses and let the 60s hippie child in me loose.

If you think you have stepped into another timezone, you are not alone ;)
Dining at Kombi Rocks is an adventure itself, with its fleet of gleaming vintage automobiles parked outside the diner and kitschy trinkets from the past displayed at the diner. All the cars have their own names too! Want to know what they are? Read on…
Photo: Kombi Rocks

Gathering place of all things old school
On a lucky day, you can see cute Vespas or Volkawagen Kombi vans from overseas gathering at the diner.
Photo: Kombi Rocks

This ain’t no novelty theme crap
If you are going to write Kombi Rocks off as another novelty theme restaurant in town, you can’t be more wrong. The restaurant has been around for over 40 years. It was first started by sailor-chef Lim Koon Kee as Koon Kee Restaurant serving Thai-Chinese cuisine (Mr Lim’s wife is Thai) at the Civil Service Club and then Hwa Chong Junior College. After a restful retirement for 2 years, Mr Lim was coaxed out of retirement by his youngest son Chef Hai who now helms the kitchen. It was rebranded as Kombi Rocks in 2012, still faithfully serving Thai & Chinese recipes passed down three generations.

Dining the old school communal way
Even the diners came in three generations, what a heart-warming feeling

Being huge fans of vintage memorabilia, Chef Hai and his wife Pearl has since peppered the diner with loads of rare, quirky trinkets and rents out their fleet of mint-condition VW Kombis and vintage memorabilia collection as a second line of business. It also makes visiting the diner a uniquely interesting experience!

Icons of the good old 60s: Volkswagen Kombi & Beetle
The Kombi is also the vehicle where the diner got its name. The automobile fascinated me so much, I read up about it after my visit. I must say it’s a very intriguing read, to the point I want one myself now! More about the Kombi later…

Fancy a vintage watch?
All the vintage items in the diner are for sale…well, almost all :)

I was quite excited by these retro telephones. I wonder if I can attach them to my handphone and use it as a receiver, cool huh?

If anyone says I look right at home amongst the pile of vintage items, I’m gonna kill you.

Vintage refrigerators which apparently still work, but with the energy efficiency of the 60s as well.
Well, don’t you agree they make really cool bookshelves too?

We all live in a yellow submarine, yellow submarine, yellow submarine
Another icon of the happy 60s – the Beatles!
Photo: Kombi Rocks

*Wolf Whistle*

I so dig this retro chair. Want!

Kombi Rocks serves both Chinese & Thai cuisine. Its signature dishes include its wok-hei hor fun (freshly prepared and sold out everyday), mee goreng (which was inspired by a pasta dish in Vietnam), fishmaw soup and red wine fried chicken.
Can’t decide what to order? Go for the Kombi-nation Platter!

My favorite dessert of all-time
And who says old school dishes can’t stay current – pair your retro yam paste with gingko nuts dessert with moscato!

What’s old school without a giant Root Beer Float? BURP.

Yummylicious Wok-Hei Beef Horfun
This was really goooood – it was love at first bite, smokey and chewy, soft & slurpy at the same time. I suddenly saw my childhood flashing past, so nostalgic taste!

Fish Maw Soup

Red Wine Fried Chicken
Another love at first tangy bite

Okinawa Red Spinach friend with Belachan
This was also pretty good, and I licked the whole plate clean. Recommended!

Ngoh Hiang

Thai style vermicelli salad with shrimps
This was not bad, but not as fiery spicy as me & D would have liked.

That’s Chef Hai with Mediacorp star Vivian Lai who was there to shoot a TV program about the diner
Photo: Kombi Rocks

Kombi Rocks does loads of private parties – just tell them the occasion and they’ll decorate the diner accordingly. Can I celebrate my 21st birthday again? It wasn’t that many years ago, you know? *sheepish*
Photo: Kombi Rocks

It’s also an extremely popular spot for retro weddings – Fancy getting married in a barber’s chair?

The quirky diner has also attracted fashion shoots – yes, even lingerie. Old-school has its irresistible sex appeal!
Photo: Kombi Rocks

It’s so irresistible even Batman popped by.
Photo: Kombi Rocks

You’re never too young for retro
Photo: Kombi Rocks

Do take a peep at the garage just behind the diner after your meal – it’s full of vintage auto treasures such as this mini Honda motorcycle. I really want to take it for a ride!

The diner’s 1961 Kombi affectionately named Ang Bao, isn’t she a headturner?

The allure and fascination of a Kombi infused me after my first visit to Kombi Rocks – why its popularity? Why the cult following? Why would someone name his business after a vehicle? Why why why?

Nothing screams “Let’s go exploring!” the way a Kombi does

The Kombi was first introduced by German automaker Volkswagen in 1950. Officially known by a very unsexy name of “Volkswagen Type 2,” it’s also known as a Kombi, Transporter, Microbus or Camper. It attained its iconic status as a symbol of hippy and surf culture that grew in the mid-to-late 1960s due to its utilitarian features – capable of carrying surf boards, musical equipment and various loads inside or on its roof – combining well with its cheap price (2nd-hand Kombis could be picked up for a few hundred dollars) and easy maintenance (it never really breaks down anyway).

More importantly, the Kombi exemplified the free spirit of peace activists, lovers, world travellers, campers and families moving about together across the world, and it was probably the only vehicle that transcended age, economic and social strata. The only other thing which came close to this is probably the iPhone.

I have never seen two Kombi vans which look exactly the same
The versatility of a Kombi goes right back to its name, which comes from the German “Kombinationskraftwagen,” a combination of passenger and cargo vehicle. I have seen it as a camper, a mountain bike hauler, a moving van, a diner, a construction supply truck and loads more!

In the past, you could find a Kombi anywhere due to its functionality and versatility. Spot the Kombi in this 1968 photo in Singapore.
Photo: Picture Archives Singapore