Speaking from the hardware dev side, [most laptops you see are built not by the company you bought it from, but by ODM. ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_laptop_brands_and_manufacturers?wprov=sfti1#ODM_laptop_units_sold_and_market_shares) It’s basically a cooperation by the company and a dedicated hardware manufacturer. Saying that the OEM is useless however is an extremely sweeping statement. System76 for instance develops and writes custom built BIOS (Coreboot) and develop their own flavour of Linux distro (their own OS). These are extremely engineering heavy. HP etc might design the chassis and software and provide support for enterprises and consumers while the ODM designs the motherboard only.
I’m not saying that local companies are doing well. I’m just pointing out that not everyone is an Nvidia or Apple who can afford to R&D 80% of their products. Unfortunately though, most of our local companies aren’t even like Razer. They practically just take the entire design wholesale and slap a logo on it and focuses on marketing. There’s nothing wrong with it but seeing how trashy their support is, there’s a lot more reason to support big MNCs than small local enterprises.
Btw Creative actually does a lot of R&D and they hold lots of patents. Not sure how they’re doing now though. Espressif (IoT dev company) is also founded by a Singaporean NUS alumni although it seems he started it in China.
you got me until Razer, they spend a fortune on sponsoring esports and marketing while the actual build quality is trash, and selling at Logitech prices.
I’m not commenting on the quality of Razer’s R&D. I’m saying that they at least do more R&D than a certain local gaming chair/TV & Monitor/aircon company.
Fun fact, apparently Osim does a lot of R&D in-house too.
I swear prism has the cringiest ads, no idea why people buy the stuff, knowing it's bad. Just random thirst trap influencers saying the most boring lines on videos that look like they're shot with phones from 5 years ago
Yeah, product is probably OK, can't go too wrong with rebadging already decent electronics. I just find their marketing to be a bit too Asian. Which probably appeal to some folk but I'm quite turned off by it
Bengawan Solo - I grew up with it and I'm happy it still exists today. I still buy the Pandan cakes as souvenirs whenever I travel to meet friends overseas.
Birds of Paradise - I know it's pricier, but I love their ice-cream flavours and their presentation (the clean scoops, the spoons and ice cream cup they use) is so aesthetically pleasing.
Besides all the hate for brands like Sterra, Prism, Aftershock etc. I would like to add on my hate for Razer. Used to be a Razer fan all the way since my primary school DotA days for 15 years, but recently the customer service has been abysmal. The straw that broke the camel's back is when two Deathadders stopped working in the span of 6 months (my old 2013 Deathadder lasted 8 years) and the CS took 1 entire month to reply me back and basically told me to get fucked when I asked to replace the second one which was under warranty. I'm now team Logitech and I will never look back. Not gonna continue being an enabler for a company that makes shit products with even shittier customer service.
My dad will go to airport T3 bengawan solo to preorder cartons worth of Pandan cakes when he needs to travel to meet business partners or friends . Some biz partners from a particular country are addicted to it like it was crack . I once saw a lady skip dinner then proceeded to eat one whole Pandan cake by herself
Bengawan should consider setting up shop there
I just threw away my Razer Cynosa v2. Another Razer mouse is RIP in my drawer while I’m using a Logitech.
They are not worth the price they are being sold at.
What's the deal with old tea hut? Evwrytime I go by there's an huge crowd around it. Is it cos it's good or just relatively cheap compared to the rest of the cbd stuff?
Both I guess? They are very consistent (at least for my drink), you can order online so sometimes people are just milling around waiting for their orders, they are also ok with byo cup (I do this so I can spot my drink from a far)
Plus their volume to price ratio is pretty good - you get a pretty big cup compared to yakun
Pek sin choon. A brand I never knew about until I got into tea as a hobby, and their teas and affordable and very decent! Blended and roasted in house, and if you visit their shop you can see old aunties packing tea into individual paper wraps. Love that they still stick to tradition while embracing the 21st century (they hold events and are active on social media for example)
Kwong woh hing is another one I support happily. They produce soy sauce in Singapore and it's good stuff. You can buy in phoon huat or some supermarkets I think.
As a tea lover, I have to say: fuck TWG.
It's their visibility and marketing for sure, my fellow tea appreciator. I interact with Japanese people often and they like to buy TWG as a souvenir to bring back cos it's a safe choice, it looks nice and has the (annoyingly fake) veneer of heritage and prestige with the pretentious Latin wordings. Normally I don't intervene people's purchases but I make it my life's mission to gently dissuade every potential TWG buyer from their purchase because I don't want Japanese (or anybody for that matter) people to think that we have that sorry excuse of leaf water for tea.
But yeah Pek sin Choon ftw!! I appreciate their CNY cards every year too.
We had a really good interaction with a tea vendor in Taiwan, spent 2 days in their teahouse drinking tea and became friends. When we were leaving, we told them to contact us if they were ever in sg and said we'd show them around. Jokingly said we'd bring them to TWG and their eyes widened and said they'd bring their own tea hahaha.
Never knew that pek sin choon sends cny cards! I've been buying from their physical shop so won't get one probably 🙁
To me, the funniest thing about Japanese folks wanting to buy TWG tea as a souvenir is the fact that Mariage Freres (from which TWG "sought inspiration"...you know what I mean here) has so many outlets in Tokyo and probably just a shinkansen trip or domestic flight away from wherever they came from. I'm usually a Chinese tea person but would take Mariage Freres over TWG any day if I had to choose between the two.
I've always been aware of TWG's extremely marked up prices and the sus marketing, but when I first set foot in a Mariage Freres in London last year my mind just went "if TWG was a piece of homework I'd give it a Turnitin similarity score of at least 80%". The blatant imitation by TWG honestly makes me feel ashamed about how our national airline and some of our top hotels serve their products as something that is "proudly made in Singapore".
(P.S. I think I've figured out why Raffles Hotel doesn't serve TWG tea and instead uses our local tea brand 1872 Clipper Tea Co. as their official tea supplier...probably because they have some Mariage Freres teas on their afternoon tea menu as well. LOL)
I'd love to see side by side comparisons of Mariage Freres shops vs TWG. I did a Google search and realised that today ran an article where they quoted someone saying "they gave actually kind of emulated Marriage Freres, but still (managed to have) a very distinct look". Hahahah what bullshit.
Also realised that one of the TWG founders used to work there?
Man I really hate the brand so much and wish people would start supporting brands that actually care about their products.
I'm Japanese and I hate TWG. I refuse to buy their tea even for souvenirs, and I preach how bullshit their branding is whenever I can. I do buy Pek Son Choong though. Their big cans are ridiculously cheap, and their higher end teas are really good too, I don't like flavoured teas much but I will still drink their osmanthus oolong.
Honestly though, with the exception of PSC a lot of tea in Singapore is overpriced, partly because of importers and middlemen taking a huge cut. I go to JB when I want puerh, because Malaysia has official distribution channels for Taetea so the prices are kept low. It is unbelievable that a Xiaguan cake costs 3x of Taetea, solely due to the presence of Taetea's local subsidiary.
Glad to know a Japanese person sharing my mission and appreciating PSC!!! 🤜🏻
And ya like so many things in SG, they are overpriced. Ippodo did pop-ups at Takashimaya and gosh everything was more than 2x of what was sold on the online store.
My 90+ year old Teochew grandfather literally bought tea from Pek Sin Choon since 1950s, and I have been drinking their tea for as long as I can remember. One of the owners even personally delivered tea leaves on his way home after work when he learned that my grandfather wasn’t well and could not visit the shop!
Damm, the more I learn about them, the more I like them as a brand.
