A Tale of Two Tays

Saturday, 27th February 2010

Last Sunday, the Tay (that is my mom's maiden surname) clan had a CNY gathering at the F&B outlet run by a churchmate of mine, who also happens to have the surname Tay.

This churchmate of mine was also my co-leader when I was the cell leader of 3L7.  We were both previously from another cell known as 3L2.  Sometime in July 2006, my then-cluster leaders, Sunny and Yeok Ming, approached me to ask us to mutiply out into a new cell on 1 January 2007.  The cell was a very cosy one consisting of just 6 members -- Mr Tay and his wife, me and my wife and another couple, Mr & Mrs Ng.

Alas, our cell made history by becoming the shortest-lived cell in the history of Paya Lebar Methodist Church.  Rev Peter Koh, the then-senior pastor, did not like the fact that I was promoting the grace gospel, (which he considers to be heresy), so he made me step down as its cell leader (and Honorary Treasurer) in July 2007.  He then went on to disband 3L7 in December 2007.  Nonetheless, the members of the now-defunct cell still remain extremely good friends (our friendship go back to our 3L2 days, even before Rev Koh was posted to PLMC in January 2006).  That goes to show that when God opens a door, nobody can shut it :-)

For those who are new to my blog, you may want to read the following post for a summary of the eventful happenings that took place between my dear ex-senior pastor and myself, which includes plagiarism, being investigated by the police, potential legal action and so on.  Heheh...

http://rootss.blogspot.com/2009/01/orbi-goot-chiak-chooroot-ang-moh-chiak.html

Anyway, in October 2009, Mr Tay set up this F&B outlet located at Novena Square known as Professor Brawn Cafe.  He even invited Rev Barnabas Chong (the previous youth pastor of my church and the one who offered the Crocs I gave him and his son at half price) to dedicate the cafe to the Lord.  Mr Tay, Rev Chong and myself were all members of 3L2 and I used to be very close to Rev Chong until he discovered my stand on the grace gospel.  LOL.  God really has a great sense of humour, doesn't He?  I'm sure Rev Koh, Rev Chong and I can all laugh about it when we are in heaven someday in the future :-)

But, I am digressing.  Let's get back to the topic at hand...

The name "Professor Brawn" is the brainchild of his son.  The outlet has been set up as a "social enterprise" to create job opportunities for children with special needs.  So whenever you dine there, you are not just feasting on good food, you are also contributing to a very worthy cause :-)

My family simply love the food and the cosy ambience.  Here's a photo that my daughter took of me a couple of months back in a Prof Brawn Cafe tshirt, priced at $30 each, the proceeds of which go to Pathlight School.

And that is exactly what the Tay Clan did last Sunday.  24 of us gathered at the dome area of the outlet and had a wonderful time of food and fellowship, knowing that we were at the same time doing our part for society.  Here is a paranomic photo shot with my Samsung Omnia 2 (I doubt the iPhone can do this :p)

You can check out other photos of the Tay Clan gathering at the following link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=172888&id=751059341&l=4228ad36a3

And so if you happen to be in the vicinity of Novena MRT, do drop in for a slice of cheesecake, waffle with ice-cream or glass of homemade lemonade or orangeade.  Who knows, Mr Tay himself may be the one at your service...

[Afternote: By God's divine arrangement, Mr Tay's cafe has been featured at the foot of page 8 of the 28 Feb 2010 edition of The Sunday Times, Lifestyle section!!!  I have scanned it for your reading pleasure]