kitonomics

moving on

2010-12-31T22:49:00.004+08:00

shoe mille feuille : prada ss11

2010-07-03T22:53:00.005+08:00

While the clothes from the the Prada SS11 mens collection did not quite match up to what the raw industrial runway set (together with the opening lighting sequence and the soundtrack by Frédéric Sanchez) had promised, the shoes yielded one of my favorite shoe concept from the Milan round of menswear shows. Dress shoe uppers were fused onto a rope soles which in turn were attached to an athletic rubber sole, forming a clunky footwear mille feuille with multiple identities conflated into one.

sejima wears comme

2010-05-24T22:52:00.009+08:00

Sejima wears a comme des garcons piece made for her by Rei, attending the Pritzker Prize ceremony, along with Ryue Nishisawa, at Ellis Island in New York last Monday. Long known to be an avid Comme fan and personal friend of Rei,the choice is no surprise, if not expected. Though the pair had collaborated on the Comme des Garcons exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo last year, I eagerly await the eventuality of these two visionary minds putting their hands together to create a more permanent Comme space in the future.

mast brothers chocolate

2010-05-21T00:45:00.007+08:00

" Hand crafted locally with organic cacao
sourced from farms in Madagascar.
Roasted in small batches. Hand cracked.
Refined using granite stone and aged.

date of Birth 4/15/10 "

Picked up a bar of this Mast Brothers chocolate when i wondered into the Steve Alan shop at the West Village in New York some days ago. Run by brothers Rick and Michael Mast, it is the only bean-to-bar artisan chocolate maker in New york city and one of few in the United states. Every bar is handcrafted by the brothers in their factory in Brooklyn using the best cacao beans sourced from small farms and coops around the world. Every type of chocolate bar produced every season is wrapped in a beautiful wrapping paper from Cartotecnica Rossi, giving the eyes a treat before the taste buds. The bar I bought was dark chocolate + fleur de sel and it is possibly one of the smoothest and richest chocolate I've ever had, 72% cacao complemented with a generous sprinkling of sea salt embedded within the bar (which tends to be quite timidly used in many salty chocolate confections I've tasted). Now back on the other side of the earth, I regret not buying a few more bars.

edit: video by way of jose at coolhunting

bras basah station : woha

2010-04-29T23:55:00.008+08:00

10 years in the making, the brand new Bras Basah station of the Circle line designed by Woha opened last week. Rising from the platform, one arrives at the bottom of a monumental void bathed in fluttering light refracted through the thin sheet of water hovering above the opening on top. The sky beyond this sheet of water is slightly obscured but signs of the outside world is reassuringly present. Ascending from the bottom of the void, the angles of the various elements play off each other, the retaining walls, light wells, thresholds,escalators, light and darkness, suspended in a tense composition of geometric forms. Cylindrical structural beams fly across the void, punching through the retaining walls, clad in a field of pale staggered rectangular panels. The bold angular geometry is reminiscent of 60s brutalist architecture, in its matter-of-factly straightforwardness, its muscularity and monumentality. There is a quiet restraint in the use of materials and patterns, yet one can still find within the spaces of the station a palette rich in nuances and subtle textures.

1111 lincoln road : HdeM

2010-04-25T23:08:00.003+08:00

Who says carparks do not deserve to be architecture? Parking spaces, the most used but least occupied part of a building, are usually relegated to a banal and unabashedly functional appendage to the building or place which they serve, and if they are incorporated as part of a building, they are masked and obscured from view, as if attempting to pretend that they are not there, like an ostrich with its head in the sand. With such blatant aesthetic neglect and perfunctory treatment, architects are ashamed of carparks, urbanistic deserts met with scorn by urbanists.

At 1111 Lincoln Road in Miami, this conception of parking structures is rendered a stereotype. Designed by Herzog and de Meuron for the developer, Robert Wennett, the carpark is conceived as an extension of the urban fabric in which the whole development is situated, with a mix programme thrown in, a car park with a cultural and urbanistic dimension. Attached to the adjacent residential block, the parking structure is a stack of brute concrete planes, placed at different heights from each other, some extravagantly high, held up by an array of irregular trapezoidal columns. The edges of the concrete planes are lined with railings made of thin cables, virtually invisible. It is like a skeletal counterpart to the more solid volume which it is attached to. There is an abstract and subime quality not commonly associated with parking structures, raw and unadorned, spare and muscular. It is a refreshing change from the more exuberant and baroque fare that the architects have been serving up in the last few years. The whole structure is open and airy, cars are displayed in full view without shame. Retail shops line the ground level, with an island of retail space situated on level 5. (For those who are nearby, a Taschen bookshop will open there soon and at the level 5 retail space, there will be a shop called Alchemist stocking Rick Owens and Margiela among other labels.) The space on level 2 and 5 are available for use as event spaces, art installations, weddings and whatever you can think of.

The structure evokes a constriction site, the superstructure of a yet to be completed building waiting to be wrapped up and for potential programmatic content to be injected. It is this unspecificity that makes the intent of such a bare and open structure so painfully obvious. Easy adaptability makes the structure usable for a wide range of functions and limitless possibilities for retrofitting. There may come a time when the automobile no longer will play such a vital role in the running of our society, and something else will take precedence. And it will be this time when the architecture of this structure can express it's true potential. It is a building designed to change with an elastic programming that is built into it from the very start. The quest for one offs and specificity becomes at best a foolish ideal; the dictum form follows function superseded by form accommodating functions.

"Christine Binswanger, the partner at Herzog & de Meuron in charge of 1111 Lincoln Road, tells of a nervous phone call from Wennett the day after it opened for business. "Most people don't know what it is," he said. "Those who know what it is think it's unfinished. Those who know it's finished don't know how to get in." When I visited, it wasn't yet humming quite in the way it is supposed to."
the observer 28.3.10

l'officiel alexander mcqueen tribute

2010-04-16T01:03:00.010+08:00

L'Officiel just published a special Alexander Mcqueen tribute issue. A collection of archival articles from the magazine in French and English and 1000 photos from past magazine editorials and runway shows, it offers a quick run-through of his work, beginning with his first collection at Givenchy. Condensed into 153 pages, it barely skims the surface of his achievements and influence, and the exclusion of his pre-Givenchy collections somewhat disappointing (his 1995 Highland Rape collection is probably one of his most well known). Nevertheless, with the absence any authoritative literature on him on the market currently, this tribute issue is perhaps the best summary of his work that one can find in print.

fergus henderson cooks

2010-04-10T23:48:00.006+08:00

"if you're going to kill the animal it seems only polite to use the whole thing"

Had the good fortune to score front row seats at a cooking workshop by chef Fergus Henderson a couple of weeks ago. Henderson is a founder and the head chef at the St John restaurant in London. Having dined at St John Bread and Wine (a sister restaurant of St John) a few times, I count myself a big fan of his style of rustic British cooking. Derived from traditional British recipes, the food is simple but not unsophisticated. There is a tremendous respect for the integrity of the ingredients and their inherent tastes and properties throughout the whole process, from preparing the ingredients right up to the dining table. St John is well known for serving offal and other parts and cuts of meat that are often not eaten, based on Henderson's philosophy of nose to tail eating, in every edible part of the animal is used. Dining at St John, especially for a first time patron, is always laden with small surprises and discoveries, unfamiliar and neglected parts of animals, more often than not, turn out to be unexpectedly delicious. In the workshop, he demonstrated two of his signature dishes from St John, pot roast pig's head and roasted bone marrow with parsley salad, and laced with some good olde deadpan british humour.

superheadz

2010-04-02T21:56:00.001+08:00

It was with sadness that I had received a Goodbye email from Asylum saying that their retail shop will be closing in a few weeks' time. Asylum, for the past 5 years has been, in Singapore, one of the foremost purveyors of all things cool, fun, hard to find and mostly useless. It was also with great excitement that i read in the same email that stock from the shop will be cleared at half off or more, perfect time to pick up things that I don't need but vaguely want to own. Though I was a little late to the sale, I managed to grab this superheadz digital harinezumi camera. Took it out over the weekend for some happy snapping. The very basic digital camera produces images with the washed out vignetted feel of lomo cameras but without the hassle of having to develop the film. Even the most banal scenes, cast in soft focus and shrouded with a green-blue hue, become charged with a sense of melancholy but they are also elevated above the everyday, even if it's only in the dead fragment of a moment past.

Bless n°40 Whatwasitagain

2010-03-27T22:40:00.004+08:00

layered stefano pilati

2010-03-26T23:51:00.001+08:00

Stefano Pilati must be one of the most stylish male fashion designer in recent times. He has always embodied the idea of the YSL man that he himself has crafted, relaxed tailoring with a pinch of razor sharp edge thrown in and worn with ineffable ease. I'm particularly enamoured by this picture of him taken with Melanie Ward on the streets of Paris, layered in a curious but harmonious ensemble of a grey chalk stripe blazer with white capri pants over leggings, a grey scarf a twirled around the neck and a piece of thin jersey fabric wrapped around the waist. The components when considered individually are menswear staples that can easily be found in a good wardrobe or in shops, but when put together, a game of juxtaposing and decontextualizing is played, everything tied together with subtle shifts of grey accented with accessories in warm and cool tones. What I find so attractive about his style is its ungraspability, it brushes at the edges of so many established styles in the vast continuum of fashion but itself yet to be named.

iggy's

2010-03-22T21:39:00.010+08:00

After a failed attempt to get a reservation during the inter-holiday break at the end of last year, I finally made it to Iggy's for lunch recently with a couple of friends. Known to be one of the best restaurants in Asia, we were naturally excited, even if it's just for lunch. Iggy's offers a set lunch that is priced at $55 for 2 appetizers, a main course and a dessert or $75 for an additional appetizer, a rather reasonable price compared to other restaurants of a similar calibre which charge a similar price for 3 courses.

Situated at The Regent, the restaurant is discreetly tucked at a corner on level 3 at the end of a row of function rooms. A small sign marks the unmanned entrance which leads into a narrow corridor, where where we are greeted by a member of the staff who happen to walk past as we reach the end. The restaurant is made up of a number of small dining areas - counter seating around a show kitchen in the main dining room and a few dining rooms which can be used for private parties. We are seated in a room that can best be described as a library. A wall of half empty shelves greets us as we enter, displaying a hodge podge of culinary books (including a paper folder of material from El Bulli as if to lend some credence from the famed establishment) and an gathering of random and uncoordinated ornaments. The room is small and potentially intimate, with warm lighting and a tastefully bland colour palette. A series of large red paintings, seemingly still dripping wet with pastels are hung on the walls. 3 similarly sized round tables are set in the room, one for us 3, one for a group of 5 and the other one for 2 persons. Even though the room is quite small there is an awkward spaciousness between the tables, as if the fellow diners are some friends of the host at a house party but the tables too far apart for any kind of spontaneous interaction to happen. Service is borderline polite, seemingly echoing the half hearted charm and warmth of the space. After taking too long deciding which courses to have, we finally made our orders.

Before being served the appetizers, we were treated to an intriguing pre-course which gave the meal quite a promising start. It wasn't quite an amuse bouche as it was a small platter that came in 2 parts, a glistening slice of tomato pierces through the centre with a small stainless steel pick and a frothy liquid that was contained in what looks like a mini beer mug. We were told as the platters were laid on the table that the liquid was tomato soda. Interesting. We were instructed to have the slice of tomato first before sipping the tomato soda, instructions which we followed obediently. Funny how we let go of all sense of criticism and self will when confronted with food concepts that are somewhat strange and unfamiliar. I popped the whole slice of tomato into my mouth and was hit with the berry like sweetness of the tomato, and which at this point i realized that the tomato was chilled and the temperature further enhanced the sweetness of the tomato. I then started sipping the soda in little mouthfuls (perhaps scaled down to match the mini-me proportion of the beer mug, haha). The flavour of the soda was mind bending, it tasted like tomato but in a different way from the tomato slice I had just eaten, perhaps more earthy and aromatic with a hint of saltiness, the flavour profile resembled a very light chorizo. It was strangely pleasant, but only in a small serving.

I was first served the mushroom flan with a fricasse of mushroom. The savory mushroom flan was served in a giant dish smouldered in mushroom foam and topped off with a medley of mushrooms. The flan was fairly well made, a delicate custard with the consistency of steamed egg, the flavour of the mushroom and egg well balanced. The delicate gelatinous quality of the flan was contrasted with the bite of the mushroom on top. The foam, though, added just a little bit of aromatics to the dish before quickly dissipating into a pool of liquid even before I had managed to polish off half the flan. With every component of the dish containing mushroom, I experienced a bit of palate fatigue towards the end, would have been great of there were something that broke the monotony. I was reminded of the mushroom fricasse I had some months ago at Jaan which was richer not only in terms of the profile of flavours but also texture and presentation.

For my second appetizer, I had the peppered beef tongue with tomato relish and root vegetables. Served on a bed of frisee, the slab of beef tongue was nicely browned at the top and bottom. Beef tongue is typically quite springy and chewy, so I was quite surprised by the one I had this time. The browned surface had a mild crisp which crumbles into a tender centre that had a texture somewhat akin to foie gras, a little less cooked than what I am used to but enjoyable. I can't comment about the taste of the beef as it was mostly covered by the taste of the crushed peppercorn which coated the beef. I can't say I didn't like the heaviness of the peppercorn but I enjoyed it the same way I enjoy a pack of heavily salted potato chips. The tomato relish added a nice tartness to the whole ensemble.

Being the gluttons that we are, we of course chose to have 3 appetizers. I rounded off the series of starting courses with the tomato tart with basil cress and parmigiano-reggiano. Expecting the same tomatoey goodness that the slice of tomato served at the beginning of the meal promised, I quickly bit into a chunk of the warm tomato tart only to be greeted by the underwhelming blandness of tomato filling followed by the flat crunch of the thin tart base. It wasn't inedibley bad, but definitely subpar. To be fair, this dish wasn't all bad, the shaved parmesan on top of the tart was excellent, kudos to the buyer for the restaurant and the great cheesemaker.

Next up was the main course. I had been tempted to order the Iggy's burger but in an attempt to my own predictability, I ordered the slow cooked red snapper with gruyere , baby aubergine, tomato confit and poultry jus. The description sounded safe enough but it turned out rather disappointing. The piece of snapper, though fresh and well cooked, rather tasteless and uninteresting. None of the garnishes shined (maybe except for the gruyere, kudos again to the buyer and the cheesemaker). But the thing i found most disappointing was that the chef somehow decided on a whim to throw in a heap of chopped green olives which totally overpowered the rest of the ingredients. This was made known to the waiter who promptly offered to remove the olives. I was secretly hoping that they would offer to change the whole thing altogether. The overall feel of the dish reminded me of a certain style of Chinese steamed fish done with dried salted radish (the olives being a decidedly western replacement, only grossly overused).

Rapidly descending downhill from the promising pre-course, this roller coaster ride of a meal ended with a major upswing as the dessert brought it to a relatively good end. I ordered the pina colada which consisted of 3 parts - a pina colada shake and a souffle and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. While the plating was not particularly elegant, the ensemble had a good variety of textures, juxtaposition of hot and cold, and different intensities of sweetness moderated by the tartness from the small chunks of pineapple in the shake. The souffle was perfectly raised, light and fluffy with a crusty top.

