Sarah Teh
I almost didn’t see the entrance the first time. Tucked along Robertson Quay at 30 Robertson Quay, #01-15 Riverside View, Shunjuu Izakaya is a Japanese restaurant in Singapore serving an exciting menu of Japanese cuisine. It hides behind a curtain of charcoal smoke and warm lantern light. Then I caught the smell of grilling pork…
Capturing the People Who Bring Midnight Eats to Life The metallic snip of heavy scissors echoes down Jalan Besar long after the rest of the city has gone to sleep. Standing on the pavement at two in the morning, I adjust my camera settings to capture the harsh, fluorescent glow spilling out from Beach Road…
Travel teaches you to notice what others overlook. The markets, the alleys, the quiet squares; these are the spaces where the rhythm of a place is unguarded, intimate, and fleeting. Walking along winding streets in a small European town, or tracing narrow lanes in an Asian city just as the sun dips below the rooftops,…
If you want to understand Singapore izakaya chefs, or photograph them honestly, you have to stop seeing these places as only casual drinking spots. This guide walks through how to observe, respect, and capture the people who keep Singapore’s izakaya scene alive long after the office towers go dark. Discover the smoky rhythm and masterful…
The heavy, damp air of Geylang Road clings to your skin at three in the morning. Long after the daily rush of commuters has faded, a different pulse awakens. Walking the neon-lit pavements with my camera, I look for the quiet pockets of life that only emerge in the dark. The city strips away its…
The city breathes differently after midnight. The relentless hum of daytime traffic fades, leaving behind a thick, humid silence punctured only by the hiss of hot oil and the clatter of ceramic bowls. Walking through the quiet alleys of Jalan Besar, I carry my camera not to document daylight perfection, but to capture the weight…
I walked into The Public Izakaya 2.5 Nitengo on a Friday around 10:15 PM, right as the after-work drinks crowd in Tanjong Pagar was hitting its peak. Walking into a packed room with a proper camera always gives me a wave of anxiety. I worry about looking intrusive or annoying the diners trying to settle…
The light shifts abruptly in Singapore around six in the evening. The harsh afternoon sun softens into a bruised purple, and the ambient noise of the city begins to change. Standing at the edge of Old Airport Road Food Centre, I watch the heavy metal shutters roll up one by one. This is my favorite…
I was sitting at a cramped counter in Cuppage Plaza, surrounded by the incredible smell of binchotan charcoal and roasting chicken fat. The mood was perfect. The dim tungsten lamps cast a beautiful, moody glow over the dark wooden planks of the counter. But when I looked at my camera screen, my heart sank. My…
How Low Light Changes the Way We See Food The streetlamps along Jalan Besar hum with a faint, electric buzz at two in the morning. At this hour, the city strips away its gloss. The flat, forgiving daylight is gone. What remains are isolated pools of amber and the stark white glow of fluorescent tubes.…