The best things to do in Singapore this week (Jan 30-Feb 2)

It's not too late to start Veganuary with Anti:dote bar’s vegan afternoon tea. Treat yourself to delicate sweet treats made with Weiss chocolate from France, specially prepared by renowned chef Richard Harke. Highlights include the sesame sponge cake with layers of almond praline cream and yuzu coulis, as well as a pear jelly bonbon with fresh pear jelly encased in a thin chocolate shell. For savouries, tuck into the homemade sausage rolls using Impossible Pork, Tindle chicken coronation style atop  lemon bread and OnlyEg tamagoyaki with a tonkotsu glaze.

Drop by Singapore Art Museum's latest Dance in the Destruction Dance installation and witness the constant evolution of the exhibition via live theatrical performances. Running till April 16 at Tanjong Pagar Distripark, the installation is created by local artist Joo Choon Jin, featuring artworks like Glue Your Eyelids Together and Beatific Perfume.

Pop by the S.E.A. Aquarium to celebrate the Year of the Water Rabbit! After a three-year hiatus, the popular aquarium will be bringing back the Underwater Dragon Dance this year, so keep your eyes peeled for that. Get your kids excited with the opportunity to learn about the eight auspicious animals like the foxface rabbitfish and their unique traits at the Trail of Fortune. Ru Yi the Mermaid will also be making an appearance at Underwater Tales where she’ll share stories about her marine friends and what the public can do to help protect marine life.

The Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre comes alive with this adorable rabbit-themed art installation this Lunar Lunar Year. Titled 兔gether (pronounced Tu-gether), look forward to a display of cute characters from Chinese New Year mythology – think bunny Tu Zai, auspicious pineapple Ong Lai, and Nian Mei – a creative take on the monster Nian. Meet these characters in life-sized forms, check out larger-than-life illustrations and more. Special light shows will be held on selected Saturdays – telling the story of Tu Zai’s journey home to celebrate the festive season with his family and friends.

Chinese New Year is coming early this year and there's much to celebrate. The Chinatown Chinese New Year Celebration is finally retuning to its former glory after two years of subdued celebrations. It's painting the town red with towering street displays, which are set to light-up spectacularly every night from January 3 to February 19. Beyond the attention-grabbing display, you can also gather the family for a countdown party, weekly stage shows, as well as a bustling festive and food fair. 

Swing by the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall to ring in the lunar new year with auspicious performances, bunny exhibits, and cultural workshops for children. Now, you can visit ‘Bunny-ful’ Blessings, a lawn installation by Hong Kong artist, illustrator and designer Chan Siu Kau featuring two of the artist’s Bit Bit Forest character. On December 22, come down to enjoy lion and dragon dance performances and rub shoulders with the God of Fortune. Children can also take part in cultural workshops to learn lion dance, Chinese drums, or tang yuan making among other free sessions available. 

Singapore Biennale 2022 continues well into the new year with more contemporary artworks, programmes, and activations across Singapore and beyond our coastline to the Southern Islands. Named Natasha, the sprawling arts festival takes you beyond the four walls of traditional art galleries and into everyday spaces, where you can explore, rest and see art in a whole new way. Catch multimedia installations and immersive experiences at Singapore Art Museum at Tanjong Pagar Distripark, or venture to our islands for unique showcases. For the full list of exhibitions, programmes, and workshops, visit singaporebiennale.org. 

Stunning immersive art exhibition Future World: Where Art Meet Science is undergoing a major revamp, and is set to come back bigger and better on November 26. Step into a brand new gallery called Exploring New Frontiers, which will feature three new interactive artworks that will take you on an exhilarating, multi-sensory journey to the skies. Digital Light Canvas by teamLab will also be evolving into a nature-based adventure. Run across its dynamic LED floor and watch as fascinating flora and fauna come to life – at the end of the day, you can even take these home as souvenirs. 

Go West and visit Jurong Play Grounds, which has a dog water park, a pet-care facility, a community garden and F&B outlets. Dog owners can bring their dogs to experience Wag and Wild, Asia’s largest dog water park. Simply make a booking here. Playtimes are sold by 1 hour time slots at $29.96 per dog. Pet owners looking to dine-in should check out Al Capone’s. It offers a pet’s menu and features a dedicated alfresco doggie dining area. For grooming and staycation facilities for pets, drop by at Urban Paws. Carnival enthusiasts can look forward to Uncle Ringo’s funfair and carnival that will operate from from Fridays to Sundays. The funfair will also feature a specially designed Jurassic enclosure with realistic animatronic dinosaurs. Interact with nature by visiting the community garden, butterfly garden and fish-feeding pond.

