The Hit List - Bars with Best Views in Singapore

Source: Yahoo.com.sg

These Singapore bars serve up more than just a good cocktail

Thanks to the recent additions of the Marina Bay Hotel and the
Singapore Flyer, Singapore bars with sky-scraping rooftop are
understandably all the rage these days. However, acrophobes will be
glad to hear that they don't need to go scaling 60 levels to enjoy a
great view along with their drinks. You don't even need to hang around
the CBD area.

We offer up five bars with the most alluring views in Singapore,
including everything thing from the city's staple sky-scraping rooftop
hubs to seaside cocktails.

1-Altitude

No self-respecting " The best Singapore bars with a view" list would
come without the inclusion of 1-Altitude.

Perched at 282 metres (63 levels) off the ground, 1-Altitude is
currently Singapore's highest rooftop bar, and consequently, home to a
bird's eye view of the surrounding skyscrapers as well as an
unobstructed view of the glittering Marina Bay enclave. Thanks to a
combination of stunning views, a stylish crowd and smooth tunes,
1-Altitude has quickly become one of the favourite haunts of the suits
and well heeled from nearby offices.

Tip: When you're here your phone will often receive signals from
Malaysia and sometimes Indonesia, so avoid phone usage lest you get a
nasty surprise in your next phone bill.

Find out what bars - other than 1-Altitude - made our list of best
rooftop bars in Singapore.

Lantern

Lantern, the rooftop bar of the seven-storey Fullerton Bay Hotel is
proof that you don't need to go traipsing up skyscrapers to enjoy a
great view. In fact, the bar's rustic charm, accentuated by the
bespoke outdoor vintage-inspired cabanas and luxuriant greenery, and
anchored by a sparkling blue pool, makes for a picturesque view that's
just as captivating as its surroundings.

The bar's prime waterfront spot also makes it an ideal location to
catch the sea breeze whilst nursing a cold beer at the end of the day.

See our video recap of the DBS Black Top party at Lantern over the F1 weekend.

LeVel33 Microbrewery

Make your reservations early, or be left out of LeVel33. No, LeVel33
isn't one of those places that demand reservations months in advance,
it's simply that popular, and once you get in it's easy to see why.

The Singapore bar's 33rd level spot offers diners panoramic views of
brilliant sunsets and twinkling night skies. The venue's full-length
glass windows ensure that even those sitting indoors get a taste of
the "high" life, but it's the outdoor spots that are truly coveted.

Views alone aren't enough for a bar to survive on; here the excellent
craft beers (brewed in-house) and a menu of well-executed bar bites
match the cityscapes.

See our review of LeVel33's new-and-improved menu. LeVel33 was also
picked as one of our favourite after-work bars. Click to see who else
made the list.

Prive Waterfront Bar

This sleek al fresco bar located on Singapore's only privately owned
island, Keppel Bay, may not be the most convenient location for
drinks, but those making the trip to Prive Waterfront Bar are rewarded
with stylish resort-style décor and beautiful waterfront views.

The bar's good-looking crowd comes faithfully for the great bar food
and drinks, in particular, the eclectic cocktail menu, which features
more than 30 unique cocktails specially concocted by venue's top
mixology team.

Tanjong Beach Club

Although crystal clear waters and sandy white beaches are things
usually reserved for beach holidays, at the ultra-luxe Tanjong Beach
Club, you can almost see yourself in Maldives as you lie back on your
lounge sofa next to the sparkling pools. People migrate here to relax
and take their pick from Tanjong Beach Club's extensive menu of
delicious cocktails and upscale bar fare.

By sunset, the view here are even more breathtaking, and smooth dance
beats give beachcombers and sunbathers a little taste of beachside
tranquillity, a rare luxury in Singapore.

See our other picks for best beachside bars.

Head over to Lifestyleasia.com for full details on the Singapore bars
with the best views in Singapore.

Related articles:

If these Singapore bars don't entice you, but you're still looking for
a night out, read on at the best Irish pubs in Singapore, Kinki
Rooftop Bar at Marina Bay Sands and 1TwentySix at East Coast.

Indian models out of fashion overseas

For top Indian model Apoorva Vishwanathan, the difference between
success on the catwalks of her own country and an international
modelling career can be measured in inches -- two of them.

