Trifecta co-founders on elevating the action sports landscape

In the world of board sports, completing a trifecta is being able to snowboard, surf and skateboard all in one day. This is truly a mean feat, considering how one would have to travel from the mountain to the ocean. So never would one expect to be able to do the trio of board sports here in Singapore, right in the heart of Orchard Road.

Enter Trifecta, the first snow, surf and skate attraction to open here last year, offering a unique blend of cutting-edge technology and pure adrenaline, and set to redefine the action sports landscape in Asia. Co-founders Daphne Goh, Alex Hsu and Terry Tan, whose love for sports had been cultivated since young, have always dreamt of introducing such a lifestyle concept to Singapore. “Before meeting each other, all three of us had pursued active adventures on our own,” shares Hsu, adding that such adventures, be it diving, surfing, skiing or snowboarding, brought them together.

Prior to Trifecta, Goh and Hsu founded adventure travel company The Ride Side in 2015, bringing intimate groups on social and fuss-free skiing and snowboarding expeditions. Tan joined the duo in 2020, and so far the company has taken over 2,000 enthusiasts on expeditions to resorts in Japan, New Zealand and Switzerland. More than just riding snow‑covered mountains, they also set up retail shops in Singapore, and worked with various ski resorts, including in Japan and New Zealand.

In the early years, there were a lot fewer people who were willing to give snowboarding and skiing a go, as compared to today. “Building a new venture takes grit, but building an industry and community from scratch requires something bigger than ourselves and our dreams,” says Goh. She is, however, grateful for the tight-knit community that believed in what they were doing and lent them their support and strength every step of the way.

While it has always been a pipe dream to create a lifestyle concept where they could bring together a community of like-minded people, who knew that the pandemic was the push the trio needed? Being forced to pause expeditions led the trio to a new-found perspective—instead of bringing Singaporeans to the mountains, they would bring the mountains to Singapore.

Coupled with increased exposure to such sports on social media, people were “more open to trying things outside of their comfort zone”, says Goh. With the increased interest in snowboarding, surfing and skateboarding, it felt like the right time for them to dive into the project, seeking to provide “a safe and controlled environment for learning [while making] the mountains and oceans more accessible to a wider audience in Singapore”.

Running alongside The Ride Side, Trifecta comprises the Snow Arena, Surf Arena and Skate Bowl. 

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Gaggan Anand is always dreaming up his next culinary masterpiece. When we met him for coffee in July 2023, at his Indian-Mexican restaurant Ms Maria and Mr Singh in Singapore, he told us about a “secret project” that he was developing in partnership with a global luxury brand. And while the celebrated Indian chef wouldn’t tell us who that partner was, he did let slip that the “massive project” was in Bangkok, the city the innovative chef has called home for the past 17 years. At the time, the most we could extract from him was this promise: “It’s something you haven’t seen before.”

The mystery was finally revealed at the end of February this year when Louis Vuitton opened LV The Place Bangkok at Gaysorn Amarin. The two-storey, multi-concept space comprises an immersive exhibition, store, café and Anand’s new restaurant, simply named Gaggan at Louis Vuitton. Catching up nearly three months after the restaurant opened, Anand proudly tells Tatler that, as the name implies, Gaggan at Louis Vuitton is a meeting of two creative cultures: food and fashion.

The award-winning chef admits that it might seem like an unlikely partnership for patrons familiar with his other restaurants, especially for those who have dined at contemporary Indian establishment Gaggan Anand in the Thai capital, which earned the No. 4 spot on the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024 list. After all, Anand is known for having “no culinary boundaries” while Louis Vuitton boasts a storied 170-year-old history guided by heritage and its founder’s brand philosophy. Surprisingly though, as Anand explains, the Maison has given him complete flexibility to run this new restaurant the way he wants, which means that the elements integral to how he orchestrates the dining experience—such as licking food off plates or using hands instead of cutlery to eat—were retained. “They didn’t let me lose my heart and identity in the way I am playful [with my food].”

Playful is, indeed, a word that aptly describes Anand’s avant-garde cooking. Originally from Kolkata, the hotel management graduate rose to culinary fame when he opened Gaggan, his first namesake restaurant in Bangkok in 2010 and introduced the world to his brand of progressive Indian cuisine.

He prepared Indian staples like curry and yoghurt by incorporating molecular gastronomy techniques he mastered during a two-month stint with the research team at Ferran Adrià’s Alícia Foundation in Spain. One of his most famous dishes, inspired by Adrià’s “spherical olives”, is the “yoghurt explosion”: a sphere of yoghurt, served on a metal spoon, that bursts in the mouth. Curry, which is an essential part of Indian cuisine, was also reimagined as a cold dish without sacrificing traditional flavours.

