Lo-fi Chic

• Bangulzai

  11 Apr 09, 20:13

  Lo-fi Chic

  
  Chic and cool dining, entertainment and lifestyle options that are unlikely to fry your wallet in these uncertain economic times. By the penny-pinching I-S team.  Illustrations by Joakim Smidhagen.

  You don’t have to stick to $2 chicken rice servings and shop at the Salvation Army store in these times of economic slowdown. There are still a whole range of shopping, pubbing, dining, fashion and entertainment options out there that are well priced, classy and won’t leave you teetering on the edge of financial ruin. We show you how and where.

  Cheap Night Crawler

  Hitting the town in Singapore doesn’t have to rip into your bank balance. As in all good cities, there are many nighttime budget-friendly options. Here’s how you can live it up el-cheapochic style.

  Free Dinner With Your Drinks
  Yes, we all know that in times like these, we need to give up creature comforts like the happy hour drinks after work. But at Morton’s (4/F Mandarin
  Oriental, 5 Raffles Ave., 6339-3740), you can loosen that belt a bit during their Mortini Hour (Mon-Fri, 5- 7pm). Tuck into its free flowing mouth-watering filet mignon steak sandwiches served to you butler-style when you order their equally mouth-watering range of martinis at $10.95 each.

  Happy Hour Specials with A View
  Over at New Asia Bar’s (71-72/F, Equinox Complex, Swissôtel
  The Stamford, 2 Stamford Rd., 6837-3322) Sundowner
  Specials allows you to live the high life without bursting your
  bank account with its 50 percent specials off all drinks from
  3-9pm daily and midnight-1am on Fri–Sat. Just take it easy if you want to last the night.

  Pick Up Salsa for Free
  What better way to pick up some free sexy dance moves before your Wednesday night out and about town with free salsa lessons at Azzucar! (#02-03 Blk. D Clarke Quay, 3 River Valley Rd., 6336-8718). From 8-8:45pm, Azzucar!’s femme fatale band members will show you how its done. Its also ladies’ night on Wednesday, so the chicas can indulge in free-flowing house pours all the way to midnight.

  Men’s Night at Insomnia
  The men do get it at Insomnia (#01-21/22/23 CHIJMES, 30 Victoria St., 6338-
  6883). Once the bastion of the fairer sex, guys can score a rounds of drinks on
  the cheap here every Wednesday night with Insomnia’s Guys & Girls Night. For
  a mere $20, ladies get to enjoy free flow of house pours and selected beers
  between 9pm-midnight while men enjoy free flow between 9-11pm, with live
  rock and Top 40s hits delivered by resident band Batteries Not Included.

  Drink before you Go Out
  Start the night at home with your mates. Get cheap liquor at wholesale prices at Barworks (#02-33 Chinatown Point, 133 New Bridge Rd., 6534-1995) and Millie’s Bottle Shop (www.millies.com.sg), gather at a chosen house, listen to some upbeat music, and fight for mirror space in the loo.

  Get on the Guest List
  Ring up your favorite club (Zouk, 6738-2988; Ministry of Sound, 6235-2292; Home Club, 6538-2928; St. James Power Station, 6270-7676, etc) way before your big night out and ask for you or for your entourage to be put on the guest list, it could be for a “bachelor’s night,” “birthday” or maybe you’re all from a “new club magazine.” Whatever little white lie you tell, sell it, and sell it well. If all else fails, Mimolette (55 Fairways Dr., 6467-7748) has its weekly TryBe nights every Friday where you can just email [email protected] to be on the guest list.

  U Can Party
  Start your party early at St. James Power Station (3 Sentosa Gateway, 6270-7676). UOB Cardmembers can indulge in its Tuesday Night Specials where a slew of deals that are easy on your next credit statement. Just flash that plastic to enjoy free entry, 20 percent off bottles and one-for-one on loose drinks every Tuesday at all St. James’ outlets.

  Hawker Steals

  Don’t miss these die-die-must-try hawker stalls that have fab chow at dirt-cheap prices.