Get your children off their screens this holiday season and head to the Children’s Museum of Singapore, where a variety of interactive installations and experiences await. Kids get to learn about Singapore’s heritage and culture via storytelling and hands-on exploration. The museum aims to inspire children to be engaged and discover about themselves and the world around them. For more information and to book tickets in advance, please visit www.go.gov.sg/cmsg.

Based on the observations of plant morphology, botanical art showcases the beauty of nature. View 120 works of the art form at Flora of Southeast Asia 2022, the world’s first international botanical art exhibition. Focusing on the native plants of Southeast Asia, the artworks are submitted by botanical artists from 12 countries all over Asia. Take a stroll at the botanical gardens and have a look at these art pieces that shine a new light on how you view flora.

This famed franchise has finally landed itself in Singapore, and finds itself in Capitol Building. Walk into Café Kitsuné, and you’ll be greeted by its famous oak wood aesthetic and the luscious foliage around the space. The eatery also has the inclusion of alfresco seating area complete with its neon sign. Fuel up with pastries and sweet treats like the Yuzu Pistachio Strawberry Entremet and for a local twist – the Chili Chocolate Tart that has a hint of spice in it. The sandos are also a great option, and wash it all down with a cup of coffee made with beans from Brazil and Guatemala. 

Try your hand at over 20 stations of unlimited games, rides and activities at Mega Carnival. Running from Nov 19 to Feb 5, this carnival at D’Marquee Downtown East features VR experiences, dinosaur-themed attractions and more. Show off your competitive side at the arcade zone and race your friends at the Daytona race, or challenge your friends to an LED air hockey game. Dinosaur enthusiasts can look forward to special dinosaur-themed attractions and rides too. There will be dino balls, sand pits, tree slides, merry-go-rounds and even the Viking, saucer rides and a dino egg trampoline to enjoy. Tickets to the Mega Carnival can be purchased here.

The bird park will be having its last hurrah before its final day of operations come Jan 3. Don’t miss out on a lineup of family-friendly activities as part of its campaign, A Flight to Remember. The park is also offering $10 admission for local residents now to Jan 3. Expect to see different rides and games over at the Celebration Caw-nival or or walk down memory lane at Flamingo Lodge. Sign up for the Nostalgic Signature Tour, wherein families can learn more about the heritage of Singapore’s oldest wildlife park, and get up close with the birds through feeding sessions at African Treetops and Waterfall Aviary.

Your favourite robo-cat will be calling at the National Museum of Singapore this November. Running this November 5 to February 5, the exhibition will bring together a selection of contemporary artworks that reinterprets Doraemon in our changing world. Come down and view the artworks, which include original drawings from the legendary manga artist Fujiko F Fujio and other 27 Japanese artists and art groups that will showcase Doraemon’s cultural impact in contemporary history. View the artists’ memories of Doraemon and their take on Japan’s beloved icon through paintings, graphics and photography. 

An 80-metre-high Sentosa SkyJet, a refresh of the iconic Sentosa Musical Fountain from the 1980s, and an international food street – these are the exciting new attractions that have opened at Sentosa's new Central Beach Bazaar. Situated just steps away from Sentosa's Beach Station, these new additions will be joined by simulation rides and carnival games to be announced at a later date. For now, round up family and friends to view the magnificant jet fountain, the tallest fountain in Southeast Asia. Stick around for Wings of Time, an outdoor night show complete with water jets, laser light projections and pyrotechnics. The iconic Musical Fountain is also back – this time with two five-minute performances featuring nostalgic musical numbers from the 1990s. Over at International Food Street, food trucks dish out cuisines from London, Tokyo, Mexico and more. 

As the sun starts to set, the spaceship buzzes to life. Multi-coloured lights flicker, warping the images of Tanjong Pagar Terminal reflected in the ship's silver panels. The crackle of a radio transmission floats through the air, blending with the distinctive sound of wayang music. This is Wayang Spaceship, a public artwork by local artist Ming Wong. Designed as a travelling Chinese theatre, the stage now sits onsite at Singapore Art Museum. The unceasing trade and commerce of the container seaport form a backdrop to the hulking theatre-spaceship, which stands witness to technological progress and our place in the cosmos.

After the Singapore Art Museum closes each day, the Wayang Spaceship returns to its roots as a Chinese opera theatre. Bask in a symphony of light and sound – Ming Wong has creatively pieced together scenes from Chinese opera and science fiction films from the 1950s to 1970s, to tell the story of a scholar-warrior as he moves through past, present and future. The artist also worked with Liam Morgan and Wu Ju Han to design the lightboxes, projection and soundscape to express his vision of a "Chinese opera from the future". The Wayang Spaceship will be at The Singapore Art Museum until 2024, so you have plenty of time to check it out.