Tag: singapore

Tong Seng: The Last Truly Multi Racial Kopitiam

Majulah Singapura.

This is a 2010 picture I took inside Tong Seng coffee shop in Liang Seah Street in the Bugis area. It has since closed and one of the reasons cited was the difficulty in hiring help.

Rumour has it that property value appreciation resulted in the family making a tidy SGD 15 million selling the shop and retiring to The Bahamas.

It was the favourite halal certified Chinese kopitiam in Singapore. I always go there to eat the sliced fish soup, chicken rice and prawn mee whenever I was in Singapore. It tasted really good.

According to newspaper reports; on its last day which coincided with Hari Raya Haji in 2013, it decided to give free food to its many Muslim customers during lunch.

Unfortunately, everyone who has never eaten there before and the entire island rushed to the shop when they heard there was free food. Just like Malaysia lah.

The owners were forced to reserve the first three hours of free dinner for Malay customers only because they used to form the bulk of their customers.

Happy 50th National Day today (in 2015), Singapore.

Olympus E-PL1, ISO 1600, f3.5, 1/60 sec.

#singapore #singapura #majulahsingapura #sg50 #sg51

The Joker Of Singapore And Jus Katira

Singapore is good at promoting foreign food or “hipterising” local food favourites such as nasi lemak’s conversion into a McD burger for National Day. At their Ramadan bazaars, I kept seeing a Katira drink that was a big hit. The crazy Chinese seller who looked like Batman’s Joker, assured me it is halal and showed me the MUIS logo which is similar in mileage to our JAKIM logo.

I thought he was a PRC (local racist and discriminatory slang word for workers from People’s Republic of China) but he is local since he kept using Hokkien (Fujian) expletives when I pushed him for an explanation of the unusual green drink.

What is Katira? It is Tragacanth gum from a shrub mostly found in Iran, Iraq and Western Asia. It is considered a herb and good for detoxing in the Middle East. I didn’t feel like trying after he called it “kapo nerg” or frog’s eggs or tadpoles. Thanks for your honesty, Sir. Wonderful Basil seed drink suffers the same. Finally, I saw one solitary stall selling it from a corner at TTDI’s bazaar this year. The Singapore stall was at Geylang Serai and local Malays loved Air Katira and Jus Katira.

#singapore #food #katira #ramadan #geylangserai

Jakun Moments – Singapore Casinos

The word Jakun is used to described a country bumpkin or greenhorn who is amazed by seeing something new for the first time. The word somehow entered the vocabulary of both the Chinese and Malays. Jakuns are an actual orang asli tribe and it is derogatory and disrespectful towards the Jakuns to associate them with ignorance and for being unrefined and uncivilized. I think the word is usually used without malice and it has no replacement or perfect synonym.

I will begin a new series on self deprecating Jakun moments during travel. Me and Emily Lowe visited both the new casinos in Singapore – RWS and MBS when they opened in 2011. We two Jakuns went ‘”Wah” when we saw a Lamborghini offered as Jackpot prize. Can’t remember if this was Resorts World or Marina Bay Sands. I can remember I entered both and played wearing short dockers or cargo pants or khakis. We Jakuns thought only a long sleeve batik shirt or a clip-on necktie were compulsory after years of grounding in Genting.

#jakun #singapore #mbs #rws #lambo

Guns N’ Rose Syrup

A shoutout to the many Malay law enforcement officers who perform breaking of fast (buka puasa) on the fly as duties call. They keep the traffic smooth, deter crime and assist tourists.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 800, f4, 1/250 sec.

‪#‎streetphotography‬ ‪#‎ramadan‬ ‪#‎ramadanbazaar‬ ‪#‎geylang‬ ‪#‎geylangserai‬ ‪#police #bukapuasa #‎singapore‬ ‪#‎sonyalpha‬
‪#‎a7r‬ ‪#‎zeiss‬ ‪

Rainbow Bagels Are Unicorn Poop?

Rainbow Bagels Are Unicorn Poop?

The rainbow bagel, which I first saw last year. at the Geylang Serai Ramadan Bazaar are back again this year, I heard.

Young and old were captivated by the psychedelic bread which originated in The Bagel Store in Brooklyn. Bagels are a bread product originating in the Jewish communities of Poland.

The rainbow versions became hipster Ramadan bazaar food in Singapore. It was made for the Instagram generation.

The Geylang Serai bazaar has over 1000 stalls and lots of new food to try. Find a hotel here, should you visit:
http://www.mycen.my/singapore-hotel-deals-finder/

#ramadan #ramadanbazaar #geylangserai #rainbowbagel #food #rainbow #bagel #hipster #singapore