Surveying the new normal in shopping and other services

YOU have seen the crowds. But you have also witnessed the security. As Phase 2 of Singapore's reopening gets under way, our shopping malls have turned into mini-airports with the kind of screening and temperature-taking to rival the most stringent of baggage and body checks.

In Friday's issue of Weekend magazine, get a first-hand look at what it is like to shop in a luxury boutique (wear gloves before you touch anything); make a made-to-measure shirt (sanitised fabric swatches); buy furniture (chairs are wiped almost as soon as you get up); and dine at a fancy restaurant (QR code menus, thermal temperature scanners). As we ponder the notion that "Luxury is dead; long live luxury", we explore our new reality, and how badly we want to get back into it.

In Interview, Joey Alexander is a 16-year-old jazz prodigy who hates being described as one. Still, the musician described by critics as mature beyond his years has achieved success early, having played with the likes of Wynton Marsalis, in front of former American presidents Obama and Clinton - not bad for a middle-class boy from Indonesia who now lives in the US and plays at all the top gigs around the world.

Meanwhile, if you are still on the fence about whether to head out to your favourite restaurant or be on the safe side with trusty takeaway, you might be tempted by the new restaurants which were held back from opening during the circuit breaker but which are now raring to go. We check out some to look out for.

And if you have still decided to stay home to avoid the crowds, there is lots to occupy yourself with, thanks to a range of creative DIY design kits that will kickstart a new hobby for you. From tea-blending to terrarium-making and pottery, it is time to get crafty.