• His street food stall - called a hawker stall in Singapore – received the much-coveted star which is usually given to fine dining restaurants.
    His street food stall - called a hawker stall in Singapore – received the much-coveted star which is usually given to fine dining restaurants.
  • Hawker centres are open-air, sheltered buildings that house rows of cooked food stalls selling a variety of food, drinks and dessert.
    Hawker centres are open-air, sheltered buildings that house rows of cooked food stalls selling a variety of food, drinks and dessert.
  • Hawker Chan hard working at his new branch at Smith Street, not far from his original stall in Chinatown Complex.
    Hawker Chan hard working at his new branch at Smith Street, not far from his original stall in Chinatown Complex.
  • Long queues form daily as his customers, both locals and tourists, wait in line.
    Long queues form daily as his customers, both locals and tourists, wait in line.
  • Some of his customers are willing to queue for hours.
    Some of his customers are willing to queue for hours.
  • A plate of Hawker Chan’s soya sauce chicken noodle or rice costs only $2 Singapore dollars, or a little more than Dh5 - making it the world’s cheapest Michelin-starred meal.
    A plate of Hawker Chan’s soya sauce chicken noodle or rice costs only $2 Singapore dollars, or a little more than Dh5 - making it the world’s cheapest Michelin-starred meal.
  • Together with Hersing Culinary - a brand management firm that owns several other Michelin-starred franchises - Hawker Chan has expanded his business to several locations in Singapore including this one in Smith Street.
    Together with Hersing Culinary - a brand management firm that owns several other Michelin-starred franchises - Hawker Chan has expanded his business to several locations in Singapore including this one in Smith Street.
  • He has also expanded into Taiwan and has plans to open new eateries in the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia.
    He has also expanded into Taiwan and has plans to open new eateries in the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia.
  • Will he consider setting up shop in the Middle East? ‘Yes, if someone there is willing to partner with us,’ he replies.
    Will he consider setting up shop in the Middle East? ‘Yes, if someone there is willing to partner with us,’ he replies.
  • A family from Malaysia enjoying Chan’s Michelin-starred soya sauce chicken.
    A family from Malaysia enjoying Chan’s Michelin-starred soya sauce chicken.

Asia

World’s cheapest Michelin-starred meal - in pictures

Joanna Tan

June 20, 2017

  • English
  • Arabic

Chan Hon Meng became one of the first street food stalls in the world to receive a Michelin star in 2016.

All photos by Munshi Ahmed for The National

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES

All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated

Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid

Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Basquiat in Abu Dhabi

One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. 

The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier. 

It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.  

“We’ve invited local resident arists, we’ll have spray cans at the ready,” says curator Maisa Al Qassemi of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. 

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's Canal Zone Remix is at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Thursday April 18, from 8pm. Free entry to all. Basquiat's Cabra is on view at Louvre Abu Dhabi until October

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