Blogs
Most people know Cuppage Plaza food during daylight hours. But I know it better after midnight. For the past two years, I’ve made a quiet habit of ending my nights here, camera slung over one shoulder, appetite following close behind. I’ve watched the building change character after 11pm, when the lifts go slow and the…
I went looking for air, not dinner. It was late, the kind of late where Orchard Road empties out and the malls go soft and grey. I wandered up to the second floor of Orchard Plaza, located at 150 Orchard Road #02-56, and there it was, lit and open, a little Vietnamese store that doesn’t…
Orchard Plaza after dark is a strange kind of quiet. The shiny malls down Orchard Road buzz with crowds, but up here the corridors hum under old fluorescent light, half the shutters down, the air still and slightly worn. I almost walked past Tha Siam Thai Kitchen. If not for the faint thread of Thai…
The first nasi lemak picture I ever loved was a failure. It was past midnight, under the harsh fluorescent stall light buzzing overhead, and I had shot the plate straight down the way everyone tells you to. When I looked at it later, everything had melted into one flat surface. The rice, the sambal, the…
I’ll be honest, the first bowl that landed in front of me looked a bit sad. Pale noodles, not much going on, and I nearly worried I’d made a wrong call. Then I tossed it, and the whole thing transformed. That’s the trick with Orchard Bak Chor Mee. The sauce hides at the bottom, so…
The first time I tried to photograph a bowl of ramen at Cuppage Plaza, I nearly gave up. My broth had a shiny white blob on it, the egg looked grey, and the whole shot felt like a hospital cafeteria food photo. I sat there frustrated, soup going cold, wondering why my food photography never…
I’ve spent many nights exploring Orchard Plaza’s vibrant late-night food scene, capturing the warm, honest atmosphere that emerges after most of the city sleeps. Over the years, I’ve sampled nearly every supper spot in this slightly worn but charming building. Some places came and went, but three have remained my go-to late-night haunts, plus one…
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…
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…
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…