Tikka to spice up Singapore Grand Prix

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.

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.

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“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 September 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 Grand Prix. 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 said.