Yishun has been the victim of endless shaming for being an unpleasant neighbourhood.
But one resident’s act of kindness will crush those rumours and make Yishun a great neighbourhood again.
Since July, Mr James Chen has been delivering food to his neighbours at the Signature condominium and the nearby The Criterion at no charge.
The 37-year-old senior marketing manager offers this free service four times a week.
Mr Chen’s WhatsApp group for the service began as a food interest group with only 10 members.
Most of them didn’t have time to visit the food places they discussed, so Mr Chen stepped in to save the day.
An avid foodie who travels around Singapore to get food for his family, he decided to start taking orders from his neighbours.
Word of his thoughtful gesture spread and the WhatsApp group grew to include more than 90 people.
Mr Chen only receives payment for the food that he buys — delivery is completely free of charge.
He explains that this allows him to share and help his neighbours out.
And he doesn’t limit his visits to nearby areas. He once drove to Westgate mall in Jurong East to buy Taiwanese steamed cakes.
Netizens on Facebook have varying opinions on Mr Chen’s free food delivery service.
Many commended him for his gesture, praising him for being “considerate”, “thoughtful” and “kind”. One even mentioned how lucky residents are to have a nice neighbour like him.
A few who mentioned Yishun seem to embrace Mr Chen’s story as a refreshing and optimistic take on the neighbourhood.
Of course, good news never comes without its fair share of haters. Typical complaints are directed at Mr Chen hogging up queues with his large number of orders.
However, it generally seems that netizens are reacting positively to Mr Chen’s story.
People even asked for his number to see if he could expand his services to other neighbourhoods.
It’s every Singaporean’s dream to have food delivered to their doorstep for free.
But kind souls like Mr Chen can’t serve people island-wide and come to our rescue with free food delivery.
Looks like the rest of us will have to settle for the food delivery services available now. At least Deliveroo has a new unlimited delivery subscription plan.
Or we could just move to Yishun and find an apartment at Signature or The Criterion.
Featured image from Google Maps and Shin Min Daily News.
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