Being a restaurant that has received much accolades, I am surprised (and frankly, a little shocked) that the food served can very so greatly in terms of conceptualization and execution. Some people might say the lunch menu do not fully represent what the restaurant is but I think any good restaurant must be able to put the same amount of pride and passion into every plate regardless of price and time. I won't write the place off as yet, based on just a single meal, but at my next visit (whenever that is), I will have my critical eye (and tongue) sharpened.

Iggy's
level 3, The Regent Singapore
1 Cuscaden Road

patrick ervell fw10

2010-03-12T23:22:00.009+08:00

Inspired by the uniform of the Chinese army, Patrick Ervell's fw10 collection is a continuation of his cerebral take on sportswear, a study on silhouette, function and materiality. In this collection, the lines are hard and militaristic, many a times obscuring the lines of the body. The palette of solid neutrals is stark interspersed with splashes of deep red and gentle hues of yellow. The use of latex and rubber gave his signature tech garments a slight twist, juxtaposing the solidity of the fabrics with the soft translucency of the latex and rubber outerwear, floating ethereally around the body. The effect is almost magical in this set of photos taken by Tommy Ton of jakandjil blog.

rolex learning centre / sanaa

2010-03-02T00:42:00.000+08:00

a thousand tales

2010-02-21T13:38:00.008+08:00

Amongst the flurry of construction and shop refurbishments along Haji Lane, I came across this yet to be open cafe (presumably), occupying one of the shophouses. Called A Thousand Tales, name is possibly a reference to 1001 Arabian Nights, given its location is right smack in the heart of the Arab district, but that's just a guess. Looking through the window, the room is filled with an assortment of mid century modern chairs scattered within a palette of bare concrete, white plaster and exposed brick. An open riser staircase is set to one side of the space. The single stringer leads the eye to the lightwell at the back, which allows natural light to filter through casting the space with a diffused glow and soft shadows. I can't remember what used to be here. Many of the shops that came (and gone) after the pioneers at Haji Lane after the street's rapid rise into Singapore's urban consciousness, lack charm and quirkiness. Perhaps it is not a lack but the quirkiness degenerating into a homogeneous mass of popular culture, a low brow Haji Lane feel (if i may make a casual stereotyping). This new cafe seems to mark a slight shift from the current Haji Lane mould. And as a sucker for mid century modern furniture and a supporter of indie cafes, I hope this place will turn out to be a credible cafe with great coffee and friendly people, not just a trendy passer-by.

restaurant ember

2010-02-17T01:37:00.003+08:00

Walking into Restaurant Ember is like visiting the house of a close aunt who dishes out really nice food everytime you go. Situated at the ground floor of Hotel 1929, it serves what I can only describe as modern european cuisine with an asian twist. Introduced by a friend several years ago and it has become one of those places that I've been so many times that I almost can decide what I want to order even before I sit down. The menu hardly changes though not never. New menus are often minors tweaks than major revamp, why change sucessful dishes, right? On my last visit for dinner, my dinner party (all of whom are fans of the restaurant), got a little surprise with the addition of many new items on the menu. The perennial favorite, the pan fried Chilean seabass with yuzu butter sauce and mushroom ragout, along with other signature items were still there, but my favorite crab cake was no longer available, it has been on the menu for as long as I had known the place. channelling a sense of adventure and the slight disappointing, I decided to try items that I have never ordered before.

I started with foie gras with mango sauce, passionfruit and shrimp crisps, which was fairly good. Hard to mess up foie gras paired with a sweet/fruity sauce but I found the sauce to be a tad too sweet and the crisps, while adding a nice contrast to the buttery soft foie gras, somewhat distracting. It was quite good on the whole, just that frivolous parts can be trimmed off, foie gras is usually good enough to stand on its own and do not require boosts of flavour or great contrasts from the other components on the plate. Another version of foie gras at Ember paired with shoyu and mirin, which I have had on previous occasions, I find to be excellent, with the relatively subtle sweetness of the mirin and the aroma of the shoyu going very well with the foie gras.

For my main, I ordered a brand new item on the menu, the Chilean seabass encrusted with mentaiko with bottarga hollandiase sauce. The mentaiko crust added a nice dimension to the dish, contrasting with the silky texture of the fish. The bottarga hollandaise, presented (somewhat hilariously) like a muddy shoeprint, added yet another dimension to the dish, adding a luscious creaminess to the ensemble. The use of bottarga ties in very well with the rest of the components, creating a light fishy basenote that runs consistently thoughout.

There was less of a shuffle in the dessert menu. I had my usual banana tart with basil oil and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The tart consists of a flaky and buttery base topped with fanned slices of banana baked into a golden disc. Not mindblowing or paradigm changing (especially when it's the 10th time you are eating) but the flavours are harmonious, familiar and comforting. This perhaps goes for most of the dishes that I like Ember for, easy and familair but always with an extra something to make the meal special. I hope I can find something to replace the crabcake soon.

Restaurant Ember
Hotel 1929
50 Keong Saik Road

alexander mcqueen no more

2010-02-12T00:41:00.005+08:00

"British fashion designer Alexander McQueen has been found dead after taking his own life.
The 40-year-old committed suicide just days after the death of his beloved mother, Joyce, last Tuesday.
It is also just three years since his close friend, Isabella Blow - who plucked him from obscurity and helped him become a star - killed herself.
McQueen, who was christened Lee but used his middle name for his label, was found at his luxury flat in Mayfair, central London. It is believed he hanged himself." dailymail

Revisiting some of my favorite moments of Alexander Mcqueen.

SS99

SS01

SS03, especially, 9:01 onwards and more in part 2

and the wonderful he-outdid-himself-again SS10 collection

derelict orchard

2010-02-01T00:53:00.004+08:00

A gaping hole within the grove of malls and hotels lining the 2 sides of Orchard road, devoid of activity. The remnants of what once stood there lay behind a clean hoarding, sterile and unmarked, and unseen by the passers-by. There will be action on site in due time, but the doctor has yet to decide what to do, the carcass of the mostly demolished building lays silently waiting for a new body to be grafted on, and the bolt of lightning to bring it back to life. The adjacent buildings bear scars from the forceful removal their neighbour, a relationship as close as siamese twins, but as cold as runners running next to each other in a 100m race. More haunting is the imprint of what once stood there even before the now demolished building had existed. A phantasmagoric spectre hangs over the apathetic city dweller. What once stood there was deemed to have no value. Neither does it have a price.

yohji yamamoto gansevoort : junya ishigami

2010-01-23T23:55:00.013+08:00

We bid farewell to the Yohji Yamamoto Gansevoortstore as the company, plagued with financial troubles, begin to wind down its North American operations, ceasing all distribution on the continent.

The short lived Gansevoort store which opened with great fanfare in 2008 is designed by Junya Ishigami, a protege of Kazuyo Sejima. It is a remodeled wedge shape single storey building at the corner of a street junction. The exisitng brickwork was exposed giving the facade of the building a raw tactile quality. The brickwork is also rendered with a certain lightness, looking as if it is a thin skin folded with precision, forming razor sharp corners and soft subtle curves. The brickwork, punctuated with generous openings of clear frameless glass, provides a clear vista into and through the interior space.

The building volume is spliced into two portions with an oblique cut in the centre. The triangular volume housed the retail space while the other volume contained the stockroom and private areas. The urbanistic quality of this move is undeniable, it also gives the store it's quirk. which is the need for sales staff to go out of the building and go into the other wing to have access to stock and sizes not displayed on the sales floor.

According to ny.racked.com, the store closed last Tuesday with a flash 90% sale before the shutters went down for good. And apparently, Yohji's fanancial troubles are in great part caused by the recent spurt of lavish store openings, which besides the Gansevoort store, includes the Rue Cambon store in Paris and Antwerp store in the MOMU building. And as the mens fashion weeks begin for the fall winter 2010 season with Yohji Yamamoto Pour Homme missing on the schedule for the second season, we hear murmurs that the company is planning to close down the Antwerp and Rue Cambon stores. The company is now going through a great structural change, that will have a lasting impact on its future as a viable label. We can only hope that Yohji's creative integrity will not be further compromised.

paisajes emergentes : scenography

2010-01-19T23:30:00.001+08:00

Stumbled upon these wonderfully seductive sectional perspectives rendered in grayscale presented as part of the proposal for the Museum of Polish History in Warsaw by the studio Paisajes Emergentes. Like little pieces of scenography, each is a vignette of a different period of polish history, framed within the gallery box. The actors on stage are miniscule beside the overscaled set, made to illustrate events bigger than life. The visitors are the unsolicited actors, walking unwittingly into history by chance, or by fate, becoming part of the cast performing to an audience unseen beyond the virtual proscenium.

pictures from here.

Paisajes Emergentes is a studio collective based in Medellin and Bogota, Colombia.

papa palheta

2010-01-11T23:48:00.007+08:00

On an island overrun by starbucks and numerous other coffee chains, bombarding us with a staggering array of fancy (and often highly adulterated) coffees, it is sometimes hard to find a place who just wants to serve you a nice cup of cappuccino.

Recently, I've been recommended by a friend to check out Papa Palheta, a coffee tasting bar with a nice environement,located at the lower stretch of Bukit Timah Road, one of those sleepy areas of prime real estate at the edge of the city centre where you have no business there unless you work or live in the area. Having walked around the area quite a few times for a work project in the area, i was surprised, and somewhat embarassed, to have missed a nice coffee joint just a few numbers down from where my project is.

Occupying the back portion of a not-so-old shophouse, Papa Palheta is hidden from the main road, accessible only through the service lane turning in from Hooper Road off Bukit Timah Road. Entrance is only through the back door of the shophouse, unless you work in the interior design office occupying the space in the front of the building, which not so coincidentally is run by the same owner. And through the door, one enters into the backyard of the shophouse. The concrete paved floor and the bare white plaster walls are softened with some plants. Part of the yard is sheltered by clear polycarbinate sheets, almost greenhouse-like. Mismatched chairs, benches and tables are scattered around the yard, forming an informal sitting area. And at the end of the yard, one can see, through the window, the indoor sitting area which is furnished with an eclectic mix of furniture (Chinese style 3 seaters and wicker chairs and glass cabinets stuffed full with bolts of fabric). The overall ambience of the place is akin to the backyard or living room of somebody's home, a stranger's home, but a friendly stranger's home.

Papa Palheta specializes in estate, micro lot and single origin coffee beans which are roasted in-house and packaged for retail. The space is techinically not a cafe but more of a retail space (as we were reminded numerous times by the wait staff) but patrons are able to sample the coffee within the premises, as many cups as they like, after which the patron may pay as muc or as little as they want by dropping money into an unguarded jar within the living room. Or one may choose to buy some of the coffee beans are available for sale on the spot.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, whichever way you see it, the Singaporean buffet mentality didn't quite come over me during my visit and I left having enjoyed only one glass of cafe latte and good conversation with some friends. I'm not sure how well kept a secret Papa Palheta is, but I now know a place for a good cuppa the next time I'm in the area for work, crossing my fingers that a nice bakery will open next door soon.

papa palheta

140 bukit timah road

eprfect verything

2010-01-04T10:00:00.004+08:00

Came across this carpet sweater from Bless Nr. 34 while surfing yahoo.jp . It is one of the many wacky things that I have always been fiending for, ever since I saw the presentation. The garment is an irreverent and random intersection of two completely unrelated classic objects, one part goofy knit sweater (made by John Smedley no less), the other part a small persian carpet fused to the back of the sweater forming a thick cape, as if the creator had read superman comics and aladdin simultaneously, an eprfect combination.

pictures by samuel de geode

Bless n°34 Eprfect Verything

daniel svahn pallarna

2009-12-30T10:50:00.004+08:00

"Daniel Svahn brought the concept of Chinese Whispers to the designing of his Pallarna (Swedish for stools). He took an image of Jacobsen’s ‘Seven’ chair and wrote a description of it without explicitly saying it was a chair. Another designer then sketched a design based on his text. A third designer wrote a text based on that image which was passed to a fourth to draw it. ‘Each step created variations and produced a final design that I might not have come up with myself,’ says Svahn. ‘The shape took off based on different interpretations so it was an intensely shared process.’ "
wallpaper graduate directory 2010

It would be interesting if he had also made the chair that was sketched by the second designer and placed them along side the Jacobsen 7 series chair which was the starting point. The design process plays on the idea of multiple (mis)interpretation and using the limitations of text into an exploratory tool, which in itself is intriguing, but in this case, the execution might have been more provocative if the concept was pushed a little further by repeating the steps a few more times, resulting in a more drastic departure from the original, perhaps letting it transform into another type of furniture or even into something outside the realm of a functional object.

daniel svahn
wallpaper graduate directory

menya shinchan

2009-12-22T23:50:00.007+08:00

Menya Shinchan is a small ramen house located at a discreet spot in a little yard off the main pedestrian street at Robertson Quay, a spot I always think of as the armpit of Robertson Quay or if I were to be asked for directions to the place, I would say it is "somewhere near the toilet" and people fairly familiar with the sanitary geography area would almost immediately understand. Personal hygiene aside, I have not noticed the shop until a friend pointed it out to me one evening on our way for some drinks (while waiting for another friend who was using the toilet! haha!).

The shop sits beside a Thai restaurant (which is pretty excellent by the way) facing the yard, its full glass shop windows plastered with homemade signs and menu board, modestly proud, like a small family business. The interior is a little sparse but warm, almost charming. The space is wide and shallow with the kitchen at the back, sceened with more homemade signs and short fabric curtains. Counter seating line the exterior side of the kitchen with stacks of bowls, utennsils and condiments placed in front of diners. Tables for 4 fill up the rest of the dining area, save for the cashier counter near the door. The mood is reminiscent of the cramped ramen shops in Tokyo but the scale is palatial in comparison, and perhaps, lacking little buzz of after-work chatter or the excitement of the cook flinging hot ramen into bowls of hot soup right in front of you.

I ordered the shoyu pork bone sinjiro ramen expecting a typical bowl of ramen, perhaps a slightly tweaked version with a signature twist or some secret stock. But it turned out to be a a bowl piled high with a heap of blanched cabbage and bean sprouts drizzled with a bit of soya sauce. The egg and chashu were lined at the side, leaning against the mountain of cabbage. My first thought was" where are the noodles?!", which prompted my next course of action which was to start excavating the mountain. Like a hidden pot of gold, the noodles were buried at the bottom, I almost had to overturn the pile of greens to find it. The noodles were not the typical ramen noodles but thicker and more chewy, similar to something one might find in prawn soup noodles or fishball noodles in Singapore. The shoyu pork bone stock was robust in flavour with a film of oil floating on top giving the stock a little aromatic boost. The cha-shu at the side was unimaginably tender, literally dissolving with the press of the tongue in your mouth. The egg, though, was somewhat disappointing with the yolk fully cooked. A well cooked liquid centre egg, to me, is essential to the ramen experience. The ramen was also served with chopped garlic which I had forgotten to add, as I dove straight into the noodles (or rather, trying to find the noodles).

This particular style of the ramen was not something I am familiar with. A little research revealed that this style is in fact a version of the well known Ramen Jiro of Tokyo. While quite a handful of franchise Ramen Jiro shops can be found in Tokyo, all of their lineage can be traced to the Mita Honten (三田本店) in Mita, catering to the hoards of hungry students from Keio University with their hearty portions. Sinjiro 新二郎 in fact means new jiro, its provenence of the style undoubtable.

