MTR in Singapore, a bit of a let-down

But I like the improving choices lovers of South Indian food have here

My wife and I broke our Sunday routine today and had lunch at Mavalli Tiffin Rooms (MTR), the famed vegetarian restaurant from Bangalore that opened its first outlet in Singapore about a month ago.

Usually, after the 11.15 am service at the St Andrew’s Cathedral (my wife and daughters are regulars but I am not) we have lunch at the Komala’s nearby.

We had been waiting to try out MTR the last few weeks, but today we made up our mind after reading about it in the Tabla weekly (http://tabla.com.sg/) here on Friday.

The Bangalore Experience: Every time I visit Bangalore I make it a point to stop by at the MTR restaurant around Lal Bagh even though it meant taking a token number and waiting in the queue for a dining slot. It will be a wait of around 15 minutes which was not bad. The joy of leisurely dining will always be missing but the food has been great.

We looked forward to a similar experience here as well. I settled for a set meal ($8) and my wife had masala dosai ($6) and coffee. The takeaways we picked up included Rava Idly ($4 for one piece), Bisibelabath ($5), Lemon Rice and Curd Rice ($4 each).

It was all pricier than comparable South Indian restaurants in Singapore – Saravana Bhavan, Murugan Idly, etc). I was looking for a better fare in terms of the quality of the food served.

Did Not Leave Us Gung Ho: I must say the food did not leave me feeling gung ho about MTR. The dosai came with just mint chutney and sambar.

Murugan Idly will give you four types of chutney, including the white coconut chutney with a super taste that will keep diners asking for more. No white chutney at all at MTR. I am unable to recall if MTR in Bangalore offers that.

The masala dosai was smaller in size than what the other restaurants serve for a lesser price without any compromise in taste.

After trying out at home the takeaways I had bought, I called up the MTR manager to offer him some comments on what I thought about the food and the experience.

He was very polite and gave me a patient hearing. Customer feedback is important for any business establishment.

I welcome MTR’s entry into Singapore as it does widen the choice for lovers of south Indian food.

G Joslin Vethakumar

Orange soles cannot, lah, but Undies of any Colour Can, Can!!

Do sponsors dictate even what colour knickers Wimbledon players must wear?

Roger Federer was booted out of Wimbledon yesterday even as he was warned by organisers for wearing orange-coloured soles in violation of the tournament’s all-white rule. But Maria Sharapova escaped flak despite sporting orange undies, possibly at Nike’s behest.

Both Federer and Maria have made an early exit from Wimbledon, so they will not have to worry about dress-code restrictions until next year.

It appears, though, that rules do not stretch to what goes under the skirt. So the likes of Serena and Radwanska can continue to flash their orange and black knickers and still not make the authorities see red.

Whether what goes underneath stays there or whether it comes in full focus no laws are flouted!

Perhaps if laws are extended to cover undies spectator interest in women’s tennis will wane and cut into Wimbledon’s ticket sales!

To use Singapore slang (not Singapore Sling!), how much more silly can Wimbledon dress laws get, lah!!

G Joslin Vethakumar 

China Brands Cisco, American Companies a Security Risk

Chinese networking equipment makers Huawei and ZTE have long faced restrictions on doing business in the U.S. over fears of national security.

Now, it is time for American companies such as Cisco Systems to face the music, no thanks to Edward Snowden’s revelations on surveillance by the U.S.

China’s state-run media have come out strongly against Cisco and other American multinational giants such as Apple and Google, saying they pose serious security risks for the country. They have also urged businesses in China to shift to domestic suppliers.

Cisco’s revenues from sales in China are pegged at around US$2 billion annually. For a US$50-billion company this may just be a trickle but in a growing region-wide economy, the impact can be significant. Cisco’s investments in China are substantial and if the returns take a hit, repercussions can be severe.

Cisco has in the past benefited from American curbs on Huawei and ZTE. But with the Snowden saga the U.S. is finding its actions recoil on itself.

Cisco has moved quickly to deny any involvement with American surveillance activities but it will be interesting to see what other damage-control initiatives it has up its sleeve.

G Joslin Vethakumar

The Snowden Saga Invokes Memories of Fischer, Bans on Huawei / ZTE

But Snooping is Not Entirely Avoidable, National Security is Paramount

The story of Edward Snowden has shades of what late chess maestro Bobby Fischer went through. There are both differences and similarities in how both ended up fleeing the U.S. and flying from country to country.

