editorial

A recently introduced range of immersive experiences allows guests to pick up new skills or uncover a different side of the city.
<figure id="attachment_135797" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-135797" style="width: 1380px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-135797 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fairmont-Singapore-Good-As-Gold-Cocktail-Making-Class-at-Antidote.jpg" alt="A cocktail-making class at Anti:dote with the venue’s head mixologist Kingston Chin." width="1380" height="920" srcset="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fairmont-Singapore-Good-As-Gold-Cocktail-Making-Class-at-Antidote.jpg 1380w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fairmont-Singapore-Good-As-Gold-Cocktail-Making-Class-at-Antidote-300x200.jpg 300w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fairmont-Singapore-Good-As-Gold-Cocktail-Making-Class-at-Antidote-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fairmont-Singapore-Good-As-Gold-Cocktail-Making-Class-at-Antidote-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1380px) 100vw, 1380px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-135797" class="wp-caption-text">A cocktail-making class at Anti:dote with the venue’s head mixologist Kingston Chin. (All photos courtesy of Fairmont Singapore)</figcaption></figure>
It’s early on a weeknight and Anti:dote, Fairmont Singapore’s lobby-level bar and lounge, is buzzing with an international crowd. I observe business travelers settling in for pre-dinner beer or cocktail, while a few other patrons at the counter seem to be regulars who know the bartenders on a first-name basis. Ipoh-born head mixologist Kingston Chin is about to show me how to blend a simpler version of El Padrino, a mezcal sour–like tipple on the globally inspired Cure:All menu, which he created himself.
The last and only time I took a cocktail-making class, while traveling in Bali, was something of a disaster. Just before pouring the concoction into my martini glass, I managed to knock over my shaker. Its entire contents spilled out across the bar and trickled into an open ice bin. So you can imagine my latent trepidation at trying again.
But I’m in good hands and Kingston is a patient teacher. First, he presents a platter of small glasses half-filled with beetroot-aromatized wine, acacia honey, mezcal, a burnt orange and lime juice blend for a sour note, and “cherry berry” mix. With the aid of a measuring jigger, I’m free to determine my own combinations, whether I prefer going heavy on the spirits or want something lighter and fruitier, to whip up a truly personalized drink.
And that’s the point. This cocktail-making class is among the hotel’s roster of Good As Gold experiences, which launched only a few months ago. All guests staying in Fairmont Gold rooms and suites can sign up for these complimentary activities throughout the week, be it a Monday appreciation session focused on kueh (traditional bite-size cakes or snacks); a guided visit each Friday to a contemporary art gallery under the same roof; or a Sunday afternoon heritage talk, complete with anecdotes about the landmarks and historic sites visible from the hotel’s 25th-floor Gold Lounge.
<figure id="attachment_135799" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-135799" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-135799 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fairmont-Singapore-Good-As-Gold-All-Things-Kueh.jpg" alt="The origins of beloved Southeast Asian snacks are explored in the All Things Kueh workshop." width="1200" height="800" srcset="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fairmont-Singapore-Good-As-Gold-All-Things-Kueh.jpg 1200w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fairmont-Singapore-Good-As-Gold-All-Things-Kueh-300x200.jpg 300w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fairmont-Singapore-Good-As-Gold-All-Things-Kueh-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fairmont-Singapore-Good-As-Gold-All-Things-Kueh-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-135799" class="wp-caption-text">The origins of beloved Southeast Asian snacks are explored in the All Things Kueh workshop.</figcaption></figure>
There’s an underlying recognition that guests have schedules of their own, so each one has been designed to take up relatively little time. (The longest only last about an hour.) The 30 minutes I spend as Kingston’s mixology student are precious, and he shares various tips and tricks that I don’t recall being taught to me in Bali. The first of these is the classic bartender’s tasting method using a paper straw. Plugging the top end with a thumb or forefinger, I extract a minute amount of my partly made drink from a shaker and release it onto the back of the hand. My taste buds tell me it needs a touch more mezcal and acacia honey.
After those adjustments are made, Kingston adds six drops of saltwater to bind the ingredients together, alongside four drops of vegetable-based foamer as a replacement for egg white. He demonstrates how to use an electric whisk (a time-saving alternative to a dry shake) and lets me have a go, before loading up the larger half of the shaker with ice. And how long do you shake it for? “Until your hands start to feel numb from the cold,” he affirms with a smile. I put all my energy into the movement, though it still ends up being a little too slow. Kingston graciously steps in and does it properly. Then we pour the mixture through a strainer and squeeze out an orange peel’s oils for extra freshness.
The burgundy-hued end result is, given my inexperience, a complete surprise—it has a smoky, complex flavor and is sour yet sweet, a well-balanced drink with a pleasant aftertaste that lingers on the tongue. Whatever’s left in the shaker is quickly dispensed into a small cup. Using a paper straw, Kingston draws a few drops from the vessel and flecks them onto his hand for a taste. He flashes me a wide grin. “When you come back, maybe we can hire you to work part-time!”
