All you need to know about Singapore
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TODAY'S GUEST:
Meet Brian Kennett, a UK citizen who moved to Singapore 16 years ago. He's married to a Philippine wife, has 5 kids, and was a first and last Ang moh in MasterChef Singapore show. Over a plate of Hokkien Mee, he shared why hawker food is better than fancy restaurants and local schools better than international ones. I'm Max, a KZheadr and Laksa lover from Singapore. Enjoy!
➢ Brian Kennet's KZhead: / @briankennett
➢ Brian Kennet's site: islifearecipe.net/
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TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 INTRO
00:28 Best Mala Hotpot In Singapore
01:38 Local Habits
04:54 What Foreigners Don't Get About Singapore
06:34 Changes In Singapore
09:34 Increase Of Rent
10:23 Local Schools In Sg
14:54 Retirement In The Philippines
15:50 Main Principle In Life
Hey! This channel bridges the gap between locals and foreigners in Singapore, Malaysia, and India. Join Max as he interviews expats, unraveling their unique stories and providing valuable insights into their lives in the vibrant cities of Asia. Through engaging conversations, Max fosters understanding and appreciation between locals and the global community, focusing on cultural exchange.
If you're a company seeking sponsorship opportunities to engage our upscale audience, contact us at maxchernovYT@gmail.com. With over 50% Singaporean viewers and a substantial number of foreign professionals (US, EU, Australia), our mature audience (35-54 years) boasts strong purchasing power and interests in an above-average lifestyle, travel, investment, and personal finance.
#ExpatLife #MaxChernov #Singapore
this guy is so down to earth, he is essentially an ang moh local beng. 😂
Beng meh. Idk what down to earth bengs u know 👀
His shirt is sb beng
He is very knowledgeable and well versed of 🇸🇬 👍
He isn’t going to spend his life in Singapore. So he is just a long term expat.
@@prst99 he already sacrificed his sons to singapore what more do you want?
Brian got the pronunciation of 'zi char' quite on point. The lady he spoke to said 'zhu chao' which is actually the mandarin way of saying zi char. Zi char is in a chinese dialect; Hokkien, which literally means 'cook and stir-fry'. Brian is a real one for immersing himself and his family in the local culture. Glad to see him enjoying Singapore.
That lady is from China. You can immediately tell. Locals will always pepper Hokkien and Cantonese into their sentences like Bo Jio, Guai Lan and Kao Pei Kao Bu. Also, when ordering at Hawker Centre or Food Court and you wanna takeaway, try saying you wanna Tarpau. Only locals will understand what you saying.
I love how Brian really understands and values the importance of immersing yourself in the culture of the environment you're in - That's such an essential tip that can't be overstated. I love his personality! Really proud to have him here in Singapore with us
Wow - stoked and very humbled by your wonderful words. Thank you so much. made my day, and some... THANK YOU!!!
Love the energy and attitude of this gentleman. ... Also actually "zi char" is correct. It is the Hokkien rendering of the word. "Zhu chao" is the Mandarin rendering.
Yup. Also he said it like 'zee shah'. For all those wondering it's more like 'zuh char' (like charcoal)!
I blame the influx china chinese. Bring back Hokkien and Cantonese and even Hakka! My grandma can actually speak fluent Cantonese and she is Malay
I work with Brian on the blog and it's so much fun! The comments here are incredible!, we've both gone from giggling like school boys to being very emotional today, so thank you for so many kind comments. I've been here 25 years and can categorically say hawker food is in our blood, we'll always support it but more Singaporeans need to adopt an ang mo and drag their asses to your famous stalls to educate them because trust me we don't bite! Find us online, drop us messages, we are happy to hear from anyone and everyone about the local food and it's culture and share more about our food experiences here and elsewhere in the world! ❤
"Singaporeans are the worst drivers on the planet"? Wow! I thought Philippines has the worst drivers..😁
In my case I need an Indian or Malay to drag me to experience their cuisines. I am quite unfamiliar and only know their basic stuff
@@SuccessforLifester What for? If you local, you should already know. If not, go find out yourself. Be more open-minded.
