TioNg's NeW ResTauRanT

there's a new restauarant in tiong bahru plaza - located at the centre of the 2nd level, where sakae sushi used to be.

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b4 i even sat down, i saw this young waiter wiping the table and then i was softly telling hubb.. 'wahhh, why they hire angkong kia???'... basically, that young waiter has got his whole right forarm tatooed.
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sat down, looked thru the menu.. mainly spag, baked rice etc. u can mix and match - u get to choose the flavour, the sauce, the toppings etc and below r the instructions....

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after we placed the order, we looked thru the introduction of this restaurant which is found within the menu. basically this restauarant is opened by an ex-drug addict.. it wasnt stated explicitly in the menu that the staff are also ex-convicts (but not all r, i supposed), but u can easily draw inference from the words.

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then i looked around at the staff. the counter guy was a v big build botak malay guy. then there was another indian guy with both arms tattoed. then came an orange head with studs in chin and of cuz, there was tt young guy with tattooed forearm. the rest of the staff are more or less 'normal'.

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so this is a place where pple with no hope can find hope again.

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this is also a place which i'd always wanted to start. yes. way back, i already have this idea - to start a business of my own and employ the ex-convicts to work for me. i want to bring hope back to pple's lives. i want to give chance to pple who are condemed. i want to provide a guiding light to pple who have long lost tt light.

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but yet, when i 1st saw tt waiter, i was asking y they actually hire tattooed kia. so, im seriously not as 伟大 and 宽容 like wad i tot im huh?

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there was a jack neo's movie also on ex-convicts and there was this line that mark lee said '法官判我十年, 你们判我死刑!'. how very true, isint it?

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on every job application form, there will be a line that asked 'have u ever been convicted in the singapore court of law?'... try ticking yes, and i wonder how much chance will be left for u to obtain tt job.

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seriously, wad does it mean to have done mistakes b4? how much do we have to pay for tt mistake??

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recently, there was this hoo-haa on the Miss Singapore World pageant cuz the gal who's supposed to represent sg to compete has got past conviction for card frauds......

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personally, like many other s'poreans, i feel that she's a disgrace and she's not fit to represent singapore. but wad has past has past, so y shld it bother me or anyone else that she's now changed and all ready to face a new life?

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浪子回头金不换 vs 江山易改本性难移

知错能改善莫大焉 vs 狗改不了吃屎
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so??? conclusion??

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i think in singapore, we are still not tt ready to accept ex-offenders as yet. juz like how we will easily brand those tattoed personnels, studs personnels, outrageously colored hair personnels as 'lians' and 'bengs'.

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let's all learn to be more 宽容 and forgiving.. isit easier said than done??

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anyway, back to the food.

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actually the food so-so only. but the fish and chip was huge portion. reasonable price but cheaper if u hold a student card. do give it a try and show some support if u come across this restauarant. only gst and no svc charge. and remb, 不要戴着有色眼镜去看人!!

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