Hawkers join celebrity chefs on Michelin list

Hawkers join celebrity chefs on Michelin list



Singapore's first Michelin-starred hawker stalls are Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle at Chinatown Food Complex run by Mr Chan Hon Meng (left), 51; and Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle in Crawford Lane, run by Mr Tang Chay Seng, 70.  The two stalls were given one-star ratings in the inaugural edition of the Singapore Michelin Guide, launched last night at Resorts World Sentosa.

Pork noodle, soya sauce chicken eateries among 29 establishments awarded stars

A pork noodle stall and a soya sauce chicken stall were made Singapore's first Michelin-starred hawkers in the inaugural Singapore Michelin Guide, in a list that was dominated by celebrity chefs.

At the launch of the guide last night in Resorts World Sentosa, Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle in Crawford Lane and Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle in Chinatown Complex were among 29 establishments awarded stars. They each received one star.

Tai Hwa owner Tang Chay Seng, 70, said: "I was very happy when I heard the news. In Singapore, there are a lot of things that are delicious and I feel very lucky to have won. "

Michelin-starred establishments in S'pore

Three Michelin stars

• Joel Robuchon Restaurant, Resorts World Sentosa

Two Michelin stars

• L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Resorts World Sentosa

• Les Amis, Shaw Centre, Scotts Road

• Odette, National Gallery Singapore

• Restaurant Andre, Bukit Pasoh Road

• Shisen Hanten by Chen Kentaro, Mandarin Orchard Singapore

• Shoukouwa, One Fullerton

One Michelin star

• Alma by Juan Amador, Goodwood Park Hotel

• The Kitchen at Bacchanalia, Hongkong Street

• Beni, Mandarin Gallery

• Candlenut, New Bridge Road

• Corner House, Botanic Gardens

• Crystal Jade Golden Palace, Paragon Shopping Centre

• CUT by Wolfgang Puck, Marina Bay Sands

• Forest, Resorts World Sentosa

• Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle, Crawford Lane

• Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle, Chinatown Food Complex

• Jaan, Swissotel The Stamford

• Lei Garden, Chijmes

• Osia, Resorts World Sentosa

• Putien, Kitchener Road

• Rhubarb Le Restaurant, Duxton Hill

• Shinji by Kanesaka, Raffles Hotel

• Shinji by Kanesaka, The St Regis Singapore

• Summer Pavilion, The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore

• Sushi Ichi, Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel

• Terra Tokyo-Italian, Tras Street

• The Song Of India, Scotts Road

• Waku Ghin, Marina Bay Sands

Mr Chan Hon Meng, 51, owner of Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle, said: "I hope hawkers will appear every year in the Michelin Guide."

Mr Joel Robuchon, the chef with the most Michelin stars in the world, added five more to his collection. Joel Robuchon Restaurant at RWS was the only one here awarded three stars, given to restaurants that serve "exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey". His L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, also at RWS, garnered two stars, given to restaurants with "excellent cooking, worth a detour".

French restaurants Les Amis, Odette and Restaurant Andre each received two stars.

Chef Shinji Kanesaka, whose Tokyo sushi bar has two Michelin stars, scored big too. Both his restaurants in Singapore, Shinji by Kanesaka at the Raffles Hotel and The St Regis Singapore, were given one star each.

Flying the Singapore flag high were Corner House, which has become known for its chef Jason Tan's gastro-botanica cuisine; Malcolm Lee's Peranakan restaurant Candlenut; and Forest, a contemporary Chinese restaurant run by Singapore celebrity chef Sam Leong, all of which were given one star, for "a very good restaurant in its category".

Mr Lee, 32, said: "This is for the whole team's hard work, especially for Peranakan cuisine. We hope more young people will give our local cuisine a chance and be proud of it."

All in, 22 establishments received one star and six restaurants earned two stars each.

About 600 guests, comprising corporate head honchos, restaurateurs, chefs, and members of the public paid $450++ a person to attend the three-hour ceremony.

Mr Michael Ellis, international director of the Michelin guides, said: "Our inspectors were also thrilled to find that Singapore's food scene is one of the most dynamic, not only in Asia but in the entire world. From fabulous hawker stands to world-class fine dining and everywhere in between, Singapore has clearly earned her place as a truly gastronomic capital."

In his speech, Mr Lionel Yeo, chief executive of the Singapore Tourism Board, talked about the benefits of having the guide: sharing Singapore's diverse food scene with the world, the branding opportunities and how it will spur chefs here to do better.

