When Singaporean bar Nutmeg & Clove landed at the No.7 spot in the Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2023 awards ceremony, it set a new personal best for the F&B team in the notoriously challenging cocktail bar scene where existing bars quickly lose their shine if they don’t keep up. 

In the last decade, the cocktail bar has also evolved into a full-fledged food and beverage group called the Nutmeg Collective, with concepts such as Last Word, a cocktail speakeasy focusing on forgotten classic cocktails; Draft Land, the Singaporean outpost of the award-winning Taiwanese draft cocktail concept; Tess Bar & Kitchen, a casual food and drink concept; Chuan by Nutmeg, an extension of the flagship bar located on the 60th floor of UOB Plaza, adjoining Chinese restaurant Si Chuan Dou Hua. 

For Nutmeg Collective founder Colin Chia, the process of building his boozy empire wasn’t a bed of roses. 

A decade ago, there were only a few pioneering cocktail bars in Singapore such as Tippling Club, once ahead of its time with its experimental approach towards molecular cocktails; Jigger & Pony, for classic Japanese cocktails; and 28 Hongkong Street, slinging out American classics. “But no one was telling stories of Singapore through the medium of cocktails at that time,” shares Chia. To fill that gap in the market, he left his role as APAC commercial head at Diageo Reserve to open Nutmeg & Clove on Ann Siang Hill in 2014.

When it came to naming the bar, Nutmeg & Clove came about as a homage to Chia’s heritage as well as the original location’s history. Ann Siang Hill was once a nutmeg and clove plantation during the 1800s while Chia’s grandfather, who was a Chinese immigrant, made a living working in the spice trade. “We even debuted with a cocktail menu that was spice-oriented.” Later, Nutmeg & Clove landed itself on the No.72 spot on the World’s 50 Best Bars list in 2016.

Despite that, Chia didn’t allude to instant success. “Troubles with the landlord saw us move within the Ann Siang enclave in 2016 and once more in 2020 because of the pandemic. With Covid came many restrictions. We quickly found ourselves inoperable as we held a bar license that only allowed the sale of alcohol. We also couldn’t pivot as we did not have a kitchen back then,” quips Chia. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, he decided to move out which meant giving up all that the bar had achieved, including the ranking streak in Asia’s 50 best bars, and starting from scratch again.

“Everything I do with my business needs to be emotional,” says Chia. In 2021, Nutmeg & Clove found themselves a new home on Purvis Street, a street which Chia’s family once owned and lived in a shophouse before. “Although Purvis (street) is known to be a Hainanese settlement, I wanted something relatable to my family and that is why we moved here.”
 
The revered cocktail bar boasts a brand new look and feel, but the warm hospitality remains. Read the full story here.

With its stunning architecture, rich history and bustling markets, it’s no wonder the Spanish capital is a popular destination for travellers of all tastes. When it comes to the art scene, Madrid is home to three lavish museums featuring celebrated artists including Pablo Picasso and Joan Miro. While those who prefer browsing the malls will find a plethora of local and international boutiques. Foodies are also in for a treat, as the Spain capital offers restaurants at every corner. Whether you enjoy exploring the streets or touring football stadiums, there is something for everyone. 

Art aficionados will revel in the museum and art gallery selection in Madrid. Head to the Paseo del Artede Madrid (translated to Madrid Art Walk) and find three world-class museums: Museo Nacional del Prado, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza and Museo Reina Sofia. Here, you’ll get to admire paintings and sculptures by masters including El Greco, Velasquez, Picasso and more. Various street art and murals can also be found around the city—keep your eye out for The Sombrerete Sundial, a piece that depicts a woman hanging clothes while surrounded by an abstract sundial.

While fans of football club Real Madrid will not want to miss taking a trip to the iconic Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. The home stadium of Real Madrid since 1947, the stadium offers immersive experiences and guided tours—learn more about how the stadium has been transformed over the years and some of its highlights. Avid golfers can practice their swing at one of Madrid’s many golf courses. Choose from a selection of 20 courses, some of which had been designed by legends including Van Hagge, Jack Nicklaus and Rees Jones.