  Inspirasi
  (#01-11 Bedok Interchange Hawker Centre, Bedok North Ave. 1)—This famous stall sells mee rebus, soto ayam and mee soto at only $2 per plate. There’s always a long queue because the stuff is so good, especially the soto ayam which has large, succulent chunks of chicken and wonderful soup.

  Chun Ji Wantan Mee
  (#01-1200, 164 Stirling Rd.)—The wantan mee here has hordes of people queuing up for it and we can see why—it’s got sweet, juicy, thick chunks of char siew, great soup and three wantans for only $2.50-3.

  Yuan Chun Famous Lor Mee
  (#02-79 Amoy Street Food Centre)—Be prepared to queue up to enjoy a hearty while not overly-gooey lor mee ($2) here.

  Epok Epok Central Nasi Lemak
  (#01-09, Eunos Crescent Hawker Centre, Blk. 4A Eunos Crescent) - At only $2.50, you can get a heaping plate of rice, fish, chicken wings and fried egg.

  Diners Club

  Everybody needs to eat—but how and where do you find dining places that
  are affordable, yet still chic? Here are some to whet your appetite with.

  Eat Loads and Pay as Much (or as Little) as You Like
  Check out Annalakshmi (#B1-02 Chinatown Point, Podium A, 133 New Bridge Rd., 6339-9993), an Indian-vegetarian eatery that has good and cheap nosh. The place is staffed by volunteers, so you can pay however much you want. Dig into the gobi Manchurian, palak paneer and khumb (mushroom) masala—the signature items in this “eat what you like give as you feel” restaurant. The interior is adorned with Indian paintings and suitably elegant, so you don’t compromise on chicness. Also at Annalakshmi Janatha, 104 Amoy St., 6223-0809.

  Enjoy Good, Reasonably Priced Food at Hotel Buffets
  Head to The Line (Lower Lobby, Tower Wing, Shangri-La Hotel Singapore, 22
  Orange Grove Rd., 6213-4275), which offers an international buffet ($45 lunch,
  $68 dinner) with lobsters, crabs, dim sum, desserts, salads, and Indian, Chinese and Japanese food. Carousel (Royal Plaza on Scotts, 25 Scotts Rd., 6589-7899) offers a spread of international grub—including seafood,
  salads, and Asian, Japanese and Western selections ($37-39 lunch, $47-56 dinner).

  Ride on the Singapore Flyer and Get a Great Dining Deal
  Bistro Senso (#01-03, 30 Raffles Ave., 6338-8550) has a Ride & Dine package deal in which you can combine a 30- minute ride on the Flyer with a meal at the bistro ($48 lunch, $68 dinner). At Hibiki (#01-02, 6338-2454), a set meal
  with a ride on the Flyer under Ride & Dine costs only $39.90 and includes a starter, main course and side dishes. Just request for a voucher from the outlet and present it when ordering.

  Go for Set Meals instead of A la Cartes
  Like, d’uh, right? Well, the tricky part is, where to get the best value-for-money set meals? We recommend Tatsuya Japanese Restaurant (#01-05 Park Hotel Orchard, 270 Orchard Rd., 6737-1160) for its fab bento sets ($20.90 onwards)—you can come back on payday to splurge on its a la cartes. We also love the three-course set lunches ($22 for pasta, $32 for steak) at Italian restaurant Da Paolo Terrazza (#01-56 Chip Bee Gardens, Holland Village,
  44, Jalan Merah Saga, 6476-1332).

