SINGAPORE – HomeTeamNS is offering six months of gym access to members affected by the recent closures of California Fitness outlets here, the non-profit association said in a statement today (July 22).

It is able to accommodate at least 800 affected individuals in the next six months at its Fitness Workz gyms in HomeTeamNS Balestier and HomeTeamNS Bukit Batok.

Singapore Police Force (SPF) and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) NSmen can also apply for the same assistance after signing up for HomeTeamNS Ordinary membership.

This is to ensure that they will not have disrupted training, and to encourage them to continue adopting an active lifestyle, HomeTeamNS said.

HomeTeamNS is also offering about 10 part-time positions to personal trainers affected by the California Fitness closures.

“The temporary employment assistance will give a bit of time for personal trainers to secure new jobs at other gym outlets. I hope this will motivate others on similar initiatives, and show how the gym industry could come together to assist those who are affected by the closure,” HomeTeamNS’ chief executive Agnes Eu said.

Those interested in the assistance programmes can contact Fitness Workz at Fitness_Workz@hometeamns.sg or 6705 9473.

huizhen@sph.com.sg

6 things to know about one Michelin-starred Tai Hwa Pork Noodle

The Michelin Guide recognised the iconic Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle with one star on Thursday (July 21).

Here are six things about the brand:

1. Origins

Tai Hwa Pork Noodle was founded by Tang Joon Teo, who operated at Hill Street in the 1930s. The late Mr Tang died in 1995 at the age of 89, and left the business to his three sons.

Second son Chay Seng (pictured right), 69, was the first to work full-time at the stall after dropping out of secondary school when he was 14.

His two brothers followed suit later, with Chay Seng at the helm.

In the 1990s, the stall moved to Marina Square before settling in its current premises at Crawford Lane in 2004.

2. Hokkien or Teochew?

L: Hokkien-style bak chor mee from Seng Hiang at Fengshan Market and Food Centre. R: Teochew-style bak chor mee from Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork noodles. Photos: Andre Hoeden, The New Paper

According to a 2005 Lianhe Zaobao report, a family from China’s Fujian province brought the Hokkien-style bak chor mee (minced pork noodles) to our shores.

However, Singaporeans can claim their bragging rights for the Teochew-style bak chor mee, which is uniquely Singapore.

Food critic K.F. Seetoh told The Straits Times in 2009 that the concept of “using sambal and vinegar to flavour the noodles with meat topping” can’t be found anywhere else.

For Tai Hwa’s bak chor mee, founder Tang Joon Teo concocted the addictive blend of black vinegar, chilli paste plus other sauces, in which the egg noodles are tossed in.

3. Cheapest Michelin-starred meal, but expect to wait

Mr Chan Hon Meng (left), 51, owner of Hong Kong Soy Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle at Chinatown Food Complex with Mr Tang Chay Seng, 70, owner of Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle at Crawford Lane. Both outlets received one Michelin star. Photo: The Straits Times

“For the first time, you would be able to have a Michelin-starred meal for under S$5,” said Michael Ellis, international director of the Michelin guides in an interview with AFP on Thursday.

Although Mr Tang Chay Seng says he will not increase prices, he told the media that the queue is expected to get longer.

It is not uncommon to queue for up to 45 minutes – or more, for a bowl of Tai Hwa’s noodles. According to Channel NewsAsia, queues on Friday (July 22) – a day after the Michelin awards were announced, stretched for more than an hour.

4. Hill Street Tai Hwa? High Street Tai Wah?

Youngest brother Tang Chai Chye at his High Street Tai Wah Pork Noodle (minced pork noodle or bak chor mee) stall in Bestway Building in Prince Edward Road. Photo: The Straits Times

With Chay Seng operating Hill Street Tai Hwa at Crawford Lane, what about his two brothers? They are running other pork noodle stalls loosely tied to the Tai Hwa brand: High Street Tai Wah and Lau Dai Hua.

The youngest brother, Chai Chye, 63, used to run High Street Tai Wah Pork Noodle in Bestway Building in Prince Edward Road which has since closed.

Two of Chai Chye’s sons also started their pork noodles stores under the High Street Tai Wah brand.

Gerald Tang, 37, is now running the family’s stall at Hong Lim Food Centre, Chinatown, while Jason Tang, 27, had a stall at Singapore Food Trail, a dining concept at the Singapore Flyer.

5. Hill Street Tai Hwa? Lau Dai Hua?

Tung Chye Hong (left) and his son, Arthur, at Lau Dai Hua minced pork noodle (bak chor mee) outlet at Food Republic, VivoCity. Photo: Shin Min

In the 1960s, eldest son Chye Hong, 72, opened an outlet in a Cecil Street coffeeshop at his father’s urging. The stall closed in 1978 and Chye Hong returned to run the Hill Street stall with his two younger brothers.

