Holidays end with some parents scared to send kids back to school!

H1N1 is the talk of the town, only little overshadowed by Michael Jackson’s unexpected death.

Are these parents just paranoid or is it the “caring and protecting” role they usually take up. According to the WHO and our respective government agencies there is no reason to worry for us at least since the virus is quite mild with no high casualty numbers. Phhh… relief!!

The government is taking the best possible precautions to minimize the spread among our community. Yet the number of infected cases have jumped up to about 600 in recent days which is obviously the most affected in a per square km basis worldwide.

So should we shut our seaports, airports and land borders to avoid getting hit harder and maybe order a closure of all shopping malls?

Would it really help? I don’t think so! Because in times of travelling around the world in just a few hours it makes it way more difficult to contain the virus if not impossible. Imagine the impact on our already heavily (by a different virus) infected economy. Go to Chinatown to see the impact these 2 viruses are already making to businesses there. The famous Chinatown Night Market it does hardly exist anymore. After 9 pm it some days looks like a ghost town there, with most of shops already closed and before 9 the lanes are sometimes so empty you can easily walk without bumping into anyone.

There might be more casualties among the shops then from that virus if this situation continues any longer.

Not too soon the ghost month is on the calendar- a very low season for Chinatown shops and restaurants anyway- and following the “The moon cake festival”. Imagine people being too paranoid (careful, responsible,….) to going there?

Do I have a solution or anyone else? Of course not! So what to do?

I only can tell you what I’ll do:

I will not stay home and lament. I’ll go out shop and dine, especially at Erich’s Wuerstelstand (of course). However I’ll increase my hygiene standards and try to avoid coughing and sneezing people. That should be good enough for the time being. I practiced this a week ago when I was in Hong Kong and (knock, knock) it worked for me.

So why wait any longer. Come out again and SEE YOU AT ERICH’S!

We can discuss it there if you like.

Singapore Arts Festival ends with a bang

Thousands of spectators queued at the Yishun Field before they doors opened for the closing ceremony of the Singapore Arts Festival 2009, a Symphony of pyrotechnic sounds by "The Worlds Famous Fireworkers" from the UK

They are currently touring with their show "Crackers!" which combines fireworks, projection, performance and music. Performed 'in the round', with the audience surrounded by fire & smoke, spinning wheels and fireworks.

..dancing flames, giant Catherine Wheels and the 'human sparkler'...

Colourful low rise to high rise fireworks were applauded by the fascinated audience

A massive human and vehicle jam after the celebration

The Great Singapore PC Sale

Don't get me wrong I didn't take the wrong turn ending up at OT in Orchard. I definitely went to Suntec Exhibition Centre to check out the latest gadgets in the IT market and to my (and others) surprise I bumped into this. Seems like desperate marketing tricks to lure shoppers into their booths, an idea copied from cars car shows where "sex sells" is very common.
The PC Show opened its doors today 12 noon (till Sunday 14) for the 19th time making it the longest running PC show in town. Despite the slowing economy everyone was optimistic for the show.
Before the doors opened thousands were already queueing and couldn't wait to see the bargains IT companies had to offer.

All the major phone service providers also took up a lot of space with their booths.

More than 1.1 million visitors are expected to check out the best deals in the next 4 days and the cash registers should at least collect the SGD 51.7 million they did last year!

Singtel takes a different marketing approach with these guys promoting the Red Hot Sale compared to the company selling peripherals

Canon with its usual big booth promoting their printers and the EOS 500D their latest DSLR camera besides all other great products in their line.

The Suntec car park had the FULL sign already out before the show officially opened. So it is the best to park somewhere around Suntec or just take public transport to get there.

Imagine if Erich has sets a temporary kiosk up and sells only to half of the visitors one sausage that would be 500,000 in 4 days! Shopping makes hungry, isn't it?

H1N1: "Wash your Hands Too" (a must see parody)

"Wash your hands too" is a hilarious parody of the Wonder Girls song "Nobody" by Singaporean Mr. Brown who became famous with his political blog. Now he toakes on the recent flu. Check it out:

More than 4000 queued for Singapore Idol casting

Singapore Idol has opened its door again. Since yesterday morning after a 2 1/2 year hiatus the Idol franchise is back. Many of Singapore's "great" talents started queueing as early as Friday evening and went without sleep the entire night to be the first ones to storm the auditions at the Cathay Cineplex in morning.

