Can you believe it?

Streets are being transformed into a candy land dripping with gumdrops, liquorice, candy canes and jelly beans.

Strolling along Orchard Road yesterday many activities there reminded my that the most festive season of the year is just around the corner and 2008 is in its final stage.

I do understand that the Xmas lights on Orchard take some to set up to be ready for the official "light up" on November 15, but is it really necessary for shopping centres to being ready before the official start, already in 1st week of November ? I doubt it!

It seems to become earlier every single year. Are shops that desperate for business or are they just "Kiasu" (as we say here) a Hokkien adjective literally meaning, "afraid of losing" since everyone wants to be first to catch customers attention which will lead into sales.

Ngee Ann City Christmas Tree, already lit up up since last week.

Christmas market in Ngee Ann City.

I hope shops together with Singapore Tourism Board one day will think about the way decorating the city and shop windows, getting away from the boring "same old, same old" and have more artistic decorations instead, "unique" as the Singapore slogan to attract more tourists for Xmas shopping.

I saw a beautiful example from Paris, where the theme is "Nordic fairytale, a world of ice and magical Christmas lights"! Beautiful I must say, and obviously a big hit with tourists - and locals!

PALMS DOWN ! MediaCorp Subaru Impreza Challenge 2008

400 palms are down on 10 Subarus since 1pm this afternoon Saturday, Nov 08. The MediaCorp Radio Subaru Impreza Challenge is back in town.

A new crazy batch of people and some returners from last years event will spend their weekend and some some days of next week standing around cars holding tight their hands on hot metal or glass with breaks every 6 hours only.

They have to withstand not only physical tortures like sun, rain, tiredness, sore feet and arms, hunger but also psychological ones especially during the nights when most viewers have left and it's getting quiet at the Taka square. The reason for this endurance torture is to win a brand new Subaru Impreza WRX 2.5L Manual worth S$80,000.

Or you win SPC petrol vouchers when you're the fastest in a virtual car race.

This competition is held now the 8ths time and last years winners time was unbelievable, astonishing 77 hours 13sec.

One alteration this year are additional competitors from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. The next days will show if they can outlast the Singaporeans.

FD, Glenn Ong, Carol from Class 95 and DJ's from Gold 90.5FM and 987 FM are hosting this challenge. Listen to their radio stations and you will get updates live from Ngee Ann City. If you want to check out the situation there click here for the webcam
Supporters and spectators also get chances to win prizes in various games. If you're able to change a car tire in record speed you might walk away with new Continental car tires. More photos: Contestants within the first hour of the challenge still optimistic and fresh.





After one hours already 4 dropped out. 2 of them were from Hong Kong.

Congratulations Barack Obama

In a historic victory, the Illinois senator becomes the first African-American to win the presidency.

We put our hope into him to reach out to his opponents and together pull this economy out of the worst performance since the great depression.

We also hope in a change of the arrogance that occurred under President Bush towards other countries. All nations have to stand together to get the world economy out of this turmoil. Obama, the US and the whole world will face a lot of challenges in the months and probably years to come.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY ERICH

Congratulations to 4 Years of Erich's Wuerstelstand in the Chinatown Night Market. None of all the shop owners in Chinatown would have ever believed that Erich will survive even one year and today it has been already 4 years and he's stronger than ever.
Just walk through the Chinatown lanes and you find out yourself which businesses are still going strong despite the current economic situation. It's Erich's where things are happening, because he's working hard, very hard.

Can you imagine in 1461 days he's only been off 2 DAYS! Unbelievable, isn't it?

And the reason for being so successful is that he's not just selling sausages and working hard. Erich's coming up with ideas how to attract customers and promote his products, like decorating his booth according to the seasons or events, dressing like Santa Claus or an angel for Valentines day.

Excellent service is top priority to him as well as friendliness and not trying to cheat locals or tourists like many other guys . No need to mention great quality products and the right price! Sounds so simple, right?

But then why do we read in the newspapers that so many stalls are complaining about bad business? Well mourning and closing stalls between 8 and 9 pm in a "Night Market" doesn't really lead to success! Jealously observing TV teams and reporters queuing up at Erich's for a story doesn't help either.
He probably runs the most featured sausage kiosk in the world.

Congratulations again Erich, you can be proud of yourself! Keep on going, the Night Market needs you!

Some of his friends from the first hour celebrated with Erich and his wife Helen.


If you haven't been there, check out Erich's Wuerstelstand at Chinatown's Night Market. He's open for business everyday including public holidays from 3pm till at least 11pm.


Editor Frank N. Furter

Oktoberfest in Singapore - Swiss Club and Brotzeit

Oktoberfests are really becoming very popular. Several Clubs, Restaurants and Breweries have been adding this original "Bavarian Bierfest" since a couple of years to their event calendars. The organisers are flying in uhm, ba, ba bands to get the real atmosphere for their guests.
And it's not only the huge Singapore expat community that is appreciating these celebrations. More and more Singaporeans are also getting hooked to Oktoberfest beer, Schweinshaxen (pork knuckles), Goulash, Bratwuerstel, Brezel and Apfelstrudel as desert.