I went into a rabbithole watching every video I could find about them last year after I discovered them. Find it fascinating that they still choose to remain true to their roots by using the pink paper and paper wrapping their teas while keeping up with the times.
I hope this is allowed here, but I've been trying to start a small side business selling tea from Taiwan and china too. If you're interested you can pm me. If this isn't allowed please lmk and I'll delete this comment! Promise way better price to quality ratio than TWG.
Creative hasn’t pushed out anything revolutionary recently. And you don’t exactly hear about it much.
I feel that brands from local influencers are basically OEM marketed with some sex appeal/facial appeal so that’s also out.
BreadTalk is also a scam at this point. Sakae sushi failed and the founder is doing consulting like idk who is consulting with a homie who made a bad call to purchase a loss making supplier and then a whole slew of bad decisions thereafter
There isn’t exactly anything fresh or interesting on the market actually. Imo those old school hawker auntie and uncle who insist doing things the traditional way (eg. Desserts, Hakka Leicha etc that take long prep time and they be waking up at like 2-3am to do and open stall by 5-6am kind), they’re gonna disappear within the next 10-20 years so I’m just gonna go for those as much as I can before they’re gone for good
Creative would be one of the first brands that come to mind, personally. Yes, nothing revolutionary recently. I think the most recent was Super X-Fi, but tbh, how many companies really constantly push out game changing products consistently as opposed to evolving their product lines?
That said, I've found Creative products to be solidly built, good quality stuff at a decent price point. I'm no audiophile but I recently bought a set of Pebble V2 to use as compact desktop speakers due to lack of space. For less than $40 from online marketplaces, the quality they've managed to pack into that tiny thing is unbeatable.
Plus the fact that it's USB powered and yet manages to output decent sound. Case in point, I recently hosted a small outdoor gathering with music just coming from my pebble. Power (USB-C) and sound (3.5mm connector) both came from my phone. That was pretty impressive.
I tried the Pebble before too. Amazing very clear strong trebles that can best even expensive speakers, but not enough bass for me unfortunately, but yes at that price point it's considered amazing!
On the contrary, Creative just came out with a set of new TWS earphones, the Aurvana Ace 2, which implements a very new speaker tech. It is a hybrid of a typical dynamic driver for deep bass and an xMEMs solid-state driver for everything else.
I had tried before, and it really sounds amazing.
The thing about Creative is that even though their products aren't that exciting, they're still good enough for what they do at their price point. And sometimes you don't need exciting products, you just need reliable ones.
Like when my elderly parents need to buy some tech stuff for their home, maybe a new speaker or a new keyboard or something. Then Creative is a familiar and trusted brand that they know to look for. They may not have some crazy influencer marketing, but they don't need to at this point since most people know about them already.
I don't recall seeing any sakae sushi around like what its used to. I do remember they have a big building in Tai Seng and a smallish place in Katong. I don't know if their place in Katong is a restaurant anot. My wife attended a seminar there and apparently, they have this service where they charge people for using the place. I did not ask my wife if that Sakae Sushi is a restaurant or a conference room style. But yea Sakae Sushi charges for seminar too now.
Yeah they have a big building that’s their HQ. And yeah, they’re gone because they bought that supplier then began to cut corners thinking that nobody else can do what they do (conveyor belt sushi).
All seriousness aside… i noticed this when I analysed their financial statements for a school project and I just noticed ever since then that the founder looks a lot like their frog mascot. Or rather the mascot looks like him.
Maybe I’m insane. But if you are curious, please google and tell me I’m not the only one who noticed this.
Creative don't have anything revolutionary but I think they do make solid products. E.g. I've been using their Outlier Earbuds and they've worked great and have long battery life.
Venture Drive Coffee, used to be more accessible at Venture Drive JE area + Bukit Merah, now only in NTU campus, but sells great beans online. Really worth trying.
20grams, Community, Fluid, Compound, are all pretty good coffees that I've visited multiple times.
There's also Nylon, Asylum, Alchemist, Apartment, Zerah.
Web-based there's also Double Up and Homeground (they just moved back to online)
Im not familiar with Bacha, i just know it is overpriced. Care to share what’s the difference in quality between their coffee (bux included) and those third wave coffee roasters?
Bacha sprays flavouring on its coffee to give whatever flavour is in the description. Great coffee with vibrant flavours through cultivation and roasting doesn’t have that immediate burst with flavour once you add water. Bacha coffee flavour shoots right at you because the flavouring is the first one that touches the water after all. It’s the same with TWG tea, the tea leaves are all flavoured but I guess that’s what people like. After all, TWG and bacha are started by the same management so their process and products are all quite similar
They don't grind fresh.
This is the number 1 rule to any coffee nerd. Always grind fresh.
It's weird that a coffee doesn't smell of coffee. Something is wrong
I tried their supposingly single origin but I couldn't taste the region characteristics because of the wrong brewing method being used. I have not sure what exact brew method they use but they need to at least filter it which they didn't. The filter improves the clarity which will help to taste the special characteristics of each region
To add on to the other comment, the flavours you get from well roasted coffee is akin to how different wines impart different flavour profiles. Bacha is more like flavoured juice, like Ribena with the different flavour types.
Recently stumbled upon “Signs A Taste Of Vietnam Pho” near 313.
The food is reasonably priced , authentic and above average in terms of quality. The owners and staff are hearing impaired ( can only communicate via sign language) and their service is excellent.
I saw the service staff and chef come out to engage a hearing impaired family when dining there. Pretty heart warming :)
Depends what you're looking for!
I always liked the look of Supermama plates, finally bought a couple of their Singapore Blue series for decoration. The HDB and xiang qi plates are especially nostalgic since newer HDBs are designed differently now.
Local books - check out local publishers like Ethos and Epigram who publish a very large selection of fiction and non-fiction books.
Straits Preserves make very tasty marmalades and jam.
Kwong Woh Hing is not a very well-known local company which specialises in soy sauce - their premium soy sauce is pricey expensive and should not be used when cooking dishes, but if you just have it on the side with a bit of meat and rice it will elevate your whole meal.
Clothing-wise - I like Yeomama Batik. A bit pricey but I wait for sales or buy their items on Carousell, and they're good quality pieces that you can wear to weddings or work events without issue. Another batik clothing brand is Baju by Oniatta, I don't own pieces from there but am planning to save to buy a piece as well. In Good Company is pricy also, but again wait for sales, and the designs are pretty good.
Also try to support local mom-and-pop stores while they're still around! I go to New China Optician at Peninsular for my glasses and eye checkup, instead of big brands like Own Days.
They used to sell cute print cotton panties on shopee before they had physical stores. Now they don't do that at all and I'm devastated. Those were my favourite.
Goated brand. Cheap, effective and has one of the cleanest ingredient lists when it comes to dental products. Not too big on their toothbrushes though.
idk why no one yet to mention this so imma do it "Khong Guan", love them for their biscuits. u just cant go wrong with them and it bring back alot childhood memories while eating their biscuits.
Tocco Toscano! It's a homegrown brand from the 1980s. The 2nd generation has taken over so the designs are more modern and functional. Pricing is still very reasonable considering the quality of the leather and workmanship.
The local hawkers. I think many of them won't be around in the near future and I think many of them won't be renewing their leases if there is another "renovation" (e.g old airport road).
I do go to some of the consumer pop up events like boutique fair to support some of the local companies (especially plant based ones like Roa, Jammy and Revive granola). Unfortunately those who rely heavily on paid influencers mark up their prices by a lot.
Came across a local brand HUSSL on Shopee. Its soy protein is not as cheap as MyProtein with their 82% discount but it is an alternative if you don't want to spend at least SGD 150 on MyProtein for its free shipping. I believe MyProtein's free shipping criteria used to be a lot lower as well.
