Filipino composer Susie Ibarra gets Pulitzer Prize for Music
This latest win further extends Ibarra's distinguished track record across music, education and environmental activism. As the founder of Susie Ibarra Studio and Habitat Sounds, she operates at the crossroads of acoustic innovation, ecological responsibility and equity.
Her works span documenting traditional soundscapes from Indigenous communities, spotlighting the impacts of melting glaciers, and backing educational initiatives such as Joudour Sahara in Morocco.
Born and raised in Houston to Filipino parents, Ibarra's musical journey blends Western classical training with the rich traditions of Philippine kulintang. Her career encompasses a diverse range of genres, including avant-garde jazz, opera, electronic music and theatre. Among her many honours are fellowships from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program, and United States Artists.
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Tatler Asia
a day ago
- Tatler Asia
Sustainability and flavour: The rise of fermentation in Asia's top restaurants
2. Toyo Eatery (Manila, Philippines) Named after the Tagalog word for soy sauce, Toyo is the Philippines' most internationally renowned restaurant. The intimate space in Makati is where Filipino nostalgia meets slow fermentation and sleek modernism. Skipping the more intimidating setups of other restaurants of the same calibre, Toyo feels more like a warm family dinner than a fine-dining room. It is helmed by Chef Jordy Navarra and his wife and creative partner, May, and with their team, they've created an ode to fermentation. Take the beloved tortang talong, a humble eggplant omelette transformed by their house-made fermented banana ketchup. Or the Bahay Kubo salad, a riot of 18 local vegetables, each preserved, pickled or marinated to maximise character. And yes, they have their own takes on vinegar-laced sawsawan, made with fermented coconut sap, adding funk and brightness in equal measure. Don't miss: Together they thrive: How did Jordy and May Navarra build Toyo Eatery Navarra taps into local fermentation traditions like tapuy (fermented rice wine) and bubud (a natural yeast starter) to build dishes that feel ancient yet avant-garde. One course might include clams kissed with tapuy, another a fish that's been dry-aged with microbial care. Fermentation in Asia often takes two directions—backward and forward. Toyo, however, uses it to look inward, toward heritage, home and the flavours passed down at the family table. 3. Gaa (Bangkok, Thailand) At Gaa, Chef Garima Arora has found a way to make fermentation taste like a homecoming and a disruption at the same time. Born in Mumbai and trained in the avant-garde kitchens of Noma, Arora brings centuries-old Indian preservation techniques into dialogue with Thai ingredients—and the results are electric. In Gaa's fermentation room, lychee becomes liqueur, split peas turn into miso, and Thai fish sauces bubble away beside jackfruit pickles. A dish might riff on the comfort of curd rice, but arrive layered with lacto-fermented fruit and spiced oil. Or chaat will get a haute twist thanks to garums made with koji-cultured Thai beef. In case you missed it: Garima Arora is Asia's Best Female Chef and the first Indian female to receive a Michelin star Arora's philosophy is less about fusion and more about translation. Her 'beef garum,' for example, doesn't try to mimic fish sauce—it speaks its own savory language. The result is a genre-defying menu that bridges the fermented worldviews of India and Southeast Asia, balancing nostalgia with discovery. 4. 7th Door (Seoul, South Korea) To say that Chef Kim Dae-chun of Seoul's 7th Door dabbles in fermentation is an injustice. Rather, he builds worlds of flavour around it. His intimate, 14-seat restaurant is a fermentation theatre where more than 40 house-made brews and pickles are the stars of a sensory journey. You literally walk past the jars: bubbling, ageing, thickening—an overture to the tasting experience that follows. Kim's guiding metaphor? Fermentation as the 'sixth door' in a seven-step journey toward gastronomic epiphany. Here, jangs—Korea's holy trinity of fermented pastes and sauces—are aged up to a decade in-house. The fish sauce called aekjeot is crafted from local seafood and cured in soy. Even desserts carry fermented echoes, such as soy-syrup glazes over truffle tteokbokki. In one course, raw fermented seafood called gejang is reimagined with rare Dokdo prawns. In another, traditional Korean citrus is preserved until its bitterness turns sweet. It's fermentation as art, memory and alchemy. 5. Onjium (Seoul, South Korea) Not far from 7th Door, another Seoul dining room pays tribute to fermentation in a quieter, regal way. At Onjium, co-chefs Cho Eun-hee and Park Sung-bae reinterpret Korea's royal cuisine with the poise of scholars and the precision of artisans. Their secret weapon? A fermentation farm in Namyangju, where they produce their own variants of jang, kimchi and vinegar using methods drawn from historical royal cookbooks. The dishes at Onjium whisper elegance: cabbage that's been brined, aged and caramelised or soy sauces made from heirloom beans aged in traditional earthen hangari. The fermentation here isn't experimental—it's ancestral. But don't mistake it for nostalgia. Onjium's modern plating and seasonal tasting menus pull these ancient techniques into the present, reminding diners that the best ferments are, above all, timeless. 