"Give that man a beer, it's Tiger Time" - the Singapore beer

There is one beer that most Singaporean guys wouldn’t touch. Incidentally, that’s the local beer – Tiger. Not that Tiger is lacking in its marketing efforts. In fact, the ‘It’s Tiger Time!’ jingle still rings at the back of my mind every now and then.

Interestingly, its Tiger’s monopoly in army camps that did it in. For two and the half years (presently only two years), all able bodied Singaporean guys, still in their late teens, are ‘initiated’ into their unit with one drink and one drink only. Tiger, being the cheaper of the only two alcohol available in most messes (the other being Guinness Stout, which cost twice as much), has always been the natural choice.



The more common initiation would be the famed ‘screwdriver’, where the senior would pierce the thin aluminum casing of a very well shaken Tiger beer and shove it on the newcomer’s mouth before pull the can’s tab. If you are lucky, you might not catch most of the gush but you’ll invariably have beer oozing out of your nose for the next couple of minutes. Not the most pleasant experience I must say.

But that’s not the reason why we avoid Tiger. Well, at a mere S$1 per can, it was dirt cheap even with our measly allowance more than a decade ago. Cheaper beer merely means that its quality is in doubt. I was told by my bunk mate that it has something to do with the brewing process – the better quality ones are sold at supermarkets and the rest, well, straight to army messes. As a result of which, Tiger was branded as the poor man’s beer when we left the army.

I was at Brown’s the other day with some colleagues and was about to ask for Heineken until I caught a glimpse of the familiar Tiger bottle in the fridge behind the bar.

“A Tiger please,” I handed over a tenner. The lady came back with a bottle and a fiver. Five quid for a small bottle. That’s something to reckon with.

As I was nursing my Tiger (I know how that sounds), I began telling my colleagues about how we avoid Tiger back home.

“Really? He loves Tiger!” one of them pointed to my colleague who hails from Vienna. Apparently, Tiger is making inroads into the European market and is being marketed as the exotic beer from the far east. In fact, I chanced upon a Singaporean design exhibition in Venice organised by Tiger where all visitors were handed a bottle of Tiger when I was there two years back. To be honest, the one that I had was smooth and feels easy to the throat – nothing like the one that we had back in the army.

One thing’s for sure, I’ll be ditching the green bottle for the dark brown one the next time at the local pub.

What's your favourite poison? Have you ever tried a Tiger? How did you find it?

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Evening Standard £1 million plea for The Dispossessed - can you help?

I was pleasantly surprised to get a seat on the DLR on Tuesday. Normally, I don’t get a seat on Tuesdays. Actually, I rarely get a seat on any other days as well. That’s a good thing really. It merely means that I get to go off work on time to be part of the ‘peak hour traffic’.

Anyway, there I was, settling into a corner seat and proceeded to scan through the daily offerings by Evening Standard until its front page header caught my eye. ”£1M Plea For The Dispossessed” it says. I spent the entire trip home reading about how the fund helped the down and trodden in London to get back onto their feet.



Now, let’s be honest. Charity isn’t exactly the top priority in most of our caffeine starved minds every morning. It might be that we would prefer not to spend our precious evenings reading to underprivileged children, which is a really big commitment. The cynics among us hesitate to donate after reading all about bogus charities that give the rest a bad name. Some of us might be even be irked by media coverage of how some social benefits receivers got away with living in huge Kensington mansions paid for by the taxpayers money.

Then again, there are some deserving cases as highlighted by Evening Standard. I recalled a former colleague whose husband was a narcotic officer recount a drug raid a couple of years back home. Upon kicking down the door, the officers found not only a couple slumping over the bed, thoroughly intoxicated with god knows what, but they also found their 4 year old son hiding in a cupboard clutching a bag of glue and inhaling from it. That was perhaps his only solace.

I don’t know what has become of him but Singapore’s welfare system is almost non-existent compared to the UK or London for that matter. He is most likely one of those who have fallen through the cracks. There are bound to be segments of the society which remain behind even as the GDP continues to grow regardless of whether you choose to admit it or not.

We are measured not by how much we receive but how much we give. Cliché perhaps but it’s all quite true. Evening Standard manages to get the government to match our donations so every penny counts. Come on, even if we don’t do it for charity, consider it payment in lieu for the daily entertainment Evening Standard provides during our daily commute. Downsize that Starbucks coffee, even better, swap it for the office coffee for a week. Put off that novel that you have been eyeing and get another at your local charity shop. Spend some time cooking at home with your loved ones instead of heading out for a meal.

Every little bit helps. Donate now.

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Barclays Live Dance Competition at Leicester Square - Deadline this coming Sunday!

I’m a fan of Britain’s Got Talent. There, I said it. It’s not about the judges though some may disagree. It’s not even about dancing poodles, weightlifting senior citizens, operatic voices from people that you would never even imagine carrying a tune. No, it’s not about the fire-eating, sword swallowing, wheel barrowing strapping chaps.

It’s all about the dances. Be it solo or group performances, the success of Britain’s Got Talent hinges on its dance entries. Yes, that and the judges’ comments as well.



Although BGT has done its rounds in London, Barclays is holding a dance competition live at Leicester Square on Saturday 31st July. After running similar competition in Reading and Birmingham, Barclays Live is finally coming to the capital. With Strictly Come Dancing’s newly-wed Brendan Cole as the judge and a £1,000 prize to the winner, this one is definitely worth looking out for.

For those who think that they have what it takes to clinch the prize and perhaps set themselves for future stardom, I was told that the deadline for entries is this coming Sunday 25th July. To enter, pop by www.barclayslive.co.uk or send a link to a YouTube video showing your moves or email directly at info@barclayslive.co.uk along with the dance clip and contact details. If you have recorded a dance clip, don't let it ferment in your harddisk. Who knows? You might just walk away with £1,000 on 31st July.