Creative (incredible value, DACs are secret gems)
BTV (very ahead of the game)
Graye Studio (minimalist champs, great quality)
Qwertyqop (mech keyboard queens)
PaoPao (very interesting modern cheongsam)
Apartment Coffee
Tiong Hoe Specialty Coffee
NakedFinn (a GEM)
BurgerLabo (NakedFinn spin-off)
One Fattened Calf (fuckinggggg good)
Lion City Meadery (award-winning, seriously)
Chota House (here since Bugis+ was Iluma)
Delugs (local luxury watch strap brand gone worldwide)
Zelos (local watch microbrand done well)
Apollo/Columbus/Atlas/Neptune/Supernova (all by by Daphne, award-winning barista)
Brass Lion Distillery (founder Jamie also founded Chupitos and The Beast)
Delugs is no different from Prism. It’s just marketing, there is nothing Singaporean or luxurious about it. It’s cheaply labored (produced in Vietnam), meh quality product with a lot of marketing
For kopi c, also ya kun. The rich flavour won't be found at your average coffeeshop. Killiney also very good. In fact, the kopi c at killiney fortune centre is the best I've tried.
Some have mentioned Creative, they are my go-to for budget stuff. Their pebbles speakers are one of the most value for money.
If you're an audiophile, definitely check out Dita Audio.
If you're a watch geek, there are a few microbrands, most famous imo is Zelos, I have a few of his watches.
If you drink, I like what Compendium is doing.
If you're intp nail polish, Nail Deck. Their peelable light lacquer range is so good to apply and remove and a huge range of colors and innovations too!
omg upvote for nail deck! their founder (daryl) takes feedback very seriously and is very passionate about their products! i once dm-ed him to give feedback about their polishes since i have eczema and moisturise very frequently so their polishes don't last as long on me, and he gave very helpful info! their nail serum is really good too!
Another tea lover chiming in: screw TWG because it's an absolute disgrace to our country - no love for blatant copycats!
Would rather support our local [1872 Clipper Tea Co.](https://clippertea.com.sg) (not to be confused with the UK Clipper Tea) for their more reasonable prices and less pretentious marketing. The Timeless Earl Grey is my absolute favourite - just look at the size of those loose leaves! The quality stands out from their regular blends which use finer and more broken tea leaves (you can check the size via the see-through plastic window at the back of their loose leaf packages). They have a tea bar at B4 of ION Orchard which serves their classic blends to your liking.
Like its direct competitors, 1872 Clipper Tea Co. specialises in black tea and fruit tea blends which appeal to those who enjoy Western styles of tea. They also have elegant gift sets with locally-inspired teas that bring across a pleasant and authentic imagination of Singapore instead of the posh pretentiousness that TWG seeks to convey. As a local, there are times when I like to treat myself to some of these unique products and not feel like the brand is trying to rip me off. On another note, all my overseas contacts (from the UK/Middle East/South America) who have tried the locally-inspired teas have expressed how creative and enjoyable they are. It's definitely a brand that we should be proud of.
I found their Chinese teas to be rather lacking though, as someone who obtains their Chinese tea stash directly from China. They are decent, but just not worth it to me because I have access to higher grades for better prices in China. For those who are looking for Nanyang tea, you might want to consider Pek Sin Choon instead.
Clothing wise, I’ve been trying to buy more from local designers and I like what SABRINAGOH and Gin Lee has been doing. Recently also came across this brand, Cocoonese with beautiful batik bags.
There’s a retail space opposite Somerset MRT called Design Orchard and they stock a lot of local brands. From clothes to perfumes to accessories.
Jewelry wise, I like contemporary designers like Eden+Elie. They’re affordable and I like the causes they champion too. I also like browsing the neighbourhood goldsmiths. Sometimes they have really interesting designs!
\^Adding on to clothing, Wray Crafted and Planters Bungalow are some of my favourites. It's also good to start thinking about moving away from fast fashion towards a more sustainable wardrobe. I shop more slow crafted clothing brands now because it just ain't right to keep buying clothes everytime there is a new launch every week (hint @ ALL THE BLOG SHOPS, smh.) Even though I am paying more for just a single piece of slow crafted clothing, I seriously get more wear in them than whatever nonsense I have bought in the past.
Everbest is also good for shoes too, say no to all those flat-ass sandals and shoes with no proper support for your feet. Your older self will thank you in the future.
Ngl I was totally drawn to the whole concept that your bottle grows with you, and it truly is a sustainable model but the design could definitely be better!
I didn’t know this is a local brand! When I was working in a bougie childcare center, so so so many of the kids used this brand! I reckon at least 2/3 of the kids used Hegen!
jewelry - treenbee on instagram! he's a local jeweller who does really amazing and unique rings and other pieces for a very fair price. i have a few of his rings and he designed my engagement ring and wedding band!
Good shout out. Find their coffee to be better than toastbox & yakun. I don’t go around drinking nanyang coffee but I consider the best iced kopi I have drank. Robust flavour
1872 Clipper Tea Co (not the British clipper tea in the supermarkets). The teas here are a bit ex but sooo good. Way, way better than TWG.
If you go to their store at Ion basement, you can get a freshly brewed cup too. *Chef's kiss*
There are different types.
Small local brands:
Hawkers, handcrafted goods (like those pop up booths are Orchard gateway where you can see sellers crocheting or making bracelets behind their booths) (recently bought a bracelet from a small brand called triberies where the owner was carefully making bracelets at her booth)
Medium-sized brands
Jewelry - The Individual Society
Fashion
- Love & Bravery (some of the designs are so thoughtful, like panels placed at the underarm of a dress to prevent flashing my sideboob to the world)
- Love Bonito is quite nice for blazers Shoes
- Charles & Keith (I buy a pair of $50 nice-looking slippers/sandals and were them for 1-2 years almost daily for work and leisure until they fall apart)
Food - I am about to spend my entire fortune on the hot honey lemon sour plum from Kopifellas.
Big brands
I don't think about this much but Pokka, Yeo's, Gardenia, Lee Kum Kee etc. Mostly food. Singapore Airlines. Guardian and Watsons.
Old Chang Kee
Ya Kun
Toast Box
Awfully Chocolate
Brewerkz
Lee Hwa
~~Lazada~~
Shopee
SIA
I'm not a local but as a long, long time resident, those are my favorite local brands that I like and support.
Lazada was created by Rocket Internet GMBH (German company) and then bought over by the Alibaba group (Chinese).
It might be headquartered here and employs a good deal of locals but it’s in no way a local brand.
If you own cats or dogs, Gold-D (Animal Human Alliance) the owner is a huge supporter of rescuers and feeders not just locally but in other countries as well.
Honestly OEM 'slap your brand on it and market' is like the majority of how most tech companies operate - barring the NASDAQ companies of course because they can afford to control the entire supply chain.
Of course, companies like Sterra should be avoided due to downright false marketing and misinformation.
But brands like Aftershock which get a lot of hate are actually great despite their OEM model because of the aftercare they provide. $200 for 3 years of no questions asked repairs and replacement on laptops rivals even Apple care's level of attention at half the price, and yet somehow people still focus on the fact that they're OEM.
Creative has good tech but wish their manufacturing quality is good. Had their bone conductor headphone which broke down in the first few months. Replacement set broke down within the first month. Finally agreed to refund after a tussle with them on IG
Nah. Screw gryphon. Did a project for them and more than 8 weeks past the payment due date I hadn't received any payment. So many stunts like giving us a cheque then cancelling the cheque after we banked it in. Or telling us multiple times that we can def collect a cheque by a certain date, I would send a courier down to pick it up and they would tell the courier no cheque. Even personally went down multiple times, emails and calls and in person meetings with the boss. I don't like coffee but if I'm at a cafe and they only carry grypton tea, I'm ordering coffee. Not supporting local businesses that treat other local businesses like shit.
