“Laip sab chiak, laip sab tua” is directly translated from Hokkien as “rubbish eat, rubbish grow.” But the meaning is more profound; it means “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” like that Kelly Clarkson’s song (Why you copy us, Kelly?).
“Rubbish eat, rubbish grow” is a phrase often used by Singaporean parents to get their children to finish their food. As the phrase suggests, we take a no-nonsense attitude towards food, and eat everything. Our website is Singapore-based but we are also food travellers, having written on staycations in Singapore, and food reviews and itineraries of other countries.
We first started the site in 2010 because most food writing in Singapore was—and still is—restricted to commercial considerations; every dish is “to-die-for.” We wanted an alternative voice of honesty and humor, and since there was none, we stepped up. However, we learn that it is impossible to be funny when writing nearly 200 reviews a year. But to our aim of honesty, we stay true.
Caveat lector: We pay on our own and review anonymously for most meals because we believe in writing fair and honest reviews; we won’t introduce ourselves to chefs and owners. Anonymity is vital in truthful reviews. But sometimes we go for media tastings to socialize with like-minded bloggers. However, our opinions are not for sale. When the restaurant is bad, we reflect it honestly in our reviews, and we have rejected several advertorials. Our honesty and reliability have more value than money. Advertorial rates are negotiable, but our morals are not.
Very fortunately, some media organizations understand what we are trying to achieve and have awarded us some accolades (click on the icons to their links):
We have worked with…
For advertising, please email Dr. Ho at RubbishEatRubbishGrow@gmail.com.
Please read this before inviting us for media tastings:
–no obligation that we will write a review.
–if we write, we reserve the right to be honest, truthful, and fair. Our loyalty is with readers. We can be blunt sometimes.
–We go in pairs because we are shy. Please specify that you’re inviting two persons in your email.
–Unless we are craving for that particular food, we usually don’t attend group tastings because we see no point that a reader should read 200 blogs on the same restaurant.
All images and text are copyrighted and cannot be reproduced without permission. If you wish to feature any of our photos or text, please contact us first. We are likely to agree if the photos are for non-commercial purposes. Email: RubbishEatRubbishGrow@gmail.com
Awesome food blog! I could spend a whole year just trying to follow where you’ve been to eat!
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Thanks! That’s a very nice thing to say.
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Love your blog especially your blog’s name!! :)
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kam xia! kam xia! :)
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好好笑哦~ 您的介绍真幽默~~~ :D
谢谢你!!!o(∩_∩)o
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谢谢!
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wah… super happy to find yr blog…
bery good to read whenever i wanna ‘jia jua’ abit…
read until saliva drip drip oso…
aiyah, if only can jio u guys/gays/straights to malaysia then will b so ho seng lor!
:P
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tank you tank you!
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I stumbled into your blog and have been laughing out loud at some you the reviews. You got some funny writers.
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Thanks, thanks :)
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More than just your food tips….I am a fan of your writing style & awesome wit. This is definitely more than just a food blog :) & your blog name is just the best.
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thanks, thanks. :)
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Stumbled upon your blog and tried hill an restaurant… It’s true that there were so many japs there! Couldn’t imagine why. Anyway, great blog you have… Witty, truthful, and loads of fun. Keep it going.. Will check it out more often!
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Thank you so much for your kind words, LT. You make my day! :)
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Any open positions for your food blog/company?
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Sorry, we’re a group of friends who blog. So we don’t have any positions. Thanks.
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love the new logo!
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Thanks. :)
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Dear RERG, I would like to kindly ask you to do a review on my friends stall in Simpany Bedok. He just opened a thosai and Puttu Mayam stall and his food is really good. He is a really hardworking, putting in 14-16 hours of work a day, 6 days a week. I was hoping if you could feature/review him on your popular blog, he might have more customers coming in to enjoy the food. Please help?
Have a great 2013!
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Sorry I meant Simpang Bedok and he is a hardworking chap.
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We’ll drop by when we are free. What is his shop’s name?
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348 bedok marketplace… #02-08. Heavens. Thank you very much! Greatly appreciated happy new year as well
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Dear Bloggers,we are a New Japanese Restaurant outlet Call Marugoto located at Ang Mo Kio area offering Authentic Japanese food fare and was wondering how can we invite you guys to our restaurant for a food review?
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i like the way you have described each of the contributors.. your reviews on restaurants are also very interesting to read.. makes a person want to go an try the food.. you should start charging them.. ;p
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Thanks. You are very kind. ;)
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Hi hi! Just want to let you know that I have changed my blog address to itsonlycarrots.wordpress.com :)
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Am loving the new look of your blog :)
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Thanks. :)
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chanced upon this blog when im trying to google where to eat in SH as im going tonite! fabulously awesome blog with hilarious honest writing style. Keep the entries coming. LOVE IT.
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Thanks, you make us feel appreciated. :)
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Dear Bloggers,
On behalf of the National Library Board (NLB), we would like to invite you to pledge your blog to the Singapore Memory Project as part of efforts to collect memories that are already manifested in existing online channels.
