With a plethora of new product launches and exclusive culinary offerings to look forward to, April is shaping up to be a rather exciting month. In the dining realm, a new five-week pop-up is in town, bringing exquisite offerings from Tokyo’s two Michelin-starred Narisawa to our shores and serving up a one-of-a-kind experience centred around local and seasonal ingredients. For whisky-lovers, Highland Park Single Malt Whisky’s Flavours From The Fire campaign showcases the striking ways in which the distillery’s spirits complement the smoky flavours of the grill. And on the interiors front, a selection of stylish but powerful new appliances will prove to be invaluable additions to the living space—including Apple’s HomePod and HomePod Mini speakers, which are arriving in Singapore for the first time.
Apple’s HomePod and HomePod Mini arrive in Singapore
Our sunny island might not have seen the original HomePod when it first launched in 2018, but the second generation of Apple’s sleek speaker—and the smaller HomePod Mini—is here and ready to fill rooms with its spectacular sound and brilliant innovations to perform everyday tasks with a simple command.
“Hey Siri,” will have your HomePod and HomePod Mini ready to receive instructions, whether it is playing your favourite song, checking the weather for the week, or turning on the lights in your house. A single speaker will suffice for most rooms, but if you are after a richer sound experience, get two HomePods to create a stereo pair for an ideal movie night in. Its multi-room audio function also ensures the same song can play in different rooms, as long as you have a HomePod or HomePod Mini placed strategically in each space.
Apart from its stylish seamless mesh fabric that assures your HomePod sits handsomely in any home, the speaker is Apple’s biggest and most stellar-sounding. It is designed with a powerful woofer and bass-EQ mic to deliver a wonderfully deep bass, as well as five tweeters which produce beautiful high frequencies. It also supports spatial audio, which means that the immersive, three-dimensional sound you’re used to hearing with your AirPods Pro can be heard on your HomePod, too.
As a personal home assistant, your HomePod’s abilities are second to none. Set up your HomePod such that it recognises up to six voices, and use it to send messages, check your calendar, find out where your family or housemates are, or send an announcement all through the house using the Intercom function. Those with smart homes will find that it integrates all your needs in its clever device so that nothing is ever out of sync. If a dimly-lit bedroom playing Frank Sinatra from 10pm nightly is your wish, create an automation with Siri and predictability is all yours.
Purchase the HomePod and HomePod Mini here.
Highland Park Single Malt Whisky and Meating Place pair rich flavours with smoky spirits
Presented through thoughtfully curated menus that pair spirits with dishes from outstanding restaurants around the country, Highland Park’s Flavours From The Fire campaign showcases the spectacular ways in which the distillery’s 12 Year Old, 15 Year Old and 18 Year Old whiskies complement the smoky flavours of the fire and grill.
When we visited Meating Place last month, the exclusive menu started with a berry whisky cocktail. Opening the meal on a refreshing note, it was accompanied by unique starters such as Nduja Croqueta with paleta iberico, Duck Liver Pate min jiang kueh and Duck Heart Anticucho with caperberries. Meanwhile, the rich flavours of the Wagyu Shortribs, served with parsnip and drizzled with black garlic jus, was elevated further by the Highland Park 18 Year Old.
Standout dishes included the Wagyu Tortellini doused in aromatic truffle jus as well as the Spanish Duroc Pork Ribs, cooked to tender fall-off-the-bone perfection and served with guava compote on the side for a hint of tartness. Paired with the spicy and well-rounded Highland Park 12 Year Old, the two courses were fine examples of the harmony between the fire-kissed flavours of the dishes and the richness of the spirits. Ending the meal was an impressive Pandan Bombe Alaska flambéed in and served alongside the Highland Park 15 Year Old. Infused with fragrant fresh pandan, the dessert was an easy favourite that paired wonderfully with the vanilla and cinnamon notes of the whiskey.
Selected dishes from the tasting menu are available as a la carte options at Meating Place. Individual drams of Highland Park 12 Year Old, 15 Year Old and 18 Year Old single malt whiskies are also available for purchase to pair with the restaurant’s existing menu.
Meating Place, Duo Galleria, #01-27, 7 Fraser Street, Singapore 189356
Two Michelin-starred restaurant Narisawa presents a five-week pop-up in Singapore
Known for his inventive and sustainable approach to food, chef Yoshihiro Narisawa’s dishes are a celebration of nature’s vast potential. With a menu centred around local and seasonal ingredients, he brings a one-of-a-kind dining experience to our shores. In a five-week pop-up restaurant presented by Mandala Masters and Porsche, the ground floor of Mandala Club has been transformed into The Masters Table, a beautiful reinterpretation of chef Narisawa’s two Michelin-starred Tokyo restaurant Narisawa. Observing the theme of ‘co-existing with forests’, it pays homage to the harmony between humans, foragers and the forest.
The dish that perhaps best embodies this theme is the signature Bread of the Forest 2010, which rises by your table over the course of 15 minutes with the use of candlelight. Pillowy bread made with Sakura wheat flour from Japan is served with a rich spread of grass butter and finished with a sprinkle of spinach. An undeniable highlight of the meal, the dish is presented in a gorgeous garden wreath created using foliage that chef Narisawa himself sourced through foraging in Singapore.
Also on the menu are several exclusive creations made for the residency, including the stunning Scenery of Garden. Highlighting chef Narisawa’s focus on sustainability and local ingredients, the dish consists of vegetables, herbs and edible flowers sourced from farms and forests around the country. Artfully crafted to resemble a garden, it is a showcase of the unique flavours and ingredients that can be found around us. The final touch to an already exquisite meal comes in the form of a curated sake pairing from the renowned Masuda Sake Company—each exceptional drink selected specially to complement chef Narisawa’s gastronomic vision.
Mandala Masters x Porsche presents Narisawa is available as an eight or 12-course lunch menu, or a 12-course dinner menu. The residency runs until 30 April 2023.
Reservations: [email protected] / +65 8399 5364 (Whatsapp)
Nespresso launches the Vertuo Pop
Sleek and stylish, Nespresso’s new Vertuo Pop is the brand’s most compact Vertuo machine yet. Available in four colours—Liquorice Black for those who prefer to keep to a classic monochromatic scheme, and Spicy Red, Mango Yellow and Aqua Mint for those seeking a fun pop of vibrance—the machine delivers your daily dose of caffeine at the touch of a single button. Designed to be small but powerful, it brews up to four different styles of coffee: a short espresso, a double espresso, a gran lungo and a large mug of coffee. An intelligent brewing system guarantees that each cup is perfectly made, identifying the barcode on the different Vertuo capsules to ensure that the coffee is brewed according to the chosen blend. The result? An aromatic cup of high quality, topped with a layer of thick and velvety crema.
Find out more about the Nespresso Vertuo Pop here.
