Gordon Ramsay Visits 328 Katong Laksa #HawkerHeroes

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Gordon Ramsay's in town to take on 3 of Singapore's most popular hawkers in a cook-off!

Gordon Ramsay: Let me see what you've got in your pot.
Gordon Ramsay: Let me see what you've got in your pot. 

Unless you've been living under a rock, you would undoubtedly have heard about the buzz generated by SingTel's Hawker Heroes challenge. As a Singaporean, I'm proud of our local hawker heritage, if only it wasn't in danger of slipping away. The challenge is an opportunity  to raise the profile of Singapore's hawker heritage. With the support of SingTel, I collaborated with food bloggers like Leslie Tay of ieatishootipost, Rayner Ng of HisFoodBlog, Daniel Ang of Daniel's Food Diary, Phillip Lim of Keropokman, Catherine Ling of Camemberu and Melissa Koh of Melicacy to challenge Gordon Ramsay to a culinary competition which he accepted.

Gordon Ramsay trying a bowl of laksa at 328 Katong Laksa
Chef Gordon Ramsay trying Laksa

He visited Tian Tian Chicken Rice during lunchtime on Friday but as I had to work, I couldn't stop by to see him. So in spite of the blazing hot sun at lunchtime on Saturday, I baked as I hung around 328 Katong Laksa just to catch a glimpse of Gordon Ramsay during his visit to the stall.

Everybody's just fighting to get a shot with or of Gordon Ramsay at 328 Katong Laksa!
Rushing to get a picture taken with &/or of Gordon Ramsay

The crowd was really enthusiastic and rushed up with all sorts of gadgets just to catch a shot of Gordon Ramsay, the really lucky ones had their pictures taken with him. Oh, I wish I could have had a picture taken with him.

Sign my book, Chef Gordon Ramsay!
Sign my books, Chef! 

Fans of his books and shows turned up with posters and books for him to autograph. Hmm, I should bring his book along to the showdown tonight at Newton Hawker Centre and hope he'll sign it for me! ;)

Gordon Ramsay taking a photo of the crowd at 328 Laksa. Someone had given him a camera to sign?
Gordon Ramsay's taking a picture of the crowd

The crowd kept shouting out to Chef Gordon Ramsay to autograph their stuff which included handphones, handphone covers and a compact camera! Gordon Ramsay wasn't sure how he was supposed to sign on a dark-coloured digital compact, so he switched it on to take a picture of the crowd to the delight of his adoring fans!

The closest I got to Chef Gordon Ramsay was when he was being herded to the car.
The closest I got to Chef  Gordon Ramsay

It was a brief visit and before long, Gordon Ramsay was whisked off in a waiting van.

Chef Gordon Ramsay's Interview at 328 Laksa

Watch the interview with Chef Gordon Ramsay as he wraps up his visit to 328 Katong Laksa. The final showdown is from 6 pm at Newton Hawker Centre. Will you be rooting for Gordon Ramsay or the hawkers?

PS: Chef Gordon Ramsay, I totally get what you're saying about ketchup in Chili Crab, which is why I dislike the dish.

SingTel Hawker Heroes
Date: 7 July 2013 (Sunday)
Time: 6 pm to 9 pm 
Venue: Newton Food Centre, 500 Clemenceau Avenue North, Singapore 229495.
Details: Open to public. Free of charge.
                   1,000 servings available on first-come-first-served basis
 
Livestream from 7 to 7.30pm: http://info.singtel.com/brand/?randkey=1373128572
 
If you're on Instagram or Twitter, join the conversation by using the hashtag: #HawkerHeroes