END OF AN ERA: RIDA VIDEO CENTRE TO CLOSE AFTER 40 YEARS

It's time to say goodbye. For just over 40 years, Rida Video Centre at Coronation Plaza was our go to place to rent movies. On 30 April, it closes for good, a sign of the changing times. With Netflix, streaming video services and YouTube, there is now little need for physical media to be rented or bought, which is why we have not been to this library in ages. It might just be the last surviving video rental shop left in Singapore. We came for one last time to say goodbye.

Rida Video Centre opened in 1985, one of the original shops in Serene Centre at the end of Farrer Road. Located on the ground floor just at the entrance from the car park and opposite McDonald's, it was hard to miss. Its shop window was plastered with video covers from top to bottom, and the door led to a virtual Alladin's cave of movies. In those early days, physical media meant VHS videotapes. As a student, I was one of their many faithful customers, regularly renting James Bond movies (my first exposure to the entire franchise outside of cinemas) and WWF (World Wrestling Federation) videos - Wrestlemania, SummerSlam and the lot. During the 1990s, it later moved to Coronation Plaza where it still is until the end of the month.

Just look at the merch!

I was such a regular that the proprietor Laurel Khoo and his husband Mr Ooi even remembered my membership number, which was 2824. Any new wrestling video was flagged for my interest as soon as it was released. Then came the switch of physical media to the large and unwieldy LaserDisc (LD), the handy low resolution video CD (VCD), later upgraded to Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) and BluRay. I enjoyed the lot, but then came mobile media which finally made physical media obsolete.

You got to hand it to Rida for its longevity. A major video rental franchise that entered Serene Centre soon moved out, simply because it could not match Rida for business, range and accessibility. Laurel and folks were always friendly and informal. There were no paid deposits, nor late fees and there was flexibility in borrowing. They just called you when a high-demand disc was needed back urgently. I will always treasure their friendship and personability. We chatted often about family, movie trends and medicine. Laurel enjoys a well-deserved retirement, where she can spend more time with her five grandchildren in Singapore and USA. 

At our final visit, we had the option of getting our deposit (which amounted to $55) returned or we could buy her stock at heavily discounted prices. We chose the latter, and now have many hours of movie-viewing (repeated one must add) to enjoy. Rida Video and Laurel, we will miss all of you.

You can still visit until its last day on 30 April. Used DVDs go for $5 each or 5 for $10, while BluRays go for $20. 

As reported in The Straits Times:

Rida Video Centre, one of Singapore’s last video rental stores, to shutter after over 40 years | The Straits Times

Rida Video Centre: Saying goodbye to a movie store | The Straits Times

RIDA VIDEO CENTRE

587 Bukit Timah Road #02-17

Coronation Plaza

Tel: 6466-4600

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SHOSTAKOVICH WITH LEONIDAS KAVAKOS & HANNU LINTU / Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Review

SHOSTAKOVICH WITH

LEONIDAS KAVAKOS & HANNU LINTU

Singapore Symphony Orchestra

Esplanade Concert Hall

Thursday (9 April 2026)

This review was first published in Bachtrack.com on 13 April 2026 with the title "Lintu, Kavakos and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra make the case for Shostakovich".

Has Dmitri Shostakovich become the new Rachmaninov in Singapore? There have never been more performances of Dmitri Shostakovich’s music in Singapore within such a short space in living memory. Two weeks ago, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra scaled his Eleventh Symphony with Eliahu Inbal conducting, and the First Piano Concerto followed with Yeol Eum Son’s brilliant fingers a week later. The Fifth Symphony will be heard from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestral Institute in two days’ time, and under SSO’s Music Director-Designate Finnish conductor Hannu Lintu, two blockbusters attracted audiences the size that would usually flock to Rachmaninov evenings.

Photo: Jack Yam

The Soviet era composer’s blend of 20th century modernism, dissonant but ultimately tonal, with communicative raw emotions identifiable with contemporary living, was what packed them in. Raw and gritty, as opposed to Rachmaninov’s lush and opulent, also found receptive ears. There was no virtuoso more suave than Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos for the First Violin Concerto in A minor (Op.99), composed in 1947. 

The opening Nocturne pitted low strings against the high line seamlessly established by Kavakos, whose clear and incisive tones sang out like a voice in the wilderness. The bitterness expressed, followed by lashings of vitriol in the Scherzo, where violin battled spiky woodwinds in a hammer-and-tongs struggle, would be suppressed until after Stalin’s death in 1953.

