New Singapore Record: Chili Crab Eating! 431people at the same time

Singaporeans love to queue.......especially when it comes to food

........and it doesn't matter how long the wait, when there is a "bargain" or fantastic food!
Seems everyone wants to be part of that record braking food galore:
The event, perfectly organised by the Chinatown business association (CBA), was about: The most people eating Singapore's world famous signature dish: 'Chilli Crab' at the same time!



If you're a follower of our blog you sure remember this most disgusting (my humble opinion only) Chicken Rice Eating Contest where participants had to stuff themselves with as much chicken rice as possible. So it was a pleasant surprise to learn that during this year's Singapore Food Festival CBA dumped the chicken rice gorging contest for a more sophisticated Chili crap dining.
The 2 hosts both from radio FM97.2 Zheng Xiaoying and Violet Fenying got people excited before the crabs were served

The waitresses waiting for the command

....given by organisers and invited VIP's

..........and this is one of Singapore's favorite and most famous dishes everyone has been waiting for: THE CHILLI CRAB

Finally after some speeches, award givings and music the guests were able to enjoy the sweet and spicy crab .........you can tell that they are savoring.............

It mainly was about food but it was also a carnival for the entertainment of the guests

a carnival band.....
Belly dancers???? yeah!!!

mascots....... and stilt walkers

and the 2 hosts questioning food lovers about their preferences

VIP's also having fun and relishing that delicious crab

Relaxed dancing waiters after they were done with their job- well done btw

VIP guests: Mr. Edmund Chua (S'pore Tourism Board ACE) and Singapore food celebrity KF Seetoh (Makansutra founder and TV host who recently made a guest appearance on the Martha Steward Show to cook Laksa)
That Australian bloke couldn't be bothered by crowds at the successful Chili Crab event. Just one block away in Chinatown he was lonely but obviously enjoying the quiet night and his beer.

"Different folks, different strokes."

And someone else- we know very well- was busy that evening despite almost everyone eating crab next to his kiosk:

Erich and his wife Helen were busy getting their sausages grilled to satisfy their customer queues as well. All grills were on fire with a full load of their best

but regardless how much work there is, Erich has always enough time for a smile and a joke

Do you remember? Erich broke a record as well in 2006 with "the longest sausage"

Check out the longest sausage web album:

From Longest Sausage

Coming soon news from Erich's Backstube, so keep coming back to this blog to stay up to date!

To watch more photos in higher resolution click crab below and slide show in the top left corner of the web album:

Super_supper

Singapore Airlines' cast system of arrogance continues!

Despite having filled only less than 70% of their seats the last couple of month SQ continues their cast system. You might ask why cast system? Right. Myself and some of my friends (even Solitaire members) feel the same way.

Cast:

1st Class: You are most welcome

Business Class: You are very welcome

Economy Class: Unfortunately we need to welcome you as well

Let me give you some examples why we sometimes get this feeling. But first of all I have to exclude the cabin crew and ground staff. They really do a great job and their service most of the time is extraordinary!

It's the decision makers I'm accusing of arrogance and ignorance. These SQ high fliers are making decisions which do make people "only" flying economy uncomfortable.

First of all besides being one of the most expensive airlines SQ's economy seats have been some of the narrowest in EC.

Last year's change to business class only on their Non Stop flights to NY and LA was another sign of their preference towards "better" class people. What they already might regret due to the economic downturn, when they had to lower the frequency of flights from 7 to 3 days a week.

SQ is so lucky being located in Singapore or Asia in general because it would be so more difficult if they were in US or Europe because not all companies allow their staff to fly business, not even senior executives, which is so different to the mostly spoilt Singaporeans or Expats which only accept EC if the flight is less than 4 hours (for some 6hrs).

SQ has DOUBLED the necessary miles for upgrades to BC on long haul flights e.g. to US on new planes! Not increased just a bit, DOUBLED! I feel they actually don't want "normal" passengers to be able to set foot into their "holy grail" Raffles Class, so they set the goal so high that it becomes almost impossible to upgrade.

