With a glass curtain wall façade showcasing the high-end fashion stores it houses, it is hard to miss Mandarin Gallery when you’re walking down Orchard Road. Located in the foreground of the Mandarin Orchard Singapore hotel, this chic mall celebrated its first anniversary last Friday.
To mark the special occasion, twenty lucky shoppers were picked to enter a draw to win two BMW cars: a BMW X5 xDrive35i and a BMW 120i Convertible.
Hosted by the entertaining Gurmit Singh, the event drew laughs from the audience as he made funny – and punny – comments on stage. :D
The draw imaginatively made use of beribboned ang pows (red packets) to determine the finalists.
The two eventual winners walked away with cool sets of wheels but the remaining seventeen participants (one did not turn up) did not walk away empty-handed – they were awarded shopping vouchers worth S$680 and S$880! :)
A highlight of the event was the energetic performance by Urban Drum Crew, a group of young drummers who employed water showers and kaleidoscopic light to accompany their frenetic percussion moves. Very apt for celebrating this special occasion…and for ringing in the new lunar year – after all, water and light symbolise prosperity and good fortune! :) (I kept referring to them as ‘Urban Drunk Crew’, thanks to their auspicious showers :P) Iris, who was there with me, has a good video of their performance.
After the musical display, we went shopping at the gallery with our blogger friends Chantana, Kas and Sara, who were also present at the event. We had an enjoyable time wending through the stores and making new retail discoveries.
Among the stores I explored were:
Agatha Paris – This store has a delightful collection of jewellery (many of them centred on the Scottish terrier that is its logo) and I was especially taken by the charms which reminded me of Thomas Sabo ones, only a little less edgy and well, more charming. ;)
A Bathing Ape – This trendy casual wear store has cute prints of its iconic ape in various designs. I was quite tickled that they had a limited edition 2011 Chinese New Year print!
Bud Cosmetics – It was nice to finally see their second store where they offer facial services using their organic skincare brands.
Egg3 – A quaint little store that has a bit of everything (clothes, accessories and even stationery), it is the kind of place that makes you want to browse a little longer because there’s always something interesting to see at every turn.
in:Famous – This store carries comfortable footwear, most notably FitFlops and Ipanema sandals. I saw a pair of flat Ipanema slides with pewter ribbons (sooo cute!) but they were unfortunately a tad too flat for my burgeoning self. :)
I eventually purchased a necklace with two charm pendants from Agatha Paris. No prizes for guessing what they mean! ;)
We finally adjourned to Jones the Grocer, where we had dinner and dessert, served with a good dollop of beauty banter. (Yes, the restaurant’s famous wagyu beef burger was delectable and the brownie was melt-in-your-mouth yummilicious!)
It has been a while since we’ve met as a group, so I was really glad to have made it to the event – I couldn’t go, initially – and partake in an evening of camaraderie and beauty fun. Here’s to more happy gatherings like this one! ♥
Image source: Mandarin Gallery
