Year of the Rabbit at Vivo

I don't have much patience for shopping and prefer to do it online, but each festive season, I enjoy looking at the creative window treatments.  If you want to feel the festive spirit and don't want to jostle with the crowds at Chinatown, I would say come to VivoCity.  There's a quite a festive buzz here and 'rabbits' everywhere.

Loved the traditional chinese paper cutting design at Marks and Spensers for the Year of the Rabbit. Simple and not garish is what appeals to me. It makes me wonder who all these window dressers are. There are some really creative ones out there.



The delicate detail.



A bit of bold red against pretty lavender is quite a new colour combination, but it works.



This window display at the Fox clothing store reminds me of the rabbit on the moon from Chinese legends. I like the brush stroke fonts.



One of the temporary kiosks selling stuffed bunnies.





Loved the Decor at the entrance to Tangs. The floral treatment is so pretty. Tourists and locals alike could not resist a photo op with the Tangs bunny.







I hope the National Geographic store doesn't go out of business. It's quite empty and I suspect it's because the stuff here is quite expensive.

The decor here is simple, discrete and beautiful. Just a row of traditionally shaped Chinese lanterns.





Loved the Chinese style clouds at the Gap Store. I was just thinking about the Easter Bunny versus the Year of the Rabbit, Bunny. The difference here is there are no multi-coloured eggs and the rabbits are mostly red. It made me wonder if Easter bunny decor could be recycled. It looks like everything is new here though.



Another traditional looking Rabbit, but in yellow, at Timberland. A store I quite like, but I can't afford anything from here right now.

CNY 2011: Chinese Arts & Crafts Fair

I was excited to see the Chinese Arts & Crafts Fair with vendors mostly from China at the central court at Level 1. Took some photos, but I think you would enjoy heading down to check it out yourself.

I was most intrigued by a simple hair device that was demonstrated on a pretty little blonde girl. Within seconds her hair was transformed into a beautiful intricate bun. I think it works best on thick straight hair, you should definitely go check this out soon. The special Fair for Chinese New Year will last till 21 February 2011.

The After:


The Before:



Another thing that fascinated me was the Sugar Art booth. The lady used melted sugar to produce the most intricate Chinese style lollies.






There were more than 30 little booths to check out I think and this kind of event is fun for both tourist and locals. I loved the traditional red thermos that was being sold here. In the 70's this type of beautiful thermos was used to store water that as boiled in a kettle. I still recall the whistling of the kettle on the stove as a young child. It's amazing how memory includes not only pictures, but sounds.



I thought this man looked chic with his newsboy cap. Is that what you call it? Anyway I'm guessing he's from fashionable Shanghai.


Beautiful, intricate paper cuttings.


I wonder if the little girl who had her hair done, bought a Cheong Sam to go with her elegant hairdo.

Santarinas

Happy Studying

I don't think you will see a sign like this in any other country. The kids in Singapore need to constantly swot for exams. It's due to people in Singapore being kiasu (Singlish for afraid to lose out). Kids also prefer to study at cafes instead of at the library or at home (probably due to insufficient space or noise from the TV).  Saw this at one of the two VivoCity Starbucks Cafes.  Yes, there are two Starbucks outlets in one mall and within close proximity too.  Being someone who likes the coffee, I'm not complaining.

The signs are basically telling students they are more welcome before noon and in the early evening, before the work crowd makes their way out to the malls. Smart move Starbucks. They realize they should not alienate their future potential addicts, *ahem* I mean customers with a no studying sign. The kids would then just move to Coffee Bean or Tully's.

Architectural Curves

I do love the feminine curves of the Vivo City Building. The Japanese architect did a great job.


The idea of a sprawling viewing deck and playful structures are appealing to me as well.


Is the skinny snowman being cleaned or transformed with lights?


A glimpse of Sentosa's Resort World.


Taking a cable car used to appeal to me, but now they just make me feel claustrophobic. I'd rather just take a tram/train there.

Baguette: Healthy Vietnamese Style Sandwiches

The decor at this little cafe located at VivoCity is inviting with all that red. They do say in food psychology that colours like red, orange and yellow stimulate the appetite.



I had a mini grilled chicken baguette which was so good. If I had to eat healthy I could definitely do it eating Vietnamese style sandwiches like these. I liked the crunchy slices of carrots and red pepper and the sandwich has a sweetish sauce that went very well with the grilled chicken.



My partner had the 6 inch Saigon Baugette (S$5.80) which is a ham sandwich, but he wasn't too impressed. He felt that the portion size in terms of the 3 ham slices was not enough and he also thought the the vegetables were undercooked. He added that the bread was too hard and dry. He might know better than me, as he's had the real stuff in Vietnam, while I haven't. I still think I would have a sandwich here again but this time 2 minis as 1 is definitely not enough. It's only S$2.90, but it'll leave you hungry unless you're tiny and waif like and hardly eat anyway.



The bagettes were very neatly and attractively wrapped.





They have a loyalty card system with 1 stamp for every S$6 spent, which means you get a free meal worth S$6.90 but only when you've spent S$56. Work that out. Also note that the card expires in 4 weeks so unless you have lunch here 2-3 times a week, you can forget about the free meal. If this was at an office location, it might definitely work. It's also great if you want to eat healthy and you can have wholemeal bread by adding 40 cents.















This is actually their 3rd location and you can check out their other locations here.

Baguette - The Viet Inspired Deli
1 Harbourfront Walk
Vivocity #01-163
S(098585)
Tel : 64931426

Health Promotion Board Helps You Eat Healthy

Saw this exhibition at VivoCity.  Interesting panels in the form of giant shopping bags, about what's healthy and lower in calories.  I would pick the Korean rice over everything else. That's yummy.  Subway sandwiches are good too.