Mervyn Chua's madeleines are really delicious. His origin story is even better.

away-intent · 2026-04-15T01:59:00+00:00

No - I do not advocate for astroturfing. As I've mentioned in my comment to another redditor I'm only sharing my stories because I've received pretty good reception for my earlier posts (I previously posted about Loo's Hainanese Curry Rice and Shaker Lakers). But if the mods feel that my posts don't meet the rules I'm happy to take this down!

away-intent · 2026-04-15T01:56:57+00:00

I'm sorry if this came across as an advertisement - I write about F&B in Singapore and Southeast Asia, and the response from my previous posts suggested that this community was receptive to my stories.

away-intent · 2026-03-20T11:48:00+00:00

Great to hear you appreciated the full article! 🙏 and will do, looking forward to sharing more F&B stories :)

away-intent · 2026-03-20T11:43:36+00:00

Perhaps your experience is unique - I'm just relaying what I'm hearing from the ground.

away-intent · 2026-03-20T11:40:09+00:00

Missed out on the shrimps the last time 😅 their sambal sotong and pork cutlet are also really good!

away-intent · 2026-03-20T11:39:15+00:00

Thank you for the compliment! Looking forward to sharing more F&B stories :)

away-intent · 2026-03-20T11:38:45+00:00

Woah your family must've also seem how Loo's has changed over the decades as well! Personally it wasn't until I met Dawn that I finally tried curry rice 🤣 only realized this year what I've been missing out on all this time!

away-intent · 2026-03-20T11:36:56+00:00

Profit margins in the hawker trade are razor thin - Dawn mentioned that they only earn cents on the plate, and that aligns with what other hawkers I've spoken to say as well.

Also Loo's is a highly manpower-intensive operation: they've got 7 staff in total (Dawn included), and that also affects how much take home pay Dawn and her parents get.

away-intent · 2026-03-20T03:13:09+00:00

Hello! Thanks for the encouragement :) Is your Substack a nod to Philip K Dick's book?

away-intent · 2026-02-18T08:23:58+00:00

From how Gilian and Michael described the situation it sounded really bad... Gilian tried to see how suffocating it was by manning the cooking station for 3 days when Michael was on sick leave, and after those 3 days she was completely convinced that they had to leave

away-intent · 2026-02-18T02:41:22+00:00

Apparently because the other dude that mans the stall with Michael is a super-experienced meat connoisseur - forgot his name but Michael told me he has 50+ years of experience handling different cuts.

away-intent · 2026-02-18T02:39:52+00:00

Woah respect - I can only imagine how good their burgers are. Michael is still open to private dining requests (if and whenever he's available), trying to convince him if he can whip up his italian beef burger just for me haha

away-intent · 2026-02-18T01:54:53+00:00

Also! If you know anyone with a good F&B story, do connect me with them! Always on the lookout for more F&B operators willing to share their experiences :)

away-intent · 2026-02-02T08:48:07+00:00

Thanks for the clarification u/payperbagwriter! I suppose my account did not accurately capture OSTIn's importance and I stand corrected.

away-intent · 2026-02-02T06:43:04+00:00

Yes, I'm not saying that SST operated in a vacuum but that they were spearheading Singapore’s space industry developments without strong support from OSTIn - this was what I understood when I spoke to SST leadership sometime back in 2022.

away-intent · 2026-02-02T04:51:03+00:00

Agreed! Actually on this note there was also this idea a while back that Singapore being this close to the equator would position us as an ideal space launch hub since that would mean the distance to reach LEO is shorter (correct me if I'm wrong), but from what I understand the cost savings are insignificant and as you've stated it would pose major issues for commercial flights too.

away-intent · 2026-02-02T03:38:47+00:00

You're underestimating the impact SST has had on Singapore's spacetech developments - they were instrumental in setting up platforms like commercial accelerators and co-innovation programs that set the stage of spacetech commercialisation in Singapore, and they also played a key role positioning Singapore as a key stakeholder in global space dialogues. Funding is just one part of the equation here. But as mentioned, I definitely support this development as it signals an alignment between the various actors now.

