SINGAPORE’S SKYLINE初次見到……新加坡的天際線
SARISSA SCHWARTZ
THE FIRST TIME I saw Singapore was in 2011 – I was moving there from New York to open a nightclub, Pangaea, at Marina Bay Sands. I’d only seen photos (I would Google Singapore every day for almost two years), but thought it looked beautiful.
I couldn’t believe this city was going to be my home. The Bay was brand new, with the finishing touch of Marina Bay Sands adding the wow factor to the skyline. It took my breath away.
I explored Singapore’s different neighbourhoods, each with their own character and charm. Central was all glamour; Sentosa was where you went to get away from the city; Clark Quay for live music; Chinatown for food. I would go for late-night eats at the Chinatown hawker stands. It always made me smile: you had the women in their expensive high heels sitting on plastic chairs eating Hainan chicken rice and fish ball noodles.
I fell in love with the energy of Singapore, and I wanted to make it my permanent home. But I wanted to bring a piece of New York to the city, so my husband and I decided to add to Singapore’s nightlife with nightclub Bang Bang, before partnering with our old friends from Employees Only in New York to bring the concept to Singapore’s Chinatown last year.
I’m still here. Whenever I have a second, I look at Singapore’s skyline. It continues to fill me with a sense of excitement as much as it did six years ago.
Sarissa Schwartz is a founding partner of bar Employees Only (Singapore and Hong Kong). employeesonlyhk.com 我初次見到新加坡，是在2011年。當時我從紐約搬到那裡，準備於濱海灣金沙酒店開設Pangaea夜總會。我只見過照片中的新加坡（有差不多兩年時間我每天都會用Google搜尋新加坡的資訊），但認為那是個美麗的地方。
我真不敢相信，這個城市將成為我的家。當時濱海灣剛新落成，加上濱海灣金沙酒店，將那裡的天際線變成令人歎為觀止的風景，看得我目瞪口呆。
我到新加坡不同的地區遊逛，發現它們各有不同的個性和魅力。中區繁華熱鬧，聖淘沙則是遠離市區塵囂的度假勝地，克拉碼頭有精采的現場音樂演奏，而美食就非要到牛車水不可。我常到牛車水的小販攤檔吃宵夜，不時會見到身穿華衣美服、足踏昂貴高跟鞋的女士，坐在塑膠凳上大啖海南雞飯和魚蛋粉，令我忍俊不禁。
我愛上新加坡的活力，希望永遠以此地為家。不過我也想為這裡帶來一點紐約的氣息，因此我丈夫和我決定開設夜總會Bang Bang，令新加坡的夜生活更添姿采。後來我們更與來自紐約Employees Only酒吧的老友合作，於去年在新加坡牛車水開設分店。
我依然住在新加坡。無論何時，只要我抬頭眺望新加坡的天際線，就會感到心情興奮，一如六年前首次見到它時一樣。
SarissaSchwartz是香港及新加坡EmployeesOnly酒吧的其中一位創辦人。employeesonlyhk.com