Fischer was no spy but he angered the U.S. by travelling to Yugoslavia, defying a U.N. ban. He ended up giving up his American citizenship and settling down in Iceland.

Snowden, on the other hand, had his U.S. passport reportedly revoked aimed at restricting his movement and securing his capture. Still he managed to travel out of Hong Kong and Russia from where he is now said to be heading to Ecuador, via Cuba.

The U.S. may have had its reasons in carrying out its surveillance measures that Snowden exposed. Any country will have to accord priority to its security.

But ironically the U.S. and the U.K. have for long been viewing networking equipment vendors Huawei and ZTE with suspicion, even putting spokes on the latter’s business forays into their countries with bans on the pretext that they posed security risks. The apprehension was that China could use the equipment from Huawei and ZTE to monitor communications.

Watergate: There may be some truth in their fears, but the surveillance actions of both the U.S. and the U.K. run counter to their avowed principles of unfettered communications and human rights. They are no angels. Neither is this new as Watergate has still not been erased from memory.

Still, I will not unequivocally condemn them for violating the privacy of certain individuals and groups. As long as there is no abuse of snooping and as long as it stays within the realm of ensuring national security and nothing beyond (tapping trade secrets, for instance), it can be accepted even if with some qualms.

No nation can survive without espionage, but the façade of high moral ground for convenience that some spout can be revolting!

G Joslin Vethakumar

Comments on Rape Victim – Serena Was Not Entirely Wrong

The unsavoury slanging match between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova with Wimbledon just days away is unfortunate. Any rivalry is best played out on the tennis court rather than through verbal showdowns.

In an interview to Rolling Stones, Serena made some remarks about a drunk rape victim as well as about the personal life of Sharapova, albeit indirectly.

Serena apologized almost immediately after she drew flak for her comments.

But I do not think Serena was entirely wrong with her comments on the rape victim. It may be politically incorrect as the world generally ignores the cause and tends to go with victims.

Here’s what Serena said: “I’m not blaming the girl, but if you’re a 16-year-old and you’re drunk like that, your parents should teach you: Don’t take drinks from other people. She’s 16, why was she that drunk where she doesn’t remember? It could have been much worse. She’s lucky.”

Serena did go overboard when she went on to add that “obviously, I don’t know, maybe she wasn’t a virgin” but she was right in averring that the girl “shouldn’t have put herself in that position, unless they slipped her something, then that’s different.”

To me, it just says that girls have to exercise caution when in the company of strangers and should not get completely drunk and wasted.

Taking her comment to mean that she was on the side of the rapists and had no sympathy for the victim is reading too much into it. For the record, the rape happened in the U.S. (Ohio). In an ideal world, guys will not take advantage of completely wasted girls. But this is not an ideal world and girls have to take steps to protect themselves.

This is not in any way tantamount to saying that the culprits can escape punishment.

G Joslin Vethakumar

Why is Singapore Encouraging Divided Loyalties Among its New Citizens?

This couple came to Singapore and live here together with their 10-year-old son. The man is now a Singapore citizen and his wife a permanent resident.

This is a common scenario in Singapore where people from impoverished countries such as India move to for a living but with only the men taking up citizenship in the country.

There may be nothing really in it to whine about, but The Straits Times carried a huge feature in today’s Sunday edition that seemed to glorify that trend. How do Singapore’s rags such as The Straits Times pick their stories – by featuring those they know whether it makes news sense or not?

Family from India: The story was about a family from India but I cannot fathom what made it warrant a full-page coverage. Perhaps the fact that the boy is learning Chinese! Or maybe it was because he was acting in a movie, playing the role of a boy from India. Something that prompted the headline, Son acting out dad’s dream”, as it appears on page 7 of the Sunday Life section today!

But what struck me first was the fact that only the father in the family of three has taken up Singapore citizenship!

It is their life and whatever they are is based on their own preferences, so that should not matter for the rest.

Dual Citizenship: But Singaporeans must be concerned not just because they are the ones going without jobs merely to accommodate the mindless influx of foreigners but also because the country is ending up with families where divided nationalities and loyalties reign.

Singapore may as well allow dual nationality instead of letting only the male member of a family become a citizen while the rest hold on to their home passports.