@@ShadowMoon878 I don't know. And I often encountered unfriendly stall owners. I think they don't want to serve Chinese
We love the whole interview with Brian! Such valuable insights about Singapore!
I'm sure Brian would like to do one with VisitSingapore now he's infamous!
@@SpencerCampbellSG @VisitSingapore The guy has integrated to the point that he has taught Max about zichar, called on fellow angmohs to move into HDB, and even pronounced on the age-old feud about whether the East is better than the West. I think STB staff can write submission to CE to collaborate on one of the next campaigns - cc MTI/ESG
Brian is so spontaneous, frank and humorous. He’s certainly immersed himself into our local culture. Glad to have him living among us. Best of luck with the restaurant in the Philippines.
Love this UK ANG MO. Like his style, thinking, way he talks and behaves. Singaporean here. Bless you, sir. You've got a good heart.
So interesting listening to Brian. Max, would you like to interview Brian's boy to hear his experiences in NS? That should be interesting.
That would be me! I’m the son, Ollie! Everything my Dad said really is true, never thought I would say it but NS really did a lot for me! Happy to hop on a call if Max is interested 😁
@@oliverkennett6816 did you really say i hate you to your dad? HAAHHHAaaaaaaaa
Chatting to Max about this right now haha... great minds...
@@oliverkennett6816 Hi Ollie, it would be interesting to hear your experiences in NS and your perspective, so hoping that Max can do your interview! ^^
@@riennekoh3901 Unfortunately, Max only does in-person interviews and I am stuck thousands of kilometres away in the UK...
Hey, this guy mixes in better than some of those China folks who can't be bothered with our local dialects! When I listen to this Ang Moh, I'm thoroughly impressed. Singlish is NOT just a mish-mash of different dialects into English. It's an identity that we crafted ourselves, on this island in the center of the Straits of Malacca. Anyone who is capable of embracing our culture to this extent is worthy of becoming a 'true-blue' Singaporean. I welcome you.
YES! If you are in Rome, do as the Romans do! Same thing in Singapore. Assimilate to the culture instead of just sticking to your own kind! Some of those China migrants refuse to even learn basic English!
Thank you Brian for immersing in our culture & accept the good & bad of it. We love foreigners like you.
Here is my home... honesty is the best policy right. I'd be moaning about the UK if I was still there haha... Thanks so very much for the kind words -mind-blowing!!!
I like the positivity and the practical sense of his thinking.. perfectly honest and a delightful interview
From Russia, based in Singapore! Finally that's a much more accurate way to introduce yourself.
How did he used to introduce himself?
@@krisb-travel Hi I'm Max, a KZheadr from Singapore.
"Never Look Back" and "No regrets". I like that. And his shirt. The other thing as mentioned by some others (in the comments) is his humility. But if he mentioned that, he wouldn't be humble. 🙂 Humble people are never proud of being humble!
This Ang Mo speaks Queen English but is so Singaporean
It’s King English now, excuse me !
I beg your pardon !
I think he is originally from that prison colony though.
Max, thank you so much for the amazing video! I can see my Dad really enjoyed that one, and I’m really glad our story is touching a lot of people’s hearts. Your interviews are really inspiring to watch, and hits close to home for me :) Keep up the great work, and reach out if you want the son’s perspective haha!
thanks so much man! are the one who did NS? :)
@@MaxChernov Yes, that would be me! Proud ang-mo NSman here haha!
@@oliverkennett6816 thank you for serving our country!
You next #1 - tell your story about NS through Covid ...
@@wangshiyao It was a pleasure to do so!
This guy is humble and friendly, good influence to others.
Brian has great nuggets of wisdom. 🤩👏 Yes …impacting other ppl positively is one of the most powerful things we can do… not just for our kids/ family. 👏🌺 Another great interview Max …and by changing up the style …the pace is interesting....good job. 🌺💪💪🌺
Brian is a really likeable guy. I enjoyed this interview. The stuff he is saying at the end is some great advice for how to live! Cheers from Northern Ireland.
