1. There’s been a brouhaha over Changi Airport’s Singapore Food Street—apparently, out of the 13 stalls along the food street (which are named after streets or areas known for certain dishes), seven bear no direct relation to the original famous stalls. For instance, the Old Airport Road Fried Kway Teow & Carrot Cake stall is not helmed by either of the char kway teow establishments at Old Airport Road Food Centre (the outrage!). Changi Airport has since announced that it will be working with the food street’s operator to rename some of the stalls.
2. In other drama, Malaysian bus drivers who ferry factory workers into Singapore staged a strike on Friday morning at the Johor checkpoint to protest the new toll hikes (a whopping increase of more than 500%) imposed by the Malaysian government. On our side, bus services 160, 170, 170X and 950 had to halt services to JB for two hours as a result.
3.(Almost) everyone’s fave local band, The Sam Willows, has released an indie-sounding (but of course) rendition of Kit Chan’s classic National Day anthem, “Home”. The song has since got over 26,000 views on YouTube. Fuel your patriotic sentiments and listen to it here. Or you can get jiggy with OWL International’s take on the festivities—the brand’s “Singapore, We Are OK!” ditty has also been making rounds on social media.
4. Japanese electronics giant Panasonic has started selling fresh produce from its 248sqm farm located on the outskirts of the city. The facility produces ten types of veggies, including mini red radishes and baby spinach, and some of these have already been supplied to a chain of Japanese restaurants here. If a major corporate push is what it takes to make more local produce, we can’t say we disapprove.
5. On August 1, thespian and Cultural Medallion recipient Ivan Heng married his partner of 18 years, Tony Trickett, at the Chelsea Old Town Hall in London, on what he described as a “perfect British summer’s day”. The newly wedded couple will be heading to Tuscany for their honeymoon. His Facebook post, titled “I am a Happily Married Man”, has also chalked up more than 4,000 likes and 750 shares (and counting). Here’s to many years of wedded bliss, Ivan!
6. Universal Studios will welcome a new Puss in Boots themed roller coaster ride at the end of this year, bringing the total number of roller coaster rides at the theme park to four. The attraction will be called “Puss in Boots’ Giant Journey”; Detailsd about the length and speed of the roller coaster have yet to be released. One thing’s for sure though—it’s probably not for wimps or…pusses in boots.
7. The two sons of homegrown footie legend Fandi Ahmad have inked a lucrative sponsorship (purportedly a six-figure sum) with banking group CIMB. The Malaysian bank will be financing 15-year-old Ikhsan and 17-year-old Irfan’s training and studies at Universidad Catolica in Chile. Both boys have already participated in international tournaments like the Asian Youth Games in Nanjing; let’s hope that they’ll be leading Singapore to the World Cup in future.
