Staying home will be anything but dull with this week’s picks
FOOD
Cruffins enter Asia
Mr Holmes Bakehouse
Cruffin lovers, rejoice! Mr Holmes Bakehouse is coming to Singapore. Best known for popularising the cruffin hybrid — a flaky, sugar-dusted and creamfilled croissant baked in the shape of a muffin — San Francisco-based bakery Mr Holmes Bakehouse has set its sights on Singapore for its first Southeast Asia flagship.
Founded by co-owner and pastry chef Aaron Caddel, Mr Holmes Bakehouse was first established in 2014 as a wholesale bakery located in the bustling Tenderhill district in San Francisco.
After it catapulted to fame on social media for its cruffins, the bakery was transformed into a full-fledged storefront. Despite its fame, the Covid-19 pandemic proved too challenging for the bakery’s operations in the US, leading to the shuttering of all stores.
Now seeking a restart, the Singapore store marks Mr Holmes Bakehouse’s first expansion in Southeast Asia, its latest flagship and the brand’s only remaining storefront in the world.
The 41-seater bakery-cafe is scheduled to open in June at Pacific Plaza. For more information, visit www.mrholmesbakehouse.sg.
WATCH
Love On
iQiyi International
iQiyi International celebrates love with a curated Asian romance collection offering over 600 hours of romantic series and films.
From May to September, the Chinese streaming giant will premiere new Chinese romance drama originals at www.iq.com/intl-commons/LoveOn.
The Love On Chinese romance drama collection builds on iQiyi International’s niche in romance dramas, such as Story of Yanxi Palace, Love is Sweet, and Backstreet Rookie.
See: GHY Culture & Media taps Nasdaq-listed iQiyi to expand talent network
The new collection features seven Chinese romance dramas: Moonlight, Make a Wish, Sweet Teeth, Forever and Ever, Love Under The Full Moon, The Day of Becoming You, and First Love Again.
This is the international streamer’s second content collection, following the thriller and crime drama collection, Lights On.
iQiyi International has also teamed up with Dopa Dopa Creamery to bring sweet treats from reel life to real life. Designed to satisfy the sweetest tooth, Love On is a refreshing sherbet made from a blend of lychee and oolong tea, topped with dried raspberry. The special flavour will be available at Dopa Dopa Creamery till September at $20 per pint.
EXHIBITION
Gallery Children’s Biennale
National Gallery Singapore
National Gallery Singapore’s Children’s Biennale is going global for the first time. The Gallery’s inaugural “phygital” Children’s Biennale features artworks by local and international artists: Dinh Q Lê (Vietnam), Isabel and Alfredo Aquilizan (Philippines/Australia), Jeremy Sharma (Singapore), Joyce Ho (Taiwan), Khvay Samnang (Cambodia), Nandita Mukand (Singapore/ India), Nona Garcia (Philippines), Sandra Lee (Singapore), and Speak Cryptic X Addaddadd (Singapore).
Guided by the inquiry “Why Art Matters”, this edition of Gallery Children’s Biennale seeks to inspire children to navigate the changing times with empathy and confidence.
This is done through playful art experiences that explore important topics such as home, diversity, time and the environment.
Through fun activities such as interactive online adventures, immersive storytelling and co-creation of art with international artists and fellow children around the world, the Biennale looks to nurture critical skills such as curiosity, creativity and character-building in children.
The Biennale is now live at www.childrensbiennale.com. The online experience will be followed by an on-site experience at National Gallery Singapore in September.
PODCAST
Dior Untold
For the first time ever, the tales of Dior Perfumes are told in a podcast series, Dior Untold. This series provides a unique opportunity for us to look behind the scenes of the Dior Maison and its special savoir-faire. It is an immersion into the fascinating world of its creator and his innermost inspirations.
The second episode, titled Dior Untold: And Women Created Dior, is now live. It features Christian Dior strolling in the bucolic gardens of his childhood home in Granville, accompanied by his mother Madeleine. The action then moves to the cobblestone streets of post-war Paris, enlivened by the Parisian crowd who rushes to the Saint Germain des Prés district, eager to discover the creations of the great couturier. It is there that he will cultivate his admiration for many women who have shaped his history and that of fashion.
Meet the stars who steer Christian Dior in his eternal quest for excellence. Listen to the podcast series at www.podcast.diorparfums.com.
