Here's this week's lowdown on the coolest happenings as well some things that really get us miffed
It’s been a pretty good week so far with lots of hot happenings and we’re sitting here sipping fresh roasted coffee while recovering from the weekend’s revelry at Laneway. Here’s our round-up of all that’s cool and all that’s not for the first week of February.
HOT
Salted egg lava croissants at Antoinette
Hot on the heels of Flavour Flings, Antoinette has just launched its take on this contemporary cuisine-blending mix of salted egg yolk and croissants. Sales kick off at 11am, so if you’re in the neighbourhood, you might want to head out to lunch a little early for a chance to snag this decadent snack.
Antoinette, 30 Penhas Road, Singapore 208188. p. 6293 3121.
Neon Lights 2016
The Neon Lights indie music and arts festival has officially announced that it will be having its sophomore run on 26 and 27 November. While neither the venue nor line-up has been announced, we’re positive that it’ll be as memorable as the last. Here’s hoping we get another thunderstorm accompaniment to some terrific tunage!
The X-Files mini-series
The sceptic and the believer unite once again in this long awaited mini-series. Reprising their roles as Mulder and Scully, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are back at it, ferreting out the truth while getting dragged deeper into all manner of political and paranormal conspiracies. Like the original, the new mini-series will delve deeper into the alien mythos while also featuring monster-of-the-week style episodes. Though it’s been years since the last instalment of the series, that eerie theme music still sends shivers down our spines.
North Face Access Pack
Backpack technology hasn’t really advanced very much in decades because really, what else could you possibly change about it? The engineers at North Face scoffed at the idea of stagnating and pushed the humble carryall to whole new levels of functionality with the spiffy new Access Pack. Featuring three new patented technologies, the new backpack features a one-touch open entry closure, ejector tabs for quick access to gadgets and a rugged yet streamlined exterior. We’ll let the video speak for itself.
The North Face Access Pack will retail for US$270 at authorised retailers later this year
Empress
Empress, the latest restaurant to open at the Asian Civilisations Museum, once again proves that works of art at museums are just as likely to appear on the plate as the walls. This fine dining establishment offers artfully plated contemporary Chinese cuisine like king prawn dumplings in broth, lobster ‘mapo’ tofu and novel dishes like steamed pumpkin and pork skin dumplings.
Empress, 1 Empress Place, Singapore 179555 .p. 6238 8733. Open daily 11.30am-3pm, 6pm-11pm.
Freshly roasted coffee delivered to your doorstep
Wouldn’t it be nice to open your mailbox and be greeted by the scent of freshly roasted coffee instead of the depressing smell of freshly printed phone bills? It sounds borderline ridiculous – getting coffee sent directly to your mailbox – but Hook Coffee has done just that and we think it’s a pretty swell idea.
Hook Coffee. Sign up for a subscription here.
This hilarious cover of Adele
So this video of a scantily clad, buff and generally macho dude singing Adele’s Hello has been making the rounds on Facebook and raising the occasional, half-serious suggestion that it’s actually a viral STB ad. Here’s the video in all its bizarre glory.
NOT
Cat killings continue
In spite of the arrest of two alleged cat-killers, another dead cat has been found in the Yishun area. It was troubling enough to hear that there might be two suspected animal abusers but three? That’s downright depressing. On a more positive note, it is incredibly heartening to see the community band together to put an end to this senseless violence.
Doctored image wins Nikon photography competition
This is really just cringe-worthy. The winner of Nikon’s recent photography competition submitted a picture of an airplane flying overhead, framed by a metal ladder. While Nikon missed out the fact that the airplane was obviously added in digitally, the online community noticed it immediately. It wasn’t long before the image became a meme, with photographers adding more and more ridiculous additions to the photo. We gotta hand it to Nikon for handling the situation so gracefully though. The camera manufacturer fully acknowledged their mistake and encouraged users to share their most hilariously photoshopped versions of the winning image.
Plummeting temperatures in Asia
We know the common sentiment is “why everywhere in Asia but us?”, but the plummeting mercury really isn’t something to be made light of considering the damage it’s already done. Countries like Taiwan and Japan have already reported deaths due to the sudden drop in temperature. We can only imagine Singapore would be less equipped to deal with such a drastic change in weather, considering our average temperature rarely, if ever drops below 25 degrees.
Tasmanian Forest Fires
Endangered flora don’t really have the cutesy appeal that red pandas and dolphins do, so it’s not surprising that this massive ecological tragedy has gone mostly unnoticed. As you read this, bushfires are raging across Tasmania, destroying heritage forests that are more than a thousand years old. Swathes of Australia’s only winter deciduous tree, the nothofagus, are now a step closer to extinction, owing to the species slow-growth. Unfortunately, based on weather forecasts and the sheer size of the affected area, the fires could continue to burn for months.
The Zika Virus threat
The Aedes virus isn’t something to scoff at, but we rarely think of that when we absentmindedly swat at the occasional mosquito we find flitting about – but there’s a new more dangerous threat to think about. The Zika virus, already appearing in neighbouring Thailand, can prove quite deadly to pregnant women as it is suspected to cause deformation in babies. So be safe out there, a little insect repellent and long sleeved clothing could save you a nasty trip to the hospital.
Comics Connection is gone for good
This one’s quite a hit to our childhood! This purveyor of comics, toys, video games and pop culture paraphernalia has closed its doors for good. While it may not exactly be the coolest place to be seen at right now, we can remember many an afternoon spent browsing the aisles and spending our pocket money on the latest issue of the Uncanny X-Men.