  Make use of that plastic
  Credit cards always get a bad rap for sucking people into debt, but if you use them cleverly, you can actually save more than a few pennies. HSBC’s Everyday Dining Offers Programme (www.hsbc.com.sg/homenaway) helps you nick up to 50 percent off prices at over 600 dining outlets if you’re an HSBC credit cardholder. And where else to better enjoy this eye-popping deal than at the uber-fancy iL Lido Italian Restaurant (Sentosa Golf Club, 6866-1977) where you can get a one-for-one deal for its HSBC classic set lunch. Also check out Ah Hoi’s Kitchen (4/F, Traders Hotel, 1A Cuscaden Rd., 6831-4373) for its one-for-one chili crab offer, and Blue Lobster (87 Frankel Ave.,
  6442-5090) for its one-for-one premium set lunches. Similarly under the DBS Indulge program, DBS/POSB cardmembers can dig into over 100 one-for-one dining deals. Whether it’s Asian, European or international cuisine, these guys have it covered. Log on to www.dbs.com/sg/cards for more information. If the American Express is what you have, head down to Uluru Aussie Bar & Steakhouse (40 Duxton Hill, 6223-3654) for its one-for-one set lunch or dinner, where its hearty steaks are a hit with those who love their meats. Log on to www.americanexpress.com.sg for more yummy deals.

  Throw a Chi-Chi Party, DIY-style
  Just because times are bad doesn’t mean you can’t show off your hosting skills. Throw a fancy party at home with some help from cheese and gourmet store La Fromagerie (5 Mohamed Sultan Rd., 6732-6269). Stocking
  an eye-popping 150 variety of cheeses as well as unique port wines, you
  can take home its premium European cheese platter ($22 per pax) or its
  specialty gourmet canapés by the established Le Saint Julien
  restaurant ($32 per dozen). This way, you can have you
  party and enjoy it—without slaving over the stove.

  Make-Believe Holidays

  When it’s time to tighten our belts, one of the first luxuries to go is travel. So how can you get your travel fix without splurging on airfare? We suggest you stretch your imagination and create exotic cultural experiences right here in Singapore.

  Bali High
  Get a taste of Bali without shelling out anything from $250-400 on airfare. You can recreate the Bali feel for a night at Little Bali (9 Lock Rd., 6733-0185, www.littlebali.com) in Gillman Village. Walk through the grand Majapahid gate and you’ll enter a world of traditional thatched “alang alang” roofed traditional Balinese huts, where frangipanis bloom and you can kick back and imagine you are in Kuta or Ubud with a cool crowd of locals and expats who are in a totally laidback mood. They have a special Sunday brunch promo where you
  can get a Bali Jimbaran BBQ Seafood Platter for four at $80 and jugs of Sangria at $40. So that’s approximately $30 per person for a “trip” to Bali complete with food and mates.

  An Afternoon in Italy
  Put on your Zegna suit or Versace dress, your Ferragamo shoes and Gucci sunnies and take a long leisurely lunch at Senso Ristorante and Bar (21 Club St., 6224-3534). While Singapore is full of good Italian restaurants, we think there is something about the outdoor courtyard here that makes you feel like you are in Rome or Florence or some other oldworld Italiano city. The courtyard has the feel of a mini piazza complete with marble statue. They have over 500 wines to choose from with some of the best from vineyards in the Tuscan region. A meal with a starter, main and dessert with a bottle of wine shared
  between four would set you back approximately $110, which is a heckuva lot cheaper than the $1,800 you would have to pay if you bought yourself a plane ticket to Rome.

  Trippy Supperclub
  Supperclub (Odeon Towers, 331 North Bridge Rd., 6334-4080,  www.supperclub.com), the world famous club/restaurant/avant garde performance venue in Amsterdam that sees long queues every weekend has arrived on our shores. And being inside this funky nightlife institution feels like being transported to an uber cool underground dance club in Amsterdam or Berlin...whichever you prefer. The novelty of lounging in beds and eating, while watching live performance acts that include a lady with a pink wig blowing soap bubbles, is enough to make you feel like you have left stuffy Singapore.
  Travel by Association
  Armchair travelers who love their Discovery Travel & Living channel and who want to learn more about other cultures but can’t get enough annual leave, can try couch surfing. This is where you let travelers from other countries who are looking for free accommodation crash on your couch and in return you can interrogate them and find out all about Bulgaria, Greece, Macau, Ulan
  Battar, or wherever else they come from. Go to www.couchsurfing.com, look up the profiles of people who are passing through Singapore looking for a host, and if they don’t look like psychos you can start corresponding with them and they’ll arrange the dates for their stay with you. The other benefit is, if you are planning to travel to say, London in the near future, instead of buying
  a guide book, you can share your couch with a traveler from London, and he or she will hopefully serve as a walking, talking Lonely Planet guide book. For those with no couches or who still live with the parents, you can hang with seasoned backpackers, listen to their jaded retelling of travel adventures and let some of their wanderlust rub off on you at and backpacker hostel and
  pub Prince of Wales (101 Dunlop Street, Little India. 6299-0130).