Sota is a good school, their IB results is outstanding. Congratz to Brian's Boy.
Thx so very much - he did so very well and yes now has his internship locked in with UBS - amazing!!!
Brian have been living in Singapore for many years, i see him very often whenever i come to Siglap meeting friends and i know where he frequent in Siglap area.
Big hearted guy. Infectious energy. Fun interview.
Bless you. Thanks so much for the kind words.
Not an expat but i concur about expat school teachers being here on holiday. Read reviews about this one school with the parents calling it an overpriced play school. Parents said when they went back to UK their kids were last in class & couldn’t catch up which made them wonder what the school here “taught” them.
Your most interesting and articulated interviewee so far.
What an interesting and relaxing video. ,kodos to both Max and Brian and thank you both so much for bringing this video to us. Brian's way of speaking was so localised and down to earth, the results of his 16 years s Living in Singapore. The way he named those foods at the hawker centre is evidence of him having immersed locally as he had mentioned. He even sent one of his sons to do NS, which shy to say, many parents are reluctant especially so for the PR parents. This is one of the most enjoyable videos I've watched so far 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Lovely conversation as always . ❤ love his principles in life ❤
hi max . im singaporean and always interested to hear perspective of foreigners living in singapore. keep up the good work. great series
Wow i really enjoyed this episode. The energy and the vibe of the guest is just great. Great Episode!!
Thank you Brian for enriching our culture and your contributions to SG, . Yes, East side is the best side 😁
another excellent guest on your video! well done Max & Brian :)
So sorry to hear about your issue with ICA for your younger son. It's a good point for Singaporeans to reflect on, when we vote especially for populist ideals, it unintentionally hurts real people like you who contribute to Singapore's flavour and is what makes us strong.
Wow - that means a lot thank you!!! Hey, we love Singapore, our home: that was a nasty glitch in our 16 years here. Made us stronger and able to help others now, so every cloud has a silver lining I suppose!!!
In the early days before we have hawker centres, all the streetfood is sold by street hawkers setting up temporary stalls along the roadsides. Everything from soya bean drinks to chicken rice to BKT to hokkien mee. For hygiene purpose, permanent hawker centres were built and all the street hawkers shifted into hawker centres or coffeeshops. To understand how things used to be, just visit neighbouring countries, where street hawkers are still very common. As for the Zi Char which is hokkien, Brian's pronounciation is very close.
I've been living in east for 15 years and i was always going local... My kid is in local school .i've been eating at same hawker for past 14 years
Salute to Brian for being so upfront and honest - today I'm actually hearing that the expats think that hawker centres are unhygienic, despite their praises about SG being world class and safe. And to his point about being the only ang mohs in that hawker centre, there is not even 1 single ang moh if you're here in the 80s and 90s. So one step at a step 😛 Thank you Brian for loving our hawker food 🙂
So so refreshing. Great stuff
My dad was best friends with Brian, with me and my two sisters spending a large portion of our childhood with him (although we call him kenno)! He is such an amazing person, loved seeing him on this, makes us all miss him more ! 🥲
Most interesting interview! Nice one, Max! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
What an amazing video!! As usual!! But this one just rings a bell with me so much, especially after visiting Singapore just a couple of days ago 🤩🤩🤩
I love this Ang mo and his perspective bring him back again for a interview
Touched my heart❤
probably one of your best interviews so far
Thoroughly enjoyed this conversation, every bit of it.
This is one Ang mo i like to sit in the coffee shop and have a beer with.
This was an entertaining video. The guy had such positive energy.
A great and awesome interview to give us a foreigner perspective which had gone through the Singapore system. Brian insights is really quite indepth similar to a Singaporean. Maybe Brian's son should be interviewed too.
LOL, when we go back for holidays, my white husband always end up sitting at the lao ah beng table at teh coffeeshop chatting with them. 😅how about interviewing some Singaporeans who have returned from staying overseas for a long time? would be nice to hear their point of views.