The serving portion at Menya Shinchan (as at Ramen Jiro) is, at the risk of sounding sexist, very manly, but if you happen not to have the appetite for a full porion of the sinjiro ramen, Menya Shinchan serves a smaller version called the madame sinjiro ramen, for people with more petite stomachs.

menya shinchan
30, robertson quay
riverside view #01-05

holl in herning

2009-12-13T23:36:00.003+08:00

Lying on the flat landscape of Herning, is the recently completed Herning Center of the Arts designed by Steven Holl. Resembling a pile of white shirt sleeves, it forms a counterpoint to the old Angli shirt factory sitting across the street., which is shaped like a dark grey shirt collar. The "sleeves" are interwined and forms the roof of the building, draping over the spaces within, forming a convex underbelly that is reminiscent of Jørn Utzon's Bagsværd Church and the Kuwait National Assembly.

However, the most in triguing part of the building, for me, is the wrinkled concrete surface found on the exterior of the building. Created by inserting fabric tarps into the formwork in which the fresh concrete is poured - allowing the concrete to take the shape of the creases and folds created by the tarp, the wall yields a kind of softness that is hard to create using conventional casting techniques.The quality is fabric like and visually soft, uncharacteristic for concrete; the tactile nature of the wall begs the visitor to touch it, to verify its materiality. There is an element of chance involved in its creation; neither the builders nor the architects have total control of exactly what the surface would eventually look like till the formwork of the concrete has been removed. They can only set the condition in which the surface is formed, almost like playing a surrealist game.

More about the building here and here.

some lang

2009-12-09T01:12:00.004+08:00

reminding myself how awesome pre-Theory Helmut Lang was (and still is), some detail pictures from his shows in 03 that I came across on while forum surfing. it is startling how little the design of the pieces have aged, if at all.

aesop store singapore

2009-12-04T11:57:00.002+08:00

"In our Singapore store, thirty kilometres of coconut husk string, a regional product, was used to construct a dynamic whole-ceiling light fixture. When combined en mass, the seemingly insignificant threads mesmerise and remind one of airline magazine flight maps."

“Geography, climate and light all inform which path we take with our design decisions. For Singapore, we referenced the humble ball of twine with which we wrap and detail our gift boxes. The entire store is framed with meticulously detailed grids that suspend twine from the ceiling. The idea is to work with a sombre material palette in an unexpected way. We’ve used coir matting as carpet and marine plywood to detail our storage units which conceal a palette of Corbusier-inspired coloured wall panels.”

Designed by Melbourne office March Studio, in collaboration with Aesop director, Dennis Paphitis, the new Aesop store in Singapore at Millenia Walk is a great departure from the typical cool and clinical Aesop store interiors. Applied across the whole ceiling, the dangling strings diffuses the light emitting from the naked bulbs nestled within, casting a warm glow onto the simple interior space. The deep fuzziness of the ceiling fixture visually lowers the height of the space, bringing it to a level that is more appropriate for the floor area, forming a flatter spatial proportion that is more pleasant and intimate. Maintenance issues aside, the result is decidedly modern and powerful for such a small space, creating a kind of visual tactility (or physical if you are tall enough) and restrained sensuality that you do not often find in many of the flamboyantly patterned architectural surfaces that are all the rage right now.

underscore : the _ issue

2009-12-01T23:20:00.002+08:00

Local design collective, HJGHER, launches Underscore, an independent semi-regular publication with each issue based around a single thematic focus. With contributions from writers around the world (including our friend shan), the theme of the first issue circles around the idea of Honesty, Integrity, Quality and Authenticity. What underlies the whole project is the love of print and typography with great care taken in the layout, typeface (the one used for the titles was specially designed for the publication) and paper stock, as can be seen in the magazine launch exhibition at Asylum which displayed mock-ups, draft pages, thumbnails and other scraps describing the process of putting the first issue into print.

The vibe is vaguely monocle-esque with same attention to presentation and luscious tactile feel; the content is equally off-beat but lacking the unreal optimism of the Monocle spirit.

s$15 www.theissuemagazine.com

osvaldo

2009-11-28T12:51:00.011+08:00

Housed in the corner of a refurbished 1940s Customs House, now known as Maxwell Chambers, Osvaldo is family style Italian restaurant owned and run by Chef Osvaldo Forlino, formerly of the Forlino Restaurant at the Fullerton, which still uses his name. Having left Forlino, he wanted to put behind formal high end cuisine and do something simpler and closer to his heart. The food at Osvaldo is best described as rustic and down-to-earth. There is no overwrought plating or presentation, just honest food with excellent ingredients.

Entering the restaurant through the door which was once the main entry to the building facing the junction of Maxwell Road and Shenton Way, the whole restaurant comes into view. Seperated onto 2 split levels (probably pre-exisiting and not by design), the space is large with high ceiling but at the same time intimate and welcoming. Littled with Chef Osvaldo's collection anitque furniture, the decor is simple and rustic, if a little nonchalant and haphazard (in an endearing and homely way).

In between tending the kitchen, Chef Forlino can be seen going from table to table casually chatting with patrons, explaining the food and checking if everything is alright. As this was our first proper meal at the restaurant (I have been to the restaurant previously but only for a quick but excellent pasta during lunch time),we spoke to Chef Forlino who offered to arrange for an assortment of items for the table to share.

Having no idea which items we were going to be served, the meal began with a food train of antipasti. We were served a total of 7 antipasti which includes bell pappers stuff with tuna mayo, russian salad, bresaola, cold cuts platter, fresh anchovies, bruschetta and buffalo mozarrella.

The anti pasti were mostly excellent, perhaps with the exception of the russian salad which was a little like what you might get as part of lunch in some cafeteria. The bruschetta was particularly outstanding, the sweetness of the diced tomato highlighted with olive oil and basil. The waiter, when he served the Bruschetta, quipped, "can make at home!". The simplest food allows the natural falvour of the ingredients to be expressed but also requires the use of good ingredients as the lack of flavour cannot be masked by seasoning.

After the antipasti, we were served 3 pastas to be shared. Firstly, it was the Piemonte agnolotti with veal shank sauce. Stuffed with bacon, the pillows of agnolotti were bursting with the smoky goodness of bacon, which was complemented by the lightness of the veal sauce. The second one was the home made tajarin with squid ink sauce. I usually do not order squid ink pasta but I rather enjoyed this one. The last and my favorite one was the tagliatelle with wild boar ragout. This dish is simply tagliatelle tossed with minced pork in broth, basically an Italian bak chor mee. I am partial to flat pastas but the winner in this dish for me is the pork ragout which was so full of flavour. All the pastas were perfectly cooked, firm with a bit of bite.

Being rather gluttonous that day, we ordered the lamb shank which was recommended by the waiter who had served us earlier. The meat on the lamb shank, together with the gelatinous tissue around the joint, slid off the bone with a slight pull of the fork, tender and juicy (melt-in-your-mouth, to use the food blogger cliche), with the sprig of rosemary scenting every bite.

We rounded off the meal with a trio of desserts, which perhaps were rather disappointing. The more interesting one was the ice cream spaghetti which was strings of vanilla ice cream served with strawberry syrup. Someone commented it tasted like Wall's ice cream in a good way, but I found the sweetness rather flat. My favorite was unexpectedly the meringue sandwich with just a dollop of cream in the centre, creating a nice contrast in texture and sweetness.

Using locally sourced fresh ingredients and from the Forlino family farm in Italy, Osvaldo serves up uncomplicated food that tingles the tastebuds without try too hard. There is an inherent honesty that permeates beyond the food into every element of the restaurant, from the casual atmosphere, the charming but not overthought decor and the professional service. The outstanding front of house staff played a particularly important part in crafting the experience at Osvaldo. Ample knowledge of the food served and sincere recommendations, coupled friendly banter, are not something that is easy to find in Singapore restaurants; it's like being hosted in a friend's home. The idea of a cosy neighbourhood Italian restuarant serving home style Italian food is perhaps still a rather foreign concept in Singapore, but Osvaldo has scored very high marks in my books.

Osvaldo
Unit 03, 01/F
Maxwell Chambers
32 Maxwell Road

the burj

2009-11-23T22:06:00.006+08:00

A view from the highest built point in the world, the tip of the spire of the Burj Dubai. The surrounding land, the new "downtown Dubai", acquires a Google Earth like quality. The city is seen from a god-like perspective, detached yet with startling but false sense of clarity. The city can be observed in its entirety but with poor definition. The scene is static, like a photograph frozen in time, any sense of life is projected, imagined. The flatness of the land emphasized, devoid of natural terrain; the surrounding buildings dwarfed and distant, viewed like a Sketchup model plonked onto google earth, seen with an unnatral and unlikely angle. The immensity of the building has pushed it far beyond the threshold of being a tightly interwoven part of the city. To manyit will be the new icon of Dubai, one of pure bigness. Like a rupture in the urban fabric, the burj is a city in its own and on its own, one can only look out from it or look at it.

braided sweater 1983

2009-11-20T01:03:00.000+08:00

This braided knit sweater would not look out of place if it appeared on the runway today for the current fall/winter collection or even the next fall/winter collection. Looking like a cross between SNS Herning and Fabric Interseasons, it is actually from the comme des garcons fall/winter 1983 collection, looking as relevant (perhaps irreverent) today as it was more than 25 years ago. There is a sense of timelessness, but not of the kind one would normally associate with classic lines and simplicity, and being able to fall within the narrow and constantly shifting bounds of social and aesthetic conventions over time. Timelessness, in this case, is achieved by operating at the margins of or beyond these conventions, outside the realm of trends (but I must caution that there is a fine line between this and being purely wilful and irrelevant). The clutch of simplicty is shrugged off and the garment, rich in expression but decidedly undateable, bears the ability, and indeed demands, to be revisited time and again.

bape singapore

2009-11-15T02:48:00.013+08:00

Had a little WTF moment when I saw this while walking down Orchard Road last night. This impending arrival of A Bathing Ape in Singapore has taken me a little by surprise, having heard no news about its opening before chancing upon it (I pride myself on being updated with the local retail scene), and the choice of the location in a shopping arcade along a major shopping street. The popularity of Bape has waned considerably since its height during the early 2000s, especially in Japan where it no longer has the same cred nor mystique as it once had; and it is making moves into markets where there is still a somewhat behind-the-curve following.

While I have no interest in the products nor do I associate with the culture surrounding the brand, I do enjoy, in a detached way, the interiors of the various A Bathing Ape stores designed by Wonderwall which I assume will be doing the Singapore store too.

Further down the road, a uniqlo megastore will open at 313somerset in a couple of weeks, which I am also hoping to be designed by Wonderwall who has done the New York flagship and the london Oxford Street stores.

chloe early: clouded apollo

2009-11-08T19:24:00.007+08:00

a riveting mashup of images and textures, Chloe Early's latest gallery juxtaposes urban housing blocks, tanks, and bodies sprawled out. her work on perspex is particularly compelling, introducing an element of translucency to each piece, a texture she exploits along with her palette of rough paint scrapings and drips. the aluminium pieces were slightly less convincing, losing the tight mesh of narrative.

i especially liked the printed urban landscape cutting into the painted space - the stark, looming blocks sticking through. there were prints for sale as well, also with the same urban motifs, but they felt different...

image on the right is a work-in-progress of the piece above it.

'Clouded Apollo' at the StolenSpace gallery,
Nov 5 - 29

comme des garcons x beatles

2009-11-06T22:25:00.007+08:00

“For Rei Kawakubo’s hotly anticipated collaboration with The Beatles, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. In fact, the logo of Apple Corps Ltd. — the London-based company that manages the legacy and musical catalogue of the British band — sits next to Kawakubo’s signature polkadots on a range of travel bags, the core of the collection, along with shirts and T-shirts.

Priced from around $115 for a T-shirt up to $860 for the most expensive bag, The Beatles/Comme des Garçons label is to launch Nov. 20 in Tokyo at the Trading Museum, a new Comme store concept in the Gyre building. Dover Street Market, Kawakubo’s multibrand emporium in London, is to host the British launch on Nov. 27, with a further commercial rollout planned for 2010.” WWD

Two heads are better than one, and at Comme des Garcons, two brands, it seems, sell better than one. No strangers to collaborations, co-branded temporary lines have become the mainstay of the CdG family.While I have enjoyed and have been surprised by many of their past collaborations, even more leave me cold and thinking it is some sort of souless money making scam, an evil necessary only to keep the mainlines running. But recent news of CdG's collaboration on a line of bags and tees with the Beatles left me puzzled. I am immediately reminded of the Rolling Stones collection of the Homme Plus ss06 collection and the earlier Pink Panther collection (currently being reissued in the Home Plus Evergreen line), both of which were full collections with the benefit of having classic comme construction as a foundation and a breadth of pieces

The Beatles collaboration, as a line of only bags and tees sounds like something produced just to make money with little work involved except to tack on logoes onto a rather banal product that had already been designed. Having seen this lone picture of the outcome of the collaboration, I am tempted to think it might be something a little more than a just a blatant merchandising venture, but my skeptics's hat refuses to come off my head.

Rei, Rei, Rei..... when will you stop.

lindsey adelman bubbles

2009-11-03T22:15:00.000+08:00

Lindsey Adelman's lighting fixtures are like wild mechanical plants, sprouting from a ceiling or from the floor on a stem, with pivoting stainless steel arms, sometimes brass, branching off like in a classical molecular structure. The branches terminate with glass buds at the ends, each housing a naked electric bulb which feed off the energy coursing through the wires embedded within the branches and stem, blooming in a display of anti-photosynthesis at the flick of a switch. Sometimes, the light is melon-like, sitting freely on the floor with vines sprawling across it, alwasy ready t be plucked and transplanted to another location, perhaps a tabletop.

There is a quiet botanical beauty despite the use of cold inorganic materials. Each fixture is made to order and prices will ensure the farmer is well fed. The description of the 3-globe with naked bulb reads,"...add $1600 for each globe and $400 for each socket without glass."

see more of her work here.

opening ceremony x billy kirk

2009-10-30T23:55:00.007+08:00

Opening Ceremony collaborates with Billykirk to create this quirky confection of waxed canvas and leather. Labelled as a laptop satchel, the simple rectangular shape of the bag is also suitable for use as a work or school bag. The main body is made from an earthy dark olive colour waxed canvas with the bottom laid with leather. The design is highly practical with a durable leather shoulder strap, handle and a leather top flap with an attached buckle. The design might be simple and practical but the coloured leather components give it sort of a washed-out-de-stij vibe, melding classic leathercraft with the sembelance of modernist art.

available here

erwin hauer : continua

2009-10-26T23:40:00.006+08:00

The Continua screens of Erwin Hauer are at once, skin and space, liquid and stone. The anitclastic surface curves and weaves into itself in periodic rhythm, infinitely expandable through modular addition. Though earlier versions had to be put together from indivdual handle-like components, advancement in casting technology allowed single, and later, multiple modules to be cast in a single piece. The graphic quality of the screen is striking, especially in a large expanse, where it visually feels like a punctuated geometric sheet. Up close, the sculptural and spatial qualities become apparent, the curvature morphs in 3 dimensions, concave becoming convex, forming a cavity in between through which light, air and space filters through. The screen casts a shadow within itself through its own depth forming an interplay of light and shade; its curved surface reflects incidental light in multiple directions, casting a diffused, ethereal glow onto itself.

