San Francisco by Ric Stockfis

Holidays, hotels and insider travel news Henrik Kam

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Golden Age

Four great reasons why your summer should be all about San Francisco. By Ric Stockfis Golden Gate Bridge

United Airlines

Iwan Baan

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

It’ll no longer take you a full day to get there

Getting to the U.S. from Singapore has been a pain in recent years, with layovers required in Hong Kong, Tokyo or elsewhere. But starting June 1, United Airlines (www. united.com) begins direct flights between Singapore and San Francisco, cutting four or more hours off the current flight time, and making this the first time since 2013 that you can get to the U.S. without a stop. The new flight departs Singapore at 8.45am daily and arrives in San Francisco 15h30m later at 9.15am the same day (thanks, International Date Line!) with the 8,446 mile journey, aboard the 787 Dreamliner, being the longest scheduled flight operated by any U.S. carrier. Returns from SingaporeSan Francisco with United Airlines start from around $1,850. You can still do it cheaper (from $1,300) with China Eastern (www.flychinaeastern.com) via Shanghai, but you’re looking at an additional seven hours to get there.

After three years, SFMOMA is finally reopen—and it’s three times bigger than before While conversation in San Francisco these days can too often turn to the city’s sky-high rents and the pros and cons of the tech giants on their doorstep, right now things are

SG MAGAZINE FRIDAY, JUNE 3, 2016

Ocean Beach

a little more cultured. After a three-year hiatus, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (151 Third St., www. sfmoma.org) reopened in mid-May, having undergone quite the renovation. A new, USD305 million, 10-story extension by Norwegian architects Snøhetta almost triples the display area to 175,000 sq. ft, turning it into the country’s biggest modern art gallery (it’s display space is 40 percent larger than New York’s MoMA). Reception has been mixed, with many questioning the wisdom of modelling the huge new façade after the city’s infamous fog (The Guardian called it ”a gigantic meringue with a hint of Ikea”). But there’s no denying the scale, with 19 exhibitions in the opening season alone and a huge donation (technically a 100year loan) of 1000-something pieces of art from the Fisher family, founders of The Gap, including dozens of pieces by icons like Andy Warhol, Gerhard Richter, Cy Twombly and Roy Lichtenstein. But there’s much more to it than just famous pop art, with—among many, many others— prominence for work by Ai Weiwei, a Bauhaus-inspired installation from Portuguese artist Leonor Antunes and vast, currently empty wall-space by the main staircase awaiting work by Julie Mehretu, an Ethiopian-born, New York-based artist. Whatever you make of it all, SFMOMA is the place everyone is talking about right now. It’s open daily from 10am-5pm, with late-night Thursdays till 9pm. Entry is USD25 ($34).

Cadence

Thanks to Twitter, some of the best dining in town is in Mid-Market

There’s been a glut of restaurant openings in the City by the Bay over the last year—more than at any point in the last 15-20 years according to a recent piece in San Francisco Magazine—and the inevitable crash is probably not too far off. For now however, many of the current hot spots are all within a short walk of one another in the MidMarket district—and it’s all (kind of) thanks to Twitter. In 2011, in an effort to stop tech firms jumping ship to Silicon Valley, the city began offering tax breaks to businesses that remained or set up in the then down-at-heel MidMarket and Tenderloin. Twitter, who’d been most vocal about potentially leaving town, chose to stay, with Spotify and others following suit. Despite question marks over whether the scheme has been a net benefit to the city, the result has been the rapid gentrification of previously dilapidated blocks, with new restaurants in abundance. Newcomer Cadence (1446 Market St.,www.cadencesf. com) is connected by a hallway to sister spot, Mr Tipple’s Recording Studio, a cocktail bar/jazz club hybrid that itself only opened at the end of last year. But whereas the latter is dark and moody, Cadence is all about ‘30s glam, with a two-sided tasting menu (meat on one, vegetarian on the other). Nearby Cala (149 Fell St., www.calarestaurant.com), which opened in September, focuses exclusively on seafood

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Luang Prabang

The Perennial

(think Santa Cruz abalone, trout tostada and Marin miyagi oysters), courtesy of Mexican star chef Gabriela Cámara—and there’s even a lunchtime tacos stand in the back. Also new on the block is The Perennial (59 Ninth St., www.theperennialsf.com), an upscale bistro from the folks behind the infamous, inventive Mission Street Food. Here they’re championing progressive farming through “eco-friendly comfort food,” such as morels with sprouted wheatberries, and trying to make the entire operation, “the most environmental ever.”