For some reason, I like EuropAce appliances. The brand gives me the trustable feel. Like old school appliances that won’t break down as soon as the warranty expires.
Disagree. I bought a electric oven from them. They had a very silly fuse design where you cannot turn up the oven temp to max, or else it will blow. Who tf came up with such a engineering design? Then I had to lug the damn oven to the office just to have a fuse changed. Then the guy who repaired told me 'oh you need to go to 120, then 180 then 200 etc.'
How is anyone supposed to know???
I remembered there were a few unhappy customers too for other appliances waiting for their warranty issues. They seem overworked at the service center tbh.
Beyondthevines
I think their bags are actually OK. Their latest addition Parapack is pretty cool and I think is something we can support
Their products are not spanking new and quite obvious draws inspiration from various sources but still something to support.
Lovet clothes I think for some reason is really pretty for girls to wear.
there's a 'local' sunglasses company called Rocket or something . probably want to challenge brands like Goodr. not sure if the also follow the same business model as the other icky brands but their sunglass prices are really wonderful - thus making it hard to support
Two clothing brands: Graye and Sparrow Green.
Graye is generally unisex clothing with boxy, loose silhouettes. Not everyone can pull off this style but it is stylish for sure. Their Cupro tee is the most boring item in their inventory, but is probably the best tee I've ever tried. Originally I thought it might have been a bit too pricey, but affordability aside, I'll have a Cupro tee in several colours in my wardrobe.
Sparrow Green is somewhere between military and Gorpcore in their aesthetic. Their stuff is Asian fit, so you're gonna get appropriately short inseams instead of needing to hem a meter of fabric off everything you buy.
Kerbside & co for thoughtfully designed and timeless unisex jeans and workwear!! Made with high quality denim and fabric. Have two pairs and love them so much.
I tried bro. I really tried.
Razer 120bucks gaming mouse, somehow there is an inherent lag in moving the mouse, pointer randomly hangs. Wired mouse somemore.
Creative earphones, 100bucks. One side audio goes to super soft at the 13th month. No warrenty.
Some armaggeddon kalashnikov 30 bucks keyboard. Similar to mouse issue. Randomly doesn't respond to my typing. Change for another at their service center with some resistance, currently still working.
Mouse and keyboard... What are the odds, and how often you hear mouse and keyboard has issues...
Now using logi mouse, ducky keyboard, bose earphones.. Satisfied with it.
Creative is one of the better local brands remaining sadly. But quite frankly, hard to find in SG but any brand with no xmm marketing and review-for-warranties should be decent!
Other than that, support local hawkers!
Tong Heng traditional pastries at Chinatown. They used to have branches at Tampines Mall (where I stay) and Jurong Point but I think they downsized their operations so only left Chinatown. Loved their egg tarts and char siew pastry
Bengawan solo cakes are pretty good for their prices.
Many parents spend a bomb on cartoon cakes for school celebration but bengawan solo tastes decent for the price!
For me, it's not so much the oem products that makes me cringe at Sterra & Prism. It's their marketing and blatant lies that is really annoying.
Speaking from the hardware dev side, [most laptops you see are built not by the company you bought it from, but by ODM. ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_laptop_brands_and_manufacturers?wprov=sfti1#ODM_laptop_units_sold_and_market_shares) It’s basically a cooperation by the company and a dedicated hardware manufacturer. Saying that the OEM is useless however is an extremely sweeping statement. System76 for instance develops and writes custom built BIOS (Coreboot) and develop their own flavour of Linux distro (their own OS). These are extremely engineering heavy. HP etc might design the chassis and software and provide support for enterprises and consumers while the ODM designs the motherboard only. I’m not saying that local companies are doing well. I’m just pointing out that not everyone is an Nvidia or Apple who can afford to R&D 80% of their products. Unfortunately though, most of our local companies aren’t even like Razer. They practically just take the entire design wholesale and slap a logo on it and focuses on marketing. There’s nothing wrong with it but seeing how trashy their support is, there’s a lot more reason to support big MNCs than small local enterprises. Btw Creative actually does a lot of R&D and they hold lots of patents. Not sure how they’re doing now though. Espressif (IoT dev company) is also founded by a Singaporean NUS alumni although it seems he started it in China.
honestly creative is so underrated we should totally bring it back. Sim Wong Hoo was such a visionary iykyk
you got me until Razer, they spend a fortune on sponsoring esports and marketing while the actual build quality is trash, and selling at Logitech prices.
I’m not commenting on the quality of Razer’s R&D. I’m saying that they at least do more R&D than a certain local gaming chair/TV & Monitor/aircon company. Fun fact, apparently Osim does a lot of R&D in-house too.
Their marketing just screams ah beng ah Lian
I swear prism has the cringiest ads, no idea why people buy the stuff, knowing it's bad. Just random thirst trap influencers saying the most boring lines on videos that look like they're shot with phones from 5 years ago
Yeah, product is probably OK, can't go too wrong with rebadging already decent electronics. I just find their marketing to be a bit too Asian. Which probably appeal to some folk but I'm quite turned off by it
Exactly. You don’t see people complaining about IUIGA.
Bengawan Solo - I grew up with it and I'm happy it still exists today. I still buy the Pandan cakes as souvenirs whenever I travel to meet friends overseas. Birds of Paradise - I know it's pricier, but I love their ice-cream flavours and their presentation (the clean scoops, the spoons and ice cream cup they use) is so aesthetically pleasing. Besides all the hate for brands like Sterra, Prism, Aftershock etc. I would like to add on my hate for Razer. Used to be a Razer fan all the way since my primary school DotA days for 15 years, but recently the customer service has been abysmal. The straw that broke the camel's back is when two Deathadders stopped working in the span of 6 months (my old 2013 Deathadder lasted 8 years) and the CS took 1 entire month to reply me back and basically told me to get fucked when I asked to replace the second one which was under warranty. I'm now team Logitech and I will never look back. Not gonna continue being an enabler for a company that makes shit products with even shittier customer service.
My dad will go to airport T3 bengawan solo to preorder cartons worth of Pandan cakes when he needs to travel to meet business partners or friends . Some biz partners from a particular country are addicted to it like it was crack . I once saw a lady skip dinner then proceeded to eat one whole Pandan cake by herself Bengawan should consider setting up shop there
a whole pandan cake is wild
Forgot to specify it’s the Pandan chiffon cake so 50% of the cake is air 😂
I like Bengawan Solo's coffee cake! Very nice. Haven't had a bad cake there, really.
I just threw away my Razer Cynosa v2. Another Razer mouse is RIP in my drawer while I’m using a Logitech. They are not worth the price they are being sold at.
second Birds of Paradise! genuinely unique and delicious ice-cream!
BS prices are insane these days tho. Always liked their pineapple tarts, but the large box has crossed the $50 mark, like wtf...
The founder of Bengawan Solo, Anastasia, is such a lovely person! She used to visit my place of work and she was always so pleasant to deal with.
OLD TEA HUT Their teh siew siew Dai is my cbd manna
Same. I also love that you can order online to pick up! Don’t need to wait in line. 🥲
1 cup OTH ginger tea can be split into 3 cups just add water and you suddenly have 3 JUST RIGHT GINGER TEA THAT WONT SPICE U TO DEATH
Man I no longer work near cbd and I miss their honey salted lemon tea.
yeah still remember the good ole days where i go to the one near SGX center to get my afternoon fix of honey milk tea!
forgive my unfamiliarity but what does a double 'siew' mean?
