Singapore, People –
On Singapore Style and favourite local foods
EVGENIYA LAZAREVA
Founder and interior designer
Hot Design Folks Interior Design Studio
From Almaty, Kazakhstan
Years residing in Singapore: 4
(Also heading photo)
1 How would you create Singapore Style in a residential project?
Singapore is a cultural melting pot. I see a lot of contemporary local interiors being inspired by mid-century modern design with quaint vernacular touches. For a unique Straits flavour try bright textural Peranakan accents paired with subtle minimalistic backdrops.
2 What is your favourite Singapore neighbourhood and why?
Many neighbourhoods in Singapore bear their own special charm. I can single out Tanjong Pagar with its flamboyant mixture of shophouse, modernist and art deco architectural styles. I love to wander through its meandering streets filled with local eateries and latest fine dining outlets.
3 What Singapore foods do you like?
My all time favourite local treat, whenever we have visitors, is chilli crab from New Ubin Seafood. Raw foodcourt style of this place offers authentic Singaporean dining experience. Always the winner!
PATRICK WARING
Partner
Silverfox Studios Pte Ltd Interior Architectural Design
From the UK
Years residing in Singapore: 25
1 How would you create Singapore Style in a residential project?
I see Singapore Style as Urban Resort. Modern and layered, as if you are looking through the canopy of a rain tree.
2 What is your favourite Singapore neighbourhood and why?
Chinatown. This is where my office is, and where my favourite restaurants are. This area has modernity and history, idiosyncrasy and culture.
3 What Singapore foods do you like?
Hock Lam Beef noodles at China Street – dry with kway teow.
EMMA MAXWELL
Founder and interior design director
Emma Maxwell Design
From Australia
Years residing in Singapore: 10
1 How would you create Singapore Style in a residential project?
I would make really subtle references to Peranakan culture. Addressing use of pattern and form and articulating it with sharper more contemporary lines. I would play on light and dark contrasts and colour accent with colour that I would draw down from Peranakan tiles and plates and so forth.
2 What is your favourite Singapore neighbourhood and why?
Tiong Bahru. I love the art deco building and great dining options there.
3 What Singapore foods do you like?
I love Peranakan food. I’m fascinated by the process involved in cooking it. It’s a lot more lyrical and lighter on the palate than a lot of heavier Singaporean dishes.
RIO SIASAR
Senior designer, with special focus on tasks involving design concepts and FFE, as well as operations and client management
Miaja Design Group Pte Ltd
From the Philippines
Years residing in Singapore: Nearly 10 years
1 How would you create Singapore Style in a residential project?
Singapore Style in a residential project would definitely call for a Global Eclectic approach, where you are not bound by any cultural or aesthetic boundaries. Much like the country itself, you must simply find ways for the global elements you are inspired with everywhere you turn, and for these to be conveyed in the interior design. Combine that with a disciplined approach of classic restraint and sensible styling, not easy but definitely possible with the right team to work with, and you have got yourself an exceptional interior that will prove truly unique.
2 What is your favourite Singapore neighbourhood and why?
I find myself most drawn to the Bras Basah area, for its hole in the wall food finds, and the museums, gift shops, and bookstores within walking distance of each other.
3 What Singapore foods do you like?
I find myself ordering Indo Malay fusion dishes time and again. Chilli crab is a definite must have by anyone stopping by in Singapore.
MICHAEL FIEBRICH
Founder and interior architect
Michael Fiebrich Design
From Austin, Texas, USA
Years residing in Singapore: 22
1 How would you create Singapore Style in a residential project?
Singapore is as urban and cosmopolitan as they come, but the gracious scale and tropical sensibility of the colonial Black & White bungalows have always appealed to me personally. I find that the blending of modern living with the added touch of history and the experience of tropical elegance is truly unique to Singapore.
2 What is your favourite Singapore neighbourhood and why?
We’ve lived and worked in Sembawang, at the northern tip of the island, for many years and, although it’s becoming more developed, it’s still very quiet, green and removed from the hustle of other areas. There’s something really special about feeling like you’re living in your own private jungle just 20 minutes from the CBD.
3 What Singapore foods do you like?
The best thing about dining out in Singapore is the full gamut of international cuisines and experiences available. You can dine on everything from Chinese, Indian or Malay to Mediterranean cuisine and you can enjoy it in any atmosphere from fine dining venues to Michelin rated hawker stalls. Of the three pillars of Singaporean cuisine – rice, noodles and seafood – I’ve always gravitated towards the wide array of seafood, with chilli crab and prawns prepared in every conceivable style.
Story by Carol Kraal. Photograph credits: respective photos courtesy of Evgeniya Lazareva; Patrick Waring by NKH for Silver Fox Studios; Emma Maxwell top photograph by Emily Cornelius, bottom photograph credit Emma Maxwell and Flume Radiate Lighting; Rio Siasar; Michael Fiebrich credit Michael Fiebrich Design; Hock Lam beef noodles by Slowstep