Some words from Hauer about his Continua screens here.

taste paradise : century egg lime sorbet

2009-10-23T00:24:00.005+08:00

Once in a while, you might come across something so wacky and ridiculous but ends up changing your mind about something. There are quite a number of food that I would actively avoid when I eat and century egg is one of them. I don't find the look of century egg unpleasant as much as I dislike the taste. Recently, I had a little appetizer at Taste Paradise at i_on that made me rethink my aversion to century egg.

This appetizer daringly combines coarsely chopped century egg with lime sorbet and topped with a small portion of finely chopped pink Japanese pickled ginger. The combination is served cold in an amuse bouche size on a margiela-esque bent . The components are broken down but not mixed, gelatinous chunks of the dark brown century egg "white" can still be discerned, juxtaposed with more cheery shade of the pale green lime sorbet and candy pink of the pickled ginger. The result is a petite but intriguing mouthful that is layered in both texture and flavour. The lime sorbet masks the flavour in the century egg that I find quite unpleasant but leaves a clean but strong eggy end note after the citrusy perk from the sorbet subsides. The pickled ginger forms an underlying flavour which pulls the whole thing together. The use of Japanese pickled ginger is also a twist on how century egg is traditionally eaten with Chinese pickled ginger.

While I still do not like century egg on it's own after having this, but I do know now that it is not entirely unpleasant and can, in the right hands, be somewhat enjoyable.

taste paradise
2 orchard turn
i_on orchard
#04-07

le bistrot

2009-10-18T11:59:00.019+08:00

It's been a long time since I've visted Le Bistrot. The last time I went was some years ago when they were still operating out of their original Joo Chiat shop, a small cosy corner at the ground floor of an apartment building with, maybe, 10-15 tables and one person running the house, in addition to the lone chef at the back. The fare was straightforward, bistro staples like steak and onion soup. One of my favorite was their crab salad, freshly deshelled blue crab mixed with a little mayonaisse and a light dash of lemon juice, wonderful flavour with no gimmicks. The decor was equally unpretentious.

Move forward a couple of years, they are now at Stadium Cove, a cluster of restaurant at the bottom of the Singapore Indoor Stadium near the Kallang Basin. The space is visibly bigger and more "designed" than the original. Intentionally mismatched country style chairs arranged around wooden tables, a partition of unevenly cut timber planks divide the space into 2, the special menu chalked onto the blackboard wall, visible as the diner is led into the main dining area. The space is lit by an array of naked bulbs. The vibe is sort of a hip modern-rustic, the ambience is still casual but more self-consciously so. There were more wait staff managing the ful house, looking more frazzled and a little less personal then I remembered.

I started the meal with the vichyssoise glacée which was a chilled leek and potato soup paired with a cold Pernod marinated tiger prawn with avruga caviar on a bed of telegraphic cucumber. The chilled soup which came in a small glass was light and refreshing, thick but not heavy, though the flavour veered towards the bland side and the profile was somewhat monotonous. The Pernod marinated tiger prawn provided a little perk of flavour with the Pernod seeping into the cool telesgraphic cucmber below. You might ask what is a telegraphic cucmber and I honestly admit that I had not idea and had ordered this partly because I was curious about it. The cucmber came in a single long coil like a telephone wire and I, at that point, thought telegraphic refers to the cut of the cucmber but a little research on google some time later revealed that telegraphic cucmber is actually a variety of cucumber which is characteristically long and thin with a hook at the end. The coil cut cucumber was a fun way to eat cucumber nevertheless.

For my main, I shared a cote de boeuf with a friend. A cote de boeuf is basically a rib steak that comes with a single rib bone, one serving size is usually big enough for 2 persons. We had initially wanted it done medium rare but was advised that due to the thickness of the steak, the steak would have reached medium doneness by the time the centre has been properly cooked. We agreed with recommendation with the implicit idea that it was the best way for the steak to be cooked. The steak arrived already sliced portioned into 2 plates, the centre was pink and moist and a pool of jus has already dripped off the sliced steak. The sight was quite tantalizing, the steak looking more pink and moist then What I had expected. We tucked in striaghtaway (well, after taking photos). The steak was wonderful, well seasoned and perfectly cooked, every part of it was moist and bursting with beautiful flavour. The steak also came with a big basket of aioli fries and mesclun salad at the side which were quite enjoyable in their own right but totally overshadowed by the steak.

Already quite full from the steak, I shared a dessert with a few others. We ordered the pastilla, which was a dark chcoclate pastachio ganache wrapped in filo pastry with a scoop of vanilla ice cream at the side. The ganache was nice and rich and the basil oil drizzled onto the pastry provided a pleasant contrasting note, though the dessert as a whole, was not terribly exciting and the plating felt a little half hearted.

Since starting at their Joo Chiat shop and now at Stadium Cove, Le Bistrot has been operating with a prixe fixe menu, fixed prices for either a 2 or 3 course meal. However , the prixe fixe system at Le Bistrot is perhaps increasingly more theory than practice as many items on the menu carry with them a surcharge on top of the prixe fixe, meaning the the cost of your meal varies depending on the items you choose. The surcharge is usuallyaround$10 but it is still fairly significant considering the 3 course prixe fixe is $60 and the possibility of multiple surcharges for different courses.

Prices aside, Le Bistrot serves one of the best steak I've tasted in Singapore, so good that it makes the the other non-steak courses on their menu seem mediocre. However, their epicural aspirations can definitely be felt on their current menu which has gotten more elaborate compared to their one they used to have at Joo Chiat. Their website says they are now a "bistronomique", a gastronomic bistro bringing "a new twist on the traditional French bistro" through the "creative yet idiomatic use of classic techniques and traditional ingredients to gastronomic ends". I'm all for culinary experimentation and creativity, but I hope that they do not forget the roots of the restaurant as a simple down-to-earth bistro. As long as they continue to serve up a mean slab of steak, I will be a happy return customer.

le bistrot
2 stadium walk
#01-03, singapore indoor stadium

patrik ervell SS10

2009-10-16T07:12:00.002+08:00

the highlight of this show, for me, was Ervell's oxidised metal fabrics that he sent down the runway in shirts, suiting and harringtons. his work is often placed into a bracket, with words like 'minimal' and 'modern american' thrown about because of his consistent visual motifs of club collars, functional outerwear, denim and his pastel-driven colour palette. however, a sample shirt i found sometime last year made of cotton interwoven with metal filament really put a new light on his work. his collections are often as much an experiment with fabrics as well as visual references, apparent in pieces like his jackets in the gold foil polyurethane found on emergency blankets, to his faux-shearling trims woven from sheep's hair, something only previously used on luxury teddy bears, both from FW09. someone on superfuture made the reference to Helmut Lang in his cerebral approach to his collections, which is a comparison at least worth considering...

all these influences are evident in this collection, one of his more overt in the last few seasons. very much keen to handle the pieces when they drop at DSM in spring.

SANAA nextmaruni chair

2009-10-14T22:15:00.003+08:00

You might recognize the "rabbit" chair from photos of projects by SANAA (the collaborative practice of Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa), and it is likely that you have last seen it at the most recent Serpentine Pavilion which they designed. The chair, also designed by SANAA, is part of the Nextmaruni range of chairs by the Hiroshima based furniture company Maruni Wood Industries, in which renown designers are invited to design production pieces for the line. Designed in the tradition of Arne Jacobsen's series 7 chairs, the "rabbit" chair is made up of a steam bent plywood shell set onto a stainless steel leg frame. The plywood shell is spliced halfway in the middle, with the shape of the backrest looking like a pair of rabbit ears, perhaps more whimsical and easily liked than a minimalist white SANAA building.The articulation also serves an ergonomic function, diverting the pressure on the back of the a person to the side, leaving the spine free from any contact with a hard surface Wouldn't mind getting one of these for my room as a companion to the Chair_One I'm using now. Unfortunately, stockists outside of Japan are scarce and I'm too cheap to pay for shipping. And at ¥30000 each, the the chair is not particularly easy on the pocket, so for now, it'll just remain on my to-buy list.

bless no.39 heart ringers

2009-10-11T08:00:00.005+08:00

The best way to appreciate a Bless collection is not to attempt explaining or critiquing it. Just enjoy the presentation and looks in all it's humour and kookiness, try on a few pieces if you are near a brick and mortar stockist.

bless no.39 looks

hemeroscopium house

2009-10-10T08:51:00.024+08:00

The Hemeroscopium House in Las Rozas, Madrid looks like a reincarnation of Mies' Farnsworth House in the form of a freeway interchange The space is defined by the structure, but not with the order, clarity and stability of Farnsworth House, but with a seemingly free form and visually unstable collage of a variety of exaggerated infrastructure scale component. A floor height steel girder joined to an enormous concrete I-section, stacked onto an inverted concrete channel. An inverted-V structure extends from the ground to suport the lap pool, itself a structural concrete channel closed at the ends with glass to form the water container, which cantilevers over the front yard. Beginning at with a mother beam at the bottom, the helical ensemble of oversized structures ends with a solid block of granite at the top, forming a counterweight to the delicate equilibrium of force and gravity. The result is sublime, as if the structures were caught in state of dynamic movement and frozen in time, the space observed in its precarious existence, formed only in this temporal standstill, willed by forces unknown. The lightness and openess of the space is emphasized by, if not a consequence of, the heaviness of the structures. The only wall infill material is glass, a material that denies it very own existence. The landscape is at once, allowed to flow into the domestic space and seperate from it.

The house is an exercise in reconsidering the conventional tripartite notion of a house, floor, wall and roof; it also subverts modernist ideas of structural clarity and stability and of the clear delineation between structure and infill. It does so not with the pastiche of postmodernist architecture, nor skirts the discourse with organic forms or regressive nostalgia. It is essentially the same as Farnsworth House, a domestic space defined by pure structure with unobstructed connection to the landscape. It is however, a grostesque version (in a Bakhtin-Rabalaian way), a satire, but no less beautiful.

architect/ensamble studio

TWG tea salon

2009-10-06T01:40:00.001+08:00

Teas are the new wines without the crazy sommelier talk.

After a long wait, the TWG Tea Salon has finally opened at i_on a week ago. This is the first branch of the, still little known, tea salon (not including the 2 retail corners they currently run at Takashimaya and Changi Airport), operating in a more shopper-friendly location at Orchard and longer opening hours compard to the original TWG tea salon at Republic Plaza, which only opens on weekdays till early evening. With more than 20types of darjeeling tea alone, together with numerous other teas and tea blends that makes up the staggering 6 page long tea list, they are people genuinely interested in teas. Being one of the few shops at i_on that I was eagerly awaiting, I dropped by on opening day, initially only wanting to take a look at the shop, but it eventually became an extremely late pre-dinner tea session with 3 friends who were quite the tea afficionados.

Taking up a central space among the shops on level 2, TWG adds a much needed buzz to the under-patronized upper levels of the mall. Enclosed by a transparent glass, the shop is made up of 2 parts, the first is a tea shop, selling loose tea leaves, house blends and smal pastries and macarons off the counter; the other portion is the sit-down tea salon serving the full range of teas and an all-day dining menu. The space is dominated by a wall of niches behind the counter in which a matrix of big yellow tins filled with tea leaves from around the world are displayed. Turning the corner into the tea salon, the niches become smaller, holding tea leaves meant to be used inhouse. An extended sliding shelf unit glides along the wall as tea leaves are taken out to be brewed at the counter. The vibe of the shop is one of an old Parisian tea shop, with deep brown timber panels accented with gold paint, polished gold frames holding up the glass windows which one might very well imagine to look into a Parisian arcade; a pair of (obviously unecessary) electrical bulbs light the sign board at the entrance, intentionally made to flicker as if tey were gas lamps from the late 1800s. The tea salon is small, perhaps seats only 25 people, on wicker chairs around square tables laid with jacquard tablecloth and folded napkins with the TWG logo on it. The metal utensils, too, are logo-ed.

With the full intention to have dinner later, and adnittedly, quite skeptical of the quality of the kitchen on the first day, we only had tea and some pastries. I had the Smoky Earl Grey, which I was told was a lapsang souchong and eatrl grey blend. Tea purists might find such a blend (in fact, any blending and flavouring) a ?? adulteration of tea, but i really have no objections to tea blends, as long as the inherent flavour and aroma is not overwhelmed or desroyed by the additives. And with two of my favorite tea types in one, I was intrigued. The tea arrived in a big tea pot encased in a polished gold spherical tea cosy,holding enough tea to last quite a few cups. I had imagined the tea to have a more dominant lapsang note, and indeed when the tea was poured into the tea cup, the lapsang note was uverwhelming. But with a sip, the smoky pine notes of the lapsang gives way to the earl grey notes which become more apparent on the palate. The aromatic flip-flop was rather interesting, though I would say the combination is not 100% synergistic, with the constituents still clearly distinguishable.

We also had a few pastries to go with the teas. I had the lemon tart which was a refreshingly light, with a sweet and citrusy lemon curd on a crumbly almond tart base. My tea mates ordered the Opera cake, and also a muffin and a couple of madeleines which came with cream and 2 types of tea jelly. Though more suited for scones, the tea jellys were truely delicious. Chilled, gelatinous and bursting with the fragrant sweetness of the infused teas (we had rooiboos and sakura tea jellies), the jellies dissolve immediately in your mouth and are good eaten on their own.

I enjoy teas a lot, though I am perhaps not as educated about teas as much as I would like to or should be. Looking at the long queue when I walked past the following saturday, I think TWG will be around for quite a bit and I forsee many more future visits. And with the i_on shop, TWG have just opened up a niche that is currently missing in the local food scene, a recognizable and legit tea shop run by knowledgable people selling an unparalled variety of good quality teas.

what would margiela do?

2009-10-04T03:30:00.010+08:00

What would Martin Margiela do, says the ribbon on the Maison Martin Margiela book. With rumours that Martin Margiela, the man, has already left his post at the house since last year, this must be the question that staff at the Maison are asking. After ss09 (the 20th anniversary collection which showcased signature looks from the Maison's archive), MMM's collections have been lacklustre; ss10 feels like someone was trying to do a collection in the spirit of Margiela, but hollowed of thought and high on gimmickry. And with the publication of this Margiela tome - a recordand milestone of Margiela's work in the last 20years (though in official communications, the work has always been credited to the Maison as a whole), it seems ever more evident that the house has been running on autopilot without much involvement, if any at all, from the main man. No official word has come from the house currently owned by Renzo Rosso, who is hell bent on turning MMM into a megaluxury brand, embarking on an unbridled spree of store openings around the world and expansion of product lines in the few years since he acquired ownership of the house. This maniacal expansion, to the dismay of many, possibly goes against much of the ethos that the house originally stood for. The secrecy regarding the status of Margiela's involvement is understandable given that the name of the house was built on as much the cerebral and idiosyncratic garments that the house is known for, as the cult-like mystique and aura of the founder.

Has jesus left the house? What would Jesus do?

book is available at Amazon

-----------------------

edit: Woke up this morning to this report from vogue.co.uk. It's official.

