Exciting collaborations: From culinary pop-ups to conversations in a cab, explore these new tie-ups around Singapore
FOOD
Raffles Courtyard and FatFuku
May 12 to June 11
Chef Annette Tan of private dining kitchen FatFuku takes centre stage at the Raffles Courtyard from May 12 to June 11 to present her spin on traditional Peranakan dishes.
Indulge in a spread of Annette’s signature dishes, including Nasi Lemak Buah Keluak ($15), featuring buah keluak sambal, enriched with minced prawns and pork for sweetness and depth, served atop a mound of fragrant nasi lemak and steamed in a banana leaf package with a side of refreshingly tangy achar.
Enjoy the Mee Siam Rosti ($18), a new rendition of her signature crispy mee siam, presenting crisp and fluffy potato pancakes topped with prawn and quail egg sambal, drizzled with a Nonya-style gravy.
End the meal with desserts like Pandan Kueh Koh Swee ($7 for four pieces); meltingly tender squares of kueh suffused with natural pandan juice and coconut, and the Roasted Banana Ice Cream with Gula Melaka Syrup (from $5), made from caramelised bananas roasted with pure cane sugar, giving it a depth and richness of flavour reminiscent of fried banana fritters.
The menu will be available at Raffles Courtyard daily from 3pm to 9pm. Exclusively on Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 6pm to 8pm, guests will also have the opportunity to meet and mingle with Tan herself. For details, visit www.rafflessingapore.com/restaurant/raffles-courtyard
DRINKS
Shop-in-shop
LOUIS XIII Cognac
French luxury house LOUIS XIII Cognac reveals a new journey of sensations and emotions for clients with the opening of a permanent shop-in-shop, the first of its kind in Southeast Asia.
Located within the new flagship The Whisky Distillery store at One Raffles Place, the new experiential boutique expands LOUIS XIII’s visibility to Singapore’s discerning clients in the city’s bustling central business district.
Additionally, customers who purchase a decanter of The Magnum (1.5L) throughout the month of May will enjoy an exclusive complimentary pairing experience at Tippling Club for two guests.
Curated by chef-owner Ryan Clift, guests are invited to enjoy the ritual of tasting LOUIS XIII Cognac alongside a decadent pairing menu in one of Singapore’s top restaurants, featuring the finest ingredients, from N25 Caviar to lobster and foie gras.
The LOUIS XIII Shop-in-Shop is now open at The Whisky Distillery, One Raffles Place. LOUIS XIII Cognac is also available for purchase at other The Whisky Distillery retail stores across Singapore.
ARTS
Century-old pioneer
May 14 to 30
Revisit the story of Cheong Soo Pieng, Singapore’s pioneer art master and one of the most innovative Chinese artists of the 20th century, in a new light at artcommune gallery’s Tonalities: The Ink Works of Cheong Soo Pieng.
With this first-ever retrospective survey of the artist’s entire body of ink work, visitors can look forward to over 100 ink exhibits that showcase different periods of the artist’s career, with never-before-seen works from his final years.
Travel back in time to Cheong’s overseas painting trips and learn how they shaped his work — like the visit to Bali that cultivated his lifelong preoccupation with Balinese figures and motifs, his encounters with post-war contemporary art in Europe and his re-invention of Chinese classicism after returning from China.
Art collectors and enthusiasts can also get hold of artcommune’s new bilingual publication, presented in English and Mandarin, to learn more about the artist’s body of ink work.
The exhibition will take place from May 14 to 30 at Artspace @ Helutrans and will be open from 12pm to 7pm daily. Admission is free. For details, visit www.artcommune.com.sg
PODCAST
Hired
Have you ever encountered a taxi driver who cannot seem to stop talking? Hired is a podcast about our beloved taxi drivers who share a seemingly different worldview from your typical millennial or Gen Z Singaporean.
Join Shane Soh as he listens to some of the most talkative or kaypoh drivers in Singapore — through a series of honest and random conversations. In the pilot episode, Soh goes on a journey from Sembawang to Bukit Panjang with Uncle Lim, a 66-year-old driver who has been on the road for 15 years.
On the way, he makes a detour and stops at a coffee shop in Woodlands. Animated and passionate, Uncle Lim recounts his experience as a personal tour guide for the family of the late Deng Xiaoping.
Listen to The Uncle Who Took A Different Turn by *SCAPE Singapore at soundcloud.com/scape-singapore/hiredep-1-the-uncle-who-took-a-different-turn
This podcast series won First Prize at the Podcast Competition+ by *SCAPE. The competition aims to nurture aspiring podcasters to produce quality podcast content by equipping aspiring podcasters with the right skills to venture further into podcasting.
The top 10 finalists underwent a five-week mentorship programme from February to March to produce a podcast episode, which was assessed by a panel of judges and a public voting for the audience choice award. The Podcast Competition+ is supported by programme partners Mediacorp, Audio Technica, City Music, IMS Mahajak Pro Audio and powered by Zoom, Samson and Mackie.