6. Mingles (Seoul, South Korea) If 7th Door is fermentation as intimacy and Onjium is fermentation as legacy, then Mingles is fermentation as global stagecraft. Under the visionary hand of Chef Kang Min-goo, this Seoul heavyweight has turned jang, those beloved fermented pastes and sauces, into the core of award-winning culinary performance. Here, doenjang and gochujang aren't accents—they're structure. Think seared Hanwoo beef glazed in soy aged five years or a vinegar reduction made from Korean pears and wild herbs. Kang pairs these ferments with international techniques: foams, emulsions and the kind of delicate plating you'd expect in Paris, not Gangnam. The result is a cuisine that elevates fermentation. The message is clear: Korean flavours, when rooted in their fermented foundations, can speak a global language—and win all the stars while they're at it. Don't miss: Chef Mingoo Kang receives Inedit Damm Chefs' Choice Award 2021 by Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 7. Amber (Hong Kong) At first glance, Amber, the flagship of the Landmark Mandarin Oriental, might seem too polished, too pristine, too art-directed to be part of the fermentation set. But Chef Richard Ekkebus has spent the past few years quietly reworking fine dining's relationship with preservation. Gone are the creams, butters and heavy reductions of yesteryear; in their place are koji-aged vegetables, fermented grains and lacto pickles used with the precision of a Cartier timepiece. Amber's menu doesn't scream 'fermented,' but listen closely and it hums with microbial nuance: carrot koji with abalone, fermented buckwheat bread and a much-lauded plant-based bouillon that's more umami-packed than most bone broths. Even the desserts get in on the action, with seasonal fruit vinegars and fermented rice milk redefining what 'light' can mean in a luxury context. Amber isn't trying to be Nordic or temple cuisine. It's Hong Kong high design, reimagined with microbes and minerals. Fermentation here isn't rustic—it's tailored. 8. Yun (Seoul, South Korea) One might remember Chef Kim Do-yun from Culinary Class Wars: a White Spoon chef whose eyes were practically closed as he cooked rockfish while rocking headphones. He even detailed his obsession with drying ingredients, claiming he has the most extensive dried food collection among the cast. It comes as no surprise that his acclaimed restaurant, Yun, is built on traditional Korean fermentation, ageing and custom noodle-making. Chef Kim obsessively sources and preserves ingredients—pickles, beans, grains, dried vegetables, meats and fish—often ageing many of them for years to deepen the flavour. His lab-like kitchen storage with over 500 labeled ingredients (pickles, grains, seeds, etc.) underscores how fermentation and time are central to his cooking. For example, Yun's signature naengmyeon (cold wheat noodles) are made entirely in-house from Korean wheat and served simply with salt and oil. Chef Kim is even notorious for taking months off to study ingredients and techniques. While the chef himself is soft-spoken, his philosophy is bannered loudly in the restaurant, with diners hearing the detailed explanations of the ageing, fermenting and drying process behind the dishes.
Tatler Asia
2 days ago
- Tatler Asia
Of jewels, myths and stones: Bowers Museum presents the couture collection of Alexis Monsanto
Filipino-born couturier Alexis Monsanto, now based in Hollywood, proudly showcases his Qin Dynasty-inspired Asian fashion collection at the Bowers Museum Gala this May 22. This is in conjunction with the highly anticipated opening of the 'World of the Terracotta Warriors: New Archaeological Discoveries' exhibition Esteemed Hollywood fashion expert Alexis Monsanto's latest collection is to be unveiled exclusively during the Bowers Museum's fundraising gala on May 22. Showcasing his signature blend of feminine, timeless and elegant designs crafted from exquisite fabrics with origami treatment, manipulation, and 3D processing, the intricate works take inspiration from the Qin Dynasty's imperial court and other important cultural elements of the era. This is in harmony with the museum's highly anticipated exhibition, World of the Terracotta Warriors: New Archaeological Discoveries. Read also: Inside the historic debut of Philippine design at Révélations Paris 2025 Above Save the date poster for the fundraising gala of the Bowers Museum, featuring the couture collection designed by Alexis Monsanto
Tatler Asia
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- Tatler Asia
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Their virtual friendship becomes a lifeline as they support each other through professional setbacks, but when they finally meet in person, their relationship becomes infinitely more complicated as career ambitions clash with deepening feelings. Seo Hyun-jin and Yang Se-jong master electric, slow-burn chemistry that keeps viewers invested through every high and low. Their connection feels both deeply emotional and physically compelling, creating an almost hypnotic viewing experience where their chemistry transcends simple attraction. 'When the Camellia Blooms' (2019) Above 'When the Camellia Blooms' (2019) features a heart-warming dynamic where the younger man's golden retriever energy perfectly complements the older woman's guarded vulnerability Starring: Gong Hyo-jin and Kang Ha-neul Seeking a fresh start, single mother Oh Dongbaek (Gong Hyo-jin) settles in the small town of Ongsan, opening a bar called Camellia and hoping to create a stable life for her young son. However, the conservative townspeople, particularly the local women, view her with suspicion and judgment, whispering about her unmarried status and making her feel like an outsider. Into this unwelcoming environment steps Hwang Yong-sik (Kang Ha-neul), the town's cheerful police officer whose sunny disposition masks a sharp investigative mind. As a serial killer begins targeting women in the area, Yong-sik becomes determined to protect Dongbaek whilst helping her find acceptance in the community that's been so cruel to her. Gong Hyo-jin and Kang Ha-neul create an utterly heartwarming dynamic where his golden retriever energy perfectly complements her guarded vulnerability. Their chemistry builds beautifully from protective friendship to devoted love, making Yong-sik one of the most supportive male leads in K-drama history. 'Romance is a Bonus Book' (2019) Above 'Romance is a Bonus Book' (2019) celebrates second chances and patient love, with Lee Jong-suk delivering one of his most tender performances Starring Lee Na-young and Lee Jong-suk Kang Dan-i (Lee Na-young) thought she had her life figured out—a successful career in advertising, a stable marriage, a bright future. But at 37, divorce and ageism in the job market leave her starting over with nothing but rejection letters. Desperate for work, she discovers that lying about her age and education gets her a junior position at Gyeoroo Publishing, where she's determined to prove that experience and passion matter more than youth. The irony? Her new boss is Cha Eun-ho (Lee Jong-suk), her childhood friend who's now a celebrated author and editor-in-chief. Eun-ho has harboured secret feelings for Dan-i for years, but now he must pretend not to recognise her whilst watching her struggle in an industry that undervalues women over 30. 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