What are some of the hottest things to buy, know about, eat and drink? Here are TAN MIN YAN’s favourites.
What are some of the hottest things to buy, know about, eat and drink? Here are TAN MIN YAN’s favourites.
DRINK: Beer at Alchemist Beer Lab (www.facebook.com/alchemistbeerlab)
Fancy an Irish stout infused with marshmallow, vanilla pod and mint leaf, or an ale with hints of grilled pineapple and anise? The state-of-the-art technology of the 16 beer infusion towers at Alchemist Beer Lab allows brewers to extract flavour from any ingredients to add depth to the brews – the possibilities are endless! Currently, eight of the 16 towers hold the experimental flavours. They’re refreshed weekly with newly infused brews so there’s always something different, weird and wonderful to check out. Says head bartender Barnaby Murdoch: “We can infuse botanicals, fruits, nuts, spices and even coffee and chocolate into our draft beer to create fresh and unique taste profiles.” Sign us up already.
EAT: Salads at Jar’d by Sarnies (www.jar-d.co)
Serving salads with prettily layered ingredients in mason jars? Almost too hipster to bear. But aesthetics aside, there are practical reasons for it. According to the people behind Jar’d by Sarnies, the first mason jar salad bar here, such jars keep the ingredients fresher for longer. Placing the dressing and protein at the bottom, everything else in the middle, and greens on top ensures that the greens stay crisp. Turn the jar on its side, give it a good shake until the ingredients and dressing are well mixed, then eat the salad straight from the jar, or pour the contents out into a bowl. The ingredient combos range from Tuna Tatami to Roast Chicken & Pesto, from $12 for a 750ml portion. We also like the convenience and eco-friendliness – take the empty containers back to Jar’d and get a dollar off your next purchase.
GO LOCAL: Get reintroduced to Singapore flavours
Makan Trail at The Westin Singapore (www.thewestinsingapore.com)
Book a staycation at The Westin Singapore, and you’ll get to sign up for the complimentary 90-minute Makan Trail, which will lead you to local favourites like kaya toast, chye tau kway and ondeh ondeh at food centres in the vicinity. Now, that’s worth waking up early for.
Makan Bus (www.makanbus.com.sg)
Just the thing for your new-in-town expat friends (and the occasional clueless Singaporean). It’s a “hop-on, hop-off” concept, for $28 a person, and takes you to lesser-known local food stops and neighbourhoods like Balestier and Toa Payoh for eats such as bak kut teh and goreng pisang.
National Kitchen by Violet Oon at National Gallery Singapore (www.violetoon.com)
Recently launched, the signature Singapore High Tea Set ($28 a person, minimum of two people) is a tingkatinspired three-tier stand laden with local- and Peranakaninspired goodies like buah keluak crostini, otak-otak open-face sandwiches and beef bak pau. Yum.
WEAR: Eco-athleisure brand Rumi X (www.rumixfeelgood.com)
Here’s the thing: We have a problem with outrageously priced yoga-wear brands that do little to support the activity’s mindful-living mantra. So, we’re smitten with Hong Kong-based eco-athleisure brand Rumi X, available in Singapore at Touch the Toes, 31 Arab Street. Aside from yoga leggings, capris and shorts made using eco-friendly materials and processes (polyester from recycled plastic water bottles and yarn from used coffee grounds, for example), the range includes sports bras and tank tops for all sorts of exercise. Founder Melissa Chu shares more.
I CREATED RUMI X BECAUSE… I wanted to bring the sustainability movement to Hong Kong when I relocated from my hometown, San Francisco. I was practising yoga regularly, and couldn’t find many affordable apparel options. After I got yoga-certified in India in December 2013, I decided to do something that would combine yoga and sustainability, and be useful for myself. Rumi X was created as a more affordable apparel choice, with brighter, funkier colours, and made from recyclable materials.
I WAS INSPIRED BY 13THCENTURY PERSIAN POET RUMI. When practising yoga in India, I was going through a spiritual phase, and his poetry really enlightened me – it’s about life, love and pursuing passion. We decided to print quotes from his poems on the inner lining of our apparel.
NEXT UP FOR RUMI X… A new 7/8 length for leggings, and full-length jumpsuits. The Spring/Summer ’17 collection will have running shorts and tanks, more panelling and less in terms of patterns, design-wise. We also plan to create a men’s collection for Fall ’17, and a children’s one in 2018.
“RUMI X WAS CREATED AS A MORE AFFORDABLE APPAREL OPTION, WITH BRIGHTER, FUNKIER COLOURS, AND MADE FROM RECYCLABLE MATERIALS.”
“THE GREATEST OF ALL PLEASURES IS THE PLEASURE OF LEARNING.” – LA GRANJA IBIZA
STAY: La Granja Ibiza – not your average resort (www.lagranjaibiza.com)
La Granja Ibiza, a 10-room members-only retreat, is the result of a collaboration between Design Hotels and the Friends of a Farmer collective. It’s set within the pastoral fields of party island Ibiza, away from its tourist fringes, and is a stark contrast to Ibiza’s reputation of excesses.
For starters, accommodation is within a 16th-century stone farmhouse surrounded by 10 hectares of farmland and citrus groves. You’ll stay in one of the traditional Iberian-style guest rooms (featuring dark wood beams and reclaimed-wood furniture), and have communalstyle meals whipped up using farm-grown fruits and vegetables as well as ingredients from other small-batch producers. Because accommodation capacity is so limited, you’re encouraged to interact with other guests and the surroundings – go for communal farming workshops to get hands-on with what you consume, or take part in kitchen jam sessions and learn about the slow food movement. Then, relax in a group meditation class or chat with artists, innovators and activists at a monthly informal gathering. “The greatest of all pleasures is the pleasure of learning,” says the resort. You could always make the 15-minute drive to Ibiza town, but why would you?
Staying here isn’t exactly the same as the activity du jour of going on retreats, but it does encourage a similar hippy, love-thy-neighbour attitude towards life. We’d rather stay here and really immerse ourselves in the lifestyle than splurge on an extravagant staycation that gives us little more than a couple of massages.
