TRIED & TESTED: BRAINY DAYS AMSTERDAM

April 15th, 2014

brainydaysamsterdam

Most striking feature:

Around the corner of Tenue de Nimes in Amsterdam you will find a new shop called Brainy Days, the store of Vera. The store will be there for half a year and Vera, the owner, will gather the most original gift items in here. From inspirational quotes to cutting boards shaped like a diamond. Last Friday she officially opened the doors and she launched an online magazine at the same time (click on this link to see more). With an overload of cool interior shops in Amsterdam (from Friday Next to Maison NL and from Hutspot to Six and Sons) Brainy Days knows how to select the most special pieces with a more than fine price tag. From an Read more…


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TRIED & TESTED: PORTRAIT HAARLEM

April 14th, 2014

portraithaarlem

Most striking feature:

In former stables at the Raamvest in Haarlem, Portrait recently opened its doors: a concept store run by three friends. And we are equally pleased with their taste, sense of design and collection! The huge space serves as a shop and a cafe and is open every day (except on Tuesday) from 10am to 5pm. We see a man sitting near the window reading a newspaper with a cup of coffee, a group of friends chatting in the cool bamboo chairs and a couple of guys are sitting on the long reading table. But, as Rogier, one of the owners, says: ‘come on weekdays and you will find people working here behind their laptops’. That’s something Read more…


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TRIED & TESTED: PS CAFE SINGAPORE

April 13th, 2014

pscafesingapore

Most striking feature:

When I asked for recommendations on Singapore, the PS Cafe was the address you said I absolutely couldn’t miss in Singapore. So ofcourse I went there to take a look for myself and I completely understood why. PS Cafe is located in Dempsey Hill, an area known for its fine dining restaurants (such as The White Rabbit and the new Pidgin). Somewhat outside the main restaurant hub, you will find the PS Cafe in a lush green environment. If you walk down the path that brings you to the entrance you’ll feel Read more…


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TRIED & TESTED: CHYE SENG HUAT HARDWARE SINGAPORE

April 11th, 2014

chyesenghuathardwaresingapore

Most striking feature:

The heritage district of Jalan Besar is definitely an upcoming neighborhood. You’ll now find a few cool cafes and shops (like Konzepp) in between huge hardware stores. Shops where you can buy anything that has something to do with cars or technique. Chye Seng Huat Hardware was also a hardware store. But a few months ago it was transformed into a place where Papa Palheta roast its beans, where you can drink coffee on the ground floor and where they organize workshops upstairs next to a great shop which was, unfortunately, closed during my visit. You can Read more…


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TRIED & TESTED: WANDERLUST HOTEL SINGAPORE

April 10th, 2014

wanderlustsingapore

Most striking feature:

Right in the middle of Little India you will find the Wanderlust Hotel, a small designhotel with about 25 rooms, all decorated differently. This is very special in Singapore where the hotels are usually very big and massive. I checked into the Starship Room: a room with a red and black color palette with many references to space. Like the big red spaceship on the wall. And if you turn down the lights the only thing that remains in the room are lit sparklers. The room has two levels: one to sleep and a living- and bathroom (including a freestanding bathtub). Maybe I’m the only one, but Read more…


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TRIED & TESTED: EXTRA VIRGIN PIZZA SINGAPORE

April 9th, 2014

extravirginpizzasingapore

Most striking feature:

Just like Wheeler’s Yard this spot isn’t really located in the center of Singapore (at United Square), but as I described earlier, the homemade Strawberry Basil Soda was to die for. So delicious. And since your day evolves around food in Singapore I had to try something of their menu, although I already had lunch at another address. So I’ve tried the panna cotta with chocolate and that was really good too. Extra Virgin Pizza is a new style pizzeria: no red/white checkered tablecloths, but a sleek interior with nifty details. You can go

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TRIED & TESTED: WHEELER’S YARD SINGAPORE

April 8th, 2014

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Most striking feature:

‘What a coincidence’, said one of the employees of Wheeler’s Yard, ‘we just had a guy from Denmark coming to Singapore to show us how we can be one of the best cycling cities in the world. They already started with the construction of bike paths.’ Then the owner adds: ‘it’s very expensive to buy a car in Singapore, so a lot of people get on a bike.’ It’s therefor quite obvious that Wheeler’s Yard, located in an old garage, had to open the doors a few months ago. In here they sell hand-made bicycles from Taiwan in addition to coffee, breakfast and lunch. The passion for cycling isn’t only present by the employees: when I’m there I see Read more…


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TRIED & TESTED: BLOESEM SHOP SINGAPORE

April 7th, 2014

bloesemshopsingapore

Most striking feature:

What I like about online shops/blogs is that they now also present themselves offline in an original way. In February we saw Net-a-Porter launching a magazine and recently the popular interior blog Bloesem opened a shop in Tiong Bahru. That’s a nice neighborhood where you will also find Plain Vanilla, Open Door Policy and the Tiong Bahru Bakery for example. In-store they organize workshops (like Jurianne Matter did recently), they are working on the website and ofcourse you can buy great stuff for your home. Irene of Bloesem collects interior items she likes but she also makes them herself. Like pillows, a beautiful hanging system and stunning leather planters – all with Read more…


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SINGAPORE WEEK ON PETITE PASSPORT

April 7th, 2014

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Next year Singapore will celebrate its 50th birthday and in those 50 years they sure knew how to build it into a world city. Did you know that the highest and longest pool (and most impressive: watch this film for example and don’t do it if you’re afraid of heights) in the world is located in Singapore? That they have the highest al fresco bar in the world? And that they posted the largest number of photos on Instagram on 2 hours (418 to be precise)? Singapore is also known as a foodies- and shopping paradise. The city has a huge amount of restaurants, bars and cafes where you can have something delicious every hour of the day and you can really take the time to enjoy it. To keep your figure in shape you can go running (running around the Marina Bay is 5k) or

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TRIED & TESTED: PAPI CHULO SYDNEY

April 4th, 2014

papichulosydney

Most striking feature:

When you go to Manly Beach by boat you arrive at the Manly Wharf where you will find Papi Chulo. This new restaurant, with a North & South American cuisine, comes from the guys at Merivale, a restaurant group in Sydney who are also responsible for Mr Wong and Palings for example. This is their first restaurant in Manly and the atmosphere is unforgettable. The entire front consists of Read more…


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