New Harbour Cafe + drinking session

Oktoberfest comes early. At least for my colleagues and me. A farewell party for another colleague transformed into a beer-chugging session for a few of us.

New Harbour Cafe, located at Tanjong Pagar, is actually quite a nice, cosy spot for chilling out. The food is decent too. Here are a few snapshots of what we had that day.

This was what I had - Bacon Aglio Olio complete with a good Erdinger. I know it looks unimpressive here, but it tastes pretty alright. But I suppose bacon can make anything taste good.

One of my colleagues had good ol' Fish & Chips.

Sandwich, which looks quite wholesome.

This is a sotong snack, and I know you can't see the sotong (they're buried under those crisps).

Next to New Harbour Cafe is New Harbour Bar. And yes, they're affiliated to each other. So, we're allowed to bring our beer mugs from the cafe to the bar.

And that's where the partying started.

This is Suka suka add on, aka the tallest man in my office's island*.

The Second Mr Han. Avid tweeter. Loves the company of women. And great men (I suppose?)

The baby of our island.

Love Jia, Our loud friend.

And here's me!!!

We played some drinking games. No, actually just one drinking game, that allows us to dig all the deepest, darkest secrets of one another, so we could hold one another hostage if anything goes wrong.

*An "island" refers to a cluster of work desks that are joined together in the office.

Do you have a go-to drinking place?

Shopping in Malacca - my achievements

I was in Malacca last week. And never expected myself to shop. But I did!

Who would have thought there's shopping to be done in Malacca besides local delicacies?

There were several of such rings on sale.

Each one costs RM5, I believe.

These were sold at 3 for RM10. My friend got two.

RM5 for seven bangles.

And these are just the accessories. I haven't even started talking about the clothes! I managed to pick up a top (that comes with an awesome belt) and a pair of high-waisted pants (also comes with an awesome belt). Both costs me less than RM100 altogether. I'll show them to you another day.

Have you ever had any pleasantly surprising shopping experience?

The view from above: From 1-Altitude

Has anyone visited 1-Altitude yet?

This rooftop bar stands at 282 metres and is located at One Raffles Place, making it a prime spot to have a bird's eye view to the skyline of Singapore.

I enjoy drinks over great view - the only thing is that Singapore doesn't usually provide the latter all so well. One of my favourite rooftop bars is actually in Bangkok - Sirocco, at The Dome.

Me and Ah Han at Sirocco.

I finally visited 1-Altitude. Not exactly for drinking, and not exactly in the evening, but was invited there for a beauty event. I nonetheless jumped at the chance to check out the place.

I liked the ambience and can imagine that the evening skyline will be even more spectacular.

Can you imagine how it might look at night?

The beautiful city skyline.

In a private room, with a great view.

A candid shot of me, er... laughing at something.

The food is pretty decent too. 

Tiger prawn salad.

Corn soup.

Yummy black cod with spinach & almond puree.

New friends I met at the event.

Will I visit it again? Surely.

Anyone has any reviews to share?

Sushi Tei - For affordable and yummy Japanese food

When it comes to family-styled Japanese restaurants, Sushi Tei is my all-time fave.

And my fave sushi from them?

THIS:

I'd always eye it the moment I sit next to the conveyer belt.

Taste heavenly.

Another must-order is this: Salmon, salmon belly and roe.

This is a new creation that came about during Sushi Tei's chef's competition - avocado and spring roll skin. Actually, it isn't fantastic.

Me and bro fulfilling our "blogging duties".

Dai dai roll - die die must order.

This is quite an indulgence too.

Beef lovers will be pleased with this.

Soft shell crab maki. Love the crunch from the crab and texture of the roe.

Salt ice-cream and mango ice-cream.

Singapore Women's Fashion Week 2011 presents Haute Couture Week in October

You must have heard: Singapore's among the top 10 global fashion capitals, according to a survey result that was released in August. We scored #8 in the ranking, above Tokyo.

I know, most people are skeptical. Many wonder what we have done to deserve the honour.

Let me tell you what we have done. We are so excited about fashion that we have been blogging about it , tweeting about it, writing about it - that's what we have done.

Apparently, the survey that's conducted by the Global Language Monitor produces the top 10 list by tracking the frequency and context of buzzwords across the internet, blogosphere and 75,000 print and electronic media sources.

So here I am, blogging about another of our biggest fashion event, and playing my part to make sure Singapore makes it to the list again next year. Do you part too, share this on your Facebook! Reblog this! Tweet it!

