We all know what a kopitiam is, right? Kopi-C, kaya toast and maybe some soft boiled eggs. Well, think again. A kopitiam (read ‘coffee shop’ if you’re still confused) over in Tiong Bahru is doing things differently: one of their tenants is whipping up phenomenal pasta dishes that come in at $5 a throw. The scoop? They’re delicious.
Singapore has a Popiah King, perhaps the time has now come to celebrate the understated professor, Dr Tan, who lies behind this country’s only fresh mushroom business which yields a rather staggering 20 tones of mushrooms a month. I think the title ‘Mushroom King’ rather suits him; he looks particularly regal in the Louis XVI armchair, below, which he was sitting in when I photographed him a few months ago.
Dr Tan Kok Kheng has farmed mushrooms, organically, for over 30 years in a small area of land right here in Singapore – off Yio Chu Kang Road. Whilst they are not certified as official organic produce, they are grown organically i.e. without chemical fertilisers, pesticides or growth hormones. In fact, it’s probably this lack of certification that we have to thank for the very good price he sells them at.
You Might Also Like
“Over recent years Singapore has been nurturing an emerging local fashion scene, artisan coffee has taken off like wild fire and brunch has become a ‘thing’.” I am so proud of the little red dot that I call home but given that it is Asia’s smallest state, it was still quite a surprise that it (my home) has been chosen by Lonely Planet as the world’s number one country to visit next year, according to their book Best in Travel 2015 which has just been released. It ranked well ahead of St Lucia, Ireland and even Morocco.
In the UK, Remembrance Sunday is held on the second Sunday in November, the Sunday nearest to 11 November – Armistice Day – and the anniversary of the end of the First World War. Remembrance Sunday is held “to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts” (wiki).
But how to best commemorate it when I live in Singapore and it’s not part of any regular church services – as it is all over England?