"I wish I had endless legs. I could be cat-walking with the Heidi
Klums of the world," said the Bangalore-based Vishwanathan who stands
five feet nine inches (175cm) in her bare feet.

"But you've got to be at least 5'11" for any international fashion
house to come near you," she told AFP during the recent New Delhi
Fashion Week.

Compared to the West, career modelling is still in its infancy in
India, although it has made huge strides on the back of rapid economic
growth and the growing profile of Indian fashion designers.

Only a handful of Indian models have tasted success abroad, with the
likes of Lakshmi Menon and Ujjwala Raut modelling for Gucci and Yves
Saint-Laurent.

Menon walked for Jean Paul Gaultier shows in Paris and went on to
become the face of French luxury goods maker Hermes, replacing
Ukrainian Daria Werbowy.

The financial pay-off for those who do break out of the relatively
low-paid domestic scene can be enormous, and Raut is quite frank about
why she is no longer seen working the Indian fashion shows.

"They can't afford me," she told the Times of India in an interview last week.

Whispered allegations of racism have been made by some who tried and
failed overseas, but Vishwanathan believes the main barrier is the
natural body shape of Indian women.

"We are genetically more voluptuous and curvaceous," Vishwanathan
said, adjusting her tight mini-skirt as she sat down during a break in
her daily round of make-up sessions, hair-dos and fittings.

"Agencies abroad want girls who are really thin, almost skinny. It is
tough for us to fit into their requirements.

"I have been around on the Indian fashion scene for 10 years and would
have absolutely loved to make it big internationally. But even if you
have a little body to you, you're out of the race," she said.

Another factor is that Indian models tend to start their careers much
later than their Western counterparts, with parental pressure often
keeping them in college until their early 20s.

"In the international context it means they are already over the
hill," said Anjana Sharma, fashion director at IMG Reliance.

"Gisele Bundchen started modelling at 14, Kate Moss was discovered at
14 and by 16 she was a known face," she said.

Once frowned upon in conservative India as an immodest career choice,
modelling grew in popularity -- and acceptability -- in 1994, the year
former Indian models Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai took the Miss
Universe and Miss World titles respectively.

Both went on to successful and lucrative film careers, fuelling the
aspirations of millions along the way.

More recently, the launch of Vogue India in 2007 heralded the start of
a new fashion era and an overhaul of wardrobes of the nouveau riche.

"You name any international magazine and they are now in India," said
popular dress designer Samant Chauhan.

"It has opened the outside world to India. Models in India are now
more aware, assured and ambitious."

Rikee Chatterjee, a 24-year-old up-and-coming model said her family
fully supported her decision to take up modelling even before she
finished her college degree.

"They understood and backed my choice," she said. "A lot of parents
now are happy enough to see their kids in the limelight."

But there are some limits.

Indian models generally hesitate to do lingerie work, or other shows
that involve baring a lot of skin, and most lingerie ads in Indian
fashion magazines use foreign models.

"The question is not so much of modesty -- but of negative public
opinion," said Nonita Kalra, editor-in-chief of the Indian version of
Elle fashion magazine.

There are also complaints of a bias against darker-skinned models in
India where a light complexion is widely considered synonymous with
beauty and skin-lightening creams rack up annual sales of 500 million
dollars.

Top Indian model Dipannita Sharma ruffled feathers earlier this year
when she accused not just the fashion industry but the country as a
whole of being "obsessed" witn fairness.

"We will take another hundred years to completely get over it," she said

Source : Yahoo.com.sg

Singapore Food – from street to sleek

Makansutra – Sat, Oct 15, 2011 12:59 AM SGT
Text by Sheere Ng @ Makansutra

Singaporean food culture is rojak – not as in the Asian salad but its
urban meaning of "mixture". We add southeast Asian spices such as
garlic, ginger and chilli to the sedated chicken rice from the Hainan
Island; we combine noodles, a Chinese staple, with Malay spices and
rempah culinary techniques to create a repertoire of "mee" soup; and
we add minced mutton, egg and Indian spices to western baguette and
invented a new dish for the British, or John, and named it after them.

So Singaporean food is born out of cross-cultural exchanges, will this
fact make us more accepting towards attempts to alter it? What would
you say if the tourism authorities and relevant agencies here
Singapore Tourism Board (STB) wants to publicise Singapore food, but
in a different way from how we have always known them?