"Margiela Sans Margiela
LAUREN MILLIGAN 03 October 2009
AFTER months of whispers surrounding his future within his eponymous Maison, Renzo Rosso has confirmed that Martin Margiela is no longer directly involved in the designing of the label. Unsubstantiated whispers have suggested Haider Ackermann could be set to take the reigns, but Rosso insists the new direction lies in a new team.
"Martin has not been there for a long time," Russo told WGSN. "He is here but not here. We have a new fresh design team on board. We are focusing on young, realistic energy for the future; this is really Margiela for the year 2015."
Rosso, founder and owner of Diesel, bought a majority stake in Maison Martin Margiela in 2002 and remains involved in both companies today."
vogue.co.uk

fika

2009-09-30T02:10:00.000+08:00

Nordic food places, except for the Ikea cafe, have never done particularly well in Singapore. I know of 2 other ones that have both ceased operation, one being Skål at wheelock Place (if I remember correctly), the other was the short lived ABOF which was located at a corner of Millenia Walk where Palm Beach Seafood is now. Both never quite made a name for themselves during their short existence, and ABOF was just foolishly over ambitious. So it was with great surprise when I came across Fika, a Swedish cafe, in the midst of setting up along Arab Street some months ago. Setting up a Swedish cafe in the Arab Street area in a sea of Arabic restaurants and shisha bars might sound like a cultural mismatch but with "Halal Swedish Cafe" emblazoned on the shop canopies, it is perhaps less of an oddity than one might imagine, though only after the initial mental discombobulation.

Fika, is a social institution in Sweden. It generally refers to taking a break, most of the time a coffee break. Its origins came from a play of the word kaffi which was an older form of the kaffe which means coffee in Swedish. I've also heard another version which says the fika actually means kaffe(i) och kaka which means coffee and biscuits. Fika seems like too obvious (maybe cliche) a name for a Swedish cafe, there's one other Fika cafe I know of which is at Brick Lane in London, and I'm sure there are more of them around, not that I'm complaining.

Finally got a chance one evening to pay a visit to Fika (the one at Arab Street) with JD who is also a fellow scandophile. Situated at a corner shop at one end of Arab Street, the cafe has all white interior that is sleek but warm and homely, ikea-contemporary-rustic are the words I think of;though I think it would do better with a bit of time and grime. The layout is simple, just a serving counter with a menu board and shelves near the entrance, some casually arranged tables and chairs, and the kitchen hidden at the back, nordic easiness and simplicity if you will. The food too has no pretensions, the menu is small and affordable, containing only a small selection of Swedish staples like meatballs and smoked salmon, in addition to daily soups and desserts.

We ordered a smoked salmon platter to share and I had the meatballs, while JD had the beef hash. The food was simple and the flavours clean but comforting. I especially enjoyed the meatballs which seems to be handmade with a coarse ground meat which give them a nice meaty chew and grainy texture, compared to the mechanically made ones served at Ikea which tend to be smooth and homogeneous in texture. The meatball sauce was very heavy on the cream, which is never a bad thing, perfect for a small winter dinner (or for an imaginary small winter dinner). The meal ended with an apale crumble with vanilla ice cream. The crumble was unfortunately more gooey than crumbly, not exceedingly bad, perhaps pleasant in a made-by-your-mum way. Also available are cans of Swedish pear cider, but they are probably the non-alcoholic ones as the cafe is halal.

The nordic air in the place is undoubtable, the sense of communalism and inclusivity is can be felt in both its conception and service, it's like eating in somebody's home. Open till 11pm on most nights, the place is great for a long dinner after work, before heading off for shisha across the street.

JD making an appearence.

Fika Swedish Cafe & Bistro
257 Beach Road/Arab Street

r burger

2009-09-26T10:53:00.012+08:00

R Burger has all the elements of a winner, its Japanese provenence, the play of a familiar food type- the burger, intersecting it with flavours and ingredients more often found in a Japanese restaurant than a diner; flavours that too have become familiar in many parts of the world but not in a burger. R Burger, is basically a Japanese take on the burger, an exoctizing or familiarizing, depending on where you see it from. You might imagine it to be another Mosburger but the concept and outcome is radically different.

In all the burgers at R Burger, the archtypal form of the burger can still be recognized, a sliced bun with a meat patty and some condiments sandwiched in between. But instead of a stack of toasted bread bun, sliced tomato, lettuce, patty and ketchup, the burger (well, the classic R burger which I had) is constructed with a branded steamed rice bun, beef patty, pickled daikon, a shiso leaf and accented with a soy-base sauce. The combination was quite intriguing and the Japanese flavour profile can definitely be discerned, plus anything made with shiso, I would almost certainly like it.

While I enjoyed the flavour combination conceptually, the burger falters with the choice of the unappetizing zombie beef patty which was dry and has very little flavour. add any kind of pleasant bite or texture to the burger as a whole. Also, its greyish hue did not help its cause.

I'll stick to Mosburger for now.

r burger
I_ON foodhall
basement 4

jumpsuit

2009-09-26T01:22:00.012+08:00

I am a fan of neither jumpsuits nor Kris van Assche, but this KvA ensemble that I came across in the Club21 autumn/winter09 mag might make me a convert. I don't know what it is with him, even with his (rare, some say never) good collections, there always seem to be something off, bad models or poor styling or something, just can't put a finger to it. The styling in the magazine editorial feels so much less contrived than the way it's style on the runway, with the jumpsuit in an earthy dark grey shade, fitted with a bit of slack, the folds of the fabric looking crisp, the cape worn unaffecttedly on the shoulders and the boots looking more flappy than poofy; the look seems almost credible for the streets, not looking as if you had just jumped out of bed in your long johns together with your blanket.

That said, you won't see me wearing any KvA just yet, or even a jumpsuit......mmmm..... perhaps I might give it a try if the one in the magazine shows up at 80% off at the store.

barack obama in photos

2009-09-24T20:04:00.007+08:00

in The Heroism of Vision, Susan Sontag's studies 'photographic seeing' - "the fact that photographs are evidence not only of what's there but of what an individual sees, not just a record but an evaluation of the world" - and how this evaluation may be distorted as it is communicated to the viewer.

and so a forgotten photoseries of a 20 year-old "Barry", who might otherwise be just another college student, becomes a humanising foil for the Barack Obama the world sees today. first run in Time magazine, this series by photographer Lisa Jack is a quiet, conversational set of photographs of a young man with 'a bomber jacket, flared jeans, a pack of cigarettes and a Panama hat he thought would look “cool"'. sitting down, lounging, hunched, cigarette smoke twirling upwards: a quiet world away from the upright, electric persona we saw in 2008.

the series reminded me of another reportage that Time, incidentally, ran in the run-up to the elections, by Callie Shell. she traces the behind-the-scenes path of Obama during his campaign, ending with his victory speech at Grant Park. like in Jack's series, we see a human-sized Obama: asleep, doing pull-ups, reading the papers, and even see the bottom of his worn soles. but one is also aware of the remarkable distance between the two sets of photographs, even without the dates. Shell's work has a polished tone even as it looks under the carpet, whereas Jack's series sits casually, almost awkwardly.

perhaps Sontag is right, and no photograph can ever speak by itself. for every photo of Obama there are a host of pre-dispositions on the part of the photographer, and then the viewer. but i believe there are still some comparisons we can make, to some degree of usefulness, between the television image, the two reportages, and the man himself, whoever he is.

credits: Barack Obama: The Freshman, Lisa Jack;
Barack Obama: Road to the White House, Callie Shaw

less but better / undercover mens ss10

2009-09-24T01:31:00.001+08:00

The Undercover ss10 collection is one that is easy to like. Taking inspiration from German industrial designer Dieter Rams, Jun Takahashi channels the functionalist spirit of Rams' design philosophy, sending down the runway a collection of highly wearable but not run-of-the-mill pieces. Easy pieces with clean structured lines executed in a palette of neutral shades, a spectrum of clinical white slowly diffusing into a dark midnight black. Many of the details on the garments take direct references to products designed by Rams; contrasting panels on jackets and burnt orange accents and laether straps are found on some garments while others feature perforation and label-like insets. Tech fabrics, as in many of his past collections, take centre stage. There is also a conscious play of volume, juxtaposing the hard, structured, pared down, sometimes body-obscuring lines of the jackets and outerwear, with tight body-conforming, speckled metallic leggings or billowy pieces done in soft flowy fabric. There were also quite a few printed camo looks in the collection which I felt look rather unfortunate. I have left thoseepictures out, though, I would give it a second look when they hit the racks; I might just change mind mind like I did for the ss09 outwear.

Named "Less but Better", which is the motto that Rams worked by, striving to making objects better, straightforward, easy to use and stripped of all superfluous elements. The pared down aesthetics and the clean lines of the collection bears a strong visual congruence with Rams' product designs. The collection is seemingly an attempt at melding industrial design with fashion design, manifesting Rams' aestheticized functionalism (as opposed to pure functionality) in the realm of fashion (as opposed to functional tech garments); but at the same time, it also begs the comparison between the two rather different disciplines. Industrial design, in Rams' case, puts more weight in the function and workings of the product, after which the aesthetics is applied to composing the functional parts. A beautiful product that does not work well is a poor design, form follows function if you will. On the other hand, in fashion design (specifically referring to the realm of seasonal high fashion in which Undercover exists), the function-aesthetics balance, more often than not, tips to the side of the latter. The intensity and potency of the functionalism found in industrial design is perhaps harder to achieve in fashion. An example would be the use of perforation in the collection, the perforated shirt and the triangular perforations of some of the outwear are less functionally informed than, say, the perforated circle on the shell of a Rams radio serving as the speaker. The perforations on the garments are more motif-like than anything else.

Disregarding the conceptual inconsistency (I was just being unnecessarily demenading), I do enjoy the collection and I think it will do well on the racks. It is a good mix of unfussy pieces that can easily be dressed up or down and will appeal to the young upmarket clientele and alos Undercover's strong streetwear fanbase.

The Undercover spring/summer 2010 was presented at the Pitti Uomo 76.

iluma : crystal mesh

2009-09-19T00:18:00.010+08:00

"By intention a complex and ambivalent impression. On one side there is the impression of an ultra large media screen, which is not yet fully there. It appears to be still deep frozen under a surface of ice, cracking and thawing. A herald of a fundamental change of architecture, which is about to transform from a static to a dynamic art."
---Realities:United

Filmed in March 2009, the video documents the first configuration and testing of the dynamic media facade of Iluma, the latest shopping mall in the Bugis area, designed by WOHA with the facade lighting created in collaboration with Realities:United. The animated lighting sequence, choreographed by Autokolor, as seen in the video (with music) is admittedly seductive, but at best a muted exclaimation when seen in real life. The snow flake-like tessellating geometric forms of the florurescent lighting fixtures that seemingly promises Christmas all year round are somewhat intriguing in detail if not bewildering, but ultimately gratuitous. Designed to inflict maximum visual punch with its formidable size and scalelessness, it is a spectacle masquerading as art. The media wall at Iluma is one which is a medium for nothing but itself, a statement of self indulgence and flamboyance without the contents to boot.

Architecturally, Iluma is a chop suey of Miralles curves in plaster, frute versions of HdeM's dimpled perforated panels ala De Young Museum, glued onto a Sauerbruch Hutton red barcode box. The tropical modernist roots of WOHA, though, can still be found in the oh-so familiar L-bar metal details and resort-like landscaping; some of the metal door details and sleek black steel wall panels inside are undeniably beautiful. Such quiet refinement is perhaps inconseqential to many people, who are (willingly) mesmerized by the mardi gras of ornamentation. Together with Wilkie Edge (just 2 blocks away), this two WOHA designed malls join the list of recent malls like Central and Orchard Central that are architecturally outlandish and overembellished. These new malls all brandish a misguided view (on the part of both the authorities and developers) that urban vibrancy can be achieved through the creation of the image of urban vitality without making much effort in the cultivation of the actual urban content, what I like to call neon urbanism. With their lastest mall projects, WOHA has definitely shown us that they have pretty much fallen off their neo-tropical-modernist edge, plunging into a baroque orgy of self indulgent pattern making and surface play.

WOHA /Realities:United /Autokolor

royal copenhagen tea lounge

2009-09-17T00:52:00.005+08:00

Having frequently passed by the discreet entrance of the Royal Copenhagen Tea Lounge at the 2nd level of Takashimaya in the last 14 years, I have not once had the urge to go in, kind of like the guy you always see on the train to work in the morning but never talk to, just the cold glance of acknowledgement. It really looks like a pleasant place from the outside, but you don't really much of the place beyond the cake counter where the space turns a corner to the back of the Burberry store.

It was a random decision to meet a few friends at the Tea Lounge after lunch (yes, straight after!) one Saturday afternoon, a sudden impulse to visit this "new" old place, to find out what lingers beyond the cake counter. The space turned out much larger than what the small entrance suggested, stretching in almost 20m in with tables lined on both sides of the space, perhaps long and narrow are a better words to describe the space than large. The interior is tastefully decorated, furniture with clean lines and white washed walls with a few pieces of art work, it exudes what I call nordic underwhelmingness (pardon my gross cultural generalization, and also allow me t invoke the Swedish word lagom).

Though having previously lived in a couple of Nordic cities for some time, I have absolutely no conception of what a Nordic "tea" might entail. Only cardamom buns and skoleboller come to mind but both were not be found at the place, unfortunately. We ordered, to share among the four of us, 2 tea sets which included a few slices of cakes, scones and Danish jams, spinach quiche, tuna and cold shrimp open face sandwiches, coffee and tea. Save for the open-face sandwiches, the items sounded more English than Danish though I would say that any one of the items would likely be fairly common in the Nordic countries. Among the things we had, the green tea cake particularly stood out to me, the rich flavour of the green tea, moderately sweet with a slight bitterness encased within the slab of dense green foam, no gimmicks, simple but excellent.

The place started to fill up during mid afternoon and as I was enjoying my earl grey tea, I noticed the crowd was mostly female, many of the tai-tai variety. I suppose having scones with strawberry jam, sipping tea from fine china is not, by most standards, the most testosterone-laden activity.

Royal Copenhagen Tea Lounge
Takashimaya
391 Orchard Road, Level 2

animal wall

2009-09-14T21:55:00.004+08:00

The Animal Wall is an "ecological artwork" along a river embankment forming which is part of a 50m long boundary wall at the edge of a new residential development situated in the Century Wharf area of Cardiff Bay. Designed by London-based German artist Gitta Gschwendtner, it consists of 1000 precast woodcrete nesting boxes of various sizes (matching the number of units in the residential development), allowing for different species of birds and bats to inhabit the wall and be introduced to the natural environemnt, an attempt to mitigate the effects that the recent building developments have on local environment.

The resulting wall feature is a visually powerful matrix of dark grey boxes arranged in an ordered randomness, lined along the length of the wall to infinity, almost making the long impenetrable wall along the waterfront bearable. Designed in consultation with ecologists, the boxes have yet to be inhabited as, Gschwendtner claims, the birds and bats won't be looking for places to nest until next spring but "there will be a constant turn-around of tenants" (iconeye.com) and "not everyone will come at the same time".

The artist also insists that bird poo won't be a problem, because "birds keep it very nice and clean around where they nest", though she makes no mention of bats. I'm sure that the residents will also enjoy pleasant evenings accompanied by the melodious sqauwking of a thousand birds and bats circling around their bayview apartments.

With the Animal Wall, the developer has managed to shoot 2 birds with one stone, pulling out the marketing friendly eco card and at the same time, ornamenting and masking (or imbile with a projected function) an otherwise fortress-like boundary wall.

Why not just plant a few trees? Birds nest in trees, don't they?

