SINGAPORE – Nestled within the humble Ci Yuan Hawker Centre in Hougang, halal Western eatery Brostern has “travelled” halfway around the world to make an impression in a big way – on a giant billboard in Times Square in New York City.
The stall’s co-owners, brothers Raimy, 31, Roimy, 30, and Rainy Tan, 28, who are all Chinese-Muslim, were overwhelmed when they saw an image of their faces plastered across the LED video display on the exterior of the Nasdaq Marketsite tower on Nov 20.
Brostern was among 53 South-east Asian merchants who were featured on the iconic 37m-high display from Nov 13 to 20 as part of an ad showcase by Singapore-based ride-hailing company Grab.
Grab, which offers transport, food delivery, and digital financial services, said in a statement that since its Nasdaq listing in 2021, the company has used the billboard space “to recognise and show appreciation to… its community of driver-partners, delivery-partners and merchant-partners” in the region.
“This time round, Grab dedicated the space to give visibility to 53 homegrown merchants on the global stage, while reinforcing the breadth and diversity of food selection that travellers can get on the Grab app, when they are in South-east Asia,” it added.