Again everything is paved for members of the "better" cast because they earn double or triple the miles anyway and are able to easily upgrade on their private trips. My humble opinion is, if they were able to sack the points for EC they would do it in the first place, however as long as people can earn miles with other carriers it would not really be in SQ"s favor to do so. They still somehow need the EC crowd to fill some seats.

I could go on and on and on.

Let me mention one thing: How often have you seen an advertisement to promote economy class? Most of the campaigns are all about First or Raffles Class (which are great, no doubt) but hardly any for EC. Only recently with companies scaling down on business flights there are some ads for EC in the new planes or the promotional fares which always pop up especially in bad times as during SARS, Bird Flu or H1N1SQ, they suddenly need to fill their half empty planes. Last, to me the Mc-Donald success shows how important it is attracting young kids to a brand to be able to keep them as returning customers even when they're adults.

How does this relate to SQ you'll ask? Young kids, students, junior staff, etc. may not be able to fly BC today, but convincing them that the brand not only appreciates business from the more expensive classes, might be the returning customers tomorrow!

And as we can see one survey lately where Changi airport was overtaken by two others in ranking:

Competition is trying hard, they don't sleep either!

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COME VISIT: Chinatown Super SUPPER Madness!

Since its inception in 1994, the Singapore Food Festival (SFF) has successfully profiled Singapore’s diverse offerings of local and international food, positioning Singapore as the Food Capital in Asia.

SFF seeks to bring Singapore’s much-loved local cuisine to the world stage, by highlighting our unique local food as well as food culture and heritage. Participants can look forward to an even more exotic and sumptuous fare to leave you an unforgettable gastronomic experience island wide!

This year, SFF's longest and biggest SUPPER event will be held at Chinatown Food Street! Saturday, 18. July- 7 pm - 12 am

Get the exclusive Supper Pass (priced at $15) and you will enter one the most exciting and open-air eating-arena full of happenings and surprises! Enjoy a night of entertainment, lucky draw perks with lots and lots of Chinatown good food! It'll be one of the most unforgettable suppers in Singapore!

Erich's Wuerstelstand and many other food stalls in Chinatown are participating in this event.

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.

German Market Place

The other day I wanted to see how Erich's bread is accepted at the German Market place. When I went there around lunch time the shelf was almost empty, 2 loaves of bread and some Dinkelspitz where left. I was told bey the shop owner:
If you want to see the full variety of Erich's bread make sure you're here by 9:30 because an hour later you might only see some pieces left on the shelf.

To make sure to get some shots of his bread I went there at 9:15 am next day and ran into the delivery guy, just in time......

To make sure the bread of your choice is available you can also pre order over the phone.

Give them a buzz at 6466 4044

Open times: Mon-Sat 10am-7pm

ADDRESS

609 Bukit Timah Road
Bus Lines: 74, 151, 170, 171, 174

Erich's bread comes closer to your home!

Great news for Erich's bread lovers. An assortment of Erich's bread from his renown Backstube is available now not only at his Kiosk in Chinatown but also at the 

German Market Place on Bukit Timah Road.

Open times: Mon-Sat 10am-7pm

ADDRESS

609 Bukit Timah Road
Phone: 6466 4044
Bus Lines: 74, 151, 170, 171, 174

 

Click here to see a bigger flyer image

Let me guess! Something's happened!

Are those "brown Bags" and people BYO? Well, it looks like. 

The fact is this weak economy is also taking its toll in the Chinatown businesses. Shop owners have enough time to look around how others are doing, some get seriously jealous if someone else is has more customers! ..........and suddenly they remember laws and rules which have never been enforced before that say:

"You have to consume your drink wherever you've purchased it!" It's the stall owner who has to make sure everything is in order. Anyone who doesn't follow that rule will be reported!