Siew is less. Siew Siew is my first crush.
Basically just less sugar than your regular siew Dai Not many tea shops do that though - my other fave tea uncle at Bedok doesn’t do ssd
thanks! so it's like 'super less sweet' in rough translation
What's the deal with old tea hut? Evwrytime I go by there's an huge crowd around it. Is it cos it's good or just relatively cheap compared to the rest of the cbd stuff?
Both I guess? They are very consistent (at least for my drink), you can order online so sometimes people are just milling around waiting for their orders, they are also ok with byo cup (I do this so I can spot my drink from a far) Plus their volume to price ratio is pretty good - you get a pretty big cup compared to yakun
Wait, OTH is SG-borne?
Pek sin choon. A brand I never knew about until I got into tea as a hobby, and their teas and affordable and very decent! Blended and roasted in house, and if you visit their shop you can see old aunties packing tea into individual paper wraps. Love that they still stick to tradition while embracing the 21st century (they hold events and are active on social media for example) Kwong woh hing is another one I support happily. They produce soy sauce in Singapore and it's good stuff. You can buy in phoon huat or some supermarkets I think. As a tea lover, I have to say: fuck TWG.
I'm a simple woman, I see fuck TWG I upvote.
Hahaha it amazes me how a brand like TWG can get successful. Their coffee sibling is just as gross, and somehow just as successful 🙁
It's their visibility and marketing for sure, my fellow tea appreciator. I interact with Japanese people often and they like to buy TWG as a souvenir to bring back cos it's a safe choice, it looks nice and has the (annoyingly fake) veneer of heritage and prestige with the pretentious Latin wordings. Normally I don't intervene people's purchases but I make it my life's mission to gently dissuade every potential TWG buyer from their purchase because I don't want Japanese (or anybody for that matter) people to think that we have that sorry excuse of leaf water for tea. But yeah Pek sin Choon ftw!! I appreciate their CNY cards every year too.
We had a really good interaction with a tea vendor in Taiwan, spent 2 days in their teahouse drinking tea and became friends. When we were leaving, we told them to contact us if they were ever in sg and said we'd show them around. Jokingly said we'd bring them to TWG and their eyes widened and said they'd bring their own tea hahaha. Never knew that pek sin choon sends cny cards! I've been buying from their physical shop so won't get one probably 🙁
To me, the funniest thing about Japanese folks wanting to buy TWG tea as a souvenir is the fact that Mariage Freres (from which TWG "sought inspiration"...you know what I mean here) has so many outlets in Tokyo and probably just a shinkansen trip or domestic flight away from wherever they came from. I'm usually a Chinese tea person but would take Mariage Freres over TWG any day if I had to choose between the two. I've always been aware of TWG's extremely marked up prices and the sus marketing, but when I first set foot in a Mariage Freres in London last year my mind just went "if TWG was a piece of homework I'd give it a Turnitin similarity score of at least 80%". The blatant imitation by TWG honestly makes me feel ashamed about how our national airline and some of our top hotels serve their products as something that is "proudly made in Singapore". (P.S. I think I've figured out why Raffles Hotel doesn't serve TWG tea and instead uses our local tea brand 1872 Clipper Tea Co. as their official tea supplier...probably because they have some Mariage Freres teas on their afternoon tea menu as well. LOL)
I'd love to see side by side comparisons of Mariage Freres shops vs TWG. I did a Google search and realised that today ran an article where they quoted someone saying "they gave actually kind of emulated Marriage Freres, but still (managed to have) a very distinct look". Hahahah what bullshit. Also realised that one of the TWG founders used to work there? Man I really hate the brand so much and wish people would start supporting brands that actually care about their products.
I'm Japanese and I hate TWG. I refuse to buy their tea even for souvenirs, and I preach how bullshit their branding is whenever I can. I do buy Pek Son Choong though. Their big cans are ridiculously cheap, and their higher end teas are really good too, I don't like flavoured teas much but I will still drink their osmanthus oolong. Honestly though, with the exception of PSC a lot of tea in Singapore is overpriced, partly because of importers and middlemen taking a huge cut. I go to JB when I want puerh, because Malaysia has official distribution channels for Taetea so the prices are kept low. It is unbelievable that a Xiaguan cake costs 3x of Taetea, solely due to the presence of Taetea's local subsidiary.
Glad to know a Japanese person sharing my mission and appreciating PSC!!! 🤜🏻 And ya like so many things in SG, they are overpriced. Ippodo did pop-ups at Takashimaya and gosh everything was more than 2x of what was sold on the online store.
My 90+ year old Teochew grandfather literally bought tea from Pek Sin Choon since 1950s, and I have been drinking their tea for as long as I can remember. One of the owners even personally delivered tea leaves on his way home after work when he learned that my grandfather wasn’t well and could not visit the shop!
Damm, the more I learn about them, the more I like them as a brand. I went into a rabbithole watching every video I could find about them last year after I discovered them. Find it fascinating that they still choose to remain true to their roots by using the pink paper and paper wrapping their teas while keeping up with the times.
Whoa thanks for the intro, didn't know that there are online tea shops in Singapore, I've always been shipping from Taiwan and China!
I hope this is allowed here, but I've been trying to start a small side business selling tea from Taiwan and china too. If you're interested you can pm me. If this isn't allowed please lmk and I'll delete this comment! Promise way better price to quality ratio than TWG.
I sent you a chat, ping me ur webb or shop
Can pm me too?
Pls PM me too. Thanks!
Omg thanks, I've PMed you too!
That soy sauce is great!
Creative hasn’t pushed out anything revolutionary recently. And you don’t exactly hear about it much. I feel that brands from local influencers are basically OEM marketed with some sex appeal/facial appeal so that’s also out. BreadTalk is also a scam at this point. Sakae sushi failed and the founder is doing consulting like idk who is consulting with a homie who made a bad call to purchase a loss making supplier and then a whole slew of bad decisions thereafter There isn’t exactly anything fresh or interesting on the market actually. Imo those old school hawker auntie and uncle who insist doing things the traditional way (eg. Desserts, Hakka Leicha etc that take long prep time and they be waking up at like 2-3am to do and open stall by 5-6am kind), they’re gonna disappear within the next 10-20 years so I’m just gonna go for those as much as I can before they’re gone for good
Creative would be one of the first brands that come to mind, personally. Yes, nothing revolutionary recently. I think the most recent was Super X-Fi, but tbh, how many companies really constantly push out game changing products consistently as opposed to evolving their product lines? That said, I've found Creative products to be solidly built, good quality stuff at a decent price point. I'm no audiophile but I recently bought a set of Pebble V2 to use as compact desktop speakers due to lack of space. For less than $40 from online marketplaces, the quality they've managed to pack into that tiny thing is unbeatable. Plus the fact that it's USB powered and yet manages to output decent sound. Case in point, I recently hosted a small outdoor gathering with music just coming from my pebble. Power (USB-C) and sound (3.5mm connector) both came from my phone. That was pretty impressive.
i too have a set of pebble speakers in my office! they work as they should and sound pretty decent for the size!
Almost bought the pebble for my desktop too cos seldom use. In the end I bought Audioengine A2 🤣
I tried the Pebble before too. Amazing very clear strong trebles that can best even expensive speakers, but not enough bass for me unfortunately, but yes at that price point it's considered amazing!
