From soups to screens, experience life from different parts of the globe without stepping out of the house
Thai treats for alternative diets
Blue Jasmine
Thai food lovers on plant-based diets can check out new bento options at Blue Jasmine. From the Vegetarian Fried Rice with Quorn Nuggets ($15) to the Heura Red Curry ($18), diners can enjoy more vegan and vegetarian options from the 10 bento sets available at the Park Hotel Farrer Park restaurant.
Look out also for the vegan OMN! Basil Kaprao ($18), featuring home-made basil paste with plant-based OmniMeat, snake beans, light and dark soy sauce, a substitute for the usual oyster sauce. The bento is served with rice, vegetarian spring rolls and mini mango sticky rice.
On rainy days, head over to Blue Jasmine for a hot and spicy bowl of soup that’s sure to awaken the senses. Vegan and gluten-free, the Quorn Meatball Nam Sai and Quorn Meatball Tom Kha Gai ($16 each) boast rich, home-made vegan tom yum stock simmered with smashed bird’s eye chilli and lime. The soups also come with deepfried Quorn meatballs, mushrooms and tomatoes.
Complete the meal with vegetarian Quorn Nuggets with Thai Chilli Dip ($12), featuring crispy meat-free nuggets dipped in a sweet and tangy Thai chilli sauce with peanuts, coriander and chilli flakes. From Oct 15, Blue Jasmine will replace all takeaway packaging with microwaveable, 100% biodegradable boxes produced in Singapore. On Oct 10, order any of their 10 bento boxes available at just $10 each. Place your orders at blue-jasmine-singapore.myshopify.com
A film festival from home
Painting with Light
Painting with Light returns to the National Gallery Singapore for its third edition this October. For the first time, the festival of international films on art will be available for free online, offering Singapore-based viewers unlimited access to a selection of new and award- winning Southeast Asian stories from their own devices.
From Oct 2 to 25, audiences can look forward to a thoughtfully curated line-up of 20 short films and fulllength features, including seven local premieres. Highlights include the Singapore premiere of Mekong 2030, an anthology of five Southeast Asian short films on the future of the Mekong River; and The Mental Traveller by Taiki Sakpisit, a film that meditates on the passing of time, habitual thought patterns and sensorial realities of five men who call a psychiatric ward home.
Together, this selection of stories explores the tangible and intangible aspects of home in various contexts. The films will be available to Singapore residents at nationalgallery.sg/paintingwithlight
From the Tang Dynasty
Toy Factory Productions
Presented by Arts House, Singapore International Festival of Arts (Sifa) v2.020 has commissioned Poetry Under the Southern Bough by Toy Factory Productions to be part of the live performance pilots initiated by the National Arts Council.
A hybrid event combining live performance and virtual streaming, the production celebrates the elegant poetry of 16th-century Tang Dynasty playwright Tang Xianzu, bringing audiences on a journey through the dreamscapes of 20 selected poems from A Dream Under the Southern Bough.
Performed in Mandarin with English subtitles, this 45-minute multi-disciplinary show will take place at Drama Centre Theatre on Oct 10 at 3pm and 8pm. The show is available to a maximum audience of 50 per show, and extensive Covid-19 measures will be incorporated to safeguard all performers and audiences. The festival will also sell tickets for a digital livestream.
Accessible through the Sifa All-Access online platform, Sifa v2.020 is presented by Arts House as part of the #SGCultureAnywhere campaign.
New on Netflix
Whether you’re looking for a scare this Halloween or just some feel-good drama, here are the latest additions to Netflix this month.
Emily In Paris (Comedy, Drama)
Oct 2
After landing her dream job in Paris, Chicago marketing executive Emily Cooper (Lily Collins) embraces her adventurous new life in France. There she struggles to achieve success in the workplace while searching for love and experiencing incidents when her mid-western sensibilities clash with Parisian culture.
The Haunting of Bly Manor (Horror)
Oct 9
A woman takes up a position as a live-in nanny for two young children at a country estate in England, only to experience strange hauntings. This follow-up to Netflix’s supernatural series, The Haunting of Hill House, is loosely based on the 1898 horror novella, The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James.
Blackpink: Light Up The Sky (Documentary)
Oct 14
Caroline Suh’s documentary charts the meteoric rise of the South Korean girl group Blackpink, featuring behind-the-scenes clips of the four artistes recording their new album, interviews with the stars, and clips from their Coachella performance in 2019 — where they were the first all-girl K-pop group to ever take the festival stage.
Over The Moon (Animated, Musical)
Oct 23
Fuelled with determination and a passion for science, a bright young girl builds a rocket ship to the moon to prove the existence of a legendary Moon Goddess. This joint project between American and Chinese studios features the voices of Cathy Ang, Phillipa Soo, Ken Jeong, John Cho, Ruthie Ann Miles, Margaret Cho and Sandra Oh.
