Mingli Seet

Mingli Seet connects food with culture and design, focusing on how people encounter taste, art and objects in contemporary leisure spaces. She writes for Time Out as a contributor, drawing on almost a decade of work as both a designer and a writer and bringing that visual, material sensibility into her coverage of dining and cultural experiences. Formerly an Arts & Culture writer at the Singapore edition, she now extends that lens to include restaurants and special menus that sit within a broader creative scene.

Food stories rooted in cultural experience

Her food coverage sits at the intersection of dining and atmosphere, with a clear interest in restaurants that build strong narratives around their menus. In her piece on Beijing’s viral Peking Chamber unveiling a special menu for its Singapore anniversary, she treats the offering as part of a larger story about a concept restaurant expanding its presence and marking milestones through limited dishes and collaborations. She writes about what diners can expect from such occasions in concrete terms—signature items, commemorative menus, and the setting—while keeping the focus on why the experience matters beyond the plate. This approach positions restaurant news as part of a cultural calendar rather than standalone culinary updates.

Art exhibitions and immersive experiences

A substantial part of Seet’s work examines art exhibitions and walk-through experiences that invite the public into imaginative worlds. She has covered Antoine de Saint Exupéry: When a Prince Takes Flight, an exhibition built around the story of The Little Prince, highlighting how familiar narratives are translated into curated spaces and visual installations for visitors of different ages. In her feature on The Portals Experience, she introduces a 13,000-square-foot sci-fi and fantasy art walk-through, focusing on scale, concept and the origins of genre imagery to show how such experiences appeal to both fans and newcomers. She also writes round-ups such as guides to the best art exhibitions in Singapore, using concise descriptions and practical details to orient readers in a busy gallery landscape while foregrounding the themes and media that distinguish each show.

In profiles of individual exhibitions, she often foregrounds the ideas driving the work. Her coverage of shows at institutions such as the Singapore Art Museum explains how installations built from unusual materials, like pieces formed from an artist’s son’s ultrasounds, invite reflection on vulnerability and human needs. Across these pieces, she balances accessible language with clear thematic framing, making conceptual art legible without diluting its complexity.

Material culture, collections and heritage spaces

Seet frequently writes about objects, collecting and the ways physical things carry memory. In a feature on a collector holding on to material culture in a world that is turning digital, she uses concrete examples—from retro items to everyday artefacts—to show how personal and historical value accumulates in collections over time. Her coverage of mini museums set inside the stores of heritage businesses introduces readers to small-scale displays embedded in working shops, emphasizing how commerce, craft and informal curation coexist in these spaces. She has also profiled Type8ar, a venue dedicated entirely to typewriters, describing it as a space where obsolete technology is preserved, celebrated and recontextualised for contemporary audiences.

This strand of her work often overlaps with design and nostalgia. She pays attention to how interiors, display strategies and the stories attached to objects shape the visitor’s experience. Rather than treating these places as curiosities, she positions them as part of a wider conversation about archiving, analogue culture and the value of physical media at a time when much of daily life is shifting online.

Interviews and cross-media storytelling

Beyond written features, Seet is active in interview-led and cross-media formats that extend Time Out’s coverage into video and social content. She fronts interviews with musicians and photographers, such as a feature following the music at Kim Cheng Street to introduce a local performer, where she links the sound to the surrounding neighbourhood and everyday life. In a profile of photographer Elmer Wee, she traces his relationship to a family legacy, connecting personal history to contemporary image-making.

She is also a key voice in “What’s Art?”, a Time Out Singapore series designed to showcase all forms of art, where she talks with artists and audiences on camera while pairing those conversations with written context. Her work on the Louis Vuitton x Murakami pop-up provides service-driven details—what to expect, how to register, and how the collaboration fits into the local creative district—demonstrating her ability to combine practical guidance with an eye for brand culture and design. Across these pieces, she uses interviews, short-form video and accessible prose to connect personalities, venues and events, consistently grounding coverage in how people will actually experience them.

Outside formal articles, Seet’s professional practice spans graphic design and writing, and she co-runs book-focused projects that engage with art books and reading communities. That multidisciplinary background shows up in her journalism through attention to layout, objects, and the tactile side of culture—whether the subject is a limited menu in a destination restaurant, an immersive fantasy art environment, or a small museum in the back of a heritage store. For story placement, she is a fit for narratives that sit where food, visual culture and material objects meet, with clear hooks in experience and a strong sense of how spaces look and feel.