It's as simple as that!

By the way, you can get beer for reasonable prices right next to Erich in the food street and even enjoy Erich's sausages there.

Fruit juices from Stanley next door you can drink at Erich's. No problem at all!

 

However no rule disallows to bring your own, just cover up, nosy neighbours might watch!

Erich is "the" man

Look at that! Female customers or should I say FANS are placing themselves right in front of the counter to get Erich's full attention. Some worship him almost like a rock star!!

Lucky it was a slow night or other cutomers would not have been able to place their orders ;)

But I'm not gonna comment on his facial expression?

  

And The Winner Of The H1N1 Flu Crisis Is: The Pharmaceutical Industry

"Governments, hospitals and people are rushing to get supply of Tamiflu and Relenza", 

"Drugs, masks and thermometers out of stock" 

Major player Smitech (ASia) sold 250,000 digital thermometers here last week, five times more than last year. Another, Futron Electronics, ordered half a million digital thermometers last week. 'Everyone the world over is buying a thermometer now,' said Smitech managing director Christopher Koh.

Wow, that really sounds scary, doesn't it? 

First of all, let me make it very clear: There is no room for complacency and we have to retain certain measures to contain a potential outbreak!

Having said that, I got a feeling that some officials are over reacting also. Sure this is a novel disease in its first days and we don't know how it's going to turn out. However let me just give you some facts for comparison: 

The H1H1 virus has 1269 confirmed cases and so far 26 died in Mexico. 2 people died in the US. Just an hour ago a second US death was confirmed. 

The SARS virus between Nov 2002 and July 2003 had 8437 known infected cases and 813 deaths. 

Now lets compare these numbers with the annual "common" flu which is a big killer every year with our without a pandemic. WHO estimates upward of 250,000 to 500,000 people are killed year after year and 3 to 5 million a year are 

infected.

Even in Singapore which doesn't have a clear flu season one person dies every 15 hours due to the "normal" flu! 

These are numbers that scare me way more than the Swine flu.

What are the measurements governments are taking against these numbers besides flu vaccine promotions? Only now they are making noise and ask people to conduct good hygiene in washing hands or ordering more "spring cleaning" in hawker centres.

Shouldn't that be done on a regular base since we know this is at least one step to prevent flu? What about restarting another campaign to stop spitting in public! Yup you hear right, I still see cabbies (other folks as well) stopping at red lights opening the door and spitting it out!

There would be so much more we all could do but that would take a day to write about.

Well finally, to be "fair and balanced", not just the 

Pharma industry but medical supply companies (masks, thermometers, etc) as well and not to forget all the online pharmacies with many of them selling fake drugs to people that have been scared by the media hype are making lots of money!

Of course exaggerated headlines in media reports do scare people, but who cares as long as you can get folks listen or buy! 

Yes these viruses sell!

7-steps To Wash Your Hands

Can you believe it? We needed the swine flu to learn how to wash our hands! There is no doubt about the importance of proper hygiene...but not only when there is the thread of a pandemic on our globe. Shouldn't we always conduct good hygiene? Like....daily? I consider this a tragedy that adult people need a step by step instruction how to wash hands! That's the responsibility of parents to teach kids and later in Kindergarten or Primary Schools there should be a continuation of this process.
Do Singaporeans really need to win a car and other prizes to start thinking about washing their hands correctly?
I do think it should be common sense and interest for everyone to do their best in a situation like that! 


Oh and did I mention one hospital will be on the spy during hand washing demonstrations held at its atrium on weekdays and lucky draw coupons will be given to those spotted washing their hands. But it has to be done the right way. That is using the 7-step hand washing technique. 
These demonstrations will even be brought to locations outside the hospital. Videos showing the hand washing technique are available on YouTube as well.
In my humble opinion this is a very sad state of a country that experienced SARS only a couple of years ago and still doesn't know how to conduct a proper daily hygiene.