Even the little ones are sure to have a blast when they visit Madrid. Head to the outskirts of the city and you’ll find a host of theme parks, like the famous Parque Warner. Dedicated to movies by American film and entertainment studio Warner Bros, this theme park is complete with exciting rides, entertaining live shows, water parks and more.

This city is also home to a plethora of nature and parks, with one in almost every neighbourhood. Check out El Retiro Park, one of Madrid’s best-known parkland and a Unesco World Heritage Site that spans 1.3 square miles. Take a stroll and you’ll be met with various monuments, flora and fauna, including the Jardines de Cecilio Rodriguez, an Andalusian-inspired classicist garden. Around Madrid, you’ll also find other Unesco World Heritage Sites like El Escorial Monastery, Alcala de Henares old town, Aranjuez and the Hayedo de Montejo.

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It was 12 years ago when interior designer Chlöe Elkerton first took her mother on a trip to Sri Lanka. What started as a casual family holiday inadvertently set a new future in motion for the designer, turning the country into her new preferred travel destination and even a second home. “I would go there as often as I could. Any long weekend, I’d be like, I’m going to Sri Lanka,” she recalls.

Elkerton and her mother found themselves returning to one particular beachside property, owned by an Italian architect they had grown close to over the years. Once the designer revealed that she was keen to put down permanent roots and build her dream home in Sri Lanka, this same architect brought another pristine plot of land to her attention, prompting her to realise this vision.

“The location was perfect. The moment I set foot on the land at dusk, I knew it felt right. It was bare but fertile land with the remains of a small house, elevated and surrounded by jungle with the most amazing trees and wildlife,” she tells us. “As a designer, it’s a dream to be able to design and build your own house, and I had this amazing opportunity to do just that.”

The property has now been transformed into Elkerton’s cherished second home. Fully staffed and able to comfortably accommodate up to eight guests, it also serves as a magnificent holiday house for other families when she is away.

Wildlife is abundant, too, with the jungle so close by; the resident monkeys, peacocks and other fauna inspired the design in their own right. The adjacent coastal stretch also served as a rich source of inspiration, bringing fresh and invigorating energy into the quiet countryside villa.

Elkerton complemented many of the house’s traditional Sri Lankan features, including the fretwork and locally crafted furnishings, with design elements she came across on her travels to Morocco, Zanzibar, India and the Mediterranean. Handmade encaustic and Bejmat tiles were applied alongside refurbished Dutch doors and windows, artisanal upholstery fabrics and scalloped walls, an architectural feature she had encountered in Zanzibar.

From the vivid outdoor spaces to the lovingly curated suites and rich design detailing everywhere one looks, Braganza House exudes quiet luxury, secluded charm and an adventurous yet relaxed personality with a sophisticated finish. It’s a dreamy tropical oasis and a home away from home for both Elkerton and guests alike.

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There’s an exquisite and mysterious aura that surrounds the iconic Louvre museum in the heart of Paris. It is, after all, home to a treasure trove of masterpieces including some of the most canonical artworks in the world. While secrets and myths about the Louvre will always remain, there was something especially different about the air in central Paris on one fine morning in February. And that’s because French beauty giant L’Oreal Paris was holding a special, not-so-secret fragrance event right beneath the Louvre, in Carrousel du Louvre.

Organised by the L’Oreal Groupe, ‘The Art & Science of Fragrance’ event saw members of the media and social media influencers from around the world in attendance including Tatler—the only media title invited from Singapore. The fragrance showcase, reportedly the first of its kind held by the L’Oreal group, took place over four days for guests.

