I seriously love Braddell
A few newsletters ago, I mentioned that I would try writing about my favourite places in Braddell. And then something wonderful happened—an illustrator named Melly wrote in to say she would love to draw a map for us!
From there, it became a bit of a group project. Almost everyone in the office had something to add. Our sales manager walks to her Cai Fan stall, rain or shine—she calls it point point rice—and was very clear it had to be on the map. Most of us love the Ayam Penyet stall, and then there is the acai bowl, which is popular with students. Everyone had a place they felt strongly about.
These are businesses that have been around long enough to become part of how a neighbourhood feels. If you live nearby and know a spot we missed, reply to this newsletter—I'll put together a list for the next one.
Here's the map:
(Do check opening hours before heading out)
We love this map so much, we had it printed on paper thick enough to frame. If you order any Epigram Books Fiction Prize title this month, a copy is yours. 📚
Or better yet—come by our showroom to spend your Culture Pass credits! We are open Monday to Friday, 10 am to 6 pm (closed this Good Friday). Then head just downstairs to Semiblack, a knife shop, grab an acai bowl at Gaia Acai, and if you are feeling adventurous, make your way up the Bat-Shaped HDB for one of the best views of Toa Payoh.
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Illustrator, Melly Fong Melly Fong is an illustrator from Singapore known for her instantly-recognisable pong pong hair. Time spent outdoors—especially with people she loves and admires—fuels her creativity. Lately, she's been hooked on Psick Show on YouTube and listening to System of a Down. This year, she is dreaming big: she hopes to paint a mural one day. See more of her illustrations on her IG @mellissadraws |
Some reads for writers who are thinking about their craft
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A Life in Words You Jin has been writing for decades, and this memoir reads like someone finally sitting down to make sense of all of it. She traces her parents' paths in Malaysia, her mother's quiet reverence for books, her years reporting, and later, trying to pass something of all that on to her own children. There's a line in the book where she describes Chinese characters "bobbing along through her veins"—and honestly, that's the kind of writer she is. You feel it. Just the book you need |
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What Not To Write A pocket-sized, no-nonsense guide to writing cleaner English—the kind you'll keep on your desk and quietly recommend to colleagues. The premise is simple: good English is plain English. The book works through the things that trip most writers up—jargon, punctuation, ambiguity, bureaucratic phrasing—and offers a way through without being preachy about it. It's the sort of reference to flip to before sending a report and find yourself reading three more entries than you planned. Keep it on your desk |
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Ayam Buah Keluak and the Art of Writing A Peranakan author uses her culture's most demanding recipe as a metaphor for what it actually takes to make something. Josephine Chia draws a long, careful parallel between cooking and writing: the preparation, the patience, the things that only work if you don't rush them. Ayam buah keluak, if you've made the dish, you would know. It's not a quick dish. And this book isn't a quick read in the sense that it asks something of you. She's honest about the harder parts of her own journey, and the book is generous for it. Read her story |
Thanks for reading all the way here. Here's your GIF of the week.
Warmly,
Chloe
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