Gather quail eggs, harvest honey at boutique farm stay

On my two-night stay at Changi's newest boutique farm stay House of Melissa Evelin, recurrent cock-a-doodle-doos alien to me in my high-rise home quickly become a regular part of my day.

- Sarah Stanley

So does the blaring of a ship's horn in the distance, the buzzing of bees in the garden and getting my hands dirty with activities that draw me a little closer to nature.

In August, Mr Clarence Chua and Ms Candice Li, both 41, leased Civil Service Club (CSC) @ Changi's Seafront Chalet F in Netheravon Road.

The married couple - co-founders of leisure, lifestyle and hospitality experience provider The Unexpected - rebranded the chalet into House of Melissa Evelin, which opened on Nov 1.

The property spans over 929 sq m in total land size and guests have access to CSC's facilities such as its swimming pool and playground.

"Changi is the perfect setting to have indoor, outdoor, urban and farm environments. There's also no high-rise building in sight," says Mr Chua, who founded landscape firm Country Cousins in 2014 and sold it in 2019 to pursue his current business.

He adds that Melissa means "honey bee" in Greek and Evelin means "source of life" in Hebrew.

The building's facade is that of a typical chalet, with a red brick roof, an outdoor pavilion and a large yard. But the sprawling farm landscape adds a touch of rustic homeliness.

The couple spent six weeks transforming the space - building multiple chicken coops, planting herbs and banana trees, and redecorating its interior in a British-colonial style, including dark-stained wood furniture and leafy green plants. Altogether, refurbishments cost around $50,000.

While it is no luxury hotel, the property feels like a clean and spacious Airbnb. Two of its four rooms are workshop spaces and the remaining two are sea-facing bedrooms - with a queen-size bed in one and two double beds in the other - that can accommodate up to four adults.

I spend my afternoon at a two-hour fermentation class, conducted by experience and operations manager Nandini Dharan, 30, who is also the in-house chef.