Gitta Gschwendtner

ryan mcginley: moonmilk

2009-09-13T17:56:00.012+08:00

having just opened this weekend, McGinley's new exhibition titled 'Moonmilk' was for me an arresting series of works. the exhibition, referencing the "white, cheese-like substance found inside caves", places naked bodies in subterranean settings to remarkable effect.

Blue Breakdown
182.9 x 274.3 cms

the photographs are arranged in two rooms in the gallery - one larger main room and a smaller one to the side - and the physical scale of the prints relative to the room and to each other reinforces the relative scale of the human element and surreal surroundings in the photographs. ranging from the spectacular to the intimate, we move from the 'Blue Breakdown' print covering half a wall to the book-sized 'Coco & India (Cascade)', travelling from the human speck in the former to the pair of girl-sized girls sitting in the centre of the frame. that, for me, was the strength of Moonmilk: not only the otherworldly backdrop, cast further out by the extraordinary lighting, but the constant human presence in it. at times dwarfed, and other times brought to the fore, but always placing the subterranean world in perspective.

Coco & India (Cascade)
25.4 x 17.8cms

('Moonmilk' is showing until 8 Oct 2009 at the Alison Jacques Gallery)

haider ackermann FW09

2009-09-11T08:09:00.005+08:00

I wanted to dress a woman who was lost, searching for something indefinable and only carrying her mental luggage. A woman coming from no-man’s land, draping herself in strong fabrics and starting a journey. She doesn’t know why she’s running away and she doesn’t know what she’s looking for. But she’s a brave woman, because you don’t start such a journey on your own. In being a woman, she’s looking for her masculinity.

a resurgent interest in Ackermann's work arose after reading an interview he did with Knack Weekend. one derives a sense of thoughtfulness from his responses in the interview - something that perhaps translates through to his work. the quietly drawn-back hair, earthy tones and soft fabric textures of his most recent collection lend a stoic placidity to the entire affair. bared shoulders, a hand on the chest, and a hood drawn over the head suggest uncertainty. the work is evenly poised between strength and frailty, with a remarkable awareness of effect.

the reserved tone of his work is something that has carried through over the years, and something that comes across in the edition of A Magazine that he curated. in that publication, as in the interview, one feels the atmosphere that surrounds his work. there is an expanse of space as communicated by the blank colourlessness, but there is also a feeling of being shrouded - by what? - the interview perhaps begins to provide the answer.

When you’re a small child walking through the medinas of Algeria, where you can see veiled spirits and ghosts wander through narrow streets, you’re intrigued by these images. You want to know what’s under the curtains, where the great mystery and this sensuality are coming from. Those are my roots as a fashion designer. I wanted to decipher the totally different world hidden underneath those fabrics.

(credit: roupas from stylezeigeist for his translation)

luis teran at hermes gallery

2009-09-10T21:19:00.009+08:00

Who would have thought the impulse to perforate anything and everything can be called Art, the Hermès gallery in Singapore is currently hosting an exhibtion by the Argentinian artist, Luis Terán, who is known for creating artwork by perforating objects, from wooden furniture to metal cans to fabric. Titled, A Traveller's Stories, this exhibition features a collection of elaboraately perforated magazine pages mounted onto a series of light panels that gradually changes colour. The work begins with the idea of the magazine as a traveler's compananion, and as a surrogate for the traveller's experiences, each fragment added on to the wealth of stories and landscapes collected trip after trip.

Commissioned by the Hermès gallery, the whole body of perforated magazine pages was completed in Buenos Aires, where Terán resides, and packed in his suitcase, travelling together with him to Singapore. Each magazine page is perforated with a pattern that is based on an image found on another page. The result is a superimposition of seemingly unrelated pages one in print and the other applied as perforation. However, there is yet another layer that is revealed through the translucency of the thin magazine paper. The light allows the print on the back side of the magazine page to be seen, adding to the superimposition. As the colour of the light changes, different portions of the pages are emphasized as the light is filtered through the magazine print and the perforation.

More about his Singapore trip on his blog.

Luis Terán : A Traveler's Stories
till 13 Sep
Hermès gallery, Liat Towers
3rd Floor, 541 Orchard Road

modern peking duck

2009-09-07T23:26:00.018+08:00

Seeing how the crazy queues have finally dwindled, I got my hands on a box of Modern Peking Duck at the I_ON food hall. It is basically a somewhat simplified fast food version of the perennial Chinese restaurant favorite. The pieces duck meat were quite tender in most part, with the fats oozing out as you bite into the roll. The skin was, however, was uncrispy by most definitions. What is also lacking are the greens - sliced cucmber and spring onion, that is usually wrapped together with the duck, to add crunch and to serve as a counterpoint to the heaviness of the meat. Sold in boxes of 5 pieces, I have to admit the pre-rolled roast duck were still somewhat satisfying (how can duck fat not be), though it lacked the aura of enjoying peking duck in a restaurant.

As if continuing the modernist project of mass production and standardization for some future socialist utopia, the process of producing the wrapped duck rolls feels impersonal and almost mechanical. The roast duck was speedily (and almost mechanically) sliced up by the chef after which the slices of duck were wrapped en masse in pre cut sheets of egg crepe with a dash of hoi sin sauce. What remains of the duck carcass was promptly piled on top of the mountian of other matyred duck and the chef grabs another crispy fowl beginning the process all over again.

Having pre-wrapped peking duck in a box is just not quite the same as having it in a restaurant. Watching the waitress slicing off the crispy duck skin at tableside and serving it on a platter from which you pick a slice to roll in a piece of rice crepe, together with cucmber and spring onions and as much or as little hoi sin sauce as you wish. If you can gather a few friends or family, you are probably better off going together to a chinese restaurant to share a whole peking duck, it is likely that price will not be much more than a equivalent portion at Modern Peking Duck, and you get to share the experience with good company sitting around a dining table, not wandering about a mall. But if you are alone and just want a quick fix, pop down to I_ON and join the queue, if there is any at all. I recommend eating it on the spot, seeing how the skin has already lost it crispiness when served, it will be worse of if you left the duck rolls tumbling within the oversized box and letting the hoi sin sauce soak through the egg crepe.

Modern Peking Duck
#B4-75 I_ON Orchard
2 Orchard Turn

garfield minus garfield

2009-09-07T15:14:00.008+08:00

when we strip Garfield away from the comics, the focus turns to Mr. Jon Arbuckle - a hopeful but awkward and clumsy young man whose lines begin to take a particularly existentialist turn once his cat is replaced with blank space. Garfield Minus Garfield, in its best moments, plays like a 3-panel line from a Samuel Beckett piece. Dan Walsh, responsible for 90% of the material on the site, started to "champion and popularise" the concept and saw his project explode in 2008. a year on, the strips are as darkly humorous as ever.

the work has also been published in a book form, available from Amazon. credited to Garfield's original creator, Jim Davis, the book is a symbol of an intriguing dynamic between appropriator and original creator. instead of refusing the use of his strips, Davis called the concept "an inspired thing to do" in an interview with the Washington Post, and went on to publish the book with a foreword by Walsh. the book features Walsh's material with additional pieces by Davis, and involved a one-off fee offered to Walsh by copyright holders Paws, Inc. to write a foreword "to a book by Jim Davis inspired by Garfield Minus Garfield".

thoroughly blurring the lines between appropriating and creating, one might draw links between this process (appropriating and re-appropriating Garfield?) and the act of re-blogging made easier by tumblr, placing original content at a premium. if there is even such a thing as original content - what does the word 'original' even mean? - as Walsh freely says, "everything is derivative". the legal status of copyrighted property also presents an issue yet to be tuned to the realities of artistic ownership, a fact that some will point out. Jim Davis created Garfield, Paws owns the strip, but to whom does Garfield Minus Garfield belong?

all strips credited to Dan Walsh

BLACK comme des garcons in singapore

2009-09-06T21:11:00.004+08:00

Came upon this while doing my rounds at the Hilton Arcade. BLACk cdg will take over the old Giorgio Armani space at the Club21 Hilton/fourseasons stronghold, peddling the less bank breaking line of classic comme pieces done in black, with the label meant "to last as long as the recession lasts". While a BLACK mens line has yet to been announced at the moment, I hope the unisex pieces do not run me into the red. It'll be the ultimate irony for a line that purported to be a response to the recession. On a side note, I think it'll be pretty awesome if they just reuse the fittings in the old Armani store and just paint everything black.

BLACK was previously mentioned here

the handburger

2009-09-05T14:59:00.003+08:00

I admit being one who is easily seduced by fancy graphics and quirky interior spaces. On the other hand, I also treat establishments which place great emphasis on graphics and decoration with a fair bit of skepticism, having experienced rather lacklustre products being peddled at a couple of such places in the past year. So it was with mixed feelings that I was anticipating the opening of this new burger joint at Raffles City called The Handburger. I first noticed the place when they had put up the hoarding while the shop was being renovated. It wasn't a loud and fancy as you might think, but was all white with an array of hooks fixed onto it. And on the hooks hung little promotional booklets introducing the new restaurant. The booklets were designed such that every page was a layer in a burger, starting from the bun on the cover, to the tomato, cheese, patty etc, all rendered in cute colourful graphics.

I happened pass by on their opening day while looking for dinner one evening and popped right in without hesitation. Run by the people of The Soup Spoon (which is next door), the Handburger, as its name suggests, is a canteen style restaurant serving handmade burgers, using fresh ingredients, with most of the items on the menu are made inhouse. The spac is dominated by the bleached-out hue of the timber finishes which were decidedly not the most appaealing under the flourescent lighting. Three rows of long canteen tables filled up the front-of-house which was cladded with darkened mirrors on one side. On the other side was a wall of shelves covered in cutesy vector cutouts, behind which was the kitchen.

On the menu was a good selection of different types burgers. I was quite tempted by the less tradtional burgers, like the parmasan prawn cake burger and the tandoor chicken burger. ButI ended up ordering The Works Burger which had a beef patty, thinking that I should try something more conservative on my first visit before going to the more gimmicky ones. The burger turned out to be this towering stack stack of 180g NZ sirloin patty and melted cheddar, topped with are a strips of crispy fried bacon, a sunnyside up, morsels of mushrooms and onion rings, finished with a caramelized onion bun. A bowl of chunky fresh cut fries and bbq sauce were served together with the burger on this giant paddle tray with indents carved out for the plate, bowl and untensils sit in. I was quite amazed at how the the burger managed to stay in place without toppling as I was slowly carving it out with my fork and knife ( A burger purist would probably scoof at using utensils to eat a burger but that's besides the point now). And due the lack sauces and slices of tomato and pickles, there was also a noticeable lack of plate tectonic action which I appreciate, hate having my plate looking like a crime scene after polishing off a burger. I could have done with a thick slice of juicy tomato but the juicy patty and the sunny side up provided enough moistness to the stack. While not truly excellent, i thoroughly enjoyed it.

Feeling gluttonous (like always), I ordered one of their soups before the burger arrived. I chose the chilled tomato soup with chilli, avocado and corriander which came in a glass. The cold soup was smooth and rather refreshing, a wonderful start to the meal ( would expect nothing less from the Soup Spoon people) and a good counterpoint to the heaviness of the burger. The flavours were delightfully layered, the sweet tangy notes of the tomato, the heat from the chilli, the buttery avocado, finished with the aromatic notes of corriander.

Unless you hate burgers, there is nothing much not to like about the place, hearty burgers made with good ingredients, the vector-chic interior and graphics and the friendly staff.

The Handburger
Raffles City Shopping Centre
B1-77/78

the monocle singapore survey 2009

2009-09-03T20:08:00.013+08:00

whoever's job it is to trawl publications and media for possible gaps to exploit with marketing in the Economic Development Board, he/she landed a mini-coup with this one. unlike the disaster (well, it did make for a very good laugh) of the MDA rap, this survey manages to package concrete information about singapore into a deft, sharp and slick read. it focuses on industries, economy and other key areas of development, alongside some faces of the underbelly of the country: small cafes, art galleries, tiny designers and retail spaces.

in keeping with monocle's habit of writing about politics, culture and economy from the perspective of a design-conscious observer, the singapore survey manages to refrain from shoving cold facts into readers' faces. instead, it keeps its edges sharp, looking at people on the ground involved in their individual endeavours and making tempered but pointed observations about each area it surveys.

there is, of course, an overwhelming sense of positive energy practically shining out from the articles - something one might cynically point out as a positively well-sponsored tone. however, it consistently keeps well within the magazine's own generally upbeat vibe, neither belaboring its points nor weighing itself down with too much information.

something of interest, perhaps: the New York Times provides a little walk on the cynical side.

this survey also downloadable in .pdf.

the sartorialist book

2009-09-01T18:31:00.005+08:00

"Maybe you'll find inspiration in a colour combination, or may be in a play on textures or a mix of genres, for example 'punk meets eskimo'. I like people to draw their own conclusions, to find their own inspiration without the influence of a guiding hand"

Just picked up this little piece of fashion history from Kinokuniya, the Sartorialist book. I'm sure the Sartorialist blog is familiar to many people and this book is a collection of the street style photographs taken by and featured on the blog by Scott Schuman, who started the blog as a hobby after leaving his full time job. While the idea of the street style snap can be traced back to Shoichi Aoki who pioneered the idea in his STREET magazine in the mid 90s, documenting youth wearing weird and off beat clothing on the Japanese streets, it very much remained on the printed medium until the beginning of this decade, with the advent of affordable digital cameras and personal web publishing platforms like blogger or wordpress. The Sartorialist is perhaps one of the oldest and probably the most influential street style blogs in the Anglo-European world, enumerating through the pictures that style does not equal trendiness. Documenting stylish people of across a spectrum of ages dressing in a variety of genres (many times unclassifiable), The Sartorialist, to me, embodies the fashion zeigeist in the later half of the 00s, the dwindling of power of the "designer's vision" and the decline of the top down flow of fashion trends by way of the print media, making way for a more democractic and individualized approach to style and the power of personal curation.

16.50usd on Amazon
48.15sgd at Kinokuniya

1 caramel

2009-08-30T20:41:00.011+08:00

Spent a lonely Sunday afternoon outside by myself sipping tea and reading, one of those days when my thoughts are too distracted to sustain any kind of intelligent conversation with anyone. The place is 1 Caramel, one of the newest patisserie in town. Operated by the people behind Rochester Park, it's located at the ground floor of the rather pretentiously named apartment building called The Luxe. I have always lamented the dearth of good patisseries in Singapore, especially since Canele went the way of Bakerzin (Baker's Inn sounded so much better, sigh...), expanding into this mass market bistro chain, with the quality going down south. Good patisseries should just concentrate on making good cakes and 1 Caramel seems to be doing.

The rain was pattering on the road outside as I sat in the cafe, a brief respite from the heat of the past few days. The place was small and cosy, pretty quiet for a Sunday afternoon, probably due to the rain, not that it's a bad thing. Awashed in the dim diffused glow of the grey weather, the space was clean and sleek with a slight hint of self conscious trendiness. On the inner most side was a tall glass display cabinet, stretching from waist height to the ceiling, displaying the variety of cakes available for the day (too many to count with my ten fingers!). On the other side of the space, was a row of tables, with a long cushioned bench backed onto the full glass store front. The chairs on the other side of the tables looked like augmented country style chairs, white but with very high back rests. In the centre of the space was a long marble counter with brushed stainless steel legs, probably the best place to sit at but was quite underutilized, being filled only when the normal tables were taken up.

