When Charmaine Seah-Ong used to have a Xanga blog (on the now-defunct platform) with the handle @eleventhour, in her late teens, she often posted clubbing photos of her and her wide-ranging groups of friends. She was the quintessential girl-about-town, always effortlessly decked out in vintage or up-and-coming brands, and at the coolest band performances even if they were held in the most underground of locations. Wait. Besides the blog, Seah-Ong is still all of the above today. But also a lot, lot more.

It has been a year since her eldest daughter Charlie Rose Ong was diagnosed with leukaemia, while Seah-Ong was six-months pregnant with Eadie Willow Ong. It was a journey she had kept very private, except for her family and a small number of friends.

The ordeal started in September 2021 when Charlie was warded at Mount Alvernia Hospital for 10 days when she had a relentless high temperature without any other symptoms, except for an unusual blood platelet count. After countless medical tests, she was cleared of any viral or bacterial infection and was discharged. However, Seah-Ong and her husband Derek Ong were advised to consult a paediatric virologist and a paediatric oncologist for further tests.

She was then referred to another paediatric specialist who diagnosed the then-seven-year-old with junior arthritis before Charlie was quickly put on the medication. The agonising pain in Charlie’s joints persisted even with increased consumption of stronger arthritis medication. This misdiagnosis of junior arthritis lasted for nine months, and then things suddenly moved very quickly. Charlie’s paediatric specialist felt strongly that another bone marrow test was necessary and decided to consult her paediatric oncologist, who agreed that Charlie ought to undergo another bone marrow test. Charlie indeed had leukaemia. But within three days of starting Charlie on chemotherapy, the pain she previously experienced was alleviated completely. Upon discovering that both her parents were Charlie’s most suitable bone marrow donors, the couple agreed that Ong would be the donor as Seah-Ong was still recovering from her recent childbirth. Charlie proceeded to make a complete recovery by this July; her vitality was a vast difference from a year ago when she was wheelchair-bound for months.

“Charlie’s illness has taught me to really slow down and just appreciate the everyday. The fact that we’ve been given the gift of her life again, I realised we don’t need big things to be happy. Just the fact that she still exists in our lives,” Seah-Ong said. “It’s so much more than I could ever ask for.”

Being able to witness a loved one’s personal growth despite being deeply tested has to be one of the privileges of growing older together as long-time friends. Seah-Ong’s relentless resilience and zest for life have remained the traits we admire her for.

Read story here.

While some of us prefer steering clear of cameras, Lee Jong-suk revels in being in front of it. For K-drama fans, Lee needs no introduction. With his charming looks, undeniable talent and versatile acting skills, the Hallyu star has become a beloved figure in the Korean entertainment industry.

Stardom didn’t come as a surprise to him as he always believed that acting was his calling. He started watching dramas at a young age, hoping to “be as cool as the main character in those dramas”. He continues: “I find the main male characters in dramas to be very cool and I think that’s why I wanted to be something similar and dreamt of becoming like them.”

Over the years, we see Lee portray a wide range of characters from the unassuming reporter Choi Dal-po in Pinocchio to rookie prosecutor Jung Jae-chan in While You Were Sleeping. There’s no doubt that Lee is able to make any character come alive—but bringing them to life takes work, even for Lee.

When it comes to acting, Lee shares that he is constantly pushing himself to his limits. More than anything, he explains that he works on “self-objectification and put a lot of effort into growing it”.

Of course, it’s not always easy to be fully immersed in a role. For Lee, becoming a character takes a lot of research especially when the character is in a professional field. For example, he explains that in preparation for his role as Park Hoon in Doctor Stranger—one of the hardest roles he had to play—he would watch YouTube and observe actual surgeries to understand the role better.

The Hallyu star is comfortable playing a character on stage and also has no problems being his true authentic self. He shares that while he has played multiple roles throughout his career, he has never felt himself losing his sense of identity. Instead, he feels as if he is gaining an experience of living as someone else.