I came back after living in Australia for 24 years
Looking back, National Service was a unique positive experience. We became a tightly knitted group of friends. Won't exchange it for anything else. We went through the seasons of life and grow old together. It is a blessing in disguise.
The people I know never have positive experiences about it. Very subjective this experience
Absolutely! Where else can you learn how to disssemble, clean, assemble an AR-15, M-16, Attach an M203 grenade launcher if neccessary? MRE is actually real tasty. Middle of Temburong Jungle, can eat pasta, macaroni with cheese, nasi briyani, lor mai kai. Water is also another thing to worry about. How to read direction even without a compass. Road march tells me about my average SOA (speed of advancement) while carrying almost 20 kg, walking in poor terrain. Northern dipper, southern cross, Cassiopeia and Orion constellations will guide the way. In the night, maintain light discipline. You don't turn on torchlights. We're soldiers. Not going hiking. Field first-aid. So much more to learn!
@@tomeu9872 I was from the era of heinz bean can and Yeos curry chicken. Also given hard tac biscuits and a strip of chocolate. For drinks we got lemonade powder.
hi Max, my hat off to you, you can always find interesting ppl to talk about interesting things about Singapore and about life ! 👍👍
This ang moh is so positive thinking. just do it , no regrets. 👍
Great interview, this guys got a lovely attitude to life
This is definitely one of the best videos made. Interesting and great topics discussed and shared.
Enjoyed watching this video. Apart from the food for the stomach, etc... the video ended with the host asking the guest the question of the meaning of life. The food for thought. Interesting video, n will check out more videos from this site.
Zi Char/ zhu chao is basically a Chinese restaurant in a coffee shop/ hawker setting. He has buckets of energy it’s contagious! Hope he did eat what he ordered. 😅
The stall owner is pronouncing the words in chinese and the guest is pronouncing them in hokkien. Both of them are not wrong. 😊
Nice video max! the food looks awesome 🎉
Pleasure meeting both of you today. Love your videos. Fantastic content 👍🏻👍🏻
Same Same, lovely to meet you too - haha... had a great evening with Max today!!!
Great Brian , you are so down to earth and sound so much like local .Come let's have kopi session !!
Best life advice never look back and impact others Thanks for another amazing interview you rock keep it up mate 👍😀😀
This guest is great!
That’s truly inspiring
I remember vividly that about 40 years ago, when I was still a child, I would feel giddy after taking a taxi!! Finally, today, I know why!!! Thank u!!!
7:44 just so you know. Singaporeans are not kidding when they said they are sick of the over-influx of foreigners.
So much wisdom. Love it.
Bless you... made my day and some!!!
i am glad Brian is enjoying his stay in SG. Need more of this kind of good-attitude "angmohs" in SG :)
Thx so much!!! Hey, it's home here, two kids born here... It really is home.
Singapore Hagrid
That made me smile... that's with a trim haha...
14:40 - 'zichar' literally means 'cook and fry'. Its a kinda stall that every coffee shop has, that will let you order generally any fish/meat/chicken/vegetable dish/hor fun/fried rice/fried noodles - anything that cooks in a wok and pan.
Ok lah boss. You are Singapore Ang Moh certified.
The shot at 13:19 looks SICK
I already like and subscribe your videos. Great information. Love it ❤️👍
I used to live in the east and now move to the west. East side is the best especially comes to food. Every 10 steps you find a coffeeshop,eateries,hawker centres!
Easier to go JB via second link in the west. Also you got many mega malls in the west !
@@SuccessforLifester But malls not my favourite place. I find east side food one of the best and many eateries are opened till late nite or even 24hrs. Good thing is that I slim down a lot after moving to the west lol
@@leongyet9896 Ah.. east coast that stretch is good many eateries. I am at far end of Tampines, come night time mostly dependant on McDonald's
@@SuccessforLifester Bedok the best. Bedok north,bedok south,simpang bedok,siglap etc;
@@leongyet9896 yeah. I think Feng Shan runs the latest till around midnight. after that if still hungry can go to another coffeeshop nearby fengshan Cc, I think BLK 123, for dim sum or bak Chor noodles 24 hours.