I first ordered the red miso souffle with yuzu ice cream, Expecting something rather savory and being somewhat skeptical of what I would be getting (I had in my mind the image of a chunk congealed miso soup), I was pleasantly surprised by how light the miso flavour was. The miso gave the otherwise plain souffle a hint of saltiness which melted with the sweet aroma of the miso. The savory-sweet souffle was served with yuzu ice cream, which provided a nice contrast with its temperature and citrus notes.

I later ordered a slice of the red velvet cake, which is an American southern classic. I know of another place in Singapore that makes it, though the cake and that place had been rather disappointing as a whole, but that's another story. 1 Caramel's version comes as a confection of deep red sponge layered with dark chocolate fudge (instead of the usual buttercream or butter roux icing) and cherry ganache which gave the cake a nice tarty twang.

While the double dessert did not cure my moodiness and the rain continued to pour as I walked out of the cafe, I left feeling certain that I will be back soon, as certain as the sun appearing after the rain clouds clear.

1 Caramel
#01-01A, The Luxe
6 Handy Road

alecia neo: home visits

2009-08-28T06:35:00.000+08:00

Alecia Neo's portrait series entitled 'Home Visits', selections from which are currently presented as part of the 'Air-Conditioned Recession' gallery at Valentine Willie, struck me as a fairly well-executed study of the individuals within a community. taken in each subject's home or workplace, the everyman becomes a personage: a barber on his throne, surrounded by implements; a grandmother wrapped in an ethereal halo. at the same time, there is a sense that the tone of the portraits is being kept admirably neutral, their purpose more descriptive than narrative or moralistic. despite the slightly stylised setups, the photos neither glamourise their subjects nor portray them in an overly pessimistic light.

perhaps one criticism that can be directed at the series is a slight feeling of inconsistency in the treatment of some of the portraits - a sense of work in progress, maybe? but that does not detract from the strength of the series as a portrayal of a community of individuals with a feeling of empathy, rather than mere sympathy.

+J: another glance

2009-08-27T00:17:00.007+08:00

more pictures of the +J collection by Jil Sander are appearing now that the site has launched. while some of the styled photos and those of the individual pieces are teetering on the verge of mediocrity (as opposed to minimalism), this one in particular stands out, reminiscent of the old ad campaigns.

(left: Paris Vogue, 2001, credit tFS; right: unknown, credit usemycomputer.com)

japanese film festival

2009-08-27T00:11:00.005+08:00

This year's Japanese Film Festival brings us a selection of 9 Japanese horror films. Just caught the screenings of House (hau-su) by director Obayashi Nobuhiko and Blind Beast (Moju) by director Masumura Yasuzo, based on a novel by mystery writer, Edogawa Rampo, which left me feeling rather disturbed. The series of free and paid screenings at the National Museum Theatre ends this sunday.

japanese film festival

crab flower club

2009-08-25T23:34:00.002+08:00

Set during the height of the Qing Dynasty, Crab Flower Cub is about five sisters (one in-law and one cousin) of a noble household gathering in their family home to celebrate the 60th birthday of the patriarch. Led by the eldest sister, they take up the task of preparing the lavish feast for the celebration, and secretly, to set up a poetry club. The five sisters tell of their desires, delusions and aspirations through the festivities, the prose of the poetry club and the impending decline of the family fortune; reflecting on the role of the traditional Chinese female and the hollowness of the Qing society at large through their voices. The active set was minimal, almost barebone, consisting of just a long table with some stools in the foreground. In contrast, two big elaborate Chinese shelves, stood in the background, filled with an assortment of porcelein ware, suggesting the abundant wealth of the household but also suggesting the inherent fragility of the condition. In a similar vein, the costumes expressed the same kind of empty wealth. The characters donned voluminous bell shaped confections of luscious fabrics in exuberant colours which were, however, hollow inside. Based on the Chinese masterpiece 红楼梦（Dream of the Red Chamber), the story is crafted through the sharp writing of playwright, Goh Boon Teck, and commendable performance of the five actresses. It is, however, disappointing that in this second run of the production, the live calligraphy segment by local artist, Hong Sek Chern, was left out.

Crab Flower Club
20-29 Aug 2009
Drama Centre Theatre

jaan par andre

2009-08-23T13:24:00.001+08:00

I've been wanting to eat at Jaan ever since I came across it while flipping through Appetite magazine during one of my many Saturday afternoons spent at Toast. A particular image that impressed me was that of a cuboid block of smoked salmon, hung seductively on a metal rack, the flesh a deep vermillion with veins of fat streaking across, the skin side is coated with some kind of peppercorn mix. The graphic effect was striking. Jaan, is a small restaurant that is part of the Equinox complex of bars and restaurants at the 69th to 71st floor of the Swissotel Stamford. Renamed Jaan par Andre since the arrival of head chef, Andre Chiang, last year, the restaurant has shot up the list of the top dining establishments in Singapore with Chiang's French Nouvelle menu (whatever that means). The previous incarnation, I should say, was better known for its breathtaking 70th floor view than its food.

Tweeds is in back in Singapore for a few weeks and as always, we use anything as an excuse to go out to eat. And being the type who are easily seduced by fancy sounding menus with unorthodox use of ingredients, we decided to go try the set lunch at Jaan (which is probably the only thing our plebian wallets can afford).

After an ear popping ride up the high speed elevator, we arrived at the 70th floor. Passing by the hotel buffet, we entered the restaurant through a discreet doorway, greeted by a wonderfulview of the southern tip of Singapore, with Marina Bay, the Singapore Flyer, and bits of the Sands casino under construction.And beyond the Straits of Singapore, a faint silhouette of Sumatra. The restaurant turned out to be much smaller than I had expected. It had about 10 tables, of which not all of them were filled on the weekday afternoon that we went, obviously not a busy day. We were promptly seated at a window table facing the panorama of the city, and fortunately so. The interior of the restaurant was a confused collage of Chinese Indianmotif juxtaposed with the ceiling that was decorated with iridescent panels arranged into a 3d pyramidal grid, intersected by 3 rather over the top lighting features made up from fragments of free form glass pieces.

The meal began with the waitress serving a glass with what looked like a cross between twigs and Pocky. Those turned out to be skinny bread sticks in 2 flavours, parmesan and squid ink. I preferred the parmesan one but Tweeds seemed to like the other one more. The bread sticks came with a dip which I can't quite decipher what it was (a little google sleuthing tells me that it acutally a baba ghanoush & goat cheese dip). The bread service was rather underwhelming though but it's not something I would fault any restaurant for. At this point, I was somewhat amused by the bread sticks though not overly impressed by anything yet.

To start, I had the Foie Gras A La Forestiere which was a wild mushroom fricassee and black truffle coulis, on a base of hot foie gras jelly and egg custard, topped with (tiny) slices of crispy buckwheat brioche. Can anyone go wrong with truffles and foie gras? It was an orgy of aromatics, the earthy aroma of the black truffle, morels and the other fungi formed a decadent couple with the sweet buttery notes of the foie gras jelly. In contrast, Tweeds had the citrus scented stone crab effiloché, which was much lighter. It was served on Ratte potato confit with potato mousse, frisee and a salsa verde.

For mains, I had the popcorn ravioli with pan seared tiger prawns wrapped in pancetta, served with shellfish chips and olive oil puree. Having no idea what was inside the ravioli, I tried to slice it open with my knife and the moment I pirced the yellow egg pasta skin, the ravioli popped open and a creamy yellow foam oozed out. The foam, turned out to be a corn foam. A clever play of the idea of "pop/corn". Gimmicks aside, the play of flavours and textures on the plate was incredible. The sweetness and body of the corn foam, together with the slight chewiness of the pasta skin forms a counterpoint to succulence of the perfectly cooked tiger prawns and the crispiness of the seared pancetta. The lusciousness is in turn, contrasted with the brittle crunch of the shellfish chips (which I think would do very well as a Chinese New Year snack, they should consider selling it on its own).

Tweeds had the char-grilled kurobuta cheek on a bed of romaine potato mash with mustard seeds, caramelized baby onion and smoked basil oil. The dish was pleasant though not terribly exciting. The pork cheek was a little too lean and in the words of Tweeds, it was "disappointingly un-gooey", lacking the gelatinous quality of the fatty layer. What I did like was the romaine potato mash which was warm and mushy (in a good way), with the lettuce still retaining a bit of crunch and the little pops of flavour from the mustard seeds.

Ending the meal, we had a choice from a selection of three desserts. Tweeds chose the Snickers bar version 2009, which is one of their signature dessert, and obviously not literally what the name says it is. It is essentially a deconstructed snickers bar, composed with a chocolate truffle, ground peanuts, caramel jelly and a scoop of caramel ice cream. The truffle, laid at the side of the plate was sprinkled with ground peanuts; it looked like a frame from the high speed photography of the impact between two bodies, the components frozen at the moment of impact; the scoop of caramel ice cream, a fragment broken off from the impact site, spun into another trajectory. The debris-like bits of caramel jelly each with a tiny mint leaf on them were scattered around the plate. (I kept thinking they look like bits of the mangled jelly from the buffet restaurant downstairs but it was tasty). The caramel ice cream, paired with a pinch of ground peppercorn, I thought, was a rather delightful combination.

My dessert was the Lemon tart which was not really a lemon tart (surprise surprise!) but a twist on the original concept. The plating is a phallic garden of mini churros, held in their stiff stance with dollops of lemon infused mascarpone cheese at the bottom end, best eaten with your hand. Surrounded at the centre surrounding was a ball of grapefruit campari granite, which was sweet, tart and refreshingly cold, a good end to the meal.

I had throughly enjoyed the meal at Jaan. Although, the techniques employed by Chef Andre may be unorthodox, the cooking is still rooted in the deep understanding of flavours, textures, presentation and the use of good quality ingredients. It manages to veer the fine line between having the progressive drive to explore new boundaries and falling into mindless gimmickry. The result is an exuberant play of flavours and textures and a sincere attempt to amuse, delight and excite, that can be found in every beautifully composed plate.

Jaan par Andre
70th floor Swissotel The Stamford
2 Stamford Road

crack garden

2009-08-19T01:03:00.001+08:00

"Inspired by the tenacious plants that pioneer the tiny cracks of urban landscapes, a backyard is transformed through hostile takeover of an existing concrete slab by imposing a series of "cracks". The rows of this garden contain a lushly planted mix of herbs, vegetables, flowers, and rogue weeds retained for their aesthetic value."

The Crack Garden is an intervention to convert a small piece of concrete hardscape into a garden. The modus operandi is straightforward, plug in jack hammer, use jackhammer to hack cracks into the concrete, fill with soil, plant desired shrubs and flowers. Exposing the unseen potential of the concrete through its subtraction, the project is reminiscent of the subtractive (de)installations of Gordon Matta-Clark. Although the project narrative is rather overwrought, the idea itself is undeniably simple but brilliant, one of those I-wish-I-thought-of-that ideas; its power also lie in how it is so elementary that it can be applied to almost any unnecessary hardscape and be achieved on a very low budget (this particular one cost $500).

On a similar note, there is also a Portland based group called Depave which aims to promote the removal of unnecessary concrete and asphalt from urban areas to create greener and more livable cities.

cmg landscape architecture

via pruned

troy chin: the resident tourist

2009-08-18T02:32:00.007+08:00

i first heard Troy Chin in a video interview with Common People recently, and later headed over to his online playground. his Resident Tourist series struck a chord with me, and possibly will do the same for anyone who has been out of Singapore for a period of time and then come back. the comic draws the ordinary and the nondescript, the unspecial... all the things that are remembered and have relocated, and come back when one returns.

nothing extraordinary happens; and yet everything happens to this everyman.

available at Kinokuniya (Ngee Ann City)

tea bone zen mind

2009-08-15T01:59:00.006+08:00

Walking up a long flight of stairs to the upper floor of a non-descriptor shophouse along Seah Street, one encounters a kitchen-like space, a row of green wooden cabinets lined against the wall with two old fashion kitchen sinks on one end and a counter extending from the other. The sounds of bossa nova breezes through the space. The music is laced with the hum of friendly banter, interjected with the intermittent clinking of glassware. The air is tinged with the bouquet of tea. The place is Tea Bone Zen Mind, a tea cafe nestled in the middle of a row of shophouses among offices, clan associations and a too-cool-for-you boutique hotel. Walking further in, the space is filled with light flooding through the french windows, a giant pot holding a lone, wispy, over-manicured tree centres the space. Cushy sofas are arranged around the giant pot, where Japanese expat wives sip tea, discussing the latest issue of Mangosteen Club. This is a secret hideout for the leisurely

This place defined my experience of matcha- the whisked type served in a rustic ceramic bowl, not those from a packet. I have never had matcha at any other places in Singapore nor do I know of any that exists. I order it almost every time I come, like a ritual that I find comfort in. The smooth foamy body is reassuringly present, the green bitterness induces contemplation, the sweetness implied. The matcha always comes with sweets and a Japanese pastry which is different every time. You can probably deduce some kind of higher metaphysical meanings of life from this, but I enjoy it purely for the element of surprise. This time, I had (i think) a cherry blossom rice cake wrapped in a slightly yellowed leave. The leave tasted somewhat medicinal, though pleasantly so when combined with the sweetness of the pastry. I am always instructed to eat the sweets before drinking the matcha. Those are instructions I always flout, as if trying to tinkle with a frayed bit of the Japanese fabric of society.

The cafe also serves a delicious tea egg. Stewed in a savory tea-soy gravy, the egg is stained brown but retains a golden liquid yolk that is heavenly with the slightly sweet gravy. Another item on the menu that seems to be popular is the cucumber sandwich, which I have never tried nor do I see the appeal of. Perphaps it just means that I need to order it on my next visit, along with a bowl of matcha.

tea bone zen mind
38A Seah Street

ayame socks

2009-08-12T21:22:00.010+08:00

Socks are one of my favorite components of the wardrobe. They are not something that many people normally pay attention to , nor think that they should be anything more than neutral pieces of knit. But I always enjoy the delightful pop of colour that a fun pair of socks can add to an outfit, especially when walking or sitting down. And because socks usually play such a minor role in an outfit and is not always seen, it is where you can go absolutely crazy with colours and patterns. I almost never wear plain socks anymore, especially when I roll up my pants (which is always). So I was rather delighted when I saw this colourful line of socks by by Japanese brand, Ayame, on oki-ni. According to the (endearing) engrish website, Ayame is run by Aya Agaoka who "wanted to carve a niche in the leg fashion universe" creating socks with "precise attributes" that are refined, high quality and "maintain shapely legs", products that are "unique in the leg fashion landscape".

Ayame socks are available on oki-ni, and check out happy socks while you are at it.

ayame

ma ke wuyong

2009-08-10T23:20:00.004+08:00

"If you have ever seen the real world, you will realize the need for designers to take on new responsibilities. The age of individualism is coming to an end, while the age of commonality and mutual growth is beginning. This is a question of survival, and the transcendence of human nature."

Set up in 2006, Wuyong (无用) is the extension of Chinese fashion designer Ma Ke's (马可）work into the realm of contemporary art. Removing herself from the relentless cycle of the fashion business, the garments become the media through which she meditates the value of life and the spiritual place of garments outside of the fashion context.

