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CSJ and wife opening cafe at rochester mall.....

jw5

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from theindependent.sg:

Orange & Teal: Will Lee Hsien Yang be there? And will Jamus Lim now open a Cockles café?

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Covid-19 continued to hog the headlines, with the unsatisfactory rate of vaccination among elderly Singaporeans a growing concern. Race and racism had a big let’s get the conversation going airing by Finance Minister Lawrence Wong. But, to me anyway, the story of this week was Orange & Teal.

What’s that? Is it a health drink? A deluxe spa? A REIT? A bird? A plane? No, it is a café just launched by Chee Soon Juan and his wife, Huang Chin-Meh. It is at Rochester Mall in Buona Vista.

The Singapore Democratic Party secretary-general wrote in his Facebook: “It’s been a long-term dream of ours to have a place where Singaporeans come together to not just have a great meal or have that heart-warming cuppa, but a place where we get together with our loved ones and friends and get to know each other all over again. A place where intelligent discussion, even impassioned debate, takes place. A place where the conversation’s even better.

“ ‘Where the conversation’s even better’ – I’ve got that engraved above the doorway.

“To be perfectly honest, I’m not a businessman. I never was and I don’t think I will ever be. But I’ve always wanted to start a social enterprise of sorts to support causes close to my heart. I’ll talk about this including the vision of this venture another day.

Interesting words.

Orange & Teal, from early reports, has the trappings of a normal well-appointed F & B outlet. The ambience should appeal to a young with-it crowd, with the café’s good taste furnishing. Food seems nice and reasonably priced. Service is up to par. So, well done and best wishes. From the looks of it, there should be enough support to help sustain it. Two friends of mine, who are well-known food entrepreneurs and influencers, have already reacted. One said: “Soft power” (referring to the potential of gaining fans and friends through the feel-good shared experience). The other said: “Very smart political move – getting to Singaporeans through their stomachs! But he cannot himself be politicking in his restaurant. There is a fine line.”

Indeed, the fine line. But Chee seems to have bigger things on his mind. Orange & Teal is not just about food? He should just concentrate on making it a successful business. Do it well and he chalks up a reputation as a doer which should, in turn, help him in his career as a politician.

The café idea is great. He earns goodwill and money (if successful), and his wife can run it while he pursues his political goals. No conflict here. He can continue to carry out his promise to be a full-time Member of Parliament, if elected. That must be his bigger aim.

Meanwhile, Orange & Teal is such an unusual move in the slow-mo political scene in Singapore that it has become a fairly hot talking point. No disrespect to Dr Tan Cheng Bock’s ukulele skills and Pritam Singh’s ability to do a decent rendition of that Hokien karaoke anthem Ai Piah Jia Eh Yia (To Win You Have To Fight).

Chee said he wanted to call it “The Reading Room” but was outvoted 4-1 by his family. Options touted by online attempts at jest included “Hong Lim Park Café”, “Dare To Dream” and “Phoenix Park Club”.

And so many questions too.

Will Murali Pillai patronise the joint?

Will Lee Hsien Yang be there?

Will Bukit Batok residents enjoy a 10 per cent discount? SDP members – (obviously )? Other Opposition party members?

Will it start an Opposition trend? Will Jamus Lim open his own café called “Cockles”?

Not since Front Page (the now defunct Mohamed Sultan Road pub started by a Business Times journalist) has an F & B outlet gotten this level of free media space.

Cheers and bon appetit, may the conversations roll at Orange & Teal.

 

jw5

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CSJ realizes that F&B business is tough.

Chee Soon Juan 徐顺全

3 hrs ·
Staff had dinner after the café was closed, discussing and planning for the next day. I have a new found respect for F&B operators. It’s a gruelling endeavour with little margin for error.
Add to the fact that high rent makes the task even more daunting, it’s no wonder that the casualty rate in the industry is so high. The big chains and corporate eateries have no problem forking out the rent and, in many cases, paying security deposits of up to 6 months of rent!
The disappointing fact is that many of these properties are owned by our own government. Mapletree, JTC, Surbana, etc own malls and industrial buildings. They set the rent.
So, the next time you go out for a meal or a coffee, consider going down to your neighbourhood café or the eatery down the road owned by our local entrepreneurs rather than the giants that vacuum up F&B life in Singapore.
We’ve got to help our own if we are going to make it as a country.
In the meantime, here’s Orange & Teal’s opening hours:
Sun to Thu: 11am – 9pm
Fri & Sat: 11am – 10pm
Lunch: 12-2pm
Dinner: 6 – closing.
(Snacks, cake and coffee in between.)

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sweetiepie

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Staff had dinner after the café was closed, discussing and planning for the next day. I have a new found respect for F&B operators. It’s a gruelling endeavour with little margin for error.
KNN does it mean prior to this csj didn't know about the little affordable margin for error? KNN he should count himself lucky that staff was not having dinner before cafe close means beat mosquitos KNN
 

jw5

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KNN does it mean prior to this csj didn't know about the little affordable margin for error? KNN he should count himself lucky that staff was not having dinner before cafe close means beat mosquitos KNN

I think he knew the margins would be thin, but perhaps he did not realize it would be so tiring.
 

jw5

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CSJ back to giving the very busy Mr Murali problems.