Why this Venal Trend! But just why do foreign men from poor countries long for Singapore citizenship only for themselves and not for other members in the family? Here are a few reasons I can think of:

• They can avail themselves of the housing grant ranging from 30k to 40k that the Government dishes out.
• Those not eligible for the grant can still get a lower interest rate on loans than others.
• The male citizen can travel around the world without a visa. With a Singapore passport travel is visa-free even to the U.S. and Europe. This is easy for the man when required to travel on business at a short notice.
• Family loyalties can still remain with their home country where they can escape to at the slightest hint of trouble.
• Their sons can give up Singapore PR when it is time for National Service.

Why is it so difficult for Singapore to stop encouraging such dodgy practices among self-seeking citizen wannabes?

G Joslin Vethakumar 

Saina Proves Yet Again that London 2012 was a Stroke of Luck

Since winning the bronze medal in the London Olympics, Saina Nehwal has worked extra hard to demonstrate what a fluke it was even as jingoistic Indians go gaga over her each win.

Her loss in the quarter final match in the Singapore Open against Indonesia’s unseeded Lindaweni Fanetri just minutes ago was another of the many fiascos she has had since London 2012.

And what a boring match it was as well as it was mediocre badminton on display from both the players!!

Having watched the thrilling Women’s Doubles quarter finals between Misaki Matsutomo/Ayaka Takahashi and Cheng Shu/Bao Yixin just hours earlier in which the Japanese pair won, I was looking forward to an interesting contest. But second-seeded Saina Navel came a cropper, losing 17-21 21-13 21-13!

G Joslin Vethakumar

BT CEO Becomes UK Trade Minister

BT CEO Ian Livingston is leaving the company to become the U.K. Minister of State for Trade and Investment, at the invitation of Prime Minister David Cameron.

When the announcement was made two days ago, BT’s shares fell by about 4%, according to this Bloomberg report – http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-19/bt-names-patterson-ceo-as-livingston-takes-trade-minister-post.html

Such knee-jerk reactions are common in the markets whenever a company loses its CEO, but it is to be noted that the BT stock had gained 38% this year until June 19.

G Joslin Vethakumar

Advani Goes, Lip Service Begins at BJP! Or is the Resignation Itself One Big Drama?

It is lip service time within the BJP when its liabilities such as Meenakshi Lekhi and Nirmala Seetharaman come on TV to proclaim that their party loves its elders even while not forgetting to say repeatedly that “the institution is bigger than any individual”.

These are people who cannot even get their art of paying lip service right! Advani is not just another individual!

They will heckle Advani, stage protests against him outside his home, ridicule him for going public with his resignation and still expect us to believe they love their elders!

Mr LK Advani was the first political leader I had met at my first newspaper job in Hyderabad more than two decades ago. I was among a batch of around 25 trainee journalists at Newstime, a new English language daily then launched by the Eenadu Group.

Mr Advani had visited our office for a talk. I now remember nothing of what he talked about but he did come across as a tall leader, something that came into question much later when he went on a yatra that was to result in the demolition of Babri Masjid. So if Narendra Modi has the Godhra blotch, Advani has Ayodhya!

Back to the present, since when did people in their 60s become a part of the youth brigade? I cannot also help thinking that the resignation saga itself could be part of some political drama within the BJP! Interestingly, one old man who was thrown out of the party recently calls Advani senile!

G Joslin Vethakumar

Chicken Rice without Soup at World Food Jamboree in Singapore

Cuisine from the U.S., Mexico, India and countries in South-East Asia were among the international fare that Singaporeans got to savour at the 10-day World Street Food Congress that drew to a close today.

With my family away in Sydney, I chose to attend it this evening, trying Tamarind Rice with chicken at the Bhaskar Mysore Chamundeshwari Fast Food and chicken rice at the Wee Nam Kee stall. Being the not-so adventurous sort, I tried the Abhishek (Chicken 65) as well.I try to stick with Indian cuisine whenever I can.

I am no ravenous eater, the quantities were small, rightly so, to enable visitors to try out different types of food. Also, I had to use up the $20 food coupons that were given to me as part of the entrance fee.

Chicken rice was a disappointment as no soup was offered with it.  I usually like to mix chilli sauce with ginger paste and sprinkle it over chicken rice. But there was no ginger paste. To make it worse, all the chicken pieces were without the skin removed and with bones. Expected better fare from such a popular local stall as Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice.

The tamarind rice from Bhaskar Mysore Chamundeshwari stall and chicken 65 from Abhishek were scrumptious.

G Joslin Vethakumar