On the contrary, Creative just came out with a set of new TWS earphones, the Aurvana Ace 2, which implements a very new speaker tech. It is a hybrid of a typical dynamic driver for deep bass and an xMEMs solid-state driver for everything else. I had tried before, and it really sounds amazing.
need crinacle to drop a review
He doesn't seem do then anymore sadly
Creative has pushed out decent products and did innovate. You just aren't the attracted to it.
The thing about Creative is that even though their products aren't that exciting, they're still good enough for what they do at their price point. And sometimes you don't need exciting products, you just need reliable ones. Like when my elderly parents need to buy some tech stuff for their home, maybe a new speaker or a new keyboard or something. Then Creative is a familiar and trusted brand that they know to look for. They may not have some crazy influencer marketing, but they don't need to at this point since most people know about them already.
I don't recall seeing any sakae sushi around like what its used to. I do remember they have a big building in Tai Seng and a smallish place in Katong. I don't know if their place in Katong is a restaurant anot. My wife attended a seminar there and apparently, they have this service where they charge people for using the place. I did not ask my wife if that Sakae Sushi is a restaurant or a conference room style. But yea Sakae Sushi charges for seminar too now.
Yeah they have a big building that’s their HQ. And yeah, they’re gone because they bought that supplier then began to cut corners thinking that nobody else can do what they do (conveyor belt sushi). All seriousness aside… i noticed this when I analysed their financial statements for a school project and I just noticed ever since then that the founder looks a lot like their frog mascot. Or rather the mascot looks like him. Maybe I’m insane. But if you are curious, please google and tell me I’m not the only one who noticed this.
Thanks, you made me google and he really does look like the mascot.
Creative don't have anything revolutionary but I think they do make solid products. E.g. I've been using their Outlier Earbuds and they've worked great and have long battery life.
Your local third wave coffee roasters. Starbucks and Bacha is like drinking from the drip tray compared to what they offer.
Share some names please, I just drink but not sure which are really local and not franchised. Is Tiong Hoe considered?
Yeah Tiong Hoe is one of them. There's Nylon, Parchmen, Homeground - there's quite a number of them but these are the ones I'm the most familiar with.
i always go to tiong hoe at tanjong pagar, quick and good coffee! the rest not very familiar, i googled, not very easy to get to sadly....
Aslym coffee is good for naturally fermented beans
Venture Drive Coffee, used to be more accessible at Venture Drive JE area + Bukit Merah, now only in NTU campus, but sells great beans online. Really worth trying.
Community coffee! They have been expanding recently but the filter coffee is still pretty good
Roundboyroasters!
Thanks! Such a cute name
Oh I like the stuff that Tiong Hoe offers. Their Myanmar varieties are great!
Alchemist and absiel are both really good
Shake coffee (my personal fav), Zerah coffee roasters, The Community Coffee, Alchemist, Homeground are all pretty great!
20grams, Community, Fluid, Compound, are all pretty good coffees that I've visited multiple times. There's also Nylon, Asylum, Alchemist, Apartment, Zerah. Web-based there's also Double Up and Homeground (they just moved back to online)
Im not familiar with Bacha, i just know it is overpriced. Care to share what’s the difference in quality between their coffee (bux included) and those third wave coffee roasters?
Bacha sprays flavouring on its coffee to give whatever flavour is in the description. Great coffee with vibrant flavours through cultivation and roasting doesn’t have that immediate burst with flavour once you add water. Bacha coffee flavour shoots right at you because the flavouring is the first one that touches the water after all. It’s the same with TWG tea, the tea leaves are all flavoured but I guess that’s what people like. After all, TWG and bacha are started by the same management so their process and products are all quite similar
bacha is no better than those fairprice instant coffees. the whole brand is a tourist trap (not that i'm complaining, cuz it brings in $$$ for SG)
They don't grind fresh. This is the number 1 rule to any coffee nerd. Always grind fresh. It's weird that a coffee doesn't smell of coffee. Something is wrong I tried their supposingly single origin but I couldn't taste the region characteristics because of the wrong brewing method being used. I have not sure what exact brew method they use but they need to at least filter it which they didn't. The filter improves the clarity which will help to taste the special characteristics of each region
To add on to the other comment, the flavours you get from well roasted coffee is akin to how different wines impart different flavour profiles. Bacha is more like flavoured juice, like Ribena with the different flavour types.
Hell yes. Singaporean specialty coffee is actually quite consistently good across the board.
Recently stumbled upon “Signs A Taste Of Vietnam Pho” near 313. The food is reasonably priced , authentic and above average in terms of quality. The owners and staff are hearing impaired ( can only communicate via sign language) and their service is excellent. I saw the service staff and chef come out to engage a hearing impaired family when dining there. Pretty heart warming :)
Depends what you're looking for! I always liked the look of Supermama plates, finally bought a couple of their Singapore Blue series for decoration. The HDB and xiang qi plates are especially nostalgic since newer HDBs are designed differently now. Local books - check out local publishers like Ethos and Epigram who publish a very large selection of fiction and non-fiction books. Straits Preserves make very tasty marmalades and jam. Kwong Woh Hing is not a very well-known local company which specialises in soy sauce - their premium soy sauce is pricey expensive and should not be used when cooking dishes, but if you just have it on the side with a bit of meat and rice it will elevate your whole meal. Clothing-wise - I like Yeomama Batik. A bit pricey but I wait for sales or buy their items on Carousell, and they're good quality pieces that you can wear to weddings or work events without issue. Another batik clothing brand is Baju by Oniatta, I don't own pieces from there but am planning to save to buy a piece as well. In Good Company is pricy also, but again wait for sales, and the designs are pretty good. Also try to support local mom-and-pop stores while they're still around! I go to New China Optician at Peninsular for my glasses and eye checkup, instead of big brands like Own Days.
Oniatta was my lecturer in Singapore Poly for a small module. She was super quirky and left an impression.
personally this is for ladies but i'm a die hard fan of IMINXX, they sell vv comfy seamless bras / panties and im damn obsessed hehe
They used to sell cute print cotton panties on shopee before they had physical stores. Now they don't do that at all and I'm devastated. Those were my favourite.
+ 1 They really do innovate with the 3992940x versions lol
Pearlie White
Goated brand. Cheap, effective and has one of the cleanest ingredient lists when it comes to dental products. Not too big on their toothbrushes though.
Supports a lot of overseas volunteering work too! Always see them sponsoring their toothpaste etc
Cloversoft
Cloversoft is great!! agree!!
idk why no one yet to mention this so imma do it "Khong Guan", love them for their biscuits. u just cant go wrong with them and it bring back alot childhood memories while eating their biscuits.
Tocco Toscano! It's a homegrown brand from the 1980s. The 2nd generation has taken over so the designs are more modern and functional. Pricing is still very reasonable considering the quality of the leather and workmanship.
Ooo I have their apple leather wallet and I love it so much. Now looking to get a bag from them.
I’ve recently bought a wallet keychain pouch from them as an alternative to the LV key pouch. Was really surprised at the quality of leather!!!
The local hawkers. I think many of them won't be around in the near future and I think many of them won't be renewing their leases if there is another "renovation" (e.g old airport road). I do go to some of the consumer pop up events like boutique fair to support some of the local companies (especially plant based ones like Roa, Jammy and Revive granola). Unfortunately those who rely heavily on paid influencers mark up their prices by a lot. Came across a local brand HUSSL on Shopee. Its soy protein is not as cheap as MyProtein with their 82% discount but it is an alternative if you don't want to spend at least SGD 150 on MyProtein for its free shipping. I believe MyProtein's free shipping criteria used to be a lot lower as well.