The Singapore Memory Project (SMP) is a national initiative to collect, preserve and provide access to Singapore’s knowledge materials. Spearheaded by NLB, the SMP aims to build a national collection of content in diverse formats (including print, audio and video), to preserve them in digital form, and make them available for discovery and research.
By pledging your blog to SMP, you are affirming that every memory matters. Whether your posts are an account of your daily life, or an expression of your thoughts, the SMP hopes to find a home for your memories so that it can help build towards an understanding of Singapore. You will also receive a badge that you can display on your blog in recognition of your contributions.
Contributors to this blog pledging initiative will be listed on Singapore Memory portal’s blog pledging webpage. All blogs pledged to SMP will archived using NLB’s web harvesting software, in addition to images of each blog’s landing page.
If you are keen to pledge your blog to SMP, simply fill up our response form at this following URL: http://singaporememory.simulation.com.sg/Public/Pledge.
You may find out more about this initiative at http://www.iremember.sg/?page_id=2822.
We are looking forward to your contribution.Do also let your fellow bloggers know about this initiative. They can pledge via the URL above.
Simulation Software & Technology (S2T) Pte Ltd
583 Orchard Road #14-02 Forum The Shopping Mall S(238884), Singapore
|w: http://www.simulation.com.sg
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Hilarious! I see you people have dry with and wet tongues! Kudos ;-)
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Wise guy – you are a gay ah beng lorry driver meh? I dont believe … you drive a lorry! Your gang sound fun -a bit like mine. Except we live in Brunei which makes more twisted. We may not have fancy food but we got better kway teow and kolo mee – so if u ever swing by Borneo, look me up :)
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that’s awesome. Thanks for the offer. I’ll take you up on it.
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I really enjoyed reading your posting and would like to give you a thumbs up.
I am a bit of a foodie myself .=>
Was wondering if you and your gang like beer.I have a friend who sells 66 (or more ) types of American Craft beer and he has a booth for the upcoming event
Would love to meet u to pass you tickets to the Beer Fest near the Singapore Flyer for 16th June ( Sunday ) if you are interested,please contact me .
Meanwhile do keep up the good work and many thanks! :D
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Thanks for the nice words. Unfortunately we can’t hold our alcohol very well and we are going to give this a miss. Thanks for the invite. :)
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No worries mate =>
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Hey guys, it’s our final week at Barkode and we are still looking for a place to relocate to. Do come by and join us for some drinks. It’s 1-4-1 cocktails from 7-9pm till Sunday. You can finally try the Chendorella story if you want :) Tried to look for your email but could not find it so am gonna leave you a message here instead. Cya!
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Thanks for dropping us a comment. Let us know your new venue then we’ll go down again. :)
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Can I join ? the event mean like perform at there coz I have my band also.
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We are a Singapore magazine . We saw your blog , and feel you are very suitable to do our if you want join us ,contact me please
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Hi there! Love your food posts! Could you do me a favour and link up my food blog on your blog?
http://phuachiuyen.wordpress.com/food/
Thank you so much!
Warm Regards
Chiu Yen
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Thanks, Chiu Yen. Sure, I’ll link you.
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Hi Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow Team(:
I am the co-founder of Trends.sg, a recently launched website that strives to aggregate the latest happenings and trends in Singapore.
As a reader of blogs, I personally feel that bloggers, like yourself, are naturally the trend-spotters and trendsetters for everyone else. As such, I would like to invite you to post snippets of your blog posts on our website. It is free and there are no restrictions to what you can post. (:
What’s in it for you?
1. Additional publicity for your blog and blog posts.
2. Inbound links from our website to your blog. (By inserting your blog post URL whenever you submit a post to Trends.sg, you incrementally improve Search Engine Marketing for your blog.)
3. Sharing of ideas with like-minded people/bloggers.
What’s in it for us is to develop a one-stop platform for sharing recommendations and ideas, and also to build a database of quality posts about the latest trends in Singapore. It would be nice if you could also put a link to Trends.sg on your blog.
We hope that you will be keen to join us in developing this exciting service, which has the potential to benefit the both of us, and the general public in Singapore as well.
Thank you and have a good weekend ahead!
Regards,
Andrew
The Trends.sg Team
http://www.trends.sg
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Hi, had been ur regulars followers for sometime.
& wanted to know if theres charges if i were to invite u to my family store to try out our very Yummy good food and do a review for us, to build awareness. My family biz selling prawn mee & seafood & crab pot. We will be officially open for business on 8th August 2014 …
The Address is
文文排骨大蝦面 Wen Wen Big Prawn Mee
Blk 69 Geylang Bahru
#01-2769
Singapore 330069
Do let me know asap, so i be able to make arrangement.