  Check Yourself Into a Boutique Hotel
  Here are some of the things we love about staying in hotels: We can be anonymous, the service staff always call us Sir and Ma’am, making us feel like really important! We can get drunk and dance alone in front of the mirror pretending we are rock stars on tour, and there is chocolate on our pillow when we get back in the room. Naumi Hotel (41 Seah St., 6403-6000, www.naumihotel.com) and New Majestic Hotel (31-37 Bukit Pasoh Rd., 6511-4700, www.newmajestic.com) have rooms that are luxurious and
  unique enough to get us all excited. The Naumi Hotel is ideal for having an espresso and watching the TV or getting some quiet alone time to catch up on all those half-read novels sitting on your book shelf. New Majestic with its
  unique themed rooms is especially good if you want to get some me-time. Room rates start from $330.

  Chic Style For Cheap

  When times are tough, even the most chic don’t give up on style. They just change their tack. With some smart shopping you can look a million dollars on a limited budget. Suit Up at Dan Stevenson Tight pocketed yuppies wanting to look like David Beckham but who don’t have the spare cash to splurge on a Hugo Boss or Armani should head down to Dan Stevenson (184A Telok Ayer St., 6223-4340). Here you can look sharp in a Saville Row-styled suit without
  the British prices. Prices range from $25 for a tie, $45 for a shirt, $92 for a pair of leather shoes and up to $249 for a suit.

  The Root of Style
  Get a piece of high fashion going for a song at TigerLIVE (#01-02, St. James Power Station, 3 Sentosa Gateway, 6736-9339). The illustrious local fashion designer Jonathan Seow whose label Woods & Woods has shown at the eminent Paris Fashion Week alongside luminaries like John Galliano and Yohji Yamamoto, has collaborated with TigerLIVE to come up with a series of limited edition t-shirts for the entertainment center’s second anniversary. Coming in two striking designs and four subtle hues, the t-shirts goes for an affordable $75 from November.

  Rent-A-Bag
  Balenciaga, Fendi, Gucci, Prada....We all know how you fashionistas covet the latest IT bags from these fashion houses and we know how one can cost a small fortune. So what better way to be a bona-fide fashionista than joining sg.be-afashionista. com, where from $49.95-$159.95 a month, you can rent...yes, rent the latest Hermes Birkin or the Fendi Spy bag without breaking the bank.

  Get Budget Catwalk Ready Kicks at On Pedder
  All of us at one point or other have stepped into the hallowed halls of On Pedder at Takashimaya Shopping Centre and drooled over the Jimmy Choos and Christian Louboutins heels on display there, but alas, their stratospheric price tags are beyond the reach of most of us. Fret not, just one level up, its sister boutique Pedder Red (#03-16 Takashimaya Shopping Centre, 391 Orchard Rd., 6735-5735), has been satiating budget shoe lovers with trendy kicks, minus the obscene prices. For $80-$350, fashionistas can get their
  mitts on the season’s latest.

  Flea Mart Smarts
  Flea markets in Singapore are going upscale and chi-chi. Expect to find trendy second-hand clothes, CDs, vinyl records and other possessions. Treasure seekers on a budget might want to check out these new flea marts like Rapunsale, which happens twice a year at Loof (#03-07 Odeon Towers
  Extension Rooftop, 331 North Bridge Rd., 6338-8035), Zouk’s (17 Jiak Kim St., 6738-2988) quarterly Flea & Easy, the “indie-pendant” Flea.Fly.Flo.Fun (community.livejournal.com/fleaflyflofun) which happens every two months, and MAAD which hawks original creations at the Red Dot Traffic building (28 Maxwell Rd., 6534-7001) every month. Prices range from $2-400 and you can
  find sartorial gems like Zouk’s Tracy Philips’ used vintage fare, cheap offerings from boutiques like Woonderland and Bread & Butter and even handmade goodies from Makisquarepatch.