Chee Soon Juan 徐顺全

4 hrs ·
I went down to BB yesterday to check out a complaint from a resident regarding wires dangerously exposed in lampposts. If I didn’t take these photos, you would think that I’m making this stuff up.
These lampposts are in and around Blk 162-164 in BB. The first photo is at a playground in front of a busy NTUC store. As you can see, the cover of the post is missing, exposing electrical wires.
I posted a couple of weeks ago about two teenagers being electrocuted after coming into contact with lampposts in Toa Payoh. One would have thought that after this incident, MPs would step up their vigilance regarding electrically exposed facilities in their estates.
Apparently, however, not in BB. A quick check (and this is just on the concourse around a few blocks, I dread to think what goes on in the other parts of the estate) showed that there were multiple lampposts whose conditions were in a decrepit and dangerous state.
Not only did covers of control panels and fuse boxes go entirely missing, some were held in place by electrical tape, others had wires coming out of the control box that fed power to lights at a pavilion, etc and so on.
After the incident at Toa Payoh, it seems that no lesson was learnt and the sorry state will continue until the next incident happens where injuries are inflicted and lives even lost. The MP would then come out, apologise profusely and “accept responsibility”.
Like what Mr Murali did after a resident needlessly died in a fire that broke out in BB a couple of years ago when the fire hosereel was found locked and the water supply cut off.
I warned at that time that MPs, in this case Mr Murali, needed to spend more time taking care of the estate and looking into matters that jeopardised the safety of his residents. The warning has apparently gone unheeded.
I urge – as I have on countless occasions over numerous other situations – Mr Murali to personally attend to this sorry state of lampposts in BB. If any of the residents are electrocuted as a result of the negligence, no amount of saying sorry and accepting responsibility will suffice.
After all the money that the government collects and the MPs are paid, Singaporeans – and BB residents in particular – deserve better that this dangerous nonsens.
#SDP #CSJforBukitBatok #BBHereIStand #CSJ #BukitBatok #SDP

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tanwahtiu

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CSJ was a sad case he joined politic becos he was hurt but not becos he was really cut for politic. Unlike LKY he met Tunku Raham in UK and mixed with the political group whom teach him the rope to hang opposition.... the evil BE...
 

jw5

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Cafe rest day every Monday.

Chee Soon Juan 徐顺全

9 hrs ·
We've decided that we will close the cafe on Mondays for now. The entire crew especially our kitchen staff have been going at it for the last two weeks without a break on 12-13 hour shifts. They've worked themselves to the bone and need a break.
Even then, we'll be going through our processes to shore up all the shortcomings and problem areas, and to find ways to make your experience at the cafe a pleasant one. Please bear with us as we grow and I invite you to grow with us. It's been a incredible experience for my family and I so far and we thank you for it.
To repeat, we're closed on Mondays until further notice. In the meantime, come down and enjoy yourselves this weekend.

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CPTMiller

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CSJ back to giving the very busy Mr Murali problems.

Chee Soon Juan 徐顺全

4 hrs ·
I went down to BB yesterday to check out a complaint from a resident regarding wires dangerously exposed in lampposts. If I didn’t take these photos, you would think that I’m making this stuff up.
These lampposts are in and around Blk 162-164 in BB. The first photo is at a playground in front of a busy NTUC store. As you can see, the cover of the post is missing, exposing electrical wires.
I posted a couple of weeks ago about two teenagers being electrocuted after coming into contact with lampposts in Toa Payoh. One would have thought that after this incident, MPs would step up their vigilance regarding electrically exposed facilities in their estates.
Apparently, however, not in BB. A quick check (and this is just on the concourse around a few blocks, I dread to think what goes on in the other parts of the estate) showed that there were multiple lampposts whose conditions were in a decrepit and dangerous state.
Not only did covers of control panels and fuse boxes go entirely missing, some were held in place by electrical tape, others had wires coming out of the control box that fed power to lights at a pavilion, etc and so on.
After the incident at Toa Payoh, it seems that no lesson was learnt and the sorry state will continue until the next incident happens where injuries are inflicted and lives even lost. The MP would then come out, apologise profusely and “accept responsibility”.
Like what Mr Murali did after a resident needlessly died in a fire that broke out in BB a couple of years ago when the fire hosereel was found locked and the water supply cut off.
I warned at that time that MPs, in this case Mr Murali, needed to spend more time taking care of the estate and looking into matters that jeopardised the safety of his residents. The warning has apparently gone unheeded.
I urge – as I have on countless occasions over numerous other situations – Mr Murali to personally attend to this sorry state of lampposts in BB. If any of the residents are electrocuted as a result of the negligence, no amount of saying sorry and accepting responsibility will suffice.
After all the money that the government collects and the MPs are paid, Singaporeans – and BB residents in particular – deserve better that this dangerous nonsens.
#SDP #CSJforBukitBatok #BBHereIStand #CSJ #BukitBatok #SDP

View attachment 115313
Chee never give up finding faults with the party
 
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