This particular weekend’s going to be a little more hectic than the rest this month, especially if you’re a foodie or a music junkie (worse if you’re both). The Singapore Food Festival kicks off officially on Friday its 24th edition, starting with two crowd-favorite events: Streat, and Hawker Wine Safari. On the music front, Baybeats also returns with its line-up of alternative local and regional music, while 100 Fest takes over the former Bedok Town Secondary School for three weekends, showcasing 100 of Singapore’s musical talents. Don’t worry if you’re neither, because there are still a bunch of films you can catch (The O.P.E.N.’s closing film for example), talks you can listen to (TEDxPickeringStreet) and… did we mention Cirque du Soleil is back in town?
Friday, Jul 14
FOOD
Singapore-themed culinary event Singapore Food Festival 2017 returns for its 24th edition. Expect the usual chef collabs, masterclasses, food trails and cocktail pairings, as well as the main festival highlight, Streat. Jul 14-30
FILM
Singapore Open Air Cinema Club at co-working space The Hive will be screening cult classic The Breakfast Club, a story about five high school students from very different backgrounds sharing a day of detention under the supervision of a power-hungry principal. Their exchanges then make them realize new things about themselves. Jul 14
PARTY
Dutch DJ duo Blasterjaxx will be helming the decks at Zouk to drop some big room, super-energetic beats filled with huge riffs, killer drops and an infectious melody. Jul 14
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COMEDY
Inject your soul with a stream of witty punch lines and funny moments at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) Roadshow this weekend. This edition will see three nights of stand-up, sketch, slapstick and all other sorts of humor through the likes of internationally-acclaimed sketch superstars the Pajama Men; the star of Australia’s version of Whose Line is it Anyway?, Susie Youssef; Singapore’s very own Jinx Yeo; and many others. Through Jul 15
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FOOD
If you consider yourself a foodie, then you’ll want to check out Singapore Food Festival’s signature event, Streat, where Peranakan chef Malcolm Lee of the one-Michelin-starred Candlenut will join chef Willin Low of Wild Rocket to present contemporary versions of local classics through a three-course mod-Sin and modern Peranakan Tok Panjang menu at Clifford Square. Jul 14-15
CONCERT
Join the 62 Singaporean musicians of Base Philharmonic Orchestra and award-winning Australian conductor Jessica Gethin as they tell you the story of classics like The Little Mermaid and The Lion King through their music at the Disney in Concert series. Jul 14-15
CULTURE
We’re almost reaching the tail-end of the month-long Hari Raya celebrations, and for those who are still in the festive mood, Malay Heritage Centre is having a three-day Hari Raya Open House that will feature their own bazaar, music from local bands, poetry readings, movie screenings and more. Jul 14-16
FESTIVAL
The 16th edition of Esplanade’s annual alternative music festival, Baybeats, is back. Alongside 23 local bands and musicians performing, five regional bands will also be taking the stage to bring you everything from psychedelic rock and folk to blues and punk across four stages at Esplanade, including at the new Annexe Studio. Jul 14-16
FESTIVAL
Previously known as the 100 Bands Festival, 100 Festival returns with the same format, this time taking over the school hall and school library of the former Bedok Town Secondary School. The final line-up is still being confirmed, but you can expect acts like The Analog Girl, In Each Hand a Cutlass, MasiaOne and many more. Jul 14-16, 21-23 & 28-30
FOOD/DRINK
What’s better than an evening of pairing hawker food with boutique wines from Australia and New Zealand? Hosted once again by Merchants Wine Store, five carefully curated wines will be paired with delicious hawker fare from Bib Gourmand stalls at Singapore Food Festival’s Hawker Wine Safari. Jul 14-30
FILM
Objectif’s annual Asian Film Focus festival returns with its screening of independent short films from Singapore and the region. This year’s theme, “Time Machine”, will explore notions of archival and found footage within the context of contemporary filmmaking in Asia, with highlights from Vietnam, India, the Philippines and Singapore. Through Jul 15
EXHIBITION
The latest exhibition at DECK sees two independent photography projects—Nicholas Koh and Jiahui Tan’s Some Other Way and Koh Kim Chay and Eugene Ong’s Singapore’s Vanished Public Housing Estates—that explores the significance of memory in a country that’s ever-changing. Through Jul 22
THEATER
