Pasarfish aims to help Singaporeans reconnect with the fish on their plates, now popping up at Chef X till 27 July
The next time you’re at a wet market and spot a group of fascinated-looking people being herded around and enthusiastically gawking at seafood, don’t think something fishy is going on.
It’s probably just a tour by Pasarfish.
Founded by former WWF Singapore colleagues Kenny Lek, 34, and Elliott James Ong, 30, Pasarfish is part seafood education platform, part heritage project, and part love letter to Singapore’s wet markets.
Elliott James Ong (left) and Kenny Lek
Image courtesy of Pasarfish
Since launching in 2024, the duo have been bringing curious Singaporeans into markets, fishery ports, and other corners of the seafood industry to learn where their fish comes from, how to identify different species, and what more sustainable seafood choices can look like.
And from now till 27 July, they’ll also be bringing those lessons to the table with their first-ever dining pop-up at Chef X in Clarke Quay Central.
From WWF colleagues to wet market advocates
Guiding curious onlookers through the bustling maze of a wet market isn’t exactly the career path most people envision after leaving the conservation sector.
Image courtesy of Pasarfish
The pair first crossed paths while working at WWF Singapore in 2022.
While Mr Lek focused on donor engagement and community-building initiatives, Mr Ong was a programme executive on the conservation field team, helping direct funding towards environmental and wildlife projects.
They weren’t particularly close at first, but that changed when Mr Lek roped Mr Ong in to speak at an event. The two later bonded over drinks, then grew closer during a dive trip.
And somewhere along the way, they discovered another shared interest.
While exploring countries such as Cambodia and Vietnam, the pair would often make it a point to stop by local markets to see what was on sale.
Image courtesy of Pasarfish
“It got us wondering: why do we keep going to all these different markets overseas, but here in Singapore, we’ve never said, ‘Hey, let’s go to the market together’?” Mr Lek told MS News.
The question brought them back to their own childhood memories of wet markets, once-familiar spaces that had gradually faded from their routines.
Learning about fish, one market tour at a time
For Mr Ong, the idea behind Pasarfish had actually been brewing for years.
After being inspired by a university module that explored seafood, sustainability, and food culture, he occasionally conducted market tours for organisations such as the National Library Board.
Image courtesy of Pasarfish
Turning it into something bigger, however, meant finding someone with the right mix of curiosity, market knowledge, and willingness to spend entire mornings talking about fish.
“It’s very hard to find someone with that same skill set and crazy enough to start something,” he laughed.
Fortunately, Mr Lek turned out to be that “someone”, and in June 2024, Pasarfish was born.
What began as a passion project to create a more accessible seafood guide soon evolved into tours, workshops, and educational programmes.
Today, the duo runs guided tours through places such as Tekka Market, introducing participants to a side of Singapore’s food culture that many rarely stop to think about.
Source: Pasarfish
In a typical two-hour session, participants can be introduced to as many as 50 fish species while diving into fish identification, fishing practices, food heritage, sustainability, and the cultural and environmental stories behind the seafood they eat.
Along the way, they also meet the people who keep Singapore’s wet markets running and hear the stories behind stalls whose traditions and specialities span generations.
Winning over fishmongers and handling the occasional fainting spell
Of course, running tours in an active wet market comes with its own set of challenges.
Not everyone readily welcomed Pasarfish’s presence.
“To be very honest, when we first started conducting tours, a lot of fishmongers were very suspicious because they thought we were doing research for our own business,” Mr Ong recalled with a chuckle.
Those concerns faded over time as vendors realised Pasarfish was simply bringing more people into the market to learn.
Still, the pair had to figure out how to move around without getting in the way of paying customers.
Source: Pasarfish
Then there were the more unexpected occupational hazards.
For a brief period, participants feeling faint became an unexpectedly regular occurrence on Pasarfish tours.
According to the founders, around 12 to 15 people have had to sit down midway through tours over the past two years, usually due to a combination of heat, strong smells, and skipping breakfast.
The pair have since become so familiar with the warning signs that they’re now experts at spotting pale faces and glazed looks.
Once they spot someone looking faint, they move them aside to sit down and recover, offering sweets for a quick sugar boost.
Despite the inevitable bumps along the way, feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
“People are always surprised by how much there is to learn,” said Mr Ong.
Image courtesy of Pasarfish
The tours have drawn a surprisingly diverse crowd, from curious young adults and home cooks to families, school groups, and participants in their 80s.
