The busy Sin Ming industrial estate, dotted with greasy car workshops, is the last place you would expect to find a slice of kampung life like that on the island of Pulau Ubin.

Yet such laidback nostalgia can be found at Block 27, which houses the New Ubin Seafood Restaurant.

Diners perch on rustic wooden furniture, lapping up old-style dishes such as Ubin fried rice - blackened with healthy amounts of soya sauce - and steamed squid dipped in vinegar.

The restaurant is the latest incarnation of the old Ubin Seafood Restaurant, formerly at Sixth Avenue, Bukit Timah.

And yes, it's also the same restaurant of Ubin fame that has, over the last 10 years, popped up in Tanglin Halt, Pasir Panjang Village, Joo Chiat Village, Keppel Marina and Marina Country Club.

The frequent shifting may have confused foodies, many of whom wondered if each new establishment was related to the previous one. But New Ubin's manager Pang Seng Meng, 53, says: 'We are still the original. The connecting thread between all the restaurants is the traditional Ubin style of cooking.'

The north-eastern island of Pulau Ubin, accessible via a 10-minute bumboat ride from Changi Point, is well known as a relaxing getaway destination.

But to some in the restaurant trade here, it appears the name 'Ubin' is also synonymous with sumptuous seafood fare.

Apart from New Ubin, which re-opened in Sin Ming last September, an Ubin First Stop Restaurant Changi is also slated to open at Changi Village next month.

New Ubin is now owned by businesswoman Michelle Nicholas, 48, who used to run a spa next to the Sixth Avenue restaurant.

But it was founded in the mid-1980s under the name Pulau Ubin Seafood by Mr Leong Kee Keng, who served water-skiiers and boaters from his family kitchen on the island's north shore.

In the early 1990s, Mr Leong passed the recipes to his nephew, Mr Chua Ek Kuang, who set up a stall at Tanglin Halt.

Reminiscing about the early days, Mr Leong, 56, says in Mandarin: 'Most of the seafood - fish, prawns, crabs - were caught fresh from Ubin or other islands such as Tekong.'

The contractor is still a regular patron of the restaurant, and even did the renovations for its Sin Ming premises.

From 1997 to 1998, Ubin Seafood continued to operate from Pasir Panjang Village under Mr Chua. Over the next five years, it moved to Joo Chiat Village then Keppel Marina.

In 2004, he set up shop at Marina Country Club and, a year later, started a second branch at Sixth Avenue. By this time, he had roped in three other shareholders: Ms Nicholas, Mr Paul Sim and Mr Peter Ho.

Last year, the group got into a disagreement because the Marina Country Club restaurant was under-performing, says manager Mr Pang. It eventually closed in March last year.

Two months later, the Bukit Timah outlet shut down, too.

Ms Nicholas then set up New Ubin on her own four months later. Though she has never stepped foot onto Ubin, she says: 'I felt the Ubin tradition needed to be carried on. Also, all the kitchen staff needed a job.'

Both she and Mr Pang have since lost contact with Mr Chua but insist the current cooks remain the same as those at the Bukit Timah outlet, and were trained by him.

Says Mr Pang: 'About 50 per cent of people who come here have frequented the other Ubin outlets at some time or other.'

One of them, finance director Sam Yeo, 62, has been a fan since the restaurant's humble beginnings in Ubin.

'After water-skiing every weekend, I used to look forward to having a pint of beer, chilli crab, sotong and mee goreng. Those were the good old days.'

Also cashing in on the allure of the Ubin name is Mr Alan Tan, 55, who owns Ubin First Stop Restaurant on the island and the upcoming Ubin First Stop Restaurant Changi.

The original Ubin First Stop Restaurant, which he set up in 1990, is close to the Ubin boat jetty in a historic building formerly used as an opium den, prison and clinic.

Interestingly, Mr Tan - who was born on the mainland but visited his relatives on Ubin regularly as a child - claims his business is registered under the name Pulau Ubin Seafood Restaurant.

This is almost identical to what New Ubin Seafood was previously known as under Mr Leong, who never registered his makeshift operation.

'We are the true Pulau Ubin Seafood,' says Mr Tan with a laugh.

But he changed the name on his signboard to Ubin First Stop for 'fengshui reasons'. The name 'Pulau Ubin' in Mandarin is 'wu ming dao', which sounds inauspicious because the word 'dao' means to fall.

Apart from standard seafood favourites such as pepper crab and fried baby squid, his menu also boasts 'Ubin specialities' such as 'leather jacket' - small fish that are caught around the island.

Mr Tan decided to set up a mainland branch when some of his regulars began complaining that it was a hassle to travel to Ubin every time they needed a seafood fix.

He knows of New Ubin, adding that 'many customers go to them thinking it belongs to me'.

But he says: 'Their food is different from mine.'

Conversely, New Ubin's Mr Pang says he has never heard of Ubin First Stop. But he says: 'The more the Ubin name becomes well known, the better for us.'