Double treat for Liverpool fans: Champions League final and free prata

SINGAPORE — Liverpool fans such as Shamir Robinson, 24, were still savouring the sweet taste of a stunning come-from-behind victory by the Reds over Barcelona, when they got a second reason to lick their lips on Wednesday (May 8).

Mr Robinson was still rubbing his eyes in tiredness and disbelief after the Champions League semi-final, played at 3am Singapore time on Wednesday, when he learnt that he could get free prata to celebrate the dazzling victory.

After pulling an all-nighter, he caught up with some sleep then woke to see the promotion on Facebook that Casuarina Curry was offering four free plain (kosong) pratas to fans sporting a Liverpool jersey. The gesture reflected the 4-0 scoreline. Kosong means zero in Malay, but is also used to refer to a plain prata, for example.

The Reds needed to win by a margin of four goals to prevail over Barcelona, which had beaten Liverpool 3-0 in the first leg of the semi-final.

“I haven’t had prata yet, so it was just nice,” said Mr Robinson, who went to Casuarina Curry’s Sixth Avenue outlet.

“(Liverpool) played brilliantly, even with two key strikers down. Barcelona had good chances in the first half as well, although they were thwarted by excellent defending and superb goalkeeping,” said the undergraduate, who has been supporting the club for nearly 20 years.

Casuarina Curry’s owner Elango Subramaniam, 39, said that he came up with the promotion to “get back” at his friends who mocked him over Liverpool’s scoreline last week.

“Those Manchester United fans laughed at me, repeating ‘three kosong (zero)’,” quipped Mr Subramaniam, who has been a Liverpool fan for nearly 30 years.

But against all the odds, he had the last laugh when the final whistle blew. Liverpool will be looking to clinch the Champions League title this year, after losing the title to Spanish giants Real Madrid last year.

“When we won this morning with four-kosong (four-zero), I thought why not give away four kosong (plain) pratas to fellow fans?”

The promotion was announced through Casuarina Curry’s Facebook page on Wednesday morning, at about 10am.

MORE THAN A THOUSAND GIVEN AWAY

Mr Subramaniam said the two Casuarina Curry outlets which took part in this promotion — Sixth Avenue and Upper Thompson — had given away about 1,200 pratas in total by Wednesday evening. Each plain prata usually costs S$1.30.

It was the first time such a promotion was held, he added. 

When TODAY visited the Sixth Avenue outlet at about 5pm, four Liverpool fans were enjoying their free set of four plain pratas, including Mr Robinson.

The National University of Singapore undergraduate thought that the promotion was “timely”.

Shortly after, Mr Robinson chatted with fellow fan Dean Tan, who was sitting at a neighbouring table. They shared their thoughts on Liverpool’s upcoming performance and potential opponents Tottenham Hotspur or Ajax Amsterdam in the Champions League finals.

Mr Tan, who works in the egg distribution business, overslept for the big match in the morning and caught only the final minutes.

“Initially, I saw the half-time score (1-0) on my phone when I woke up. When I tuned in, I was very stunned by the score line,” said the 33-year-old.

He brought an extra Liverpool jersey for a friend to wear over his shirt, so that they could both enjoy the free pratas together.

Another prata business, Springleaf Prata Place — which owns six outlets around the island — had a similar offer.

Mr Tan lives near a Springleaf Prata Place outlet in Bukit Panjang, but he chose to visit the Casuarina Curry instead as he saw that Springleaf’s promotion was only for its first 10 customers. 

However, Springleaf Prata Place later extended the offer into a full-day promotion, after receiving feedback from their Muslim customers who were fasting.

“We wanted our Muslim friends to enjoy our prata for iftar,” said Springleaf’s marketing and communications manager Sathia Selvam.

Mr Selvam said that his boss, Mr SV Gunalan, watched the full game this morning and wanted to hold this promotion, despite being an Everton fan.

“My boss saw how well Liverpool played, and he wanted to reward their supporters,” he added.