Regards
Sophia
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Funny stuff and a really good food blog with actually descriptive yet opinionated reviews (taste is subjective after all)
Hey check out a new French resto called French Table in West Coast Plaza. I know, it’s a weird joint and has to compete with West Coast Cafe’s killer fish head curry. But I love onglet and they do an awesome job of it. Love their desserts too. They make a mean duck confit as well. In the hood so will try other things. Good lunch set menu. I’m just a patron and a fan.
Keep it up guys, girls, and other!
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Thanks for the kind words and the recommendation. French Table is under our radar. Definitely will drop by when we are around the area.
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Incredible blog…made my first few months in Singapore…any recommendations on where to STAY in Margaret River? Kids and wine lovers involved…
thank you
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Hello Sabrina. Check out my margaret river itinerary. The recommendation on where to stay is there: https://rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com/2014/05/24/perth-itinerary-margaret-river/
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Love the blog! Can really relate to the title of the blog since I grew up in the generation believing in Laip sab chiak, laip sab tua!
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Thanks! You’re so kind. :)
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The English grammar of many of your posts leaves lot to be desired, giving an impression of uneducated writes!
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* a lot.
* “uneducated” is an adj, and “writes” is a verb. Do you mean “uneducated person”?
* “giving an impression of HOW AN uneducated person writes.”
An educated person would comment: “The English grammar of many of your posts leaves a lot to be desired, giving an impression of how an uneducated person writes!”
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LOL this is so funny!
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Hello! I loved your blog and i chanced upon it while looking up to collaborate with some food bloggers. You brutal honesty is very scary for a start-up but also a great opportunity to get feedback. I have launched a new service today where i will offer recipes with all the ingredients to the customers. I would be happy if you would try the service and review it. My website is thehungrychef.sg
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Thanks for the nice words. Sure will check out your site.
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Hey! As you know, I do love your blog, one of the few I do religiously follow. Being half English, half Irish I do like a sense of humour and I like your honest unlike some other food blogs out there. Cheers from a fellow food blogger / foodie!
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Such a nice compliment to end the week and end the year. Thanks!
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Super awesome blog! Wishing your more of dining adventures this year! Cheers!
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Thanks! Have a great year too
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Dear sir/mdam,
I recommend u to try their roti prata, nasi lemak and the teh Tarik. The price abit x but nice.
Imm level 1 Stall info:
CAFE O is a reinterpretation of the traditional Singapore coffee shops of days gone by. We embrace all the four races & signify the unique cultural melting pot of the four races living in harmony. At CAFE O, you can enjoy your familiar kopi-siew-tai, half boiled eggs, roti prata, Nasi Briyani & Putu Mayam in our traditional coffee shop on timber chairs or 1950’s style formica bench over mosaic tiled floor. Drop by our CAFE O to enjoy our Healthy Roti Prata cooked with less oil, Power Nasi Briyani which is rich in flavor and smooth massaged teh.
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OK thanks. Will try when we are free.
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Hi Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow Team
Red Hot ChilliBuddy would like to invite your over to try our fusion Mookata.
We are located at 273 Tanjong Katong Road Singapore 437056.
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Hi guys,
I used to be on your mailing list, your posts haven been great. But since I change service provider( used to be singnet email) I can’t receive any of your new posts. Please include me in your mailing list. Thanks.
Regards,
Daniel Lim
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Thanks for the nice words, Daniel! We checked and you’re on the mailing list. Let us check if there is something wrong with the mailing. Thanks!
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Hey Rubbish Eat Rubbish friends!
I love your contents, such great resources you have on your blog!
I would like to contribute it as well as I run a fresh new online wine store, with humorous branding on our blog!
And I would be happy of course to offer you the finest french wines to pair with the foods you try!
I sent you an email, hope to see your reply.
Regards,
Oliver
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Who are the writer blogger mentioned that sous vide Cooking is LAZY? Please apologize.
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Hi Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow Team ,
My name is Anuj Agarwal. I’m Founder of Feedspot.
I would like to personally congratulate you as your blog Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow has been selected by our panelist as one of the Top 50 Singapore Food Blogs on the web.
http://blog.feedspot.com/singapore_food_blogs/
I personally give you a high-five and want to thank you for your contribution to this world. This is the most comprehensive list of Top 50 Singapore Food Blogs on the internet and I’m honored to have you as part of this!
Also, you have the honor of displaying the badge on your blog.
Best,
Anuj
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check out burgerlicious locate dat nos. 38 jalan pemimpin #01-04 singapore 577175
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Hi , we are newly open we focus on vietnamese coffee and food. We would like to invite you to drop by our store and try our food. It is located at 321 Alexandra RD, #02-26 Alexandra Central Mall.
Hope to hear from you.
Ly Bui
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My partner found this amazing food blog when he was searching for places we could go to have black carrot cake. We were so mindblown by the amount of dedication that went into each honest review of food. Kudos to the amazing bloggers :)
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Thank you. That’s very sweet of you to say.
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I now understand why your blog has won so many awards. Your articles are crisp and clear, to the point, but with a touch of personality!
Strangely, I learnt a great deal about Facebook security from a food blog :)
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Thanks!
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