As parts of Singapore's eastern coastline are redeveloped, residents reflect on childhood memories tied to these areas, particularly seafood restaurants. The changes prompt questions about what is lost with modernization.

Tey Yong How remembers running along the shores of eastern Singapore as a child, the sea breeze mingling with the smell of sizzling seafood. Birthday dinners here meant three or four tables pushed together, with cousins chasing each other between the chairs as the adults pulled apart succulent chilli crab. “My childhood memories will linger there,” the 47-year-old said on a recent Wednesday evening of the seafood restaurants at East Coast Park. “Whatever may become of it in the...