#steveexplores2015

Before the end of 2015, I decided to pay a visit to the famous Christmas Toyland at Gardens by the Bay before it closes on 5 January 2016. The floral display features teddy bears, toy soldiers, reindeers, beautiful Christmas trees, and a dazzling Christmas Pyramid in the middle of the Flower Dome.

To promote the latest hit single Epochal Times 《心時代》 , KKBOX held a private showcase titled《KKBOX LIVE 畢書盡，李玉璽，陈彦允 - 勢在必行3 - 心時代Live in Singapore》featuring Bii 畢書盡, Dino Lee 李玉璽, and Ian Chen 陈彦允 at Shanghai Dolly over the weekend. The showcase was simulcasted to the region including Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, and Japan. Fans gathered from all over Asia to support their favourite idols with Dino Lee 李玉璽, and Ian Chen 陈彦允 enjoying a high level of support for their roles in the recent hit Taiwanese romance film, Our Times《我的少女時代》.

During the private showcase, each singer took their turns on the stage and mesmerised the fans with their performance and their funny antics. The live showcase ended with Epochal Times 《心時代 》performed by Bii 畢書盡, Dino Lee 李玉璽, and Ian Chen 陈彦允 and a group photo to commemorate the event. Judging from the enthusiastic response from the audience, I am sure that I will be seeing these talented singers in Singapore soon with their own concert in the Singapore Indoor Stadium. 

The Singapore City Gallery showcases the nation’s planning efforts and its physical transformation with 10 thematic areas and more than 50 audiovisual and interactive displays spanning three storeys. To celebrate the Architectural Heritage Awards 2015, a special exhibition is held at the foyer and I was lucky to take part in a tour of the exhibits conducted by the Director for Conservation Management.

The winners for this year’s Architectural Heritage Awards included 9 & 11 Empress Place (Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall), 1 St Andrew's Road (National Gallery Singapore),12,13 & 17 Rochester Park, and 66 Pheng Geck Avenue (Alkaff Mosque).

Here are some interesting snippets for each award winner:

1. 9 & 11 Empress Place (Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall)

- The plastic backing of the seats in the old theatre were used to decorate the lobby of the newly revamped theatre. In addition, the various metal parts of the old seats were used as various furnishings and sound proofing materials during the restoration of the theatre.

- As Singapore was a former British colony, the chijmes of the clock tower is the same as the one played by Big Ben in London.

- For a long time, the building was missing its crown atop the coffee dome. It was hypothesized that as the building was originally built in memory of Queen Victoria, the crown was removed by the British after Singapore gained independence in 1965. A new stylized crown was made and placed on top of the coffee dome to “complete” the building.

2. 1 St Andrew's Road (National Gallery Singapore) 

- When the building was first built, the mosaic tiles in the floors were originally made of rubber to support the thriving rubber production industry in the early days of Singapore. Unfortunately, the original tiles could no longer be used due to wear and tear, and they were replaced by modern tiles during the restoration.

- Most of the furnishings in the National Gallery Singapore were inherited from its former lives as the Supreme Court Building and City Hall. So take good care of them during your visits!

3. 12,13 & 17 Rochester Park

During the renovation of Rochester Park, landscape designers were specially brought in to design the park to be a natural habitat for modern work and play while retaining the original charm and character of the colonial buildings.

4. 66 Pheng Geck Avenue (Alkaff Mosque)

Surprisingly, it was revealed that Alkaff Mosque was originally grey in colour but it was painted in white and green over the years. After much deliberations, the restoration team decided to respect the expectations of the community and the “living heritage” of the building by preserving its current white and green colour scheme.

I had a great time at the Singapore City Gallery and I highly recommend it to everyone looking to find out more about Singapore and its heritage through the transformation of the city landscape. Admissions is free, and you can contact the gallery for tours of the exhibits for large groups of participants.

To find out more about the gallery, visit https://www.ura.gov.sg/uol/citygallery

Singapore Craft Beer Week is back in town from 24 to 31 October 2015, with a wide range of activities lined up such as masterclasses, meet-the-brewers sessions, product launches, workshops, and brewery tours. As a passionate fan of craft beers, I joined the Archipelago Brewery tour led by the head of the brewery, Mr. Malcolm Davies.

For the first part of the tour, Malcolm introduced the various hops being used to brew craft beers, including the popular Nelson Sauvin hops which originates from New Zealand. The hops has an intense fruity aroma, and is a nod towards the Sauvignon blanc grape.

After learning about the different varieties of hops, we took a quick glimpse of the brewery proceeded by the highlight of the tour: Craft Beer Sampling.

There were six different types of craft beers for us to sample, and I went straight for the ones that I have never heard about: Orchid Lager, Coco’s Cream, and Red Thatch Ale.

My favourite drink of the day is Orchid Lager which was made from orchid, lime, and gula melaka (palm sugar). This limited edition beer was specially commissioned for the Singapore Grand Prix, but the pinkish colour of the beer ensured that it stayed relatively unsold to a male-dominated audience. Lucky for us, it meant that we had plenty of great lager to savour.

Coco’s Cream is made from chocolate and cream, and it is one of those beers that you either love it or hate it. It is an acquired taste but it is definitely a interesting beer to check out.

Lastly, I sampled the Red Thatch Ale which is a delicious rich beer that goes extremely well with the vinegar chips kindly sponsored by one of the fellow participants of the tour.

I had so much fun sampling all of the different beers, and making new friends who are passionate fans of craft beers. As an added bonus, everyone got to bring home their own Archipelago Brewery beer glass as a souvenir.

The Archipelago Brewery tour is open to the public and it is free-of-charge. If you are interested for a tour, kindly contact the brewery for details.

In the meantime, check out all of the other great activities lined up for Singapore Craft Beer Week at http://www.singaporecraftbeerweek.com/