Doctor Anywhere founder Lim Wai Mun on creating a sustainable tech‑enabled healthcare company

Dressed in a black hoodie over a matching T‑shirt, with whitewashed jeans and white sneakers, Lim Wai Mun looks every bit the tech entrepreneur. But the 42‑year‑old founder and chief executive officer of Doctor Anywhere (DA) would rather it be known as a tech‑enabled healthcare company—emphasis on “healthcare”—than just another one of Singapore’s many tech start‑ups.

DA started off as a telehealth company in 2017, at a time when consumers were just getting comfortable with speaking to medical professionals via online video consultations. While the business grew fairly quickly, it was the Covid‑19 pandemic that really changed everything for Lim and his business. “We knew that Covid was going to be a blessing for us, [as remote solutions to everyday interactions were increasingly necessary]. But at the same time, we were also worried that it was going to be a curse,” the entrepreneur tells us. “When the sectoral tailwind is so strong, what happens next? And with the expectations that were being put into our investors’ minds—‘You’re growing so well; why can’t you grow like this forever?’—we realised that maintaining such rapid growth would require a lot of careful planning and sustainable strategies.”

So Lim looked at redefining the company’s focus. “We started as a tech company; we’re still one in so many ways. But do we want to go into pure tech? Or do we want to go into healthcare services? These are two very different things,” he says. “When it’s pure tech, it means that we’ll end up building software, be it for doctors or for insurers; it’s just B2B (business‑to‑business) as SaaS (software as a service). But when it’s [healthcare] services, it means that we’re the ones providing care. And that’s a completely different business model.”

Lim found the answer to which direction DA should grow within his team. “[The team members said], ‘We’re here to bring impact to the healthcare system. We’re bringing better care, which is personalised and accessible, and we feel passionate about this mission.’ I realised then that we were already evolving into a healthcare company,” he says. “But if that was the direction, it had to be both online and offline—and integrated with primary, secondary, tertiary and step‑down care, as well as wellness [with preventive care and intervention].”

After working with his team to develop a comprehensive integrated healthcare model, Lim started putting together the pieces of the puzzle. The most visible recent and significant milestone is the launch of DA Orchard MedSuites, a flagship integrated health screening and imaging centre that opened in February this year.
 
Located just off Orchard Road, the 12,000-square-foot facility prioritises preventive health and wellness, offering comprehensive health screenings and radiological examinations such as X‑rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and computed tomography (CT) scans in a single location.

With a dedicated health concierge service, one‑to‑one consultations with healthcare professionals and in‑depth health reports, DA Orchard MedSuites offers personalised care and an astute focus on experience, which starts from the moment the lift doors open onto the space on the fifth floor of Como Orchard. “We hope to capture three things: that it looks good, smells good and sounds good—it’s very much experiential,” says Lim.

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Singapore is set to welcome a fine new export, straight out of Sri Lanka, as the famed seafood restaurant Ministry of Crab will open its first outlet in Dempsey this July. Leading the charge is the visionary chef and “accidental restaurateur” Dharshan Munidasa, who brings along a cult-like following and an unwavering commitment to serving the finest, freshest crustaceans.

For the uninitiated, the Sri Lankan chef-restaurateur is best known as the brain behind Nihonbashi and Ministry of Crab—both concepts are the only restaurants from Sri Lanka to have ever made the prestigious Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list. The latter has presence in Shanghai, Chengdu, Mumbai, Maldives, Bangkok and now, Singapore.

From hunting zarigani (Japanese crayfish) in the river to witnessing Sri Lankan crab mongers showing up at his doorstep selling live jumbo crabs in cane baskets, Munidasa’s affinity with seafood blossomed at a tender age spent growing up in both Japan and Sri Lanka. This deep connection with nature and the ocean’s bounty, however, did not steer him to pursue a former education in culinary arts. Instead, it was his father’s demise that willed him to return to Sri Lanka—after six months of graduating with a computer engineering and international relations degree at the reputable Johns Hopkins University in the United States—to support the family.

His detoured journey into the restaurant world was accidental but no less pivotal when shaping his culinary philosophy. Despite the lack of classical kitchen training, Munidasa enjoys cooking for his loved ones. Adding to his culinary foundation, he also regularly dines out where he pays close attention to what goes on his plate. In his travels to Japan, he conversed and befriended many Japanese chefs and craftsmen. “I gifted Sri Lankan tea in return for their hospitality and generosity,” he shares. In 1995, with his mother’s encouragement, he debuted Nihonbashi, a Japanese restaurant in Colombo with a resolute vision of only utilising Sri Lankan ingredients instead of relying on imports.

Being half Japanese and half Sri Lankan, Munidasa seeks to marry both cultures using Sri Lankan ingredients, especially spices, and washoku (food of Japan) techniques. “It comes naturally when your blood is mixed, like the ability to think and dream in many languages,” he explains. This obsession with Sri Lankan produce pointed him to local tuna destined for Tsujiki, Japan and local mud crabs dedicated to Singapore. “In Sri Lanka, sourcing whole tuna for a restaurant on a weekly basis was unheard of back then and still rare today. Thankfully, I was taught by Taiwanese tuna graders, who fished the waters, how to grade the prized fish.”

The thirst for knowledge extended beyond tuna but also for crabs as Sri Lankan crabs were once graded for export. With the desire to acquire this expertise, Munidasa frequents Pettah Market in Colombo to learn from seasoned crab mongers. That gave him access to the best crabs in Sri Lanka. “It is a course that no culinary school has in its curriculum,” he quips. Today, all Ministry of Crab crew members are equipped with this knowledge. Nihonbashi later became the first restaurant in Colombo to serve up a 2-kilogram chilled crab with ponzu dressing, which garnered praise.