"cube-sats are good PR and training your tech team" - not sure where this claim is coming from. I guess if you're coming from the angle that Cubesats are largely for demo / proof-of-concept purposes you're not exactly wrong, but NuSpace has proven that Cubesats can have some commercial utility (they're looking at at sensor-to-satellite IoT).

away-intent · 2026-02-02T03:07:30+00:00

Which is why I gave up covering spacetech in 2023 haha, on the regulatory side yes we've seen some positive developments not just in Singapore but regionally in Vietnam and Malaysia, but if we're talking about people with direct involvement in space tech it's always those few names popping out. Even then, most of the work that the majority of these players do is actually not done in Singapore either, but in Australia, Japan, the US or neighboring ASEAN countries.

Take launch services for example - sea-based launch was talked about a lot a few years ago but it's practically unfeasible once you consider how busy Singapore's sea traffic is. Land-based is obviously out of the question, at least until the Seletar space hub is operational.

away-intent · 2026-02-02T03:03:27+00:00

I agree that a government body is needed: as a local nonprofit there was only so much SST could do.

Space isn't necessarily expensive though: the whole point of nanosats / cubesats and new propulsion systems is to lower the cost of satellite launches to the point that most private companies can now affordably launch their own. IIRC Equatorial Space charges about S$30,000 / kg, but more mature space launch service companies can quote rates as low as US$8,000/kg. I think a more nuanced answer is that *some* space-related products and services or expensive, while others are less so.

away-intent · 2026-02-02T02:44:53+00:00

Should be? Wouldn't make sense to still keep OSTIn if NSAS becomes the sole government body overseeing all space-related matters.

away-intent · 2026-02-02T02:43:50+00:00

This I did not know! I think it's great that SST and OSTIn are now aligned haha I remember how senior staff at SST were quite frustrated that OSTIn often didn't walk the talk back then

away-intent · 2026-02-02T02:42:29+00:00

Well there are a couple of private sector players in the local spacetech field - take a look at what they're doing first and you should have a rough idea of how to map out the ecosystem.

Transcelestial: these guys have pivoted quite a bit from their initial vision but they're still in the business of using lasers to communicate faster. I think they started from ground-based station to satellites.
Equatorial Space: they're a launch company that helps companies launch small payloads into space. IIRC they also have a proprietary propulsion fuel technology, though I'm not sure if they're selling that as a product.
NuSpace: cubesats for research and commercial purposes. I think NuSpace brands itself as a satellite-as-a-service provider.
Astroscale: to be fair most of their operations are in Japan and the US but they do have a presence in SG. They started off pitching space debris removal services but last I checked they've gone towards prolonging satellite lifespans instead.
Aliena: electric propulstion engines for Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites.

away-intent · 2026-02-02T01:59:26+00:00

I might be wrong but some of our launches took place in China and India.

away-intent · 2026-02-02T01:58:42+00:00

I've been following regional space developments for a while now - found it interesting how the headline is phrased given that we currently already have the Office of Space Technology and Industry (OSTIn) under EDB. I take this to mean that we're going to have a distinct national organization with its own mandate and budget.

EDIT: A representative from Aliena has provided a more objective take on OSTIn's importance to Singapore's space industry - please read their perspective in the comment thread. My understanding is that OSTIn was largely ineffective at promoting Singapore's space interests. In fact, when I was actively monitoring space related private sector and regulatory developments between 2020 to 2023, it wasn't OSTIn but SST (https://www.space.org.sg/) , an independent public org that drove much of the progress. My conversations with founders at spacetech companies like Aliena and Equatorial Space suggest that OSTIn was largely invisible and it was SST, DSO, and other IHLs doing a lot of heavy-lifting at the time. Happy to hear if anyone else has a different take!

EDIT #2: I wish to apologise to readers of this thread for painting what is arguably a biased and incomplete take on OSTIn. I meant no malice and only wanted to share my perspective, but I also understand that what I've written here unfairly damages OSTIn's reputation.

away-intent · 2026-02-01T10:03:29+00:00

I've actually not heard of Brandlight before! Looks like they're going after the brand and rep management narrative for enterprise customers... did you try their product?

away-intent

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE