Tomorrow’s destination today

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Tomorrow’s destination today

By Khetsirin Pholdhampalit 
The Nation Weekend 
Singapore 

 

The products are showcased in deconstructed and reassembled old wooden cabinets.

 

Singapore gets to enjoy contemporary Thai dining, fashion and art – all with a luxury twist

 

A NEW ADDITION to Singapore’s hip lifestyle area Dempsey Hill is Siri House – a venue that houses an art gallery, a restaurant, a retail shop as well as a sales gallery of Thai real estate developer Sansiri.

 

Opened in January, the 279-square-metre lifestyle and dining destination is Sansiri’s first such venue and is designed to position the brand as a lifestyle leader rather than just a property developer. The flagship Siri House is slated to open in Bangkok’s Soi Somkid next month.

 

Siri House on Singapore’s Dempsey Hill is a new lifestyle, social and dining space run by Thai property developer Sansiri.

“Singapore is our third biggest market after China and Hong Kong,” says Sansiri’s chief creative officer Ou Baholyodhin. “Instead of a pop-up sales gallery, we want a settled space to raise awareness of our brand and provide a full lifestyle experience to inspire, dine, shop and play.”

 

The 48-seat restaurant Jam at Siri House offers modern Asian cuisine with an eclectic mix of flavours and influences under the direction of former Lolla head chef and current co-owner of Park Bench Deli, Ming Tan and his long-time friend Jeremy Cheok of New Ubin Seafood and Garang Grill.

 

The restaurant offers both indoor and alfresco seating. Diners can opt for a coveted seat at the bar and catch a glimpse of the dishes being prepared and plated in the restaurant’s open kitchen. The interior boasts touches of Art Deco and intricate Asian accents. The material palette is blending rich Italian velvets, deco jacquard motifs, Chinoiserie and fauvist-inspired floral prints on custom furniture. 

 

Illuminated by vintage chandeliers, the space is flanked by dark lacquered walls and de Gournay hand-painted wallpaper, while luxurious hand-woven silks from Jim Thompson Fabrics grace the ceilings. 

 

Artists Rirkrit Tiravanija, left, and Tobias Rehberger hosted their two-day, pop up dinners at the restaurant Jam at Siri House as part of the art programmes at Singapore Art Week.

 

Last month, as part of Singapore Art Week, Jam at Siri House played host to the two days of pop-up dinners dubbed “Artist Cooks” by internationally acclaimed Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija and his German artist friend Tobias Rehberger.

 

Rirkrit is known for challenging the conventional notion of art spaces by cooking dishes like pad thai and green curry. He and Tobias combined their home kitchens and married what they like to eat for the five-course dinner that reflected the multicultural diversity for which Singapore is known. 

 

“If the food is good, it’s food. If it’s not, it’s sculpture,” said Rirkrit who donned a white lab coat the back of which was embroidered with the message “the odious smell of truth”.

 

Unconventional dishes like tom yum soup with lamb brain balls, bun with blood and heart sausage, potato noodle with poppy seed, fish sauce ice cream, and a miang kam vodka cocktail were presented.

 

The debut show of the gallery is installation art by Gongkan.

 

Siri House’s compact gallery debuted with the installation art piece “Another Dimension” by emerging Thai artist Kantapon Metheekul, aka Gongkan, which remains on show until March 31. A former art director and illustrator, Gongkan is best known for his “Teleport” series, which features boy and girl characters climbing out of dark holes as if to escape their confines and find freedom in their own personal teleport. His work explores themes of freedom and inequality in race, sexuality and human rights and draws on his personal experiences of racism while living in New York.

 

In “Another Dimension”, his sculptures of boy and girl heads and hands can be seen emerging from mirror holes set across the floor and the wall. When they look at them, viewers can see their reflections as they ponder their own positions in this fast-changing world. 

 

A selection of products by Thai designers is for sale.

 

The retail shop offers a selection of curated products from Thai designers ranging from lifestyle home decor items, accessories, souvenir knick-knacks, and casual- and lounge-wear.

 

The Only Market – a quirky, cross-culture Thai souvenir brand that reimagines classic Thai souvenirs and knick-knacks with a twist – has launched a range of Siri House Singapore-exclusive pieces. Soda – one of Thailand’s famed ready-to-wear brands known for its rock-bohemian-chic aesthetic – has also released an exclusive loungewear capsule collection.

 

Other brands include Thingg – a homeware brand that fuses traditional Thai craftsmanship with contemporary flair, Sur – one-of-a-kind sculptures that masquerade as lifestyle accessories for the home, Mirror Mirror – a contemporary jewellery brand that offers familiar foods as witty jewellery statements, and the Archivist – a collective of creative printmakers and art publishers. Siri House has also commissioned a collective of Chiang Mai artisans to produce a selection of traditional craft goods and ceramics.

 

The products are showcased in deconstructed and reassembled old wooden cabinets.

 

These products are showcased in wooden cabinets designed by Bangkok-based duo Jirawat and Tijn. Using nondescript cabinets sourced from antique markets in Bangkok, the cabinets are deconstructed and reassembled, given new life and a modern edge through the use of acrylic cobalt slices and disjointed fragments. 

 

The showroom is the work of interior designer Vichada Sitakalin and boasts eclectic styling with bold graphic patterns in a striking colour palette. It’s furnished with luxury interior textiles and wall coverings by Jim Thompson Fabrics. Sansiri’s property development projects will be on show here and change every six to eight months.

 

EATS AND MORE

 

Jam at Siri House at Dempsey Hill of Singapore is open Tuesday to Sunday for lunch, 11.30am to 2.30pm, and for dinner, 6 to 10pm.

 

Sansiri Showroom is open Monday to Friday, from 10am to 6pm.

 

Visit www.SiriHouse.com.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/lifestyle/30363797

 

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