Looking back, while Lee is satisfied with where he is as an actor, he is also constantly looking to improve himself. “I don’t always have confidence in everything… I feel it is necessary to keep improving,” he says.

Read full story here.

Man-made modernity may define the Mondrian Singapore Duxton, but the new restaurant by the hotel’s ground floor entrance feels anything but. Nature envelopes you into its embrace as you walk through the restaurant’s stone-lined passage, flanked by glass façades clad in Kyoto bamboo. Just beside the reception desk—a 600 kg ancient Gifu stone—lies an internal courtyard garden, or nakaniwa, where a Nagano stone fountain is accompanied by the trickling of its kakehi water feature. More bamboo hangs on the ceiling above the 12-seater sushi counter made of 150-year-old hinoki timbre. You are no longer at the heart of one of Singapore’s trendiest neighbourhoods in one of its hottest hotels; you are exploring the depths of a serene Japanese glen. All this beauty—and we haven’t even gotten to the food yet. 

Suzuki by Kengo Kuma is the product of two Japanese luminaries—head chef Suzuki Yuichiro, and Kengo Kuma, a world-renowned Tokyo-based architect. Yuichiro boasts years of experience working in the finest Japanese restaurants across the globe, including at the venerated Kikunoi in Kyoto. He presents an exquisite seasonal sushi and sashimi menu featuring ingredients flown in from Japan four times a week. Uni from Hokkaido makes an appearance on the menu, as does tuna from Kyushu. Sirloin is imported from Miyazaki, and is best enjoyed warmed with shabu-shabu and sukiyakis, or grilled on the bespoke charcoal binchō. As we move into autumn, notogoro, or black-throat sea perch, will also feature on the menu.

With such premium ingredients, Yuichiro says there is “no need to use a lot of seasoning or even other ingredients”. “If your ingredients are of the highest grade, then all you need to do is focus on their character,” Yuichiro continues, praising the importance of “respect[ing]” the ingredients by keeping the cook simple. 

Read full story here.

Built in the 70s, this apartment has been renovated by PI Architects to suit the lifestyle of its owners: a pair of professionals who live with their pet bird. They wanted a home that was tranquil for daily living but was also conducive for hosting friends, which they do often. “In the owners’ words, they were hoping for something that was ‘understated, non-monochromatic, autumnal, cosy and elegant’,” shares Ivan Soh. The firm’s name is derived from the abbreviation of the first names of the co-founders Ivan Soh and Paul Yeo. 

Before these attributes were introduced, the priority was to create a more fluid and usable layout. This starts with a new arrival experience. Several steps that lead from here to the living room were expanded to make a grander entrance. The dual-direction steps also bring attention to the new dry kitchen on one side, which was created by opening up the walls of the original kitchen.

The island counter is part-sculpture, part-architecture due to a structural support made by merging a sphere with a half-sphere. It holds up a long counter that appears to float at one end. Facing the living and dining areas, it is a connecting element around which guests can interact and move about freely.

One of the bedrooms was reoriented to face the living area. Sliding doors separate accord privacy when necessary or open to make the room an extension of the main gathering space during parties. It is the husband’s ‘man cave’. Faux brick walls extend in the expression of the condominium’s original brick walls. “Black-framed steel doors and carpentry complement the bricks and create a cosy whiskey bar vibe,” describes Soh.

While the home has many rich expressions, it was designed ultimately for comfort. “Whether it is in-built or loose furniture, there is a place to sit down in any part of the home. For example, the dry kitchen’s island counter doubles as a stool for wearing shoes at the entrance [as it is close to the top steps at the foyer]. The placement of the Eames chair in the master bedroom, the sofa in the wife’s study room, the sofa and armchair in the man cave, and of course, the poufs and sofas in the living area, as well as the choice of their upholstery were all made with comfort in mind,” Soh highlights.  

Read full story here.