The outer ‘burbs are on the up

Outer Sunset, which abuts the windswept Ocean Beach out West, isn’t somewhere most tourists venture. But thanks to cheap(er) rents, this primarily residential (and often foggy) suburb is becoming increasingly popular, with the surf-bum-poets not yet forced out by all the new money. Outerlands (4001 Judah St., www.outerlandssf.com), a socially-conscious, rustic eatery offers the best brunch for miles. The name might hark back

Yangon

to a time when no-one in their right mind would venture out this far, but be warned: these days you can queue for hours. If you’d rather not wait—quite so long—try the cultish cinnamon toast at Trouble Coffee & Coconut Club (4033 Judah St.) right next door or go browse the cool handmade wares at General Store (4035 Judah St., www.visitgeneralstore. com). A little further away, the huge Sunset Reservoir Brewing Company (1735 Noriega St., www.sunsetbeersf.com), which opened up at the end of 2014, serving five of its own beers alongside an eclectic pubgrub menu, is the latest venture from the owners of the hugely popular Devil’s Teeth Baking Company (3876 Noriega St., www. devilsteethbakingcompany.com) down near the beach. Ocean Beach itself is notoriously windswept—it’s a challenging surf spot— but it’s a great place to get away from the city. And as Outer Sunset historically housed many of the city’s Asian immigrants, you can even finish up with a taste of home at Polly Ann Ice Cream (3138 Noriega St., www. pollyannicecream), which has been serving up sesame, lychee and durian flavors for more than half a century.

ESSENTIALS WHERE TO STAY Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco (757 Market St., www.fourseasons. com) is right in the heart of town, near Union Square and next door to the newly-reopened SFMOMA and the rest of the Yerba Buena Arts District. With 277 rooms spread across 12 floors of a 42-storey building, it’s a fancy spot that makes a great base for exploring: cable cars, street cars and the BART Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco are all right outside the door. Dining is at MKT, a classy, wood-panelled space harking back to the early days of newspaper printing in the city, with a locally-focused menu and a stylish adjacent bar. The on-site Equinox Sports Club is one of the city’s largest fitness centers, and access to the facilities, including a basketball court, boxing ring and indoor pool is complimentary to hotel guests. Rooms start from USD445 ($610). VISA Most Singaporeans traveling for less than 90 days do not require a visa and can travel under the Visa Waiver Program, though you’ll need to be authorized through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (www.esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/) prior to your trip.

Tigerair

Cambodia Railway

FLIGHTS

The Alliance Takes Flight

Scoot and Tigerair have been pretty busy launching new services recently, and now they’re going to connect you to a whole host of destinations around the region all at once. The two SIA subsidiaries have joined the Value Alliance, the world’s largest low-cost carrier alliance. In addition to the two Singaporean carriers, the Value Alliance is made up of Cebu Pacific from the Philippines, Jeju Air from South Korea, Nok Air and NokScoot from Thailand, Tigerair Australia and Vanilla Air from Japan. With the launch of the alliance, travelers will now be able to book flights on all eight low-cost carriers from any of the partner airline websites, opening up new routes conveniently. All told, you can book trips to more than 160 destinations on one site. Explore your options at www.valuealliance.com.

Easy Transit

If you have a penchant for choosing holiday destinations a little off the beaten trail, then the historic city of Luang Prabang in north central Laos would definitely be on your radar. You’ll have a much easier way to get there come Oct 31 when SilkAir begins flights to Luang Prabang via Vientiane. The flights will be available on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, departing Singapore-Vientiane-Luang Prabang and returning Luang Prabang-Singapore. Fare details are currently unavailable; stay tuned at www.silkair.com. MYANMAR

Yangon Untangled

Yangon’s notoriously bad public transport just got better now that the government has installed a new BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) system for the city. Twenty-five billion kyat ($27.1 million) has built them three lines which run from Hyauk Kyant to Pyay, Kabar Aye to the city center, and Hkaing Tharyar to Botahtaung Pagoda. With 120 buses running, the service covers at least 80 percent of the total area of Yangon, with 100 more buses to come if this pilot scheme is successful. Tickets cost next to nothing at 300 kyat ($0.35) per person, while transit cards start from 1,000-10,000 kyat ($1.17-$11.70). CAMBODIA

All Aboard

Cambodia has operated its first passenger train service in 14 years, following a suspension because of poor railway conditions. Managed by The Royal Railway (royal-railway.com), the service runs between the capital Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville, the southwestern seaport and resort town. The 270km journey takes eight hours and costs just US$6 ($8.20) each way. That’s as cheap, if not cheaper, than most bus services. It’s also considerably slower than driving, though it means you can avoid the notorious National Highway 4. For now, there is one train available three days a week (Friday, Saturday and Sunday).

FRIDAY, JUNE 3, 2016 SG MAGAZINE