'Tikka' and 'naan' to spice up Singapore Grand Prix

SINGAPORE: Chicken tikka, tandoori naan, hot samosa and mango lassi are set to tickle the tastebuds of motor race aficionados at Asia's first ever night-time Formula One Grand Prix in Singapore later this month. Go India, the Singapore subsidiary of a Kolkata-based restaurant firm, has bagged prime space near the F1 race circuit to run a stand-alone Indian outlet called "Go India Express" which will serve "ready-to-eat" Indian delicacies to race goers and participants.

"This has been a great coup for us. We've been given a prime location at this major event and we hope it will give a big boost to our brand," says Pankaj Tandon, managing director of the restaurant firm PDK Shenaz Hotels, Singapore.

The events around the F1 race are spread over the weekend beginning Sep 26. Two days of practice runs will each average 50,000 visitors to the race circuit while around 100,000 people, including 40,000 overseas visitors, are expected to attend the inaugural F1 Singapore Grand Prix Sep 28. The venue for the race is a five-kilometre street circuit of public roads in Singapore's downtown Marina Bay area.

Aviation billionaire Vijay Mallya and his Force India team are expected in Singapore and Tandon says there's an "open invitation" to the Kingfisher boss and his team to visit the outlet.

The Go India Express stand is located at the Marina Square intersection, a major hub for food kiosks and a choice location for watching the race. "We couldn't have asked for a better location," Tandon said, as he supervised the lighting and decor of the outlet that he describes as "neo-modern".

Some 20,000 people will be moving about the Marina Square each evening, he says, adding that the outlet is expecting to draw around 10 percent of that crowd.

"The atmosphere will be carnival-like, with people spending some time in their seats watching the race and the rest moving around the walkabout sections," says Tandon. "That's when they will flock to the food stands."

The food will be pre-cooked and flash frozen. But the rotis and naans will be freshly made to order at onsite tandoors. "It's a new concept of express delivery of Indian food," he says but adds, "We want people to get to like the authentic flavours of  Indian cuisine at the same time."

While the race circuit venues put some constraints on the menu, the Go India Express team is offering both vegetarian and non-vegetarian fare with perennial favourites such as paneer korma, biryanis, chicken tikka masala, rogan josh and fish curries on offer.

The company already runs two lounge bars, Ivory and Shisha, in Singapore's busy Clarke Quay area, located next to the Singapore river and a popular evening hangout for tourists. They also operate a restaurant called "Go India" near the city's Vivo City shopping mall, overlooking the Singapore harbour.

In Kolkata, the company runs a restaurant  on Camac Street also called Ivory, which in an earlier avatar was known as "Grain of Salt."

The company plans to open two more Go India outlets in Singapore by early next year, says Tandon.

With less than two weeks to go for the Grand Prix, Singaporeans are getting caught up in F1 fever. By end-August, nearly 95 percent of tickets to the race venues were gone. Shopping malls have announced major sales. The city's metro train service has extended its working hours so people can use public transport to the race circuit.

Rates at cheaper hotels are soaring and despite the general downturn in tourist travel the world over, hotels in Singapore are upbeat about the days leading up to the Grand Prix. Tickets to the Singapore Flyer, the giant wheel that is the city state's newest attraction, and which also gives a bird's  eye view of the F1 race circuit, are almost all gone.