"And yes, there'll be debates, they will be contentious at times," he added. "It's all good because we are passionate about the experiences we have when we sit down to dine."

Michelin-starred chefs walking in

Sales manager Samantha Kee, 29, said: "I am surprised to see such a small number of one-star restaurants, compared with Hong Kong. I think more local restaurants should have been represented on the list. I am going to join the reservation list at Restaurant Andre as I have heard good reviews about it."

The Michelin Guide Singapore is put out by French tyre company Michelin in collaboration with the Singapore Tourism Board and wine authority Robert Parker Wine Advocate.

Restaurants are assessed by Michelin inspectors, who dine independently and anonymously. The judging criteria include the quality of the food, cooking techniques, and value for money.

To buy the guide, which costs $39.95, go to guide.michelin.sg/order-guide

• For more Michelin-related stories, go to str.sg/4wqA

~News courtesy of Straits Times~

KL-Singapore High-Speed Rail projected to start around 2026

KL-Singapore High-Speed Rail projected to start around 2026

The High-Speed Rail (HSR) line linking Singapore and Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur (KL) is expected to start operations around 2026. This was announced at a joint press conference on Tuesday (July 19) after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the neighbouring countries.

The signing ceremony, witnessed by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak, comes ahead of a legally binding bilateral agreement that will be inked by the end of this year.

Construction of the HSR is scheduled to take place from 2018 to 2025, followed by testing, commissioning and finally kick-off for the revenue service a year later.



The HSR line will run for 350km, with 335km in Malaysia and 15km in Singapore, and on two tracks going in opposite directions. It will comprise eight stops in total: Singapore, Iskandar Puteri, Batu Pahat, Muar, Ayer Keroh, Seremban, Putrajaya and KL.

Existing train services take up to 11 hours to journey between Singapore and KL. However, with the line able to reach top speeds of 300km/h, travel time between KL and Singapore is expected to drop to around 90 minutes - excluding clearance at customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ). There are, however, plans to co-locate CIQ checkpoints at Singapore, KL and Iskandar Puteri to facilitate “seamless travel”.

This means, for instance, that at the Jurong East terminus, one would be able to clear Singaporean immigration and a few steps later, Malaysian immigration before boarding the train, reaching KL and stepping out into the city centre itself.

Travel time for the HSR between Singapore and Iskandar Puteri in Johor Bahru is expected to take around 10 to 15 minutes.

Both governments agreed that each will take responsibility for developing, constructing and maintaining civil infrastructure and stations within their own countries - MyHSR Corporation for Malaysia and the Land Transport Authority for Singapore.



“COMPETITIVE” FARES

It was also announced that two train operating companies will be appointed to run the HSR service. An international operator will handle the express service between the Singapore terminus at Jurong East and the KL end at the upcoming Bandar Malaysia development. The same operator will also oversee a cross-border shuttle service between Singapore and Iskandar Puteri.

Another operator will run the domestic service within Malaysia. The express service will have scheduling and operational priority over a domestic line servicing the six stops in Malaysia between Singapore and KL.

The HSR trains are expected to be 10 cars long, with the capacity for up to 100 passengers per car.

Fare will be set commercially by the operators and “competitive with airfares”, said Singapore authorities.

A separate private entity will design, build, finance and maintain the trains as well as rail assets, like trackwork, communications, signalling and power. It will also allocate and control track access. Depots and maintenance facilities will be located in Malaysia.

The Singapore and Malaysian governments will build and fund infrastructure work such as viaducts, tunnels and stations within their territories. Both governments also agreed to form a bilateral committee comprising representatives from both sides to manage and regulate aspects of the project which might impact the cross-border services.

TENDER PROCESS WILL BE "FAIR AND TRANSPARENT"

Speaking at the signing of the MoU, PM Lee noted that the tender process is one issue that has to be discussed by Singapore and Malaysia. He said: "This is one of the items which has to be settled and has to be discussed between the two sides, to how the project is going to be structured, to how the tenders will be called, what's the sequence in which they're going to be called, what does each package consist of, and then how will the tenders be evaluated."

Mr Najib said: "Because this project has attracted so much international interest, it is incumbent upon us to make sure that the process will be a very fair, transparent, objective process. But we are both committed to ensuring that this will happen because the image and integrity of both countries will be at stake. So you can be rest assured that the process will be carried out in the fairest possible way."

Malaysia’s Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan said: “We are committed to making sure that this project comes to its conclusion. As far as I’m concerned, and as both Prime Ministers mentioned ... it will be an open, transparent and fair tender process.”