Those who are a little more conscious about fashion would probably have heard about, or maybe even attended some of the shows at the Men's Fashion Week 2011, held in March/April this year. Following the success of that event, the same organisers bring you Women's Fashion Week 2011 (WFW 2011) - the first ever in Singapore.

Gustavo with models wearing apparel from his collection.

What's even more exciting is that WFW 2011 will be presenting Haute Couture Week, making Singapore the second city in the world to stage this high fashion showcase. (The first city is Paris, of course.) At least nine haute couturiers, including Gustavo Lins and Stephane Rolland, will be presenting their Spring/Summer 2012 collections. The full list of participants has not been revealed. The week-long event will be held, once again, at Marina Bay Sands, from 26 to 30 October 2011.

Stephane Rolland with models wearing apparel from his collection.

What Frank Cintamani, chairman of WFW 2011 said about the event resonates deeply within me, "In achieving this unique event (WFW 2011) in bringing Paris to Singapore, it is our aspiration to likewise bring Singapore and Asia to Paris.".

Yes, perhaps we have yet to come to terms with the idea of being a "fashion capital", but don't ever think it's not ever possible for Singaporeans to ditch our denim shorts and slippers, and be trendsetters with a distinctively Singaporean style.

Besides the runway shows, other programmes for WFW 2011 include:

Prêt-a-Porter  
21-23 October
This is a showcase of the latest collection of selected fashion brands that can all be found at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands.

Asian Couture Showcase  
26 October
This is a showcase of couture collections of Asian designers, including Singaporeans.

Haute Couture Exhibition  
6-31 October
Held at The Shoppes at MBS' Jewellery Lane, this exhibtion will feature past and present haute couture creations from different fashion houses.

Kim Kardashian's wedding: Details of her look!

Pictures of Kim Kardashian's wedding can finally be found online. Here are a few of them:

Makeup

The details: The makeup artist for Kim Kardashian's wedding is Mario Dedivanovic. On Mario's blog, he spills the beans on what he used on Kim.

Skin - The Moisturizing Lotion by La Mer, Diorskin Nude Natural Glow Hydrating Makeup by Dior, By Terry’s Touche Veloutee concealer, Chanel Poudre Universelle Libre Natural Finish Loose Powder.

Eyes - L’Oreal Paris Brow Stylist Custom Brow Shaping Pencil in Light Brown, Lancôme 5 Pan Eyeshadow Palette, Cover Girl Line Exact Liquid Liner in Very Black, Lancôme Hypnôse Doll Lashes mascara in So Black

Cheeks - Lancôme Blush Subtil in Rose Romantique, Guerlain Teracotta bronzing powder, Giella’s Eye M Glam highlighter

Lips - YSL Dessin Des Levres lipliner, Lancôme’s L’Absolu Nu lipstick in Coral Sand. (A sheer peachy lipstick, Lancôme La Laque Fever lipgloss in Ravishing Coral. (Very pretty color for any skin tone)

Hair

The details: The hairstylist is Peter Savuc and the inspiration comes from glamorous old Hollywood movie stars.

The dress

The details: I think most of you should already know that all three dresses that she wore were from Vera Wang. One of the dresses has a heart-shaped fabric that comes from Kim's late father, Robert's shirt to ensure there's "something old" on the bride.

How do you like the look?

Night Lights 2011: 7 light installations at SAM for Night Festival 2011

If you follow my blog, you might have already seen my last post about Night Festival 2011 and also previewed some of the installations found in Singapore Art Museum (SAM).

The beauty of the museums in Singapore at night can be accentuated with the creative play of lights. I guess that's one of the most attractive part of Night Lights 2011 - the showcase by the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) as part of Night Festival 2011

Night Lights 2011 feature seven light installations and they will all be available this coming weekend (2 and 3 Sep). I was invited by SAM to preview all seven of them and here are my thoughts:

Lyrical Perspective (Perspective Lyrique) by 1024 architecture
7.30pm – 2am
Singapore Art Museum Front Lawn

A visual and sound-based interactive mapping projection that invites you to make the SAM façade come alive with the sound of your voice. This show has been done for other buildings in France and Switzerland - in other words, SAM is the first Asian building to be "transformed" into a stage for this performance. Using light and sound, the building looks like it's evolving all the time and has a life of its own. When interviewed, the artist said that said that you'd be able to see tribal and mythology influences in the images that are presented. Spectators at the Night Festival can also participate in singing into the microphone to influence the look of the building.