The concerto was clearly about a man against an oppressive totalitarian system, which the original dedicatee David Oistrakh fully understood. Kavakos, despite his cool approach, was never at odds with this, and the ensuing Passacaglia reinforced its gravity. There was a long pause for effect before the searing solo cadenza which launched inexorably into the finale’s Burlesque. In its frenetic pages, the baton flew off Lintu’s grasp, landing in front of Kavakos who returned it to the mirth of the audience. That was a brief moment of comic relief amid the flailing Klezmer-influenced mayhem which brought the concerto to a explosive close, greeted by a chorus of cheers. 

Kavakos’ encore of J.S.Bach’s Loure from Partita No.3 in E major (BWV.1006) provided the perfect balm for the frayed nerves that came before.

Shostakovich’s longest symphony, the Seventh or “Leningrad”, composed during the thousand-day Nazi siege of the city where a million souls perished, completed the evening. Should this be regarded as absolute or programme music, or propagandist hubris for a wartime cause? Lintu and his charges let the music speak for itself, with sound production being the primary agenda. To this end, four French horns, three trumpets and three trombones were placed in the gallery behind the orchestra for maximal projection... and it worked. Seldom has there been a more clear-headed performance of the music, with its themes well-delineated and never strained beyond incredulity. The battle depicted resistance not so much against Fascism but against the banalities of vulgarity.

That infamous first movement invasion theme (based on either Lehar or Tchaikovsky, later parodied by Bartok) and its ensuing crescendo was built up organically, and ratcheted to an ear-lacerating climax. Guo Siping’s plaintive bassoon solo provided the desolate denouement. After the exhausting half-hour mark, the central slow movements provided relief despite interludes of upheavals for contrast, and it was the finale which picked up from the opening movement’s exertions. The transition to C major at its conclusion provided the final redemption for the city which “Stalin destroyed and Hitler finished off”. 

Photo: Jack Yam

The 78 minutes was a journey well spent. If this show of passion and commitment cannot stir zeal and interest in Singapore for arguably the 20th century’s greatest composer, nothing else will.

Star Rating: *****

The original review on Bachtrack.com:

Lintu, Kavakos and the SSO make the case for Shostakovich | Bachtrack

A COUPLE OF COFFEE SHOPS IN KUCHING, SARAWAK

In Singapore, we have no time for coffee shops. While on holiday in Kuching, Sarawak, we enjoyed the luxury of time and a few moments for a cuppa. Artisanal coffee shops are now an in thing, and there were several near our hotel located in Ewe Hai and Carpenter Streets. It was a relief to know that there were no Starbucks or other chain coffee outlets anywhere to be found.

Janet is the coffee drinker of our family, whereas I usually prefer tea. The stereotypes end here, and she is the one who calls the shots when it comes to coffee, wherever we may be... Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong or Bali. We made time for coffee in two rather different coffee shops on the same street, but on different days. Nothing beats the aroma of a brew after a meal or a session of sightseeing.

Yia Coffee Company on Ewe Hai Streets looks more upmarket, and could be part of a chain. Its gentrified appearance is quite attractive, and there is more than one barista at work, serving a few lounge lizards who tend to while their time away. We were no exception. There was also a selection of local Sarawakian coffee beans, which Janet was happy to try out.

Zoey Coffee on Carpenter Street is the more informal and personalised place, operating from an old shophouse that looks untouched by interior decorators. A young man runs the show, and is the proprietor and sole barista for the last four years. He appears busy but is friendly. There is a small selection of interesting books, but they are not for sale. The artwork on display is. As in both places, I opt for an ice coffee or ice cappuccino, whereas Janet is the more adventurous.

YIA COFFEE COMPANY

75 Ewe Hai Street

ZOEY COFFEE

57 Carpenter Street

SUKA MAKAN: BLA BLA BLA... IN KUCHING (SARAWAK)

Never thought a Chinese restaurant could have such a name. This sounds more like a coffee place or bar, where people choose to hang out to gossip or bitch. Bla bla bla... is for real, a recommendation of a friend of ours, located in an unprepossessing row of shop houses a walking distance south of our hotel. 

They do traditional Chinese dishes, but with an Asian fusion twist. That may be sensed in the restaurant's decor, which is chic and modern, very unlike most Chinese restaurants. Upon entering, you are faced with a koi pond with steps to avoid getting wet, and the dining area is either behind the main building or upstairs of the shop house. 

The dishes are huge. And very tasty. The small portions can feed three or four people, so we had to take away the left-overs. Just build up a big appetite before coming. We had no reservation, and the eating space was full, mostly families and communal groups, and a few tourists. Will definitely come back again.

One of its specialities, Mango Duck

Lots and lots of greens,
Crispy fried leaves with meat floss

Seafood crispy noodle,
the size of the plate was huge 

Softshell crab, sold in multiples of four

BLA BLA BLA...

27 Jalan Tabuan

93100 Kuching, Sarawak

(18) Bla Bla Bla Restaurant | Facebook