On 6 May 2025, Microsoft co-founder and Gates Foundation Chairman Bill Gates created a buzz when he made a surprise appearance at Newton Food Centre in Singapore.
The tech billionaire spent about an hour sampling local delicacies, including chicken rice, chicken wings, satay, and durian, drawing a crowd of over 80 people.
Food Tour Draws Crowd
Bill Gates showed up at Newton Food Centre around 7 PM yesterday, attracting numerous diners who gathered to take videos and photos.
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@rebecca89292 Who is this old man, so many people came to take his photo #singapore #whoisthis #durian ♬ 原声 – Rebecca
According to pictures shared online by onlookers, he sampled chicken rice, chicken wings, satay, fish ball noodles, carrot cake, roti prata, durian, lime juice, and sugarcane juice during his visit.
When reporters visited Newton Food Centre this morning, most stalls had yet to open, except for the chicken wing and satay stall that Gates visited.
The owner, Du Depei (name transliterated from Mandarin), 70, said in an interview that he never expected such a prominent figure would come to a hawker centre to enjoy affordable food, and felt very honoured.
“He arrived around 7 PM and stayed until about 8 PM. Many people were watching him at the time,” he said.
Advance Planning for the Visit
Another stall owner whose stall Gates visited was Sun Yicai (name transliterated from Mandarin), 70, who runs a chicken and duck rice noodle stall.
Sun mentioned that before Gates’ arrival, a team had already come early to scout and make preparations.
“We prepared white chicken rice for him, but his staff came to pick it up, so we didn’t get to meet him in person. There were also many people around him, so we missed the chance for a photo, which was quite a pity.”
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Mr. Wang (name transliterated from Mandarin), 54, who operates a fish ball noodle stall, also shared that around 4 PM yesterday, some management staff arrived and cleared several tables.
He had heard then that Bill Gates would be visiting. “I was busy later, so I didn’t go take a photo with him, but I did quickly snap a picture when he passed by my stall.”
The durian that Gates tried was reportedly purchased from another location rather than from a stall at the food centre.
Bill Gates was in Singapore to speak at the Philanthropy Asia Summit 2025 on Monday, 5 May 2025. He announced that his non-profit organisation, the Gates Foundation, will be opening an office in Singapore.
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