The taxi seasick is on point lol
Awesome interview. Love the interaction
Thx so very much!
@@BrianKennett damn love your energy!
Bless you that means a lot. Thank you!@@WestbrickFansGotNoBrains
This is the best ANG MOH in SG!
The son is fortunate to be doing something relevant to his future career during his NS. He might be cursing in other combat vocations.
The mala at Siglap is really good btw! Siglap 936 Food House
Absolutely entertaining and lovely conversation/chat..Keep up the good work. Thanks
Zi char, or 煮炒, literally means "cook & fry." Usually, they have a long menu of dishes that you can order à la carte, like a restaurant. Cai Png, or 菜饭, is cafeteria style, where you order by pointing at the food on display.
I like this angmo, very open minded person.
Zi char is Hokkien and the lady said in mandarin which is Chu Chao. They are the same
Awesome video
His Singlish so cute 😂😂 and Yes the east!!!! Siglap to Katong!!! Even after moving away for nearly 2 decades i can't forget these places and i kept going back from time to time and it felt more like home than where i live!!
Excellent advices. Mala is not local hawker food. Yes, really expensive to cater for homesick PRCs
Hi Max, I love your video! Side note, can ask Brian what brand his shirt is? It’s look good!
Rockmen Inside from Indonesia
I love this guy. Thanks to him i'm your subscriber now 😂
Wow thx so so much (this is 'him') - made my day!!!
such a fun guy!
I almost give up home cooking because it's so much cheaper and convenient to eat at hawker center. I don't enjoy spending half an hour cleaning my kitchen and washing dishes 😂
words of wisdom.
Great advice from Brian. Never look back. Never regret.
Thx so much, means a lot!
Never apologise FARKING DO IT Excuse the french 😂😂😂😂😂
Many thanks my friend: tad heart on sleeve hey!!! @@P53eud0nym05
I like this guy...
You are not completely wrong about zi char. The lady gave you the mandarin pronunciation. It is actually hokkien
OK, I am now actually quite proud haha!!!
@@BrianKennett Zi is best pronounced as Tze.. like Sun Tze the philosopher. Then it would be quite perfect.
Regarding the taxi surging, i personally believe it's just laziness, if you want to drive smoothly you have to hover your foot at a certain point to maintain a certain speed. Some drivers are lazy to do that so they heavy foot light foot, to control speed
i grew up in singapore and i had a traumatic experience of trying to do my homework in the wee hours of night struggling and crying. BUT i realised when i had the opportunity to travel and observe the schools, i kind of appreciate it. if u ask me if i would do it all over again? heck no.
school system here is infamous 🥺🥺 i would say even locals have trauma from it
Laksa enthusiast?!!. Lets go Max, to Janggut!!
Kenno, you are a legend mate We soooo miss you Love you speaking from the heart and makes me proud to be English and prouder to have you as a mate That was awesome and brought back so many memories, good and bad But I have to say mate, you need to come to Auckland to see us, because the drivers here are way worse than Singapore CTP mate, useless…..
Now i understand why ang mohs rarely go eat at hawker centre thinking its dirty but i noticed more ang mohs eating at hawker these days and great convo btw! And never look back and no regrets i live by too!
Our politicians too. They only appear in hawker centres during elections.
i think Brian is a fun person to talk to! wouldn't mind for a chat!
We have more Ang Mo in bedok area now😊
Hi😊 chernov.....im cheryl pink watching your blog im here in philippines😮
I want to visit Philippines and interview foreigners there :)
East the is best , they got a marvellous airport, cool jogging beach tracks and a ferry terminal to indonesia or malaysia
Hi. What is the address of the Hokkien mee stall?
It’s oil not juice bro!! But mala is yummy I agree 😂