News

Category – Food

Ex-ITE Culinary Lecturers Open Hawker Stall As The ‘Char Bors’ Behind Charrbo, Serving Charcoal-Grilled Western Food

['Proving that those who teach can definitely do, former ITE College West Culinary Arts lecturers Jessica Tan, 34, (right in pic) and Norhaidah Binte Ramlee, 35, who goes by Aidah, left teaching after eight years to open ', ', Charrbo, in a ', ' in February this year.', 'The stall name is a clever nod to the Hokkien term “', 'char bor', '”, meaning “woman” – a fitting moniker for the female-fronted hawker stall. Jessica explains that the choice of name was serendipitous. “We were thinking of names related to charcoal since we’re serving charcoal-grilled Western food. I thought of ', ' but kept the idea to myself as I wasn’t sure about using a Hokkien name for a Muslim-owned stall,” she says. “Then one day Aidah said ‘Why not call it ', 'char bor', '?’ It was so funny!” Despite Jessica’s initial concern, Aidah saw no issue with the Hokkien-inspired name, as their aim was to create an inclusive brand that resonates with all customers.']

Ashes Of Sim Lim Tower’s Ice Cream Uncle Scattered In Garden After Send-Off By Charity Volunteers

['Just an hour before the send-off for Ng Teak Boon was due to take place, it started raining heavily. The rain didn’t deter a small group of about 15 people — most of them charity volunteers — from showing up for the late Mr Ng, who was a famous longtime fixture outside Sim Lim Tower with his old-school ice cream cart.', 'Uncle Boon, as he was affectionately known, ', 'died last week', ' (Jun 21). He was 92.', 'No part of this story or photos can be reproduced without permission from ', '8days.sg', '.', 'Worked till his 90s', 'The sprightly Uncle Boon lived alone in a one-room rental flat in Geylang Bahru. Around three months before his passing, he stopped working as he started feeling very weak. He was looked after by a group of charity volunteers and chicken rice hawker Chia Siew Tin, 65, who befriended Uncle Boon as he frequented her stall at Jalan Berseh Food Centre.', '“He always came to my hawker centre. We became friends after I saw him alone looking pitiful, and I took care of him,” she tells ', '8days.sg', '. ', 'Uncle Boon suffered from low blood pressure, and in early June, he fainted while shopping at a pasar malam. “He was sent to the hospital in an ambulance, and passed away a few days later. He was already very old,” says Siew Tin, who took care of Uncle Boon’s meals and gave him a daily allowance for eight years. She declined to share more details about Uncle Boon’s family situation.', 'Uncle Boon was cremated on Jun 22 without a wake, and a simple Buddhist prayer ceremony was arranged for today (Jun 29) at the Garden of Peace in Choa Chu Kang. Members of the public can scatter their loved ones’ cremated ashes at the NEA-approved garden grounds after registration.']