pianomania

Monday, 15 June 2026

4 MILLION VIEWS FOR PIANOMANIA!

I simply cannot believe it! Pianomania has just gotten its fourth million view as of this evening. This is especially heartening that its 3 millionth view was recorded as recently as 7 January this year. While I cannot call this viral in any way, I am humbled that anybody has taken the time to share in my indulgences, whether it is in classical concerts, CD recordings, food and cats.

This blog was started in 2008 to record my observations at international piano competitions, and later as a repository of my Straits Times articles and reviews. One important aspect of my blog was to document the goings-on in the local music scene in the form or words and photographs. This later included food articles, which certainly helped in boosting the numbers. I guess people in Singapore still love their food more than their music. I hope that can change sometime!

Here is a summary of what gets on Pianomania:

1. Concert reviews & photos

2. CD reviews

3. Singapore's Vintage Eating Places

4. Suka Makan. Places where we indulge.

5. Pre- and Post-concert Eats

6. Random Heartland Eats

7. Cat photography

8. Photos of historical buildings

9. Travel photos

10. Interviews with artists & musicians

11. Accounts and photos of musical soirees

What else would you like to see on

PIANOMANIA?

Let me know!

OBJECTIFS: A PEEK AT SOME OLD BUILDINGS ON MIDDLE ROAD

During the mid-1970s, when I was studying at Catholic High School (Primary section) on Queen's Street, I would often pass what I considered the grottiest corner of Middle Road. There was an old dirty yellow building housing the greasiest looking motor workshop, and turning the corner of Waterloo Street, what has to be the seediest hotel in all of Singapore. That was the Tai Loke Hotel, home to hippy backpackers and short-time trysts.

The Way We Were
Old photos by Ronni Pinsler, Lee Kip Lin
and National Heritage Board.

Singapore's answer
to the Bates Motel?

Old photos still exist of these buildings, but what greeted me this Saturday evening was two totally spruced-up edifices. That is what gentrification is about - throw out the decrepit old tenants, find a willing buyer and rebuild anew. Not a hair is out of place in the new premises which now houses Objectifs - Centre for Photography and Film. This complex was previously called Sculpture Square.

This is part of the National Arts Council's arts housing project, which utilises the preserved old buildings on Waterloo Street, Middle Road and Queen's Street, giving them a new life with their occupation by the best of Singapore's arts organisations.

The yellow building, formerly the Middle Road Church dating from the 1890s, is now an exhibition hall and sometime concert venue. The tarted-up old Tai Loke Hotel has two storeys of exhibits, with no tarts or exhibitionists in sight.

It's great to find old historical buildings
getting a new lease of life.

See some of the exhibits on display here:

pianomania: OBJECTIFS: PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITS ON 13 JUNE 2026

Sunday, 14 June 2026

OBJECTIFS: PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITS ON 13 JUNE 2026

The visit to Objectifs - Centre for Photography & Film, on Saturday evening (13 June 2026), was for a chamber concert by Chamber Music & Arts Singapore (CMAS). Just before that, I got to enjoy some of the photo exhibits on display. The old buildings that occupy 155 Middle Road now enjoy a new lease of life as an arts centre and gallery, and it was a pleasure to walk through the exhibits.

Violist Joelle Hsu takes a breather.

Photos of CMAS in outreach
and before their Esplanade concert
with Candida Thompson.

Images of violinist Tang Tee Khoon,
cellist Eckart Runge and pianist Luca Burrato
as they demonstrate for children.

The Chapel, previously Middle Road Church, has an exhibition of photographs documenting the works of CMAS, especially in the area of outreach and music education. The photographers involved were Clarence Aw and Brandon Koh, and the short documentary movies were made by Momo Film CO. Through its show-and-tell sessions, sharing concerts and visits to schools and communities over the years, thousands of young people have been exposed to the wonders of classical music.

The former Tai Loke Hotel has an unusual exhibition by Malaysian artist C.K.Koh, documenting the travels and adventures of Box Boy, a character or alter ego that probably mirrors his personality. There is something cute yet mildly disturbing in his portrayal which one can relate too, especially on issues of isolation and solitude.

There is a third building in Objectifs called the Annexe, which houses its quaint little boutique and gift-shop. I managed to buy a selection of short movies and postcards by local film-maker Royston Tan, which would make for nice gifts. Here am I being a tourist in my own hometown!

What the preserved buildings of Objectifs

look like on the outside:

pianomania: OBJECTIFS: A PEEK AT SOME OLD BUILDINGS ON MIDDLE ROAD

SUKA MAKAN: BURRATA JOY BY GARIBALDI @ CROWN CENTRE, BUKIT TIMAH ROAD

My wife does such good homemade pasta and pizza that I have seldom voluntarily gone to an Italian restaurant in recent years. However, I have made it an exception on this occasion when hosting my financial adviser Bryan Lim Hong Jun. Thanks to him, my finances are not such in a parlous state, such that multiple entries of Suka Makan have been possible over the past year. My choice is the relatively new Burrata Joy By Garibaldi at Bukit Timah Road's Crown Centre, which has taken over the space vacated by Crown Bakery.

The restaurant's speciality is burrata, a cow's milk cheese which is non-salty and has the semi-solid consistency of thick cream. It goes well with salads and hams, where relative saltiness is tampered with a sinful richness. This is not a time to watch the cholesterol or caloric count, but we had quite a feast. Prosciutto (Parma ham) and rocket salad with one big dollop of burrata was the first order, followed by our respective pastas, and a funghi pizza to finish. Despite our big appetites, there was still enough pizza to take home.

Burrata with prosciutto & salad

Pink crab meat linguini

Beef ragu Arabbiata penne

My wife enjoyed her slice of pizza at home so much she wanted to learn where it came from. So, I have promised her a return to Burrata Joy in the very near future.