Attendees went on guided tours in small groups of five to six people and started with an introduction at a wall filled with fragrances within the L’Oreal group’s portfolio that it has been building since 1964—from classics such as Miracle by Lancôme and Acqua di Gio by Giorgio Armani to newer scents such as Paradoxe by Prada and YSL Libre. The fragrance showcase featured four different rooms dedicated to specific brands, namely Lancôme, Prada, Yves Saint Laurent (YSL)—and a secret room featuring new scents that will only be revealed later this year. 

In each room, guests were able to interact with fragrance experts and the teams that worked on some of the perfumes by L’Oreal Luxe to discover more about the creative process and unique stories behind each scent. 

From the original idea to the final moment, the creation of a fragrance is a collective journey that can be several years in the making. Did you know? It took seven years of work and more than 1,500 trials to achieve the contemporary scent that is Libre by YSL. This is just one example that displays the pursuit of emotion and olfactive harmony that involves talented perfumers and experts who are committed to the art of fragrance making.

As the world’s largest cosmetics company, innovation is key to the company’s growth and success. In November 2023, the L’Oréal Groupe announced an exclusive partnership with Cosmo International Fragrances to bring a Green Sciences-based extraction process, Osmobloom, to revolutionise the art of fine fragrance creation. Developed by Cosmo International Fragrances and made exclusively available to L’Oréal, the technology is a waterless, low-energy, slow extraction process that reveals the exact smell of an ingredient while preserving its integrity. 

“20 years ago, we were more thinking about this notion of a [fragrance] blend; today, we are more driven by the quality of the ingredients. So we are completely focused on innovation in terms of ingredients,” shared Karine Lebret, head of scent science and fragrance design for L’Oreal Groupe, in an interview with Tatler at the event. “Osmobloom is a new way of extracting flowers ... and it is a dream for perfumers because you will be able, for example, to smell Tuberosa exactly as it smells in the field.”

The inaugural application of this innovative process—an exclusive tuberose extract—will soon be in an upcoming luxury fragrance by the beauty giant.

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Every year, Tatler Singapore rounds up the Best of Singapore—a curated compendium of merchants spanning services, lifestyle experiences and retail options at the forefront of their fields. This list of almost 100 establishments run the gamut from jewellery and luxury furniture brands, and state-of-the-art kitchen appliances, to mostly homegrown service providers like florists, photographers, dentists and interior designers. Besides homes and design, beauty and wellness, travel and shopping, and events and occasions, there is also the parenting and kids category that includes the likes of childhood education providers Dulwich College, EtonHouse International School and MindChamps.

To give you a glimpse into the list, we have Best Homegrown Jeweller, Flower Diamond. Since its inception in 1996, Flower Diamond’s bespoke fine jewellery creations have adorned a legion of influential women, celebrities and royalty, captivating their hearts and earning their loyalty. Guided by the vision of founder Belinda Chua and her worldly voyages, creative director Roslind Ng translates personal fantasies into one-of-a-kind pieces that truly embody the wearer’s individuality. From everyday jewels to reimagined heirlooms and statement pieces, Flower Diamond’s contemporary designs are imbued with timeless elegance, transcending fleeting trends.

Speaking of contemporary design, Designworx bagged Best Interior Design Firm (Contemporary). Founded on the motto of creating “more than space”, and led by Terri Tan, the multi-award-winning interior design firm’s approach focuses on crafting spaces that enhance their clients’ personalities, values and experiences. They excel in diverse interior spaces such as offices, residences, retail outlets, hotels, and institutions. Merging architectural expertise with creativity, the results are aesthetically pleasing and practical interiors with a warm and welcoming atmosphere tailored to individual preferences and tastes.

Then, we have Best Florist, Fiore Dorato. The leading local floral design studio has been bringing its unique touch to special occasions since 1996. It has transformed event spaces locally and internationally for lavish weddings, large-scale corporate functions, and destination-based installations, and shared in its customers’ celebrations with its bouquets and essential oil rollers. In addition, the studio also runs workshops for those who want a more immersive way to experience floral design. For the Fiore Dorato team, flowers are not mere accessories, but an integral part of creating a visual and experiential concept.

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