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Imagine a vault, but this one’s filled with golden elixirs that have the power to increase your collagen bank and enchant a room without saying a word. Enter the Raffles City Beauty Vault, a unique beauty universe conceptualised in collaboration with Tatler Singapore.

First up, this month-long pop-up features a wall of treasures curated by Tatler’s editors, from radiance-boosting skincare to cult favourite make-up and head-turning fragrances on full display till 14 July, on the third floor of Raffles City.

Also during this period, beauty enthusiasts will be treated to a host of masterclasses led by beloved beauty brands: Creed, Fresh, Givenchy Beauty, Harnn, Jo Malone London, Kiehl’s, Gucci Beauty, Maison Francis Kurkdijan and Sephora. With a simple online registration, attendees will not only get to deep dive into skin-caring ingredients, learn make-up techniques from brand experts, and go on an olfactive journey that will transport the senses—in the form of Creed’s bold and best-selling Aventus, and their latest launch, Queen of Silk, a spellbinding floral-amber composition of Chinese osmanthus, tuberose and cedarwood.

Shopping privileges can also be savoured across the luxurious beauty floor of Raffles City, and the mall will be rewarding two top beauty shoppers with a Bespoke Escapade Experience—an unforgettable trip to visit one of the beauty brand’s country of origin.

Whether you’re a bona fide beauty addict, or looking to gain insider knowledge on how to optimise your beauty rituals, sign up here and visit the Raffles City Beauty Vault for a wealth of skin- and soul-pampering treats from now till 14 July.

Whether you’re a seasoned athlete or just starting your fitness journey, fitness trackers can be a great tool for anyone looking to boost their health and well-being. Over the years, these trackers have become powerful tools that offer real-time data and motivation to help you reach your goals. From sleek smartwatches to discreet wristbands, there’s plenty to choose from and it can feel overwhelming if you don’t know where to start. To help, we’ve curated a list of the best fitness trackers to choose from, depending on your needs.

iPhone users can consider opting for the latest Apple Watch. On top of seamlessly integrating with the iPhone, the latest Apple Watch offers comprehensive fitness tracking features alongside smartwatch functionality. Apart from tracking various workouts, calories burned and steps you take, the watch also takes various measurements to track your overall health. For one, the watch is able to track your walking performance including your walking speed, step length, walking asymmetry and more. These measurements are typically used to assess your health status, monitor changes when it comes to ageing, and track recovery progress from an injury.

It also detects your VO2 max—the maximum amount of oxygen your body can consume during exercise—by measuring how hard your heart works during a workout. This is a strong indicator of your overall physical health and a long-term health predictor. Apple’s Health app keeps track of all your health data while alerting you to significant changes such as resting heart rate and amount of sleep. What’s more, you can also share your health data with your family, allowing them to be notified when there are irregularities in your health data.

Runners on the other hand will relish owning a Garmin Forerunner 265. One of Garmin’s oldest lines, the watch offers a detailed stats section, featuring information including your pace, speed, power, cadence and more. Various features are available including health and fitness tracking features that provide you with stress tracking, blood oxygen measurements, breathing rate, recovery recommendations and more.

Tools like its Garmin coach offer personalised coaching and training plans depending on your skill level. When it comes to battery life, the watch can last up to 13 days on Smartwatch mode and up to 20 hours on GPS mode.

For biometric data, go for a tracker like Whoop. The minimalist device gathers various data on your behaviour and health while also offering custom recommendations to improve your lifestyle. The Whoop 4.0 comprises five LEDs, four photodiodes and a body temperature sensor to help track your sleep, strain, recovery, stress and calories.

Its actionable insights also make it a valuable tool for those looking to avoid burnout while optimising performance— it learns through tracking the user’s body baselines and patterns to provide better recommendations on lifestyles and habits. Unlike watch trackers, Whoop operates on a subscription model and comes with a lifetime warranty.

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Back in 2018, Simon Porte Jacquemus launched the Le Chiquito Bag line under his eponymous label, sending the sartorial masses into a frenzy. The comically petite bag quickly garnered the brand an ardent following and inspired a micro bag craze that still endures today.

Other luxury fashion houses quickly capitalised by releasing shrunken iterations of their signature purses, see: Chanel’s Mini Flap bag, the Nano Speedy by Louis Vuitton, and the Saddle Micro bag by Dior, just to name a few.

When it comes to these miniature bags, functionality isn’t the top priority—it’s all about the novelty. With compact dimensions as small as 12 by 10cm, these petite purses signal that their presence is merely decorative, and a pure fashion statement that defies practicality.

Persisting still in 2024, the micro bag continues to make appearances on runways from Louis Vuitton to Hermès. Looking to add a tiny purse to your collection? You’ve come to the right place. 

Kicking off the list is, of course, Jacquemus’s Le Chiquito. Available in 15 colours, the signature mini handbag is the perfect piece for adding a little quirk to your ensemble.

While Fendi offers a wristlet-sized take on the hobo bag with the Nano Fendigraphy, complete with vintage gold metal lettering across the bottom. An adjustable strap with a clip allows it to be worn like a bracelet, or attached to a larger bag if you please.

For its Spring/Summer 2024 collection, Loewe presents a new take on its iconic Flamenco Purse, now available in a mini version. The latest version sees a reimagination of the signature coiled knots and is finished with a hand-threaded donut chain strap.

Although slightly larger than the others on this list, the Hermès Mini Kelly is the ultimate timeless collectable micro bag. Beloved by fashion icons like Elizabeth Taylor and its namesake Princess Grace of Monaco, the Kelly remains a must-have in every It-girl’s collection.

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