He left the business in the 1980s to become a taxi driver as he was tired of the job and felt that he was unsuited for the business. In the 1990s, he returned to help at the relocated stall at Marina Square for a few years while continuing his daytime job as a taxi driver.

Chye Hong’s son, Arthur Tung Yang Wee, 46, is now running Lau Dai Hua Pork Noodle at Straits Food Village in Changi Airport Terminal 2.

6. A blemish on the famous brand.

Mr Arthur Tung Yang Wee, owner of the Lau Dai Hua bak chor mee (minced meat noodles) stall in the Food Republic outlet in VivoCity shopping mall. Mr Tung has been accused by his uncle, Mr Tang Chay Seng, owner of the famous Hill Street Tai Hwa bak chor mee stall in Crawford Lane of trying to pass off his stall as the original. Photos: Lianhe Zaobao, The Straits Times

A family feud erupted in 2008 when uncle sued nephew for trademark infringement over the ‘Tai Hwa’ brand.

Eldest brother Chye Hong’s son, Arthur Tung Yang Wee, ran an advertisement in the Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao that his stall Da Hua, “formerly from… Hill Street” had “moved to VivoCity”.

Images of awards won by Tai Hwa were also plastered on the advertisement for Da Hua.

Arthur’s uncle, Chay Seng, who runs Tai Hwa Pork Noodle at Crawford Lane, told the Chinese newspaper Shin Min that while he did not object to the usage of the brand ‘Da Hua’, which is the hanyu pinyin pronunciation of Tai Hwa, he slammed the advertisement for being misleading.

“After that, my customers kept calling to ask me if I had really moved, and it caused my business to drop by 20 per cent,” he said in the 2008 interview.

While Chay Seng later lost his case, he was awarded nominal damages of $1,000 for loss of goodwill.

grongloh@sph.com.sg

Thank you all for your creative responses to the National Day Parade (NDP) 2016 contest for a chance to win a pair of tickets for the first preview this Saturday (July 23).

After careful evaluation, we decided to award the tickets to Ms Siti Farhana Mahadi for her thoughtful submission. 

To those of you who were not successful, you stand another chance to win tickets to the NDP preview next Saturday (July 30) and a funpack set, as we are launching our contest again.

All you have to do is to answer the following question in 100 words: What do you think Singapore will be like in the next 50 years?

Send your answer to a1admin@sph.com.sg with the subject header ‘AsiaOne NDP Challenge 2016: Preview 2’ by Monday (July 25).

Please remember to include your full name, NRIC and mobile number in your entries.

Look out for updates on how you can win tickets to the subsequent shows via our Facebook page.

a1admin@sph.com.sg

Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) and SPH Foundation presented a total of 38 scholarships at their annual joint scholarship awards ceremony held at the SPH News Centre auditorium on Friday (July 22).

There were seven recipients for the SPH Journalism Scholarships and a total of 16 scholarships were also given out to the children of staff and newspaper vendors, including six for junior college studies, four for polytechnic studies and six for university studies.

Chairman of SPH and SPH Foundation Dr Lee Boon Yang graced the event as guest-of-honour.

SPH Journalism scholarship award recipient Mr Clement Yong Jia-Xuan did his internship stint with The Straits Times and will be reading History at Oxford University in the UK.

He said: “I am honoured to be one of those selected for this year’s scholarship. My four-month stint at SPH has reinforced my belief that journalism is for me as I am an information junkie, which makes working in the newsroom perfect since I’m not only expected to keep up with the latest news, but to approach all developments around me with an active mind.”

Another SPH journalism scholar Ms Zhang Xi Ying, who was an intern at Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao, will be doing Chinese Studies at Peking University.

She recalled that her six months in Lianhe Wanbao was “extremely meaningful and satisfying”.

Ms Zhang shared: “Not only did I meet passionate people who shared with me their love for journalism, the people whom I interviewed also showed me aspects of society that I otherwise would not have the chance to see.

“Most important of all, I got to interact with the audience reading my articles, as a few of them actually emailed or called in to thank me for covering certain stories which impacted their lives.”

Since its inauguration in 2006, the Lim Kim San Memorial Scholarships are awarded annually. The bond-free scholarships have helped students from modest family backgrounds further their degree programmes in languages, linguistics and the humanities at the local universities.

This year, a record total of 15 Lim Kim San Memorial scholarships were given out.

One of the recipients is Ms Hilary Ho, who will be pursuing the third-year of her Sociology studies at the National University of Singapore.

She said: “This scholarship will free me from my financial worries and give me more time to focus on my studies and pursue my interest. I look forward to acquiring new skills and experiences made possible through this scholarship and I hope to pay this forward to others in need in future.”

ssandrea@sph.com.sg