He mentioned that he had personally seen several companies that had shown some interest, including companies from China, Japan and European countries.

Mr Abdul Rahman added that the pricing for trips on the HSR would be affected by the bids for the project even though it would likely be benchmarked against airfares. "I believe it will be market-driven."

When asked about the cost-sharing arrangement between Singapore and Malaysia, Mr Abdul Rahman pointed out that much of the track will be in Malaysia, with more than 300km in Malaysia and about 15km in Singapore.

“But we’re not looking at the length, we’re looking at the cost. Of course, building 15km underground in Singapore would probably cost as much. So it will be an equitable, fair percentage for both countries,” he said. However, he added that he was not at at liberty to disclose the exact percentages until the bilateral agreement is concluded.

~News courtesy of Channel News Asia~

More hotels go extra mile for Muslim guests

More hotels go extra mile for Muslim guests

TO CATER to a burgeoning number of Muslim travellers to Singapore, hotels here are installing prayer rooms, offering iftar room service menus and providing the qibla - or the direction to Mecca - in their guest rooms.

This comes even as the number of halal-certified premises here has grown.

The Muslim travel segment is one of the world's fastest-growing tourism sectors with an estimated 117 million travellers last year, representing close to 10 per cent of the entire travel economy globally.

The number is expected to reach 168 million by 2020, with a market value exceeding US$200 billion (S$273 billion).

Singapore welcomed 2.6 million Muslim travellers last year.

They made up about 17 per cent of total arrivals.

In February this year, Marina Mandarin Singapore installed permanent prayer rooms with ablution facilities near its halal-certified restaurant, for customers who need to break fast. It had temporary prayer rooms for Ramadan last year.

Fairmont Singapore and Swissotel The Stamford offered an iftar - or breaking of fast - in-room dining menu comprising Arabic mezze, lamb kebabs, briyanis, dates and fresh fruits during the recent Ramadan.

This was first made available in 2014.

Other hotels such as the Park Hotel Group, Grand Mercure Singapore Roxy and Royal Plaza on Scotts have qibla directions in their rooms, and offer prayer mats and the Quran upon request.

"Indonesia and Malaysia comprise Singapore's top five source markets in 2015, and we recognise the increasing growth in this segment," said Tejveer Singh, group revenue director of Park Hotel Group.

Meanwhile, the number of halal-certified premises here grew from 2,568 in 2012 to 3,112 last year, according to the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis). The certified premises include dining establishments, caterers and product manufacturers.

Muis also noted an increase in queries about halal-certified premises from non-Singaporean followers of its Twitter account.

It gets at least one such query every week, compared with once every few months when the account was first launched four years ago, said a spokesman.

A study released last month found that for the next five years, Singapore is expected to be the third most attractive destination for Muslim travellers during the fasting month of Ramadan, after Malaysia and Indonesia.

Fazal Bahardeen, chief executive of CrescentRating, said: "The countries in this part of the world are competing for the same Muslim market. I expect to see more younger Muslim travellers (and) millennials who are looking for a different experience."

~News courtesy of My Paper~

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri

USS voted top amusement park in Asia

USS voted top amusement park in Asia

UNIVERSAL Studios Singapore has been voted the top amusement park in Asia for the third year in a ranking by travel site TripAdvisor.

Hong Kong Disneyland came in second and Ocean Park, also in Hong Kong, is third.

Tokyo's DisneySea was fourth on the list, followed by Universal Studios Japan.

Singapore's Universal Studios, on Sentosa island, was ranked 17th worldwide.

The ranking of the world's top amusement parks was dominated by attractions in Orlando in Florida, with Universal's Islands of Adventure topping the list.

Two other Singapore tourist spots that made it to this year's Traveller's Choice Awards were Adventure Cove Waterpark and the Marina Bay Sands Skypark.

Adventure Cove Waterpark is the sixth best water park in Asia, said TripAdvisor. Ranked ahead were Waterbom Bali, Black Mountain Water Park in Hua Hin, Caribbean Bay in South Korea's Yongin, Water Kingdom in Mumbai and Sunway Lagoon in Petaling Jaya in Malaysia.

The Marina Bay Sands Skypark was 16th among the top 25 landmarks in Asia. The top three are Cambodia's Angkor Wat, India's Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China.

The awards and rankings are determined by millions of reviews by travellers on TripAdvisor over a 12-month period.

Winners were determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of reviews.

~News courtesy of My Paper~