Last week, 21 chefs from 15 different cities were in town for the
Singapore International Culinary Exchange organised by Singapore
Tourism Board (STB), IE Singapore and SPRING Singapore. During the
event, the chefs came up with their own interpretation of
Singapore-inspired dishes, which they may feature in their own
restaurants.

Amongst them was Chef Alvin Leung from Bo Innovation, Hong Kong, who
is well-known for his modern interpretation of Chinese cuisine. He
made a poached egg in laksa stock, with cockles on the side and
deep-fried rice noodles as garnish – turning the main ingredient into
a side ingredient and vice versa.

Chef Leung said he retained what he liked about the original laksa,
but changed what he didn't fancy. "I didn't like the hardboiled egg so
I made it into a poached egg under 63 degree heat," he said. He kept
the cockles rather than the prawns (he used them to make the stock
instead) because it has a softer texture and blends well with the egg
when chewed together.

While the first dish still has much resemblance to its traditional
form, Chef Leung's other creation stretches your imagination. In his
rendition of Rojak, which he said was made to suit a kid's palate, he
replaced turnip with Chinese pear, prawn paste with black soy sauce,
peanuts with pine nuts and added rose apples and vanilla ice-cream.

"The DNA of Rojak is found in its textures. My creation has similar
bite to the original ingredients, but I think children will prefer my
version," he said. The taste, as you would have guessed by now, is
entirely different.

Most of the other chefs picked out a sauce or an ingredient to create
something entirely new. Chef Josean Martinez Alija from Nerua, Spain,
for example, made a soup out of banana flowers and the plant's stem
after discovering the ingredient at a Peranakan restaurant here. "I
like to look out for new things, it could be a new dish or an
ingredient, and then play with it and experiment with it in my
cooking," he said.

Most of these chefs have turned local street food into haute cuisine.
These, or other similarly high-toned dishes, will be introduced into
their restaurants' menus for at least six months as part of STB's
effort to promote Singapore to the rest of the world. "The chefs are
free to exercise their creativity in presenting their own
interpretation of Singapore food, reflecting our position as a capital
for culinary innovation," said Ms Ranita Sundramoorthy, STB's Director
of Attractions, Dining & Retail.

What we are curious about is whether these are how Singaporeans want
their food to be introduced to the rest of the world. Are you the one
who will laud the creativity and audaciousness of these chefs or do
you belong o the opposite camp that says, "No, we don't want the
essences of our traditional dishes to be tainted!"?

Tell us your thoughts!

Hyo-min Clarifies T-ara's "Attitude Problem"

..18 Oct – Current leader of Korean girl group T-ara, Hyo-min, has
decided to clarify the controversy surrounding the group's
disrespectful attitude that arose while performing at an event,
according to allkpop.

For the uninitiated, earlier on 14 October, a netizen on an online
community board had written about her disappointment with T-ara, "They
came to perform at a festival in Woori, and all they did was laugh and
chat on their own while lip-syncing. Their mouths didn't match up to
the words at all and they really didn't care for the performance."

The netizen continued, saying that the youngest member, Ji-yeon, was
merely staring at the floor while Qri was looking disinterested with
the MC's speech. This was not the first time for Ji-yeon as she also
faced criticism earlier for her performance in the KBS '7080 Concert'.

In her Twitter, Hyo-min clarified, "For our "Why Are You Like This"
performance, there are gestures we'll make where it looks like we're
talking to each other. That is a part of the choreography. For "Roly
Poly", we tried to make the stage look as fun as possible by laughing
and playing jokes on each other. It's a part of the performance. I
think those things have caused such a misunderstanding."

She continued by expressing the group's gratitude towards their fans,
and promised to work hard to live up to their expectations. Hyo-min
finishes with, "Please don't misunderstand us."

Source : Yahoo.com.sg

Jang Geun-suk annoys "Love Rain" production

..28 Oct – Jang Geun-suk's international schedule may not hurt him,
but it sure hurts others involved in his projects - especially the
shooting of KBS' highly anticipated drama "Love Rain".

According to allkpop website, insiders from the production claimed
that shooting for the drama was ground to a halt for two weeks due to
Jang Geun-suk's busy schedule.