For the rest of us, here’s a treat to the previous Barclays Live winner, Steadiflux’s smooth moves. I don't know about you but I'll be down catching it live at Leicester Square.

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Towpath Cafe - Hackney's pitstop along Regent's Canal

There are huge fanciful cafes that serve the most exotic breads with names that you find it hard to pronounce and there are makeshift ones that charges a mere quid for a breakfast tea. And then there are some those that lie just beside a canal.



Make no mistake, Towpath Café, that sits mere metres from Regents Canal in Hackney isn’t one of those fanciful ones. A small cup of hot chocolate sets you back by over two quid – it’s not cheap either. More importantly, it served as a pit stop along Regents Canal and it was packed when Wife and I were there two months back when a bout of heavy rain put an end to our trek to Broadwalk Market on a Saturday afternoon.



Judging by the look of the other customers, we weren’t the only one seeking refuge at Towpath Café. The tiny hole in the wall just isn’t the place where you make a special trip down to if you know what I mean. With the gathering storm threatening to blow away the makeshift cover, the couple of us in the café found ourselves cowering towards the interior wall, not that there was much room to begin with.

Once there was some sign of the rain letting off, those who had been trapped in the café began to getting off at the earliest opportunity. We made a mad dash back home.

While our first visit to the Towpath Cafe wasn't the most pleasant experience, it might be worth your while to make a stop during your weekend walks along this part of the Regent's Canal. When the sun is out and the ducklings residing along the canal banks are out to play, Towpath Cafe might actually be a nice place to spend a lazy afternoon with a group of pals. Oh, don't bother bringing along a novel, it's going to be too noisy for that.

Have you been to any other cafes along Regent's Canal that you would recommend?


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Four things that Singaporean tourists will buy when they visit London

A couple of years ago, I was backpacking in the east coast of Australia with two other army buddies and came across this beautiful lambskin in Sydney. Come to think of it, it was probably one of those things that tourists would go for - much like the red telephone box keychains that tourists go for in London. At AUD 30, I thought that I got myself a pretty decent deal until I came across an identical item in Singapore upon returning at only two third the price. That got me pretty wound up about buying souvenirs when I'm overseas.



However, after playing hosts to a couple of Singaporeans who visited London, I came to realise that Singaporeans tend to go for certain items in London. Most Singaporeans have got this impression that London is expensive. Well, to be honest, other than food (London can't beat Singapore's hawker centres in  terms of pricing), I dare say that a shopping spree in London would set you back much less than a similar stunt in Singapore. With the weak pound to Singapore dollar exchange rate, the Singapore tourist would find that his dollar would stretch a whole lot more over here in London.

Curiously, most Singaporeans know exactly what they need to get even before they alight at Heathrow. In  fact, they go for four main things, which are surprisingly specific.

1. Nespresso machines
For some reason, this caffeine machine is a rage back home. Everyone has got to get one. I have no idea Nespresso has done but its marketing done in Singapore is heading the right way. I mean, even people who aren't really into coffee are looking into getting one and it's now cool to have a Nespresso machine at home.

Even with the exchange rates taken into account, it is still way cheaper in London as compared to Singapore. A quick check on the Nespresso website shows that the Citiz model costs S$584 (£292) while the equivalent is sold only for £149 in London's John Lewis. A friend of mine recently carted three back home after pre-ordering it and have delivered to his hotel before he arrived in London.

It's not just the machine we are talking about. Even the capsules are cheaper in London. At £3 per box of 10, it's still cheaper to load up on your trip to London.

2. Branded bags (and shoes too!)
We are talking about all brands here. Singaporeans' love affair for Louis Vuitton and Burberry went on full display once we are let loose at Selfridges. These brands are sold at huge discounts (up to two third off!) as compared to in Singapore not to mention that those back home are probably a season back.

Wife observed that Londoners aren't exactly fans of LV, unlike the French. But that doesn't stop the Singaporeans from jostling with the hordes of Chinese that descended upon the capital during sale periods. Of course, the more savvy ones will head towards the Burberry warehouse at Bethnal Green instead.

3. Harrods biscuits (tins)
There's this little Harrods counter over at Takashimaya, a mega shopping mall along Singapore's Orchard Road and its offerings are nothing to be compared to its flagship store's over at London's Kensington. It was rumoured that you could get anything at Harrods, provided you have the means.

Well, like most tourists, the Singaporean tourist would be fascinated with Harrods' Food Hall. Though they might not lunch at its overpriced oyster bars, they would invariably get a couple of tins of biscuits for the folks back home. Not the boring o' green tins mind you, but the one with London's icons - red telephone boxes and post boxes.

The contents doesn't matter really. In fact, they don't even care about the biscuits. It's the containers really.

4. Macaroons
If Nespresso is the current machine to have, then macaroon would be the next big thing on Singaporeans' plate. However, compared to those found in Europe, those sold in Singapore paled in comparison in terms of variety and taste. After hearing fantastic reviews about TWG's macaroons, I headed to its store at Singapore's Ion Orchard and left disappointed. Its texture couldn't be compared with Laduree, which can be found at London's Burlington Arcade not to mention Pierre Hermé, which has recently set up a counter at Selfridges' Food Hall.

While some may endeavor to bring some back home, most wouldn't risk the macaroons turning stale on the 13hr flight and prefer to savour them on the spot. A wise move in my opinion.

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Did I miss out on anything? Is there anything else that is a 'must buy' in London for tourists (Singaporeans or otherwise)?

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