  Film Feast

  Watching movies—the perfect form of escapism is sadly becoming more of a luxury, what with nonsensical $10 ticket charges. Here are some ways to have your fix of celluloid pleasures for less.

  Cheaper Big Screen Fare
  If you’re hankering for the latest flick but you want to scrimp, then pre-paid movie vouchers and gift cards are your refuge. There are numerous dollar scrounging deals in the market, such as the Cathay E!-pass ($50-100) for $6 tickets from Mon–Fri before 5pm and $8 tickets for the weekends, HSBC
  Everyday Movie Privileges Pre-paid Card with a value of $75 for 10 movies at Golden Village cinemas and EW Movie Gift Cards with a value of $60 for 10 weekday movies at Eng Wah cinemas. Log onto www.cathay.com.sg, www.hsbc.com.sg and www.ewcinemas.com.sg for more information. You can also sign up for a membership with the Singapore Film Society and attend over 100 films annually from the latest Hollywood blockbusters to arthouse classics at screening venues conveniently located around town. At $90 for a yearly membership, it’s a real steal. Log onto www.sfs.org.sg for more information.

  The Home Cinema
  Why bother heading to the cinemas at all when you can watch the latest blockbusters in the comfort of your pad? Join an online DVD rental store like Hollywood Clicks (6836-9445) for good rental deals on an extensive collection of audio-visual fodder. All you have to do is sign up for one of their  membership deals, select your films and they will arrive within one to two  working days in your mail. For $24.61 monthly, you can rent an unlimited number of movies. For more information, log onto www.hollywoodclicks.
  com. Alternatively, get yourself an annual premium membership ($21) from our trusty National Library (100 Victoria St., 6332-3133) and help yourself to its eclectic collection of audio-visual material including DVDs from critically acclaimed documentaries and trite Hollywood fare.

  The Free Shows
  Catch the periodic free open-air film screenings at the lush grounds of the National Museum (93 Stamford Rd., 6332- 5642). You can catch beloved classics like Singin’ in the Rain under the evening sky. Log onto  www.nationalmuseum.sg for the latest schedules. Or, if you are keen to get a first glimpse of the next big thing in Singaporean cinema, then keep the
  nights of the first Monday of the month free for First Take, a program that showcases three new short films from budding local filmmakers. Head over to The Substation Theatre (45 Armenian St., 6337-7535) from 8pm to watch a slew of local celluloid nuggets for free.

  Art Attack

  Instead of dropping a fool’s ransom at an auction why not try creating works with your bare hands - pottery, painting and sculpting aren’t all that difficult to get a hang of.

  Painting
  My Art Space (21 Tanjong Pagar Rd, 9690-5775) is giving away free lessons in different disciplines ranging from oil, acrylic painting, watercolor and basic drawing introductions in the name of art. For a more in-depth introduction to acrylic painting sign up for a seven-lesson course (Oct 24-Dec 5) at the
  LaSalle College of the Arts (1 McNally St., 6496-5000, www.lasalle.edu.sg). The course will clue you in painting techniques, composition and color and values.

  Batik Painting
  Why not try your hand at some batik painting at The Substation (45 Armenian
  St., 6337-7535, www.substation.org). Classes run from mid and late October to end November. Course fees are $120 for four sessions (excluding $40 for
  materials). You’ll get the chance to work with Ika Zahri whose batik
  works have been exhibited at the New York Art Expo.

  Glass Art
  Add some style and complexity to your home with glass art. Art Glass
  Solutions (30 Kuo Chuan Ave, 6440-4957) course fees range from $100-500  but we say its money well spent for an interesting lesson in fragile beauty.