On Oct 1, Hollywood A-List actress Drew Barrymore uploaded a TikTok video of herself eating popiah off a tray in Maxwell Food Centre. The clip instantly went viral, with Singapore fans proclaiming they didn't know she was in town. 

What they also didn't know was her visit to the hawker centre was a completely spontaneous decision during her family's four-day visit in early August. The popular lunch spot in central Singapore wasn’t on the itinerary planned by travel company Blue Sky Escapes, its founder and director Krystal Tan revealed. 

Barrymore was “very attentive” and observant, Tan recalled. During a food walk that took the family past Maxwell, she pointed out the food centre looked “really interesting” and asked if they could eat lunch there instead. 

So the Blue Sky Escapes team “shifted gears”, largely thanks to Pei Shyuan or PS as she’s better known – the guide they’d roped in from local agency Everyday Tour Company which specialises in walking tours around Singapore’s "less-touristy" spots. PS managed to immediately secure them a table, “even though it was the peak of lunch (hour)”, said Tan.

Maxwell Food Centre ended up being the only hawker centre where Barrymore’s family ate during their stay in Singapore – although it wasn’t the only unplanned activity.nextbet

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