Fashion with a sporty edge

This week, Marie discusses the evolution of sportswear-inspired fashion trend while satisfying her craving for Taiwanese food at Xin Wang Taiwanese Café.

Sports illustrated

The beauty about fashion is that nothing really goes out of fashion. Every season, we see past trends being brought back, better and more contemporary. This season, we see the sportswear-inspired fashion trend, pioneered and popularised by American designers such as Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein back in the 90s, being brought back by designers Alexander Wang and Dion Lee.

The new darling of New York fashion week, Alexander Wang needs little introduction, as he has clearly established himself as one of the most sought after designers among the fashionistas. If you want a piece of him, the most affordable item (approximately $129) is the racer-back jersey tank tops from his T by Alexander Wang range. I have this tank top in black and grey, and I’m contemplating to get a white one too. It goes with everything! However, do note that the armholes are huge, so you might want to wear a tube top underneath it or layer it over another tank top. If you have a little more budget to spare, why not take your pick from his current American sportswear and college inspired Spring/Summer 2010 collection.

Another designer worth checking out and investing in currently is Dion Lee, an emerging Sydney-based designer who has created massive interest at the recent Australia Fashion Week. He might be lesser known for now but I feel it won’t be long before he receives international acclaim. At only 22 years old, Dion has won several awards and managed to secure some stellar stockists. His designs are primarily about innovative cut and functional detailing. This season, his clothes resemble sci-fi meets origami, with cut-outs at the elbows and the back, as well as statement-making structured shoulder details. Think Fifth Element the movie, and you will get a good picture. I would personally describe the collection as juxtaposition of Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Balmain and Gucci… utilitarian in a good way.

Check out both collections at Inhabit.

Best of Taiwanese street food in Singapore

I have heard about the famous street food of Taiwan, but I have yet to make a trip there. In a bid to entice me to visit Taiwan, my friends decided to take me to Xin Wang Taiwan Café to savour some yummy Taiwanese food. Located at City Link Mall, Xin Wang is set in a spacious and casual surrounding, with cute cartoon drawings as its central theme. Everything on the menu looks good and we decided to order whatever we fancy, since the prices are very affordable. We decided to start with a cup of ice milk tea with pearls ($2.90), possibly the most famous drink from Taiwan.

Next up were the “night market signatures” items as appetisers fried fish paste with sweet and sour sauce ($5.80 for three pieces), Taiwan style yong tau fu ($4.80 for five pieces), pan-fried oyster omelette ($5.80) and grilled enoki bacon ($4.80 for six pieces). The fried fish paste is similar to Thai fish cakes while the yong tau fu came in satay sticks and resembled Japanese oden. The pan-fried oyster is just like our local dish of “oh-luah” while the grilled enoki bacon pieces were something I thought to be more Japanese.

By the time we had finished our appetisers, we were almost full and it was a good thing that we ordered only two main courses to share. The sesame oil chicken mee sua ($6.80) is like how grandma would make it, full of goodness and flavours. There is also the herbal soup version if you like the medicinal taste similar to black chicken soup. We also ordered the braised minced pork and egg rice ($6.80) that tasted so good we ate all the rice soaked in the delicious gravy. 

For desserts, Taiwan is famous for the shaved ice and we decided to order the delightful peanut smoothie ($4.80) and jelly pudding ($3) infused with flavours of pandan leaves and lemon grass.

I highly recommend this café as there is a wide variety of delicious Taiwanese street food at very reasonable prices. In fact, I will be heading there soon to try the new items that they will be launching as I was told they will have my favourite beef noodle soup to offer. Can’t wait!

Xin Wang Taiwan Café is located at #B1-23 City Link Mall and #02-27/32 Bukit Panjang Plaza.

Marie Choo
Marie Choo loves fashion. She ditched a career in banking so she could be trained as a fashion designer in London. A misfit at times with her quirky style, she is the amalgamation of the East and West. Having lived in cosmopolitan London and Shanghai, she is back in Singapore and loving it. As the founder and Director of Alchemy Consultancy, she specialises in public relations and event management for fashion and lifestyle brands.