<figure id="attachment_135798" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-135798" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-135798 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fairmont-Singapore-Good-As-Gold-Aquaponics-Farm-Tour.jpg" alt="On Saturdays, Fairmont Singapore offers guests a tour of the on-site Aquaponics farm." width="1200" height="800" srcset="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fairmont-Singapore-Good-As-Gold-Aquaponics-Farm-Tour.jpg 1200w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fairmont-Singapore-Good-As-Gold-Aquaponics-Farm-Tour-300x200.jpg 300w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fairmont-Singapore-Good-As-Gold-Aquaponics-Farm-Tour-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fairmont-Singapore-Good-As-Gold-Aquaponics-Farm-Tour-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-135798" class="wp-caption-text">On Saturdays, Fairmont Singapore offers guests a tour of the on-site aquaponics farm.</figcaption></figure>
While staying at Fairmont Singapore, I also get a preview of another Good As Gold experience (and one usually offered on Saturdays): a tour of the on-site aquaponics farm shared between the property and Swissôtel The Stamford. As the name suggests, the operation fuses aquaculture with hydroponics technology—and was billed as the first in an urban hotel setting when it launched in November 2019. It’s managed by local agro-consultancy Corridor Farmers, whose co-founder Roc Koh is on hand to take me around. I’m captivated by the sight of this hidden Eden brimming with lettuce, Asian greens, and rows of Southeast Asian herbs including Thai basil. “For some reason, laksa leaves grow really well in aquaponics,” Roc says. “Also pandan.”
Soon, we stop in front of what is termed the “engine” of the 450-square-meter farm: a series of impressively large fish tanks with around 1,000 tilapia and jade perch. (The latter are destined for Chinese restaurant kitchens when they reach adulthood.) I get to feed some of the half-mature tilapia from a stainless steel bowl not dissimilar from the one my parents have reserved for Tasha, our always-hungry black Labrador. It turns out the innocuous-looking fish have an equally ravenous appetite. Tossing in the fish food immediately kicks up a sudden frenzy at the water’s surface, with the critters splashing about to gobble up every last granule. “Tilapia will eat anything,” Roc says. “If you put your fingers into the tank they’ll gently nibble them because they think it is food.”
<figure id="attachment_135800" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-135800" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-135800 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fairmont-Singapore-Good-As-Gold-Ode-To-Art-Tour.jpg" alt="Fairmont Gold room and suite guests can also take a tour of the Ode to Art gallery." width="1200" height="800" srcset="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fairmont-Singapore-Good-As-Gold-Ode-To-Art-Tour.jpg 1200w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fairmont-Singapore-Good-As-Gold-Ode-To-Art-Tour-300x200.jpg 300w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fairmont-Singapore-Good-As-Gold-Ode-To-Art-Tour-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fairmont-Singapore-Good-As-Gold-Ode-To-Art-Tour-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-135800" class="wp-caption-text">Fairmont Gold room and suite guests can also take a tour of the Ode to Art gallery.</figcaption></figure>
My guide quickly rattles off some of the advantages of aquaponics: the method consumes 90 percent less water than conventional farming, uses compost from the hotel kitchens, and repurposes fish droppings as natural fertilizers. Roc also explains the symbiotic relationship between plants and fish: the jade perch and tilapia supply the herbs and vegetables with most of their nutrients, while the flora in turn filter the water that circulates back to the tanks, making them a habitable, oxygen-rich environment.
While it is not yet a commercially viable operation, the aquaponics farm now produces an impressive 100 kilograms of vegetables per month; I’m also told that 300 kilograms of fish were harvested last year. Corridor Farmers’ emphasis on community involvement is particularly commendable, with part of the garden looked after by students from the National University of Singapore. In a similar vein, the facility employs several people from the Delta Senior School, a post-secondary institution that provides vocational training to residents with special needs.
It’s clear that Roc is deeply passionate about his work and the possibilities of growing foodstuffs in underutilized urban spaces. “We are seeing so much flooding around the world right now, and getting food from outside into city centers will become more of a challenge. One of the ways we can adapt to climate change is by decentralizing the supply chain,” he says. Thanks to this tour, I come away with a much greater appreciation for the local entrepreneurs who are doing their bit to make their city-state a little more resilient.
<figure id="attachment_135796" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-135796" style="width: 1380px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-135796 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fairmont-Singapore-Good-As-Gold-25-Stories-Above.jpg" alt="A view of Marina Bay and the Singapore skyline from a 25th-floor balcony at Fairmont Singapore." width="1380" height="920" srcset="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fairmont-Singapore-Good-As-Gold-25-Stories-Above.jpg 1380w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fairmont-Singapore-Good-As-Gold-25-Stories-Above-300x200.jpg 300w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fairmont-Singapore-Good-As-Gold-25-Stories-Above-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fairmont-Singapore-Good-As-Gold-25-Stories-Above-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1380px) 100vw, 1380px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-135796" class="wp-caption-text">A view of Marina Bay and the Singapore skyline from a 25th-floor balcony at Fairmont Singapore.</figcaption></figure>
Good As Gold experiences are available on a complimentary basis to guests of Fairmont Singapore who book a Fairmont Gold room or any of the suites. More information on the associated offer can be found at <a href="https://www.fairmont-singapore.com/offer/good-as-gold/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fairmont-singapore.com</a>.

A view of Marina Bay and the Singapore skyline from a balcony at Fairmont Singapore.

Going for Gold at Fairmont Singapore

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Going for Gold at Fairmont Singapore

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