Girl About Town says: This was my favourite installation at Night Lights 2011 because it's just fascinating to see the illusion of the building growing, "melting" and dancing to the music. It kinds of reminds us how imagination can be fascinating and that there's really more to meets the eye to everything - it's all about perspectives!

Lampounettes by TILT
7.30pm – 2am
Singapore Management University Walkway along Bras Basah Road (School of Economics and School of Information Systems)

See a row of gigantic table lamps that will greet and light your way as you make your way along SMU to or from SOTA. These lamps changed colours too!

Girl About Town says: The artist said that he might be inspired by the lamp on his table to come up with this design. I like how the idea is simple - an enlarged table lamp that works as a street lamp. Now, if only all our daily public items have cool designs and thoughts put into them!

Green Invaders by Yves Caizergues
7.30pm – 2am
Singapore Management University Campus Green

This is bound to get some of you old veteran video gamers out there really excited. An army of eco-invaders will be marching down the SMU Campus Green, covering the area in green light. The show lasts for 2.5 minutes and require just 12 ampere to run.

Girl About Town says: This may be another simple installation, but take some time to watch it and see how many interesting things you can pick out. Hint: The faces aren't all the same!

Parking Mad (Le Parking en folie) by Benedetto Buffalino
9.30pm – 2am
National Museum of Singapore Front Lawn

Cars lovers alert. These Volvo cars look inconspicuous in the day, but when night falls, these parked cars go wild, flashing lights from their windows, as if they were in conversation. The artist, Benedetto Buffalino, likes to give inanimate street objects a life of their own with lights, turning familiar neighbourhood sights into a surreal environment. I suspect he takes joy in surprising people. For those of you who have seen the installation at SAM last week, this week the cars are moved to the National Museum of Singapore and have more colours than before.

The artist, Benedetto Buffalino.

The Fish Tree by BIBI
7.30pm – 2am
School of the Arts Facade

Made from everyday plastic objects, a school of magical fish come alive at night and light up SOTA’s façade. The artist, Bibi, gamely turned up at the media event with a giant plastic fish costume. "Just for you!" he said.

Girl About Town says: Bibi told us that the fish that are in a row (those that are seen behind him) are the suited men that we can see at Marina Bay. He shared that he spent a lot of time in water, thus his design is the fish. He's been making them since the 1990s and the first fish he had is also showcased in this installation. I thought it's most interesting that he said different audience around the world brought home different emotions when they looked at the installation - although he never tailored it to convey specific messages. I guess that's what art is all about - an expression that means different things to different people. That's what makes art so beautiful.

Curiosités by Alain Benini
7.30pm – 2am
Singapore Art Museum Courtyard

Don't be surprised to see the SAM courtyard converted into a beautiful underwater sight. These luminous jellyfishes don't just look like the real deal, they also somewhat behave like real jellyfishes. As the wind blows towards them, watch them do a funny ballet with their tentacles - this can keep the young and old occupied and amused for quite some time.

Girl About Town says: I've shown a few pictures from the last media event. Here are a few more taken from different angles. I think there is something "magical" about these jellyfish - don't you think?

The Cloud (Le Nuage) by SUPERBIEN
7.30pm – 2am
Singapore Art Museum Queen Street Wing

You might just miss this work if you weren't told about it. A projection of colourful electrical cloud, this grows bigger and bigger and the huge umbrellas that the projected cloud is hovering over lend a lot of context to the simple story it's trying to tell.

Girl About Town says: I think the idea of putting a rain cloud above the umbrellas is kind of cheeky. It must have been thought up by someone who has a sense of humour.

Besides installation, other highlights include:

Art Party
9pm - 2am
Glass Hall, SAMThe event hall of the museum will be transformed into a chic Parisian club featuring DJs from the Pain O Chokolat collective and beatboxer Tez from the famed Le Pompon club in Paris, as well as DJ Has.

Reactive Wall
7.30pm - 2am
Level 2, SAM
Artist Mojoko and computer programmer Shang Liang worked together to present the Reactive Wall, which showcases over 200 images of popular graphic icons (eg. Doraemon!). By making sounds through loudspeakers, you can make the icons pop up and cover the wall. This is so interactive and fun, I'm sure that adults will love it and children can't get enough of it.

Girl About Town says: It's quite fascinating, really! Watching icons get "lured" out from within the "crowds" of icons and get larger and larger. It's also interesting to see which icon gets "attracted" to you voice :)

Night Lights 2011 is part of the Night Festival 2011 programme. Find out more at http://www.singaporeartmuseum.sg