This was a bit of whirlwind week with a 24hour stretch that ended at the Marriott. Those 24 hours were particularly Mad or Magnificent, depending which way you look at it. . Anyway, this is the timeline of what happened and you can decide.
Tuesday Evening
Lisa Von Tang Fashion Show
A small group of ladies and I had first sight of the new collection from Lisa Von Tang. The context of the fashion show was set up from the beginning. Sitting on mats laid on the floor, we watched a video about intimate partner violence. The video spoke volumes although none of the characters uttered a word. After this, we walked to another room where we put on collars that were amplifiers. These amazing collars provided by Bose, allowed for an immersive audio-visual experience describing the goddess Durga, a fearsome warrior of love.
Both segments led up to the climax which was a fashion show in a room featuring a stark pole, around which models swivelled and strutted, confidently clad in sharp suits & robes trimmed with silk brocade, accessorised with ornate headgear. There was even a live snake. The show closed with the story of the abuser getting smote by an embodiment of the goddess Durga amidst flashing lights, sound and fury, signifying everything that should be said on the matter of violence against women, that it is unacceptable.
http://www.dropbox.com/s/yd8mdprbkf0so8i/Attic%20Vid.mov?dl=0
Tuesday Night
Dining At The Straits Clan
Over canapes, I caught up with old friends, discussing women-focussed investment groups and work. I was so glad for like-minded friends. After dinner and a lot of coffee, I went to work for my night shift.
Wednesday Modeling With The Chinese Women’s Association
At The Brazilian Ambassador’s Residence
After work, I had breakfast with my daughter, M5, and then sent her to school.
Then I went to the residence of the Brazilian Ambassador for yet another fashion show. Except, this time, I would be modelling in it, alongside ladies from the Chinese Women’s Association. Sadly I don’t have any photos of us actually modelling the Brazilian couture. Although there were no snakes, I like to think our show was not short of charm!
Much of the fun was obviously being with old friends. Together, we learnt more about the Latin American culture from the fashion & paintings presented. I particularly enjoyed the Brazilian food and ate quite a bit. I managed to get through the afternoon with more coffee, this time with lashings of condensed milk.
Wednesday Evening With The Marriott
JW Marriott Singapore South Beach
I went on a food trail put together by the Marriott hotels. This was set up as a preview to Your Culinary Affair Restaurant Week scheduled to run from 15-24 June 2018. The trail started in the JW Marriott Singapore South Beach, at the new Madame Fan by famed restauranteur Alan Yau. It was my first time at this restaurant. Although I was exhausted, I couldn’t help but wander around excitedly. I was impressed by the glamorously decorated private dining rooms and decadent long bar.
The Marriott kindly gave us a preview of the menu created for Restaurant Week. We tasted four of these dishes: the Australian rib-eye with Sarawak black pepper, crispy aromatic duck pancake, jasmine tea-smoked pork ribs and handcut Taiwan noodles with LaLa clams. My favourites were the pepper beef and clam noodles.
Wednesday Night
Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza
Wan Hao
Later that night, we were driven to Wan Hao. 10 years ago, I used to live behind the Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel and this was my favourite Chinese restaurant. Although we had just eaten, we stoically sampled everything on the six-course menu. The Chefs came to meet us and explained that they avoided artificial chemicals, choosing instead the finest ingredients and laborious cooking methods to enhance the flavour of the food. A prime example was the braised dried seafood with crabmeat & conpoy broth, which I absolutely adored as a tonic to my sleep-deprived state.
Now quite energised, we cheekily quizzed the Chefs why they used ducks farmed in Ireland for the Peking Duck dish. Clearly used to being asked what we thought was an uncommonly clever question, they explained that the breeding conditions and diet contributed to the high fat content that kept the duck exceptionally moist despite being roasted. As I chowed down on the lobster noodles and abalone, I felt certain that my own fat content was getting pretty high.
Pool Grill
Subsequently, we were taken to the Pool Grill. Surprisingly, I remained wide awake thanks to the fresh cool air and a super fun activity. We were given a palette of syrups and a bucket of brushes to plate our own dessert. Chef obliged with a photo of me holding my easel alongside writers from The Ranting Panda & Icon magazine. Determined to make this last giant effort before I went to bed count, I mixed the colours to create a padparascha hue and painted a big M on my plate. Then I dotted the frame with variegated concoctions and clustered the dessert elements to represent the different jewel tones of my six children’s birthstones. Have you guessed what M stands for? M1-M6’s names as well as the Marriott, of course. You did? Then you get an M for Magnificent!
