Monocle Weekend
Edition: Saturday

Singapore’s Tanjong Pagar Railway Station was built in 1932 but services stopped in 2011 and this art deco and neoclassical landmark found a second life as a venue for exhibitions. The station doors do finally close on Christmas Day but it’s not the end of the line for this much-loved national monument. The roof, beams and columns are to be restored by Serbian architect DS Petrovitch and integrated into a new Mass Rapid Transport train station being built atop the site. It’s part of Singapore’s ambitious expansion plan for its public transport, while a bilateral agreement over the Singaporean-Malaysian 350km high-speed railway was also signed this week, setting concrete plans for a 2026 deadline in motion.

Hurrah! The London Children’s Book Fair has rolled into town like a very hungry caterpillar that can’t stop consuming wonderful illustrations, heartwarming storylines and all-round imaginative publishing. The specificity and focus of this small but perfectly formed fair are great strengths: whether you’re a Yuletide shopper, an aspiring illustrator or simply in the mood to browse, you’ll find a charming range of stands offering everything from drawing lessons and readings to original artworks, housed within the white walls of Islington’s Parasol Unit foundation for contemporary art. Just when you thought that the little people in your life were all about screen-swiping, this celebration of stories, paper and ink proves you happily (very happily) wrong. And did we mention Christmas? Perfect timing.

The Kochi-Muziris Biennale kicked off earlier this week and, despite only being in its third edition, the show has quickly become the nexus of India’s artworld. Continuing until 29 March, the event takes over the tumble-down colonial mansions and merchant halls of Kerala’s Fort Cochin, turning them into evocative exhibition halls with a global sweep of artists. We recommend the restored Pepper House – a historic “godown” warehouse at the water’s edge – and a visit to The Nicobar Edit, a Mumbai-based studio that’s running a pop-up alternative to the souvenir stand, selling ceramics, select clothing lines and gift-worthy finds in the Dutch-built bungalow David Hall.

Barcelona-based interiors magazine Apartamento made a name for itself by eschewing unrealistically spick-and-span homes and turning the lens onto the spaces in which architects, artists and creative sorts actually live and work. The smart souls behind it have now turned their editorial gaze to food, with a new 40-page magazine-cum-cookbook that’s equally counterintuitive and charming. There are recipes from 16 chefs and food lovers from around the world, including restaurant critic Nicholas Lander and chefs Fergus Henderson, Martha Stewart and Alice Waters. Appealingly simple illustrations (courtesy of Oscar Grønner) lend the book a feeling of naivety and despite having no food photography it feels rich, sumptuous, intimate and lip-smacking – particularly Henderson’s gingerbread pudding.

The Peruvian star chef on the richness of his home country’s cuisine and his new project high in the Andes.

From design to art, magazines to furniture, we all know the pleasure of collecting. But how do we ensure that passion beats pure investment? This was the question that Robert Bound posed to the speakers at the Monocle Quality of Life Conference in Vienna in 2016.