City buzz

A TASTE OF ANDALUSIAN AND CATALAN CUISINES

DINING

Collaboration dinner between chef Paco Morales and chef Daniel Chavez

NEXT weekend, Spanish chef Paco Morales will be in Singapore to cook alongside Peruvian chef Daniel Chavez of the Spanish restaurant OLA Cocina Del Mar for two collaborative dinners titled the Al-Andaluz X Catalan 4-hands dinner.

On Friday and Saturday, chef Chavez will be cooking with old, traditional recipes from the deep mountains of Catalan, while chef Morales will be preparing Andalusian food (also known as Al-Andaluz) which comes from the southern coast of Spain, where he was born and raised. The latter runs the one-Michelin-starred restaurant Ferrero by Paco Morales, and will soon be opening a new restaurant Noor, which aims to use avant garde techniques to showcase Andalusia's Arab cuisine.

Some tapas dishes include the berenjena - aubergine fritters with cane honey and pepino de la sabana - maxixe cucumber with shanklish (cheese) and mint, while main courses include a suquet Barcelona - Catalan fisherman's stew with Spanish saffron, and karim - summer melon with sahara urchin and fresh oregano.

On Sunday, OLA will turn into a Pintxo bar - a first in Singapore - for brunch, where chef Chavez will prepare pintxos (otherwise known as pinchos) which are a part of Basque cuisine and refer to small bar bites.

This brunch was inspired by chef Chavez's trip to San Sebastien last August, and will feature items like Mediterranean anchovies with dried figs, huevos fritos - organic eggs with truffle and smoked Basque cheese, and a Josper-grilled Secreto Iberico with lentil vinaigrette and charred tomatoes.

By Rachel Loi

EXHIBITION

RISIS 40th anniversary

IN the 1960s, then finance minister Goh Keng Swee was on the search for an iconic gift that would represent Singapore. Coincidentally, a young scientist was developing a technique of plating live orchid blooms with gold to gift to his wife at the same time.

That's how jewellery company RISIS was born. Now, in its 40th year, the organisation will be celebrating its anniversary with a retrospective exhibition that will take visitors on a journey through the brand's history, while also showcasing its past and current collections.

Navin Amarasuriya, director of RISIS, says: "RISIS has always epitomised unparalleled quality, traditional craftsmanship by hand, and elegant designs that pay tribute to our Asian heritage. To highlight this historical occasion, RISIS has designed four collections revolving around the orchid to celebrate the past four decades of style and innovation."

The exhibition will also include keepsakes from RISIS' private archives that have never been on display before and the personal collections of some the brand's biggest fans, accompanied by the stories behind some of the most unique pieces. Botanical watercolour artist and illustrator Lucinda Law will also produce six paintings of orchids with an artistic integration of some signature RISIS pieces. The green installation showcasing the collections will be designed by terrarium studio Mossingarden.

By Avanti Nim

"Rediscovering RISIS: 40 Years of Crafting Asian Stories Exhibition" will be held at the atrium of Raffles City Shopping Centre from Aug 4 to 17 from 10am to 10pm daily. For more information, please visit www.risis.com.

EXHIBITION

The Temporal Blooming Of A Flower Upon The Earth

WHEN photographer Akai Chew went to a getai, he wasn't there to take pictures of the performers in their flashy costumes. Instead, he was more fascinated with getai stages.

Originally built with wooden stakes and beams, getai stages are now tents built with metal frames. These stages are inserted into the existing cityscape, affixing themselves onto footpaths, trees, lampposts, and existing buildings.

For a short span of a few nights, they become a beacon, attracting the community with performances and rituals against an austere cityscape.

Mr Chew chooses a getai based on its setting. The more interesting settings are those in a wholesale centre and beside a river, he says. He took an architecture photography approach to each getai, looking for the compelling angles which shows how the getai is an intrusion into the city. Small details like wires tying the getai to trees, a Chinese lantern nearby, and close ups of the tarp show the organic nature of its architecture. "The getai stage would seem to be alive, as a ghost, and a bright lantern lighting up the city," he says.

By Tay Suan Chiang

Exhibition

Onitsuka Tiger Stripes 50th Anniversary

TO celebrate the 50th anniversary of its iconic Mexico 66 (M66) sneakers and their trademark crossed stripes, Onitsuka Tiger has invited 50 local personalities including musician Ginette Chittick, celebrity fashion stylist Trey Wong, and photographers Chuando & Frey to interpret the shoe with their individual artistic touch.

The unique range of footwear will be on display at the M66: Of Different Stripes exhibition that opens to the public on Saturday.

The event will also coincide with the exclusive launch of the brand's Fall-Winter 2016-2017 The Art of Mixing collection (right) where artists Atsuo Nakagawa, Felipe Suzuki, Hamilton Yokota aka TitiFreak and Luísa Matsushita reimagine four models: Mexico Delegation, Colorado Eighty-Five, Lawnship and California 78 respectively.

One of Japan's oldest shoe companies, Onitsuka Tiger was established by ex-military officer Kihachiro Onitsuka in 1949 to promote a healthy lifestyle among youths.

It caused a splash in 1966 when Team Japan wore four Mexico models during the 5th Asian Games.

Half a century on, those shoes have become a hit with sportsman and sneakerheads alike all over the world; and are revered for its Japanese craftsmanship and artistic flair.

By Dylan Tan