Double the number of participants compared to 2006 were here to become the next Singapore Idol. What can we expect of the new batch? I do hope there are more and better talents among them because last time it was only a handful we were able to listen to without getting a serious headache.
A lot of the new idol wannabes are from the age group 16- 18 years which could be quite interesting. Some gave it another shot after failing to get the cut last time. This season the weather god seems to be a fan of S'pore Idol and kept his flood gates closed. Some might have remembered the torrential rains they had to endure in 2006 while waiting during the night.
Gurmit Singh, Singapore's "Ryan Seacrest" (Ryan pls forgive me) can't wait to welcome the "new arrivals".
Cheering them up and shooting some videos for the new season.

Gurmit a Media Corp veteran meeting the contestants for the first time.
This group is glad having passed registration already. Excited and ready to show their talent anytime soon.
Hady Mirza Singapore Idol 2006 was spotted among the crowd as well. He signed autographs and posed for photos.
Hady also gave advise to some (good looking) idol hopefuls
Media Corp TV teams interviewing idol hopefuls
Will we see him again as a contestant or just as the funny guy with the 2 umbrellas
Is this the first live interview with the next Idol?
Tired after a long wait but ready to perform.
Let's hope he doesn't miss his turn
Well, if she can sing as well it might be considered as "the whole package" the judges will be looking for.
Idol 2009 premieres right after the National Day Parade on August 9 on Channel 5.

Reports about Erich on Asia SMEs (Part III)

Erich's Wuerstelstand on YouTube:

Reports about Erich on Asia SMEs (Part II)

From The Singapore Business Stories

The Tale of the Indomitable German Sausage Kiosk

Erich Sollbock, Owner

Mr. Erich Sollbock worked in the industry as a certified chef for over 30 years. Erich said that: “looking back in time every single day is a valuable learning experience.” After his professional chef training in 1970s in Austria, he developed a great desire to explore the world. He added: “And what better means could I take than to work on a luxury cruise liner and at the same time to see the most exiting places around the world.” After spending some years at sea, Erich felt the need to update himself on the culinary developments in Europe. From there, he joined a hotel chain in 1989, as the Executive Chef to work in China and Thailand.

Thereafter, he spent a couple of years in Malaysia and Indonesia before having the opportunity to work in Singapore in 1997. “Along the way, I learned a great deal about different people in different countries, and I have noticed that the key to getting along is respect,” as verbalized by Erich. In Singapore, with its multi-cultural environment, Erich felt very comfortable since the first day he stepped on its soil. At first, he worked for the German Club as the Executive Chef, providing its members and Asian guests with authentic food from Germany and central Europe. After the German Club closed its restaurant business in 2000, Erich worked in the German Centre and in a German Swiss Restaurant for a few years.

In 2004, the opportunity to operate a “western hawkerstall” in Chinatown arose. Erich then turned his idea of a sausage kiosk into a reality. “At first, people around me were very skeptical of an Ang Mo hawking in Chinatown. They did not give me a long ‘shelf life’, but 4 years down the road, I am still at the same spot where I started from, except my stall has expanded to two units. In addition, right across the road, I opened an Austrian Bakery within a coffee shop setting, supplying original Austrian Bread.”

Starting a business from scratch was a challenge for Erich. “One of my mottos is: Happy hour all day and night long (because) every hour you are happy is a happy hour.” That positive attitude is exactly what keeps him going.

He shares, “Yes I have been recognized by TV, press, travel guides, magazines and institutions. But the most memorable are the customers. Over the years I have made so many customers my friends and they actually inspired me to do what I do.” For Erich, the interaction with people on a daily basis is by far, the biggest reward.

Unbearable heat!

Some folks are still denying global warming. Especially when you turn into Fox News Channel this bunch of ignorant, conservative smart asses ( Megyn, Gretchen, Steve, Brian, Glenn Beck, Hannity, etc.) making fun of anyone fighting for a change in our environmental behaviour.

It's 4 pm her and the temperature reading outside our window after 10 min only is 51 deg Celsius or 123.8 Fahrenheit!!