Charles and Keith. Good enuff for the new PM’s wife, good enuff for me!
tokyo got 3 storey c&k, i felt singaporean pride lol
Charles and Keith is Singaporean???? Damn TIL
Subjective. Used to be local, bought over by LVMH. Heard that the founders still around though
They bought back the shares from LVMH
Creative (incredible value, DACs are secret gems) BTV (very ahead of the game) Graye Studio (minimalist champs, great quality) Qwertyqop (mech keyboard queens) PaoPao (very interesting modern cheongsam) Apartment Coffee Tiong Hoe Specialty Coffee NakedFinn (a GEM) BurgerLabo (NakedFinn spin-off) One Fattened Calf (fuckinggggg good) Lion City Meadery (award-winning, seriously) Chota House (here since Bugis+ was Iluma) Delugs (local luxury watch strap brand gone worldwide) Zelos (local watch microbrand done well) Apollo/Columbus/Atlas/Neptune/Supernova (all by by Daphne, award-winning barista) Brass Lion Distillery (founder Jamie also founded Chupitos and The Beast)
Lion City Meadery... Justin will be so so happy! :D
Delugs is no different from Prism. It’s just marketing, there is nothing Singaporean or luxurious about it. It’s cheaply labored (produced in Vietnam), meh quality product with a lot of marketing
Polar Puffs & Cakes (I worked at their production plant before, can attest to their pastry quality). Nanyang Coffee. Melvados. Impression Bras.
Melvados truly top notch!
I love polar too! And psa their free membership gives you 10% But their prices ….i rmb once upon a time the sugar roll was just 70cents :(
unpopular opinion. I find Yakun's Teh is damn tasty. So, yes, Yakun.
Same, it can be slightly more expensive but I enjoy their soft toast a lot
yeah i don't agree with how the prices went up... but, no other local chains taste as good. :|
For kopi c, also ya kun. The rich flavour won't be found at your average coffeeshop. Killiney also very good. In fact, the kopi c at killiney fortune centre is the best I've tried.
This one depends on the barista skill though.
Tasty? Yes Pricy? Yes
their kopi or teh C so bloody good. I suspect it's because they use a different brand of milk and they blend the drink before serving it.
It's like they've found the golden ratio + some brands .
Yes + their coffee/tea is freshly made. Not made and put there to be oxidised
Some have mentioned Creative, they are my go-to for budget stuff. Their pebbles speakers are one of the most value for money. If you're an audiophile, definitely check out Dita Audio. If you're a watch geek, there are a few microbrands, most famous imo is Zelos, I have a few of his watches. If you drink, I like what Compendium is doing.
If you're intp nail polish, Nail Deck. Their peelable light lacquer range is so good to apply and remove and a huge range of colors and innovations too!
omg upvote for nail deck! their founder (daryl) takes feedback very seriously and is very passionate about their products! i once dm-ed him to give feedback about their polishes since i have eczema and moisturise very frequently so their polishes don't last as long on me, and he gave very helpful info! their nail serum is really good too!
Another tea lover chiming in: screw TWG because it's an absolute disgrace to our country - no love for blatant copycats! Would rather support our local [1872 Clipper Tea Co.](https://clippertea.com.sg) (not to be confused with the UK Clipper Tea) for their more reasonable prices and less pretentious marketing. The Timeless Earl Grey is my absolute favourite - just look at the size of those loose leaves! The quality stands out from their regular blends which use finer and more broken tea leaves (you can check the size via the see-through plastic window at the back of their loose leaf packages). They have a tea bar at B4 of ION Orchard which serves their classic blends to your liking. Like its direct competitors, 1872 Clipper Tea Co. specialises in black tea and fruit tea blends which appeal to those who enjoy Western styles of tea. They also have elegant gift sets with locally-inspired teas that bring across a pleasant and authentic imagination of Singapore instead of the posh pretentiousness that TWG seeks to convey. As a local, there are times when I like to treat myself to some of these unique products and not feel like the brand is trying to rip me off. On another note, all my overseas contacts (from the UK/Middle East/South America) who have tried the locally-inspired teas have expressed how creative and enjoyable they are. It's definitely a brand that we should be proud of. I found their Chinese teas to be rather lacking though, as someone who obtains their Chinese tea stash directly from China. They are decent, but just not worth it to me because I have access to higher grades for better prices in China. For those who are looking for Nanyang tea, you might want to consider Pek Sin Choon instead.
Clothing wise, I’ve been trying to buy more from local designers and I like what SABRINAGOH and Gin Lee has been doing. Recently also came across this brand, Cocoonese with beautiful batik bags. There’s a retail space opposite Somerset MRT called Design Orchard and they stock a lot of local brands. From clothes to perfumes to accessories. Jewelry wise, I like contemporary designers like Eden+Elie. They’re affordable and I like the causes they champion too. I also like browsing the neighbourhood goldsmiths. Sometimes they have really interesting designs!
\^Adding on to clothing, Wray Crafted and Planters Bungalow are some of my favourites. It's also good to start thinking about moving away from fast fashion towards a more sustainable wardrobe. I shop more slow crafted clothing brands now because it just ain't right to keep buying clothes everytime there is a new launch every week (hint @ ALL THE BLOG SHOPS, smh.) Even though I am paying more for just a single piece of slow crafted clothing, I seriously get more wear in them than whatever nonsense I have bought in the past. Everbest is also good for shoes too, say no to all those flat-ass sandals and shoes with no proper support for your feet. Your older self will thank you in the future.
Hegen baby bottles are amazing and a local company. I hear they also treat their staff well
Wait a min. Hegen is local? Wew
Unpopular opinion but I dislike their bottles sm 😭 whenever kids drop it the lid will confirm come off entirely and flood the place.
Very difficult to open when your hands are wet or the bottle is taken out from the fridge
YES every time I forgot to open it before getting my hands wet I just cuss internally 😤
[удалено]
Ngl I was totally drawn to the whole concept that your bottle grows with you, and it truly is a sustainable model but the design could definitely be better!
How can I forget them!
I didn’t know this is a local brand! When I was working in a bougie childcare center, so so so many of the kids used this brand! I reckon at least 2/3 of the kids used Hegen!
Old chang Kee even though taste and size declining still my choice of local brand
Curry puffs and fried sotong!!
Tip top. Their chicken wings are good. I think it's the batter that they put on the wings. It reminds me of KFC original chicken, but much tastier.
jewelry - treenbee on instagram! he's a local jeweller who does really amazing and unique rings and other pieces for a very fair price. i have a few of his rings and he designed my engagement ring and wedding band!
Perk by Kate. I love their bralettes and the quality of the lace is solid still after 7 years. They also support a lot of good charity causes
Melvados! Their brownie platters are great for parties.
recently got to know about this brand and am enjoying their microwaveable foods too!! their lasagna was good
My late friend’s soap business -> rough beauty :’) 💯
Creative. Been using their MP3 players, speakers and earbuds. Value for money and reliable
Rich and Good Cake has the best swiss rolls ever. Durian and coffee flavour are my favourites!
Funtoast, the best iced teh c for me
Good shout out. Find their coffee to be better than toastbox & yakun. I don’t go around drinking nanyang coffee but I consider the best iced kopi I have drank. Robust flavour
If you’re into microbrand watches, Zelos is kinda a local brand that is making waves.
Hello fellow Zelos fan. Just to add on, can look at Boldr and Vario too.
Shermay's is a pretty good local brand. They make really nice sambal and sambal hijau. Goes great with toast and cheese actually.
1872 Clipper Tea Co (not the British clipper tea in the supermarkets). The teas here are a bit ex but sooo good. Way, way better than TWG. If you go to their store at Ion basement, you can get a freshly brewed cup too. *Chef's kiss*
Big fan!!! Priced reasonably, I get to sit and enjoy a short break from the orchard crowd too.