For Mr Lek, that growing curiosity reflects a broader shift in how Singaporeans think about what they eat.
“There’s definitely much greater awareness now, especially among younger crowds,” he shared.
People are increasingly conscious of where their food comes from.
Bringing seafood lessons to a ‘living fish exhibit’ at Clarke Quay pop-up
Having brought people into wet markets to learn about fish, the duo then wanted to explore what would happen if they brought those fish stories to the table instead.
That idea has now taken shape at Chef X, where Pasarfish is running its first-ever dining pop-up at Clarke Quay Central till 27 July.
The two-month residency transforms the space into what they describe as a “living fish exhibit”, blurring the lines between restaurant, museum, and educational showcase.
Visitors will find preserved fish specimens, heritage fishing tools, and other interactive displays scattered throughout the venue, turning the space into a restaurant, museum, and educational showcase all at once.
The concept also reflects one of Pasarfish’s core beliefs: that sustainability should be practical, accessible, and deeply connected to everyday eating habits.
A menu inspired by heritage, sustainability, and the whole fish
As a result, the menu is built around a whole-fish philosophy that seeks to maximise the use of each fish rather than focusing solely on premium cuts.
Fish bones, skin, fats, roe, and offcuts all find their way onto the plate, reflecting Pasarfish’s belief that sustainability and creativity can coexist.
Leading the kitchen is Mr Lek, who serves as the residency’s chef.
Raised in Punggol, he grew up close to the coast, foraging for mud crabs, clams, and fish with his family before helping turn them into meals using heritage Teochew recipes.
Those experiences shaped both his love for cooking and his preference for lighter preparations that allow seafood’s natural flavours to shine.
The menu also draws from Mr Ong’s Eurasian heritage, alongside Malay, Indian, and other regional influences, resulting in dishes that reflect Singapore’s diverse food culture rather than any single culinary tradition.
Many of them also riff on familiar local favourites.
Breakfast offerings include the U-yummy, a reimagining of kaya toast with fish sauce, tee poh butter, and soft-boiled eggs, and the Menboyu, featuring crispy brioche stuffed with a creamy wolf herring fish paste.
Dinner dishes draw more heavily from the pair’s heritage and travels, with offerings such as the Souper Fish, inspired by traditional Teochew fish soup.
There’s also the Jukut Blook, based on a dish they encountered during field research in Northern Bali, featuring fish of the day and stewed vegetables in a mildly spiced broth, topped with popcorn that slowly melts into the soup.
Even dessert gets the fish treatment. The Tobimisu combines mascarpone and honey whisky with tobiko, while the Fish Fan pairs silky flan with a savoury anchovy fish sauce caramel.
Running a restaurant not in long-term plans
While the Chef X residency marks Pasarfish’s most ambitious project so far, both founders are clear that becoming restaurateurs was never the end goal.
When the opportunity arose, they saw Chef X not as a move into F&B, but as another way to introduce people to unfamiliar fish and deepen their understanding of seafood.
The transition, however, was anything but easy.
The duo had just over a month to pull together the menu, sourcing, staffing, marketing, and operations, while Mr Lek adapted to preparing whole fish from scratch in a commercial kitchen.
Image courtesy of Pasarfish
“We’re still learning as we go,” he admitted.
That said, the response has been encouraging, with several services fully booked during the pop-up’s opening week.
Even so, don’t expect Pasarfish to open a permanent restaurant anytime soon.
“I don’t think we’ll ever have a restaurant per se,” said Mr Ong. “But we’ll probably continue doing pop-ups here and there.”
For now, their focus remains unchanged: helping Singaporeans better understand the seafood they eat, whether through a wet market tour, an educational workshop, or a plate of fish served at Chef X.
Here’s how to get to the Pasarfish pop-up:
Pasarfish @ Chef X
Address: Clarke Quay Central, 6 Eu Tong Sen Street, #03-103/104, Singapore 059817
Pop-up period: Till 27 July 2026
Opening days: Tuesday to Saturday
Opening hours: 12pm – 2.30pm, 5.30pm – 10pm
Nearest MRT station: Clarke Quay MRT Station
To learn more about Pasarfish’s tours, workshops, and Chef X pop-up, visit their website and follow them on Instagram.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image courtesy of Pasarfish and by MS News (photography by Felicia Fun).
