SINGAPORE restaurant bills itself as “Singaporean & Malaysian Cuisine.” So when our host and waiter brought us our menus at this tiny spot in the Raritan Mall, I asked him what kind of dishes were typically Singaporean. Abashed, he stammered out that a lot of dishes are, but especially seafood and noodle dishes. When I asked for some specific suggestions, he presented us with an album containing color photos of many of their dishes, so we could see what we were ordering — how nice!

   In truth, there was no simple answer to my questions, as Singaporean food is a multicultural festival, a hybrid of many cultures of Southeast Asia, including Chinese, Southern Indian and Malaysian. There are a few items on the menu that have Singapore in the name, and we made a point of trying a couple of those, and then rounded out our selections with whatever appealed.

   Some items are, I learned from later research (and a well-timed article in The New York Times about Asian chickens soups), typical of the Nyonya cuisine born out of the hybrid Malay, Indian and Chinese cultures. On the menu I had noticed Kang Kang Belachan, described as “sautéed convolvulus with spicy Malaysian shrimp paste sauce.” Turns out convolvulus is what I know as Chinese spinach.

   We started our meal with roti canai ($3.25), which came with the usual chicken curry, in this case a dark, rich, version. This Indian style pancake always leaves me wanting more; how can a simple amalgam of flour, water and ghee, rolled out into flaky layers be so good?

   Achat ($4.95), vegetable pickle in turmeric with sesame seeds and ground peanuts, is another favorite of mine wherever I find it. Carrot, onion, cabbage, etc., are enveloped in a slightly sweet and punchy marinade flecked with not-too-hot red pepper. I think this is a little easier on the palate than Korean kimchi, but I happily eat either whenever possible.

   From a section of fried noodles, we chose Singapore mee hoon ($7.95), fine rice noodles with peppers, sprouts, egg, onion and a choice of protein. We had ours with pork, and found the dish mild and soothing. The noodles are not fried crisp, or oily, but added to a stir fry of the other ingredients, along with some turmeric for color, so the fat averse don’t always need to avoid the fried noodle section of a menu — often that simply means a stir-fry.

   Singapore grilled shrimp ($19.95), from the House Special menu, arrived coated with flavorful (but not spicy hot) shrimp paste and wrapped in lotus leaves. I thought the waiter and I had settled on having ours with the shell on, the more traditional way, but ours arrived without shells, likely because we Westerners are notorious for disliking shells and bones. So I missed the desirable charred flavor of the shrimp shells, but found the sauce and good shrimp somewhat made up for it.

   We ordered a vegetarian dish, too, Malaysian Buddhist delight ($8.95), mixed vegetables with Chinese mushrooms in “chef’s special sauce.” This was a mildly flavored mixture of broccoli, onion, baby corn, mushrooms, show peas and scallions, but it was also supposed to contain tofu skin, which would have added some nice extra texture.

   We shared one dessert, the coconut tart ($4), and were pleased with the two very diminutive bowls of rich coconut custard that were placed in front of us. There was no dough shell, just a couple of layers in the tiny dishes, the bottom one somewhat jelly like, and the top layer more eggy.

   Singapore restaurant is in a strip mall off Route 206 anchored by a Stop & Shop market, and on a cold winter night early in the week, the parking lot felt like a sere wasteland. But lights indoors beckoned, and once inside we were greeted warmly and taken good care of, including being provided with surprisingly nice wine glasses and an ice bucket for the delicious Sauvignon Blanc my friend had brought along. Furnishings here are simple, but the chairs were well upholstered, and we lacked for nothing, finding our meal a fine value. The restaurant’s Thai neighbor, Sukhothai, is also nice, and between the two there is plenty of delicious attraction and good value to pay a visit to Raritan Mall.