Time Out’s far flung cousins have been beavering away this week, telling tales of museums dedicated to out-of-the-cup noodles and decadent banana bread.
Check out these feel-good headlines from around the world.
Hong Kong
The famous Cup Noodles Museum from Japan is coming to Hong Kong
You’ve read that right, folks. Japanese ramen brand Nissin is bringing its famous Cup Noodles Museum to Hong Kong. Set to open at China Hong Kong City in Tsim Sha Tsui, the museum will give Hongkongers a chance to ‘travel’ to Japan on one of the most creative, unique, and interactive journeys.
Offering a different experience from the original museum in Osaka, Japan, the Hong Kong venue will take up a 10,000 sq ft space featuring three newly created Insta-worthy spots, the debut of a global-exclusive workshop and two popular workshops from the museum in Japan.
Read the full story here.
New York
This New Yorker is selling decadent banana bread to the masses
Let’s take a deep dive into the world of banana bread, one of the (if not the) undisputed stars of this past COVID-19-plagued year. As Americans in lockdown tried their hands at a variety of recipes, one New Yorker has been perfecting her own banana bread for years—and the masses now get to taste her impeccable treat on a weekly basis. Allie Chernick, formerly a photo editor for Ralph Lauren and banana bread hobbyist and now the one-woman show behind Allie’s Banana Bread, has been making the sweet food following her grandma’s recipe for years. “The first time I actually started to sell it was when my friends in college would ask me to bake some for them to take to office parties,” recalls the 27-year-old. “I always thought I might one day start a business so I never gave away my recipe.” Interestingly enough, the pandemic didn’t actually kick-start her operation. After establishing an Instagram account to keep track of orders and put her name out there, Chernick started baking out of a commercial ghost kitchen in downtown Manhattan right before lockdown measures were in place. “My commercial kitchen was eventually forced to close,” she says. “And then banana bread became the number one thing in America.”
Read the full story here.
Singapore
400 babies born and hatched in Singapore’s wildlife parks
If you need a pick-me-up, here’s some reason to smile. Wildlife Reserves Singapore revealed that almost 400 babies were born across our four wildlife parks last year. Of these newborns, 29 species are listed as threatened under the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Standouts among these cuties include the twin Malayan tiger cubs. Born in the Night Safari at the close of 2020, they add a significant boost to dwindling population numbers – currently, only 150 individuals from this subspecies live in the wild. These little miracles are the first Malayan tigers to be born at Wildlife Reserves Singapore since 1988 too. The Night Safari also welcomed the 33rd addition to its Malayan tapir family, another threatened species on the IUCN’s Red List. Thanks to his cute looks, Bintang (meaning ‘star’) became something of a social media celebrity when he was born on June 29 last year.
Read the full story here.
UK
Diversity rules at this year’s British film awards
The Bafta nominations have been announced and they’ve brought with them an array of nice surprises and plenty of worthy picks, with female and ethnically diverse filmmakers celebrated as never before and a wide spectrum of stories and storytellers recognised. Leading the way with seven nominations each are Nomadland and Rocks, with the former lining up in the Best Film categories alongside The Father, The Mauritanian, Promising Young Woman and The Trial of the Chicago 7. Rocks picked up nods in the Best British Film, Best Director for Sarah Gavron, Best Actress for Bukky Bakray, Best Supporting Actress for Kosar Ali, Best Debut and Best Original Screenplay for writers Theresa Ikoko and Claire Wilson, as well as Best Casting.
Read the full story here.