For an adrenaline-pumping, high-energy evening, look no further than the highly-entertaining, non-verbal South Korean comedy theatrical performance, CHEF: Bibimbap vs Chilli Crab, making its debut at the Resorts World Theatre. Category 1 ($98) and VIP ($118) weekend ticket holders will even get a special edition chilli crab tart as part of their ticket price. Through Jul 22
FOOD
Four Seasons Hotel Doha’s Chef Adnan Al Masri will be making his way to Four Seasons Hotel Singapore’s One-Ninety Restaurant to hold his very own Middle Eastern Food Festival featuring home-styled cuisine like Chicken Mosakhan and Lamb Shakriah, traditional claypot eats like Kibbeh Belseneh, charcoal grilled Beef Steak, Shish Taowk, Fish Kebab and more. Through Jul 28
FOOD
If you love your oysters and just can’t seem to get enough of it, then head to Greenwood Fish Market & Bistro’s fifth World Oyster Festival, where you can find their seasonal selection of more than 20 types of cult oyster brought in from around the world. And if you can’t make up your mind on which to try first, get the Tasting Platter for $99, which includes their chef’s 16 personal picks of the day. Through Jul 31
PERFORMANCE
The signature big top circus tent of Cirque du Soleil will be erected once more in Singapore next month, this time, bringing their new production Kooza to our shores for the first time. This will mark the world famous Canadian troupe’s fifth foray here. Through Aug 20
Saturday, Jul 15
PARTY
Block parties may have taken a backseat the past few months, but it looks like the engine is being fired up again, starting with the Rasa Fiesta Singapura Block Party on Jiak Chuan Rd. Participating outlets Lime House and Phat Cat Laundry come out to play as they offer rum-based cocktails, limbo games, beer pong, workshops and music, as well as nosh by Mexican, Brazilian, Argentinean and French Caribbean food vendors. Jul 15
CONCERT
Other Sounds and Middle Class Cigars have teamed up to bring in Anglo-Australian indie rock band Splashh to Singapore. In 2015, they decided to have some time apart and went on different directions in London and New York for a “self-imposed exile to write” and pull together different influences for their sophomore album, Waiting A Lifetime. Jul 15
CHARITY/SPORT
Take part in or cheer teams on at the Association for Persons with Special Needs (APSN)’s and The Local People’s Social Fairground, a secondary school-type sports day event with an obstacle course that’s meant to test participants’ strength, skills and speed. There’ll also be a human library, an art market, music performances and carnival booths. All proceeds go to APSN. Jul 15
TALK
Get inspired at the second edition of Singapore’s very own TEDx event, TEDxPickeringStreet. This year, 11 speakers will present their ideas and perspectives about this year’s theme on the different types of quotients and intelligence (IQ, EQ, etc.), and how they grow from individuals and members of society to become global citizens. Jul 15
PARTY
Viva la révolution! Celebrate Bastille Day, France’s national day, with some great French wines and bubbly, galettes and crepes all night long at O Comptoir’s French Party. Jul 15
MARKET
BooksActually and K+ are bringing back the second edition of pop-up series, Print/Print, bringing names like Indie Mamashop, SatsumaOrange, The Brave Assembly and more. Highlights include a free-for-all screen print workshop and a Yong Tau Foo-style Book Box station. Jul 15-16
FILM
If you’re overwhelmed by the huge variety of programs that the Singapore International Festival of the Arts (SIFA) has to offer, start with the big film component of SIFA’s precursor festival, The O.P.E.N., with films like The Other Side of Hope, a story of the unlikely friendship between a Syrian refugee and a restaurateur who lives in Helsinki; On The Beach At Night Alone, which tells the tale of a young actress who contemplates her affair with a married film director, and many more. Through Jul 15
FOOD
Goodwood Park Hotel’s annual durian festival returns, unfrazzled by the suspension and food poisoning cases last year, with all-time favorites like durian puffs and crepes and new creations like a designer cakes shaped after the fruit itself. Through Jul 31
FOOD
The annual claypot menu at Kopi Tiam, Swissotel The Stamford, is back for a season, filled with tried-and-true dishes such as Claypot Chicken Rice ($22), Claypot Fish Head ($35) and Claypot Bitter Gourd Pork Ribs ($24) that are served sizzling and in generous sharing portions. If in a smaller group, the tender Claypot Frog Legs ($26) and satisfying Claypot Seafood Crispy Noodles ($24) are solid choices too. Through Jul 31
EXHIBITION
Asia’s largest mirror maze has landed in Singapore as a new permanent installation at Science Centre Singapore. The visually-appealing maze features 105 mirror cells, more than 17 interactive exhibits and experiments on light, a bunch of holograms and fake exits. Admission is free but you’ll still have to pay admission charges to the center itself.