The anonymous source stated, "Director Yoon Suk-ho recently brought
all the managers together to go over schedules. Because Jang Geun-suk
paid attention only to his foreign schedules, the director had to step
up to the plate. It's a rare case for the director to personally meet
with the managers."

He added, "The shooting schedule is considerably backed up. We were
supposed to have completed five episodes by now, but only got through
one. Jang Geun-suk keeps leaving in the middle of this situation, so
the directors and the other cast members are having a hard time."

Jang Geun-suk recently kicked off his Japanese Arena Tour, and also
had his first Chinese album to promote as well.

"Love Rain", which also stars SNSD's YoonA as the female lead, is
scheduled to be broadcast in early 2012. It is highly anticipated as
the drama would be a comeback for famous director Yoon Suk-ho who
directed the four season dramas, including "Winter Sonata" (2002) and
"Autumn in My Heart" (2000).

Source : Yahoo.sg

Terra Nova, TV’s most expensive series ever

It's being billed as television's most expensive series ever made and
everything about this show is B-I-G.

Before filming of its two-hour pilot episode even began, "Terra Nova"
had already racked up $10 million in costs. The pilot alone is
estimated to have cost somewhere up to $20 million.

Subsequent episodes are being budgeted at $4 million each. The last
time any pilot was this expensive was the multiple Emmy Award-winning
"Boardwalk Empire" directed by Martin Scorsese, which cost $18 million
back in 2009.

Helmed by none other as Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg,
"Terra Nova" is a cross between "Avatar", "Jurassic Park" and
"Stargate".

The premise of the 13-episode series is simple: In the year 2149,
Earth has been so completely polluted that humans have to breathe
through an air filter.

In an attempt to "reboot" human history, mankind's only hope for
survival is to travel 85 million years back in time to a colony called
"Terra Nova"and where dinosaurs still reign supreme.

The show's central character is ex-cop Jim Shannon (Jason O'Mara), a
devoted father with a chequered past, who is forced to guide his
family through this new world of limitless beauty, mystery and terror.

Adding intrigue to the show is the presence of a splinter group of
colonists with a secret agenda.

However, critical reception to the show's U.S. debut has been mixed.

Some have lauded the series' big-budget cinematography as gorgeous and
the CGI of the dinosaurs, in particular, as visually stunning. They
also praise its Hollywood movie-like production values, calling the
show "literally the biggest thing on TV this fall."

Other critics, however, were not so kind, saying the series' main
fault lies in the cheesy, corny script between the characters.

Regardless, whether the series will be renewed for a second season,
only time will tell: it's either going to be a mega-expensive flop or
a ball-out-of-the-park, smashing success.

The TV series was picked up straight to series with a 13-episode order
and will premiere in Singapore on 29 October at 8.55pm on FOX (StarHub
Channel 505) and FOX HD (StarHub Ch 558).

Watch the trailer below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6aNEIZwPFc&feature=player_embedded

Super 7 rips off SNSD's "Hoot"

27 Oct – Taiwanese girl group Super 7 who have recently rose to fame
for allegedly copycatting South Korea's favourite, SNSD, is now
criticised for performing a SNSD song at the prestigious Golden Bell
Award in Taiwan, according to soompi.

In a recording of their live performance, it can be seen that the
group performed a cover of SNSD's "Hoot," clad in the same outfits and
following the same exact choreography as the Korean girl group, but it
is not the best imitation.

After seeing the video, netizens have questioned the real motive
behind Super 7's cover performance at such an important stage.

The Super 7 performance was highly criticised not only for its
lacklustre show and the fact that the group is only dancing to another
group's song. Some even stated that the group is unworthy of being
onstage for such an important event.

A lot of netizens, including Taiwanese fans, voiced their disapproval,
"This is a Taiwanese awards show, not a show in Korea."

Others said, "The fact that they couldn't perform to their own song
means they're not ready to be a true artist."

"Why did you even debut?" they added.

Super 7 have been at the centre of controversy since their debut for
having strikingly similar concepts and looks as SNSD. Their title
track, "Mai Luo Suo," have also been under fire for featuring very
similar costumes and overall concepts to that of SNSD's "Hoot."

Golden Bell Awards is an annual Taiwanese TV show award found in 1965
and sponsored by the Taiwanese government. It is one of the most
prestigious awards in Taiwan, often called Taiwan's equivalent to the
Emmy Awards.

Source: Yahoo.sg