It took a while until the mostly conservative Singapore population loosened up and started standing up on benches- as demonstrated by westerners-, raising up their beer mugs and screaming out loud and with pride some funny sounding German words like: "Die Kruege hoch"(raise your mugs), "ein Prosit der Gemuetlichkeit"( cheers to cosiness) or " Oans, zwoa, gsuffa"(one, two, three drink it). Becoming a renown Oktoberfest there are a few "musts" to make this event successful. The quality of food is one of them, the other one is music. Besides the popular original Bavarian Oktoberfest tunes, the well known "Vogerltanz-bird dance" has been a big hit by Oktoberfest goers, as well as Austrian DJ Oetzi's 2 No. 1 world hits which cannot be missed at any Oktoberfest celebration: "Anton from Tirol" and Hei, Hei Baby, I wanna know....." These 2 songs and one oldie "Alice, who the f***" usually raise the temperature to boiling levels!
It's great to see when all races become a big multicultural family during such events, dance and have fun with each other.
The "oldest" Oktoberfest in Singapore is held at Swiss Club since 9 years now. From three nights of celebration initially to for six nights over two weekends and a traditional Fruehschoppen on the last Sunday this year. The participation grew from 2,000 guests in 2000 to more than 10,000. A record attendance!
Being the biggest one in town it is very popular of course among among Swiss Club members but also with big companies because of it's enormous capacity to host their large groups of employees and guests. A good joice was to introduce a new band "Huettenpower" at least for the first weekend, because for many regulars 9 years of the same old band "Musikkapelle Partenkirchen" has become boring. They may be good musicians but definitely not the best singers.

The food quality was great during the first years, quite disappointing the last few years but has increased a lot most probably due to Frankie, the new Chef.


If someone prefers huge crowds it is definitely the place to be.
Smaller Oktoberfests might be yours if you prefer it cosier with a manageable crowd.

The one to point out is a new comer in town, but did not have any teething problems.

It was held within the premises of Brotzeit, a German Restaurant & Bar in Vivo City. The food cooked by Austrian chef Hans and his team was delicious, so was the original Munich Oktoberfest beer from Paulaner.
Another hit was the Austrian band "Die Lustigen" (the funnies) because in no time the audience was in a real dance, sing and merry making mood! Thank you Sigy, Toni, Juergen, AnTon!
I would call Brotzeit a sleeper (secret tip) not only for Oktoberfest.

The name "Brotzeit" is a typical Bavarian expression – "Brot" being German for bread and "Zeit" for time, referring to a cozy meal complemented by fresh beer.

In VivoCity you can enjoy your Brotzeit (a variety German beers accompanied by authentic Bavarian cuisine) al fresco by the seaside with an unobstructed view of the harbor and Sentosa island or in their new open concept bier bar & restaurant down town in Raffles City. You won't regret it. Check out their website for details.
Guess where Bretzel and some bread comes from? You don't have a life line!!

See the slide show below:


If your anti virus software blocks the slide show please click on the photo below:

"Brotzeit" Oktoberfest, Singapore

Time to celebrate our 10,000 blog visitor!!

Its a great day for our small niche blog since we reached the 10,000 mark, which we never dreamed it would happen.

Thank you all for checking out website and patronizing Erich's Wuerstelstand and Backstube.

Panem et Cricenses- Bread and Circuses

What is wrong with Luca di Montezemolo the Ferrari Boss? Is he a sore loser and therefore blaming the Singapore Grand Prix?
He is calling Singapore well enough for the circus but not for a F1 race course? Well then, no circus is perfect without clowns and your team were the best clowns any circus could wish for.
I also didn't hear any kind of comments the night before after Massa got "pole" and Kimi finished second?? Means the track changed over night into a circus arena only?
But thank god most of the other teams and media including Berni Ecclestone, who are praising Singapore for the great job they did to get this almost perfectly done.
Dear Mr. Montezemolo please bear in mind that your politicians during the reign of the Roman Empire were the one who started this "Panem et Cricenses- Bread and Circuses or Bread and Games" for your people when they sent gladiators into the "colosseum" to fight against themselves and wild lions to keep the folks happy.









Isn't nowadays sport a modern version of the same old and the gladiators are drivers in F1 or similar sports, Roger Federer and Nadal in Tennis and so on and so on? F1-, Tennis-, Ski- Circus that's what these teams travelling around the globe to pursue their respective sports called by media and fans, isn't it?
So what definitely is your problem with our race track? Why do you throw stones sitting in a glasshouse yourself with lousy performances of your engineers that are not even able to operate two buttons (green and red light) correctly? Blame yourself for the mistakes and not race tracks. If your company is a good as you think they are they should do their homework to be best prepared for the races.
Which don't you Sir not blame other courses, they are not flawless as well. We do admit that there is place for improvement, that there are teething problems. We can take criticism and are ready to listen, learn and improve. However we are only taking it from people who can give positive feedback and not just generally criticize.
But maybe Singapore this tiny island somewhere in China (?) or Asia- who knows?- is an easy pick because with only 4.6 million people the market is just too small, too neglect able for the Fiat group. The ratio of inhabitants and Ferrari owners is quite high though.
To all Singapore Ferrari supporters think about it twice if you still want to cheer for a company that belittles our beautiful city state and calls it a circus!! There are better teams worth cheering for out there in “The Formula One Circus“.
On the other hand we may be should thank Montezemolo because as it is being said even a negative press is better than NO press and it makes Singapore more interesting for people to check out.
Next year there will be definitely no Ferrari car on our blog! I know, not that you would care Mr. Montezemolo.
Erich's Pitstop will close till next year's Grand Prix and we want to thank you for stopping and refuelling with us. The Wuerstelstand however is open again. It's business as usuall. Erich and his team will be happy to serve you.