5 things you may not know about food in Singapore

Local food cultures all over the world have been very much a part of our lives, nurturing the daily habits of our individual lifestyles. One of the favourite National past-times in Singapore incidentally (or unsurprisingly so?) is finding good food from the huge varieties of cuisines from Chinese, Malay, Indian, Peranakan, European, Japanese, Korean, American and so on.

Here are 5 things you may not know about food in Singapore.

(1) Singaporeans are amongst the top spenders in Asia Pacific for dining

• According to a MasterCard survey, in 2013, Singapore consumers spent an average of US$198 (S$248) a month dining out, less than the US$262 average spend in 2012 but still more than the Asia Pacific average spend of US$140. 

(2) "World Cup" standard cuisines can be found here in Singapore

• Singapore has a stellar lineup of World Cup standard cuisines.
• In my past post "5 ways to enjoy World Cup 2014 in Singapore", I mentioned about "Foods from World Cup favourites", "5 popular World Cup cuisines" and so on, availed here in this city island.

(3) "Chope" means reserve a seat

• Chope is Singapore's leading online and mobile restaurant reservation (booking) company.
• And "Chope" is the local slang (aka Singlish) meaning "to reserve a seat".

(4) Hawker centres house the heart and soul of Singapore local food

• A hawker centre, aka cooked food centre (Chinese: 小贩中心 or 熟食中心) is the name given to open-air complexes in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Riau Islands.
• Typically found in city centres, near public housing estates or transport hubs, there are more than 100 hawker centres thriving in Singapore with many stalls that sell a variety of inexpensive food (starting as low as USD2).

(5) 8 types of diners in Singapore ;-)



Did you know any of these fun facts about the Singapore food scene? The food culture here is a melting pot and ever evolving with the times - keeping the old recipes alive by passing on to the next generations, remaking the old with a modern twist or inviting talents from overseas to set up shop here to cater to the eager taste buds in Singapore - one of the world's densest countries.

I look forward to hear from you fun facts of food in your countries.


till the next time,
Nelson Wee
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Photo credit: Daran Kandasamy / Foter / CC BY-ND

How can location-based social networks impact #dailyhabits and drive O2O commerce?

How are location-based social networks impacting on the mobile internet users' daily habits today and drive O2O commerce? Different LBS players are positioning themselves to ingrain their users' interactions as daily habits, and to influence and facilitate online to offline (O2O) commerce. Flooded with choices of LBS services, consumers will connect and share location-based information if they make sense. Then we come back to basics when voice meets location-based tagged information.

In my last post "How has LBS evolved into the daily habits of consumers and business models for businesses", I compared how 3 leading LBS players in Southeast Asia, Singapore markets - Hungrygowhere, Burpple, Yelp have been positioning themselves in terms of social and commerce value propositions. Not surprisingly so, food appears to be the common thread amongst these 3 players' focus, given the vibrant dining out scene in Asia. The question "Is there a Yelp for Asia?" also brings up a slew of similar players focusing on the food market in Asia.

Take a look at the above table, if we were to take a step back and review how some of these LBS players play in engaging with consumers, and driving Online to Offline or O2O commerce.

(1) Drive Awareness

• Players like Hungrygowhere, Burpple and Yelp look to business listing, advertisements  and gathering food reviews to drive awareness to consumers on awesome eateries with delicious food dishes.
• Following on the footsteps of Yelp's Elite Program, Burpple has also rolled out its Tastemakers' program - featuring food reviews online from hand-picked community members.
• A global player to look at would be Foursquare who has announced that it will be spinning its classic check-in features into a new app called Swarm, while stripping down and focusing its main app on local recommendations instead.

(2) Search, Compare, Transact

• Given the vibrant food scene (eating out) mentioned earlier, online and mobile restaurant reservation booking appears to be garnering momentum, as restaurant businesses are realising that consumers are seeking convenience, flexibility and immediacy to gratify their food experiences.
• Besides Hungrygowhere who provide restaurant booking for consumers online or via mobile, Chope is another leading restaurant reservation booking player in Singapore (and also in Hong Kong), facilitating online booking to offline dining (i.e. O2O commerce).

(3) Loyalty

Echelon June 2013 Singapore - showcase of mobile apps and startups to daily habits of mobile Internet users by Nelson Wee from Nelson Wee

• In my post on "How has the ecosystem evolved with the daily habits of mobile internet users?", I listed examples a growing number of Mobile Loyalty players like wooz.in, chopink, zap who are facilitating the digitisation and mobility for the loyalty programs in offline businesses.
• In Singapore (and in Malaysia), Perx is a leading player tying food and retail offline loyalty programs to the consumers' mobile lifestyle.

Coming back to the consumers and their needs, my feeling is that consumers would only look towards having location-based information and connections if these make sense to them in the context of their life's moments. For instance,

• In Foursquare, these days for me, it is the gamification element in the social leaderboard with friends or the discovery where your friends are which attract. 
• In the LBS app harpoen, it is the serendipity on what others who have explored an area in your vicinity which attracts.

Finally, we go back to basics and come back to how good old voice is being featured in LBS services. Hearing a voice has been the most personal form of remote mobile communication. And so, no surprise that there are now many mobile social messaging apps having short audio files of chats transmitted walkie-talkie style. Location data is also now tagged onto the voice files to add more contextual relevance to the communication messages. Here are some real-life examples:

• With Talkbits, a MIM app, it is the voices left behind in a select city which provides local insights and knowledge to people who would like to know more about a neighbourhood or even learn the language as his aspiration is to get to that place one day.
• With Jabberly, people use their mobile to ask questions about a particular location and get answers quickly from those with boots on the ground.

Globally and perhaps particularly now in Asia, a number of location-based apps, communities and social networks are sprouting in the food scene - food being the typical question for the day and so very much a part in the daily habits of Asia's mobile internet users. From driving awareness to search, comparison, transactions and loyalty, a number of leading LBS players are positioning their offerings to provide value and entrench themselves into the decision-making processes of consumers - driving consumer traffic from online to offline businesses. And finally, it appears that good old voice could well provide opportunities in bridging users from mobile and online content to offline experiences.

Love to hear your thoughts on how location-based social networks impact on the daily habits of the mobile internet users.

Talk soon~
Nelson Wee
Profile: Nelson Wee, Singapore
Blog: http://myovi.blogspot.com
Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.com/nelsonwee 
Twitter: @nelsonwee
PickatSG Food App: http://www.facebook.com/pickatsg