The garments, pictured here from The Earth (土地) collection and those from the Luxury Poverty (奢侈的清贫), evoke a sense of primal earthiness; the fabrics, looking slightly worn but sturdy, still bear the essence of the natural environment from which they are derived. The garments are at the same time part of the desolate landscape and apart from it, forming a harmonious mediation between human existence and nature, free from the values of modern urban society. The heavy, almost monastic drapery and intricate knits, together with the rawness of the fabrics, reminds me very much of Austrian label Fabric Interseasons of which I am a big fan of (but admittedly, I have yet to experience their garments in person due to their small production and limited distribution). Made in-house using locally sourced artisanal fabrics, the pieces are a clear revolt against the mass produced fashion of today, especially in China, where fast fashion is more readily consumed and appreciated than craft and quality.

"The spiritual qualities which i pursue stand in opposition to the trends of modern fashion. What I find profoundly engaging are the primitive eras of human history, when people held nature in the deepest reverence and made objects of the utmost simplicity, whose craft fashioned out of necessity, and not by the hands of celebrated masters, possess a power that can endure across the ages. These designs may still resonate through the millenia and arrest the values of contemporary fashion... Genuine fashion today should not follow the glamour of trends. It should instead uncover the extraordinary in the ordinary, for I believe that the ultimate luxury is not the price of the clothing, but its spirit."

www.wuyonguseless.com
photos by zhou mi photography

hang, hanghang

2009-08-10T08:15:00.001+08:00

i first heard the sound of the hang at an old edition of the improvised music night, Appliances, in the form of samples that the laptop artist was using. the second time i heard the hang i ended up busking along the South Bank in London with a great guy, Daniel Waples.

and so i found myself telling kit yesterday about the hang, a UFO-shaped pitched percussion instrument that has a beautifully resonant sound, like a mix between steelpans and gamelan. it has the benefit of having a snap and a tone when struck, giving it both a strong percussive, rhythmic quality as well as a haunting tone. the tone of the hang is what particularly attracts me, as it lends itself well to electronic textures and soundscapes.

not too many words from me - it needs to be heard.

p/s the plural of hang is in fact hanghang.

takumi

2009-08-09T18:54:00.005+08:00

Meandering through a maze-like entry sequence, we arrived at Takumi Tokyo restarant. Situated at Keppel Marina, it is a Japanese-run establishment specializing in teppanyaki and robatayaki with fresh produce imported regularly from Japan. The restaurant is made up of 2 main areas, the robata section with the charcoal grill and the teppan area with the hot pan. Patrons can choose between the counter seating, around the 2 open cooking areas or the stand alone tables away from the counters. The interior with its clean lines, and rough stone and light timber finishes, is not unlike many contemporary restaurants in Japan. Right from the entrance, a Japanese aura that pervades the whole place, the Japanese speaking staff further enhances it

After ordering, we were first served with an small appetizer of seaweed and cucumber in a small gold ceramic saucer. This was shortly followed by the first course that we had ordered which was a platter of assorted seasonal appetizers. Served on a long fat ceramic plate, the platter consisted of a slice of smoked duck with vinegared lotus root, fresh oyster and a slice of sweet cherry tomato. Varied in flavours and textures, all three components were delightful, each having an interesting flavour arc. The platter certainly raised expectations of the other dishes we had ordered.

Next came the shellfish which was cooked on the robata grill. We had earlier ordered it from a basket of fresh seafood which was shown to us by the chef over the counter. We bascially did a judging-the-book-by-its-cover and ordered the shellfish which looked rather interesting but not knowing what exactly it was. The shellfish, together with the stock, was served in the shell. Slightly rubbery at the beginning, the shellfish flavour became more pronounced with every bite. The chef recommended eating the shellfish liver which we had to dig out from within the shell, saying that it was the best part of the shellfish. I'm generally not a fan of liver and this did not change my mind, the thick flavour coupled with the powdery texture did not appeal to me at all.

The charcoal grilled Japanese leek was deliciously light and crunchy with the mild sweetness and green flavour of the leek, though it was not as smoky as i would like given it came from the charcoal grill. Next, we have the teppan rockdale sirloin steak cooked to medium rare. The steak was perfectly grilled, juicy and full of flavour, and excellent with a few flakes of salt on top. The grated radish served at the side provided a refreshing contrast, juxtaposing with the heavy flavour of the steak. There was also a wasabi sauce served with the steak which I found rather unnecessary and disruptive to the flavour of the main ingredient (unless the point is to mask the original flavour, but that would make the whole dish questionable).

An item on the menu that intrigued us was the teppan scamorza cheese with balsamic soy sauce. The ingredient was decidedly unjapanese but (to quote one of my dinner companions) yet so plausible as an item that we would find on the menu of a restaurant in Japan. Served in bite sized portions, the cheese is sliced and melted on the hot pan and draped onto half a cherry tomato. The balsamic soy is drizzled over it. The resulting flavour profile was rather Italian but the soy component kept it distinctly in the Asian realm.

The trio of grilled mushrooms we had ordered earlier finally arrived towards the end of the meal. Lightly dressed in soy sauce, the mushrooms were grilled to soft chewy consistency, but some of it was tepid, probably due to the different cooking times of each type of mushrooms, resulting in some having to sit on the plate while waiting for others to be cooked. The meal ended with garlic fried rice which the chef prepared in front of us. The garlic flavour is unfortunately not as pronounced as we would have liked we witnessed the chef, after frying the chopped garlic, push the oil into the grease trap, together with all the garlic flavour in it. The fried rice, as expected, turned out rather mediocre, lacking in garlic flavour and wok hei. (haha, can't believe there's a wiki entry about wok hei).

While most of the dishes we had did not quite match the expectations we had after the appetizers, the food and service were decently good. Takumi bears the hallmarks of a good restaurant -fresh, good quality produce and knowledgeable service staff, though it's still a little short of being excellent. But what one can definitely find here is a little bit of escapism,the feeling of being in Japan.

Takumi Robata & Teppanyaki
2 Keppel Bay Vista,
Marina at Keppel Bay

+J: uniqlo x jil sander

2009-08-07T16:04:00.007+08:00

"I have always sought simplicity and high quality. Uniqlo is manufacturing highly functional fabrics and presenting them for a very reasonable price. I think it`s possible that if we put or strengths together, we can make pieces that are beautiful and comfortable, with simplicity, sophistication, and a sense of luxury as well. I think this is exactly what near-futuristic fashion truly is."

brave and possibly prophetic words, although nothing that one has not suspected already in an age of availability and the Now. the adjectives she uses - beautiful, comfortable, simplicity, sophistication, and luxury - are they the marks of futurism when combined with accessibility for all?

interesting also her description of "basics" as the "common language". a suggestion of a universal aesthetic vocabulary steeped in simplicity...

otherwise known as: easier to kop.

gindaco

2009-08-05T20:54:00.019+08:00

After a rather unsatisfying meal with tweeds and mj at Itacho Sushi at I_ON Orchard (the newest mall in Singapore and possibly the only exciting one among the recently opened ones), we marched down to the I_ON foodhall at basement 4 to engage in a bit of a favorite local pastime - queueing up for food! We joined the line for Gindaco takoyaki, which hails from Tokyo and supposedly one of the most famous in Japan. After a mere 10 minutes of waiting in line, we had a tray of 10 piping hot takoyaki in our hands. The takoyaki had a nicely browned crust wrapping around the warm semi liquid centre with a chewy (in a good way) chunk of octopus. Topped with a good amount of sauce, mayo and bonito flakes, it definitely redeemed the evening.

Gindaco takoyaki
I_ON Orchard foodhall
basement 4

fjordne

2009-08-05T00:49:00.006+08:00

photos by April Lee

'the pale rose of wool', a photo exhibition by April Lee at Polymath & Crust introduced me to FJORDNE's (Shunichiro Fujimoto) latest album, 'the setting sun'. an electro-acoustic mix of instruments with electronically constructed textures, the resulting emotion is both musing and restless. the former is a result of the placid refrains in each tune, cycling through the soundscape with a sense of calm. the latter arises from the slight distortion of the pure acoustic tones, use of dissonant harmonies as well as the underlying crackle of static.

while not a groundbreaking piece of work, 'the setting sun' is a coherent and convincing mood construction. accompanied by Lee's photography, the resulting foldout album and ambient soundscape fit neatly together, each echoing the other.

available at
Polymath & Crust
86 Club St

KPO

2009-08-04T18:16:00.009+08:00

Bright, airy, greenhouse-like are not words usually associated with a bar, but the idea of a post office is perhaps many more steps further away. The recently refurbished Killiney Post Office building is one such absurd marriage. Sharing the same premises as the post office is its siamese twin by the name of KPO (K. P. O., get it?). Situated at the intersection of Killiney Road, Penang Road and Orchard Road (K. P. O. , get it??? haha!), it is a bar occupying part of the original post office building and the double height glass extension at the back.

A palette of raw concrete and timber is consistently applied to both the indoor and the outdoor areas of the bar, with matte black plastic furniture lined along solid timber tabletops and faux corbusier sofas paired with dark marble low tables. The overall feel is sleek and trendy, if a little overconscious, especially with the floral vector motifs on the walls, a tired remnant of the recent neo-baroque trend that I thought designers ought to long have moved on from.

Though one would hardly call the view of Orchard Canal a riverside view, the outdoor seating, with the landscaping growing into place, is suitably pleasant in the evening or the day when the weather is mild. Communal counter seating makes for a convivial atmosphere. A low timber tabletop doubles as a bench while two higher ones straddles a concrete overflowing water feature, which might not seem to be such a good idea in a dark place with drunk people. I foresee many wet handbags and shirt sleeves and other unsavory things.

Points must be given for the effort in dishing out a decent food menu. Predictably, I ordered the house burger served with home made chips which makes for a perfect bar snack or a light lunch on a late Sunday afternoon. There is also an ice cream bar at the entrance, perhaps to catch the post office going crowd, serves interesting ice cream with flavours like Chivas Blue and honey chamomile (which I tried).

Consciously hip and trendy it might be, KPO is sure to attract the young and fashionable set looking for a place in the town area to chillax.

KPO
1 Killiney Road
Killiney Post Office

thoughts on the serpentine pavilion

2009-08-03T19:06:00.003+08:00

a trip to the serpentine gallery two weekends ago to see the summer pavilion resulted in mixed feelings about the construction by SANAA.

on the one hand, the feeling of non-presence and transience alluded to by Nishizawa and described in press photos has been sharply dispelled by the pavilion's function as a busy cafe and children's activity centre, removing it from the realm of the ethereal and placing it in mundanity. on the other hand, the presence of people in and around the pavilion strengthens the dynamics of the structure, as details like the undulating height impacts on the circulation of people. at points, the canopy is not felt at all, and where it dips down, one is increasingly aware of its sloping presence. adults and children have different perceptions of the canopy height - the kids run freely where grown-ups have to stoop, sit down and often bump their heads.

but what is certain is that the use (usurpation?) of the structure has had a dramatic impact on one's response to the structure itself. the openness of the pavilion allows refreshingly uninterrupted access, but the resulting throng of people also causes the structure itself to "melt away" almost to mundanity - possibly more than originally imagined?

campania

2009-08-02T17:17:00.003+08:00

campania: a province in southern Italy with the capital Napoli; also a cafe and gastronomia along Columbia Road (right at the far end of the flower market) serving beautiful antipasti with good coffee. along one wall, freshly baked sweets and bread sit in rough stone and wooden bowls, alongside a long, battered canteen table.

although the cafe has only been open for under a year, a throng of customers on market day and a steady stream on other days of the week is testament to the good food, warm service and atmosphere of the place. the selection of cured meats and cheese make a good antipasti plate, with fresh rocket and a drizzle of olive oil. campania also sells cuts of the Neapolitan proscuitto, pancetta and salami they serve. they also serve a few main dishes, including paninis and pizzas (of course), but for me the coffee and antipasti pairing is their strongest suit.

Campania
95 Columbia Road
London E2 7RG

house in Azeitão

2009-08-01T02:29:00.013+08:00

"To make a house, you take a handful of air and you hold it in with some walls." This is the Nazarite proverb that Alberto Campo Baeza used to describe the work of Aires Mateus, the office of brothers Manuel and Francisco Aires Mateus.But when the four walls already exist, they fill up the space with the lightness of air.

In the House in Azeitao, an old wine warehouse is rehabilitated into a residence. from the outside, the space flows seamlessly into the ground floor space that is almost made up of the communal space which is defined by 2 new walls parallel to the existing side walls of the building. Pure white boxes, as if by magic, teeter at the edge of the new walls floating precariously above the communal space. Of various sizes and relative heights, they look as if they were placed there by chance and frozen in an unstable equilibrium, breaking away slightly from the symmetry of the original building and the central axis defined by the new walls on the ground floor. Within these white boxes are the private areas which are accessible through flights of stairs hidden within the residual strips of space between the old and new walls.

Enbedded within the design of the house is a conscious play of the tension between public and private, old and new, space and void, inside and outside. And despite the insertion of new programme, the reading of the original building is respectfully maintained. The overall volume is defined by the existing gable elevations, the sides and the ptiched roof. In addition, the uninterrupted internal volume allows the eye to be led from the ground floor communal area up to the underside of the pitched roof, with the inverted roof trusses fully exposed, suggesting to the occupant what the building might have been.

Aires Mateus

speakers corner quartet

2009-07-25T03:36:00.007+08:00

one finds the most interesting things in strange ways. Covent Garden in London, home to many inanities, unexpectedly turned up the Speakers Corner Quartet busking outside the nike store, using the storefront as backlighting.

originally formed as the backing house band for the spoken word/hiphop open mic night at the Speakers Corner in Brixton, their sound is as unexpected as their makeup: flute, cello, double bass and drums. their original material delivers a tight mash combining hiphop rhythms with string soundscapes and a particular taste for Indian-tinged scales. tightness, of course, is in spite of the complex arrangement, with odd times and multiple sections changing in groove and feel.

mitzi

2009-07-22T23:53:00.003+08:00

Mitzi (美食之家) or as my mum calls the place 美滋味, is a restaurant along Tanjong Pagar Road serving old style Cantonese food. Although the restaurant had only recently moved here from the nearby Murray Terrace, the mood of the place is unconsciously retro and immanently nostalgic. I'm a sucker for the old chinese restaurant atmosphere, which always brings back much memories of the old Lai Wah Restaurant along Jalan Besar Road that I used to frequent when I was really young. The chrome frame chairs around a round dinner table, promising a night of banter and togetherness. The table setting of a small plate, a bowl, a saucer and a spoon with a pair of dragon-pheonix chopsticks at the side is placed on the starched white table cloth forming a circular array around the lazy susan at the centre of the table. Double happiness serviettes, regardless of occassion, are stuffed into glasses which would eventually be filled with boiling hot tie guan yin (or fizzy orange soft drink if it was a wedding). The flavours too, are familiar and comforting. We had steamed prawns, crispy chicken, braised ginger duck, sweet and sour pork, stir fried kailan, fried tofu and ee-fu noodles. The meal would have been perfect if the dishes were served on little metal pedestals and the meal ended with a bowl of 花生糊 (sweet peanut paste).

Mitzi Cantonese Restaurant
62/64, Tanjong Pagar Road

train town

2009-07-21T23:12:00.006+08:00

something i caught at Short & Sweet, a weekly event at Cafe 1001 on Brick Lane, Train Town stood out from the list of shorts for its dead serious, deadpan humour. directed by Keith Bearden, the film uses a simple allegory of a model train store, taking it in an unexpectedly political direction. annoyingly