Such an approach to Indian cooking was unheard of at that time, and Anand quickly gained recognition and racked up accolades along the way—most notable being that his first outlet was declared the Best Restaurant in Asia four years in a row, from 2015 to 2018, before it permanently shuttered in 2019. Despite that setback, Anand has never been busier, as he continues to helm his current Gaggan Anand restaurant, which opened in 2021, and collaborate with culinary luminaries to host various pop-ups and collaborations around the world.

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Our little red dot may be small, but its impact on the global stage is anything but. From cutting-edge technology to bespoke leather goods, Singapore has birthed numerous brands that have quietly conquered international markets.

While some ubiquitous brands like Tiger Beer and Old Chang Kee retain decidedly local identities despite overseas expansion, there are other homegrown ventures that are often mistaken for international companies due to their offerings and branding. They remind us that in this cosmopolitan city-state, world-class ideas are always brewing, ready to make their mark on the global stage.

While newer to the scene, The Coconut Club has rapidly become a culinary ambassador for local cuisine—not Malaysian, to be clear. Founded by Lee Eng Su and Kamal Samuel Dollah, this restaurant has elevated the rustic nasi lemak to fine-dining status, earning a Michelin Bib Gourmand and expanding to multiple locations, including an outpost in Seoul.

Another local brand is Banyan Group. With its first resort established in Thailand—and management of luxury properties across America, the Middle East, and the rest of Asia—it’s no surprise consumers perceive this multinational hospitality brand to be international. But Banyan Group was actually founded by Singaporean couple Ho Kwon Ping and Claire Chiang in 1994. The brand now operates over 70 resorts and hotels across the globe, each embodying Asian-inspired, design-led experiences.

You’ve likely spotted their chic footwear and accessories in fashion capitals worldwide, but did you know Charles & Keith started as a single shoe store in Amara Shopping Centre? Founded by brothers Charles and Keith Wong in 1996, the brand now boasts over 600 stores globally, showcasing Singaporean design on an international stage.

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Sustainability, well-being, impact, consciousness, upcycling—these are some of the answers given by Tatler Homes Design Awards 2024 - Singapore’s guests when we asked them what comes to mind when they hear the awards’ theme—Green by Design. Together these threads of thought wove a tapestry of Singapore’s design landscape, which is increasingly centred around environmental stewardship.

More importantly, this theme reflected our appreciation for materials and details in built environment projects that are conceptualised and crafted responsibly. It is our hope that this will inspire and encourage a collective effort towards a more sustainable future. The Tatler team articulated the theme creatively and holistically through the décor, menu, and selection of collaborators.

This year’s Tatler Homes Design Awards - Singapore was sponsored by incredible industry partners Barovier & Toso, Carl Hansen & Søn, Hafary, Home Action Party, Liaigre, Sol Luminaire, Spin, Surface Project, Surface Stone, Villeroy & Boch, V-Zug, and Wonde Singapore, as well as venue partner Mandarin Oriental, Singapore.

For this year’s gala, Tatler Homes Design Awards also collaborated with F&B partners Crust, Float Foods, Green Rebel, Karana, Kind Kones, Limwood, Prefer, and Tindle.

“The Tatler Homes Design Awards have been going from strength to strength year by year. Beyond the shores of Singapore, to the Philippines, Malaysia, and soon Taiwan,” said Tatler Singapore managing director Stephanie Tay during her opening remarks. “We will continue to innovate and grow with you. We want to create a positive impact in the industry with you.”

The Tatler Homes Design Awards 2024 - Singapore’s programme also introduced two new initiatives. The first one materialised as the new Adaptive Reuse award category. Conceptualised in collaboration with V-Zug, this category stands as a continuation of the Swiss brand’s commitment to champion sustainability.

At the Tatler Homes Design Awards 2024 - Singapore, it honoured three exceptional projects by Singapore-based practices that wield adaptive reuse as an approach to sustainability. The three winning firms—Woha Architects, RT+Q Architects and Chio Architects—were brought together to share more about their sustainable practices in a panel discussion at the V-Zug Studio in Ion Orchard this May.

The second new initiative was Architects on the Rise. Organised in collaboration with Surface Project, Surface Stone, and Young Architects League (YAL)—a platform for architects under 40 by the Singapore Institute of Architects—the Architects on the Rise initiative honoured three young architects with robust residential portfolios in an awarding soirée at the Hafary Gallery at the end of June.

Its jury members comprised architects Randy Chan of Zarch Collaboratives, Guz Wilkinson of Guz Architects, Wong Ker How of Asolidplan, and yours truly, the editor of Tatler Homes Singapore, Asih Jenie. The three Architects on the Rise 2024 are Christopher Chow of HEI Architects, Nicholas Shane Oen Gomes of HYLA Architects, and Zeeson Teoh Sau Wei of Red Bean Architects.

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