Sunday, Jul 16
THEATER
You can count on W!LD RICE to deliver on high production value and thoroughly localized performances, and that is exactly what you’ll get with Boeing Boeing, the theater company’s fourth rendition of the 57-year-old French farce about a swinging bachelor (Rodney Oliveiro) juggling between three air stewardess girlfriends, now updated to 2017’s world of connected smartphones and social media. Through Jul 22
FOOD
As if Royal Plaza on Scott’s halal buffet restaurant Carousel doesn’t have enough of a spread, it is now introducing food inspired by Taiwan’s night markets to its lineup. The usual suspects like oyster mee sua, crispy chicken thigh with spices and sweet lap cheong are all there to be enjoyed as part of their high tea meals (weekdays $42; weekends $48) happening from 3:30pm-5:30pm daily. Through Jul 31
FOOD
Ah Hoi’s Kitchen at Hotel Jen Tanglin is throwing a Festival of Crabs where you can feast on not one, not two, but 10 different styles of meaty Sri Lankan crabs. There’s no way to eat all of them (at one go at least), so be smart and get your claws on the Salted Egg and Crispy Yam Crab, Glass Noodles and Chinese Wine Crab or Claypot Crab Beehoon. Through Jul 31
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FOOD
Steamy hot char siew baos, sticky lotus leaf glutinous rice and silky shrimp har gao—with so many options, over-ordering is almost a norm when it comes to dim sum. But over at W Singapore’s the kitchen table, you can have as much of these little Cantonese gems as you want, along with other plates like chicken feet with black bean sauce, Hong Kong style steamed fish, siew mai, BBQ honey Kurobuta pork neck and much more for just $68 during their weekday dim sum buffet dinner. Jul 17-27 (Mon-Thu only)
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FOOD
While there’s an undying love for Goodwood’s durian fiesta among Singaporeans, we’re also excited about the durian offerings at Marriott Cafe. This year, they’re running a durian-centric version of their highly popular local high tea buffet where you can try a slice of their durian strudel, durian swiss rolls and more. Through Aug 9
EXHIBITION
Enter the whimsical world of Yayoi Kusama at National Gallery Singapore, the first big-scale survey of her work in Southeast Asia. Yayoi Kusama: Life is the Heart of a Rainbow curated by the Gallery’s Russell Storer and Adele Tan, will showcase more than 120 paintings, sculptures, videos and installations spanning over seven decades—some of which have never been shown before. Through Sep 3
ART
This year’s Singapore International Festival of the Arts (SIFA) and The O.P.E.N. will run without a month’s break in-between for the first time, bringing 90 different talks, workshops, plays, films and other performances that continue to push the boundaries. New this year are Open Homes by Jeffrey Tan—a unique theater experience where residents of 30 HDB public housing estates, private condos and landed residences will invite audiences into their homes to share stories—and O.P.E.N. Kitchens, where you can cook with the host, Noorlinah Mohamed, as she shares stories of each dish being prepared. Through Sep 9
FOOD
After a great first run, local Szechuan cuisine pioneer Si Chuan Dou Hua is bringing back last year’s well-received vegetable-based menu. This time, expect dishes rarely seen in a Chinese restaurant, like the Portobello Mushroom with Truffle and Orzo Pasta served with Szechuan Chilli Sauce, served as part of a course menu ($78-$98) that is filled with meatless (not strictly vegetarian) creations. Through Sep 15
EXHIBITION
Robots have invaded the ArtScience Museum and everyone’s invited to take a peek at what the future of cybernetics, artificial intelligence and genetic modification might look like at the HUMAN+: The Future of Our Species exhibition. Come with an open mind as you interact with life-like humanoids and find out how robots are already living among us. Through Oct 15
FOOD
The popular Singapore Restaurant Month is now a full-fledged festival, thanks to the Restaurant Association of Singapore bringing together more than 200 chefs who will be preparing a locally-inspired dish at their respective eateries for the very first Singapore Restaurant Festival. Through Sep 30