Reports about Erich on Asia SMEs (Part I)

The Last Sausage Kiosk Before The Equator (Christine L)

Mr. Erich Sollbock worked in the industry as a certified chef for over 30 years. After his professional chef training in 1970s in Austria, he developed a great desire to explore the world. He worked on a luxury cruise liner. He then went back to Europe to enhance his culinary skills. Subsequent to which, he took on an Executive Chef position in China and Thailand. He also spent a couple of years in Malaysia and Indonesia before venturing into Singapore.

In Singapore, with its multi-cultural environment, Erich felt very comfortable since the first day he stepped on its soil. At first, he worked for the German Club as the Executive Chef, providing its members and Asian guests with authentic food from Germany and central Europe. After the German Club

closed its restaurant business in 2000, Erich worked in the German Centre and in a German Swiss Restaurant for a few years.

In 2004, he opened a “western hawker stall” in Chinatown. Erich then turned his idea of a sausage kiosk into a reality. Starting a business from scratch was a challenge for Erich. But he believes in his motto: “One of my mottos is: Happy hour all day and night long (because) every hour you are happy is a happy hour.”

He has been recognized by TV, press, travel guides, magazines and institutions. But the most memorable for him are the customers. For Erich, the interaction with people on a daily basis is by far, the biggest reward.

“We Have Something Unique in Place.” – Erich Sollbock

“Welcome to Chinatown!” A cheery man greeted. His upbeat attitude was infectious. It was Mr. Erich Sollbock, the owner of Erich’s Wuerstelstand — the last sausage kiosk before the equator.

Erich has been in Singapore for 11 years and two months. He began his sausage kiosk in November 2004.

What prompted him to start a food stall in the middle of Chinatown? Erich answers: “[People talk about] how they enjoy the sausage kiosk in Europe.” So he started one.

To “set the concept into motion” was no easy feat. So asked what were the drawbacks? Erich replies, “Every single day is a challenge, where you learn, where you do things.”

When he first started here, he was not familiar with the place, or the culture, yet, “when I stepped in here I was very confident and very comfortable.” So, with his positive disposition, he declares, “If something comes up, we’re going to solve it.”

His greatest satisfaction lies in serving the customers: “If you have people, whom you don’t know, coming by buying something which they are not very familiar with…. But after a while, maybe six months or longer down the road, they actually come back, remember what they have bought and they buy it again, they find it again. They have the same quality, they are happy again like before, that’s why they came back… The other part is seeing how you got involved in the community. How you lived your life daily on the road, on a hawker stall, people walking by, people having different moods, objectives and agendas as they are walking by…”

On his customers, he shares: “The select type of customer who usually comes back… is the one who feels most entertained with my service. The eating is one part and the entertainment and interaction with people is another part.”

Indeed, interacting with Erich is a treat by itself.

Initially, Erich had a smaller area for his customers. After noticing that his rented space was too small, he took another step so as to serve a wider base of customers. He also took a step further by opening another kiosk which bakes muffins and fresh bread, among others.

“To manage two places at the same time is impossible.” One can only go so far as to provide the concept, the idea and inspire the people who will run the place. “I know what I want to do, I know how it can be done,” Now all Erich needs to do is “to get people to be involved by helping me…. Without teamwork, one man show cannot do.”

Asked if he has had famous people dropping by his kiosk, Erich mused on the subject. “Being famous is interesting…” Since the media picked up on his sausage stall, he has become famous. “But I’m not famous,” He maintains. “For me, every person is famous in his kind.” But apparently, some are more famous than others. However, he is not going to drop names as he respects these people for their privacy.

Erich’s plans include “taking his kiosk to all these far, far away places.” Far away places, you might wonder. “For me Changi is already a very far point!” he says with a laugh. “The plans…. I see first that I can anchor in the place where I’ve been.” He says that he needs a sustainable business and a sustainable background before expanding his business.

Erich shares why he got into cooking… “For a young man in Austria to pick up cooking… well, it’s a very interesting question… At the time when I grew up, it was more common that people venture into industries like technical, mechanics, engineering… that was very popular….” He, however was more interested with working with food, “It is very interesting to work with the food – to put things together. At the same time, you always have something to eat.”

And work with food he did… which is a lucky twist for Singaporeans and tourists alike.