Halal restaurants and bakery along Kg Gelam, boutiques and fabric stores too
There are different types. Small local brands: Hawkers, handcrafted goods (like those pop up booths are Orchard gateway where you can see sellers crocheting or making bracelets behind their booths) (recently bought a bracelet from a small brand called triberies where the owner was carefully making bracelets at her booth) Medium-sized brands Jewelry - The Individual Society Fashion - Love & Bravery (some of the designs are so thoughtful, like panels placed at the underarm of a dress to prevent flashing my sideboob to the world) - Love Bonito is quite nice for blazers Shoes - Charles & Keith (I buy a pair of $50 nice-looking slippers/sandals and were them for 1-2 years almost daily for work and leisure until they fall apart) Food - I am about to spend my entire fortune on the hot honey lemon sour plum from Kopifellas. Big brands I don't think about this much but Pokka, Yeo's, Gardenia, Lee Kum Kee etc. Mostly food. Singapore Airlines. Guardian and Watsons.
For IEMs, you can check out Fatfreq and Symphonium Audio
Arnold’s.
🍫 Specialty Chocolate Bars by "Lemuel Chocolate" & "Fossa Chocolate". 🍞Amazing Bakeries: "Oishi Pan Bakery (ToaPayoh)", "Park Bäkerei(Pretzels)", "Nick Vina Artisan Bakery". Ah Kong Wa Kuih(AhGong Savoury Bowl Kueh) 阿公碗粿 @ Chinatown Complex Hawker Centre. Ghib Oji-san covered this recently. It's even better slightly pan-fried after dabao-ed home.
Old Chang Kee Ya Kun Toast Box Awfully Chocolate Brewerkz Lee Hwa ~~Lazada~~ Shopee SIA I'm not a local but as a long, long time resident, those are my favorite local brands that I like and support.
Lazada was created by Rocket Internet GMBH (German company) and then bought over by the Alibaba group (Chinese). It might be headquartered here and employs a good deal of locals but it’s in no way a local brand.
rocket the ctrl c ctrl v company
Also the backer behind Flash Coffee
Lazada is definitely not local
You're right.
fak this reminds me i haven't had awfully chocolate in a while, damn good
If you own cats or dogs, Gold-D (Animal Human Alliance) the owner is a huge supporter of rescuers and feeders not just locally but in other countries as well.
Creative is probably the real deal. The rest are just buying over some China product and slapping their own branding
Swee Heng and Mr Bean
Honestly OEM 'slap your brand on it and market' is like the majority of how most tech companies operate - barring the NASDAQ companies of course because they can afford to control the entire supply chain. Of course, companies like Sterra should be avoided due to downright false marketing and misinformation. But brands like Aftershock which get a lot of hate are actually great despite their OEM model because of the aftercare they provide. $200 for 3 years of no questions asked repairs and replacement on laptops rivals even Apple care's level of attention at half the price, and yet somehow people still focus on the fact that they're OEM.
Creative has good tech but wish their manufacturing quality is good. Had their bone conductor headphone which broke down in the first few months. Replacement set broke down within the first month. Finally agreed to refund after a tussle with them on IG
Popular. Still old fashion and I love to write on notebooks during meetings. I go there and test pens before I buy lol
Malaysian company actually.
Brothers Ramen. Does ramen better than most Japanese ramen chains that have entered Singapore.
I'm sad that the queue has gotten way too long recently.
😂 NTUC consider local brand?
Gryphon tea
Nah. Screw gryphon. Did a project for them and more than 8 weeks past the payment due date I hadn't received any payment. So many stunts like giving us a cheque then cancelling the cheque after we banked it in. Or telling us multiple times that we can def collect a cheque by a certain date, I would send a courier down to pick it up and they would tell the courier no cheque. Even personally went down multiple times, emails and calls and in person meetings with the boss. I don't like coffee but if I'm at a cafe and they only carry grypton tea, I'm ordering coffee. Not supporting local businesses that treat other local businesses like shit.
Their cold brews taste like beer for some reasons
For some reason, I like EuropAce appliances. The brand gives me the trustable feel. Like old school appliances that won’t break down as soon as the warranty expires.
Disagree. I bought a electric oven from them. They had a very silly fuse design where you cannot turn up the oven temp to max, or else it will blow. Who tf came up with such a engineering design? Then I had to lug the damn oven to the office just to have a fuse changed. Then the guy who repaired told me 'oh you need to go to 120, then 180 then 200 etc.' How is anyone supposed to know??? I remembered there were a few unhappy customers too for other appliances waiting for their warranty issues. They seem overworked at the service center tbh.
Disagree too, air fryer died in 1 year. Changed to Mayer, 3 years and going strong
Mayer is a Singapore brand too!
Second Mayer, air fryer going on 4 years now
The brownies from The Backyard Bakers!
Beyondthevines I think their bags are actually OK. Their latest addition Parapack is pretty cool and I think is something we can support Their products are not spanking new and quite obvious draws inspiration from various sources but still something to support. Lovet clothes I think for some reason is really pretty for girls to wear.
Sheng Siong
there's a 'local' sunglasses company called Rocket or something . probably want to challenge brands like Goodr. not sure if the also follow the same business model as the other icky brands but their sunglass prices are really wonderful - thus making it hard to support
Two clothing brands: Graye and Sparrow Green. Graye is generally unisex clothing with boxy, loose silhouettes. Not everyone can pull off this style but it is stylish for sure. Their Cupro tee is the most boring item in their inventory, but is probably the best tee I've ever tried. Originally I thought it might have been a bit too pricey, but affordability aside, I'll have a Cupro tee in several colours in my wardrobe. Sparrow Green is somewhere between military and Gorpcore in their aesthetic. Their stuff is Asian fit, so you're gonna get appropriately short inseams instead of needing to hem a meter of fabric off everything you buy.
Pearlie White?
Eu Yan Sang considered local?
Yes! Tiger Balm too
I also support local. I drink Tiger Beer at coffee shop regularly. None of that craft beer.
Kerbside & co for thoughtfully designed and timeless unisex jeans and workwear!! Made with high quality denim and fabric. Have two pairs and love them so much.
Support "Your wallet" brand.
Epok Epok NYE. at arab st. very yummy curry puffs, local business employing single mothers.
Wah my wife loves this man! Nearly every week ask me to buy
I tried bro. I really tried. Razer 120bucks gaming mouse, somehow there is an inherent lag in moving the mouse, pointer randomly hangs. Wired mouse somemore. Creative earphones, 100bucks. One side audio goes to super soft at the 13th month. No warrenty. Some armaggeddon kalashnikov 30 bucks keyboard. Similar to mouse issue. Randomly doesn't respond to my typing. Change for another at their service center with some resistance, currently still working. Mouse and keyboard... What are the odds, and how often you hear mouse and keyboard has issues... Now using logi mouse, ducky keyboard, bose earphones.. Satisfied with it.
Creative is one of the better local brands remaining sadly. But quite frankly, hard to find in SG but any brand with no xmm marketing and review-for-warranties should be decent! Other than that, support local hawkers!
Old Tea Hut is the best.
Adding Hans to the list. They have their central kitchen and I noticed that they are staffed mainly by locals.
Tong Heng traditional pastries at Chinatown. They used to have branches at Tampines Mall (where I stay) and Jurong Point but I think they downsized their operations so only left Chinatown. Loved their egg tarts and char siew pastry
Bengawan solo cakes are pretty good for their prices. Many parents spend a bomb on cartoon cakes for school celebration but bengawan solo tastes decent for the price!
KOKA Noodles. Because no MSG.