Hungry for curry puffs? Fans turn out to buy snack from Olympic kitefoiler Max Maeder

SINGAPORE – An early morning 50km ride for 54-year-old retiree Jane Ong on Nov 7 included a tasty detour when the recreational cyclist made an additional 20km journey from Tanjong Pagar to Katong to buy curry puffs from Olympic kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder.

Maeder, 18, made a special appearance at his favourite curry puff shop, Soon Soon Huat, from 7.30am to noon to help serve the local snack to customers.

Ahead of the World Sailing Awards on Nov 5, the teenager, who claimed the men’s kitefoiling bronze at the Paris Olympics, had promised to work at a curry puff stall for a day

if he won the Young World Sailor of the Year award.

Voting for the award, which he clinched, was open to the public. Maeder said he pledged to work at a curry puff stall “if you vote for me and I win”.

Ms Ong, who admitted that she did not like curry puffs, said: “I already did 50km, we (her cycling group) did a ride from Toa Payoh to the Southern Ridges and finished at Tanjong Pagar, and then it’s an additional 20km to come here.

“I just wanted to see Max Maeder, a local hero! It has been going around social media, and also in the newspapers yesterday. He said ‘I’m a man of my word, I will serve curry puff.’

“He’s very hard-working, I saw him serving so many curry puffs and just incredible what he did, on the international front, to perform like that. He’s such a good role model for the youngsters.”

Like Ms Ong, others were also at the Katong shop to catch a glimpse of Singapore’s Olympic hero and get their hands on the signature puff with Max’s name on it.

A queue of nearly 20 people had formed even before the shop’s shutters opened at 7.30am.

Retiree Toh Yok Ten and her daughter Lee Ee Fang, 48, were among the first few in line.

Madam Toh, who declined to reveal her age, said in Mandarin: “We are frequent customers of this curry puff store. Max is my idol and I saw in the papers that he would be coming, so I decided to come.”

Noting that the queue was longer than usual, Madam Lee added: “I think they are here for both him and the curry puffs. You can see the queue, the crowd keeps streaming in.”

Business was brisk during Maeder’s shift – he served more than 200 customers in nearly five hours – and the atmosphere in the shop was lively, with many also requesting autographs, photos and wefies.

His parents Valentin and Hwee Keng, and grandparents, also turned up to show their support.

Shop owner Tay Mui Lan said: “He said that if he won the award, he would come down to work at a curry puff shop and he asked me if it’s convenient, and I said ‘Sure, let’s start practising now!’

“We are lucky and honoured to have Max choose us. Every Singaporean knows Max and he’s a big influence, especially after winning bronze at the Olympics.

“People who don’t live in the east don’t usually come here for curry puffs, but I hope that people from around Singapore will come here and try; try what Max likes.”

After spending almost five hours on his feet, Maeder could not decide if kitefoiling or selling snacks was more tiring, though he enjoyed the experience and gave himself six out of 10 points for his effort.

He added: “It’s been very lively, my first experience working retail, and I hope I didn’t make too many mistakes and was more of a help than a burden.

“I absolutely adore curry puffs and we come here often. The owner was nice enough to let me work here for a day impromptu; they were a big help and made it easy for me.

“Maybe if there’s a special occasion, I am happy to do one more, but I still have to focus on my training. But whenever I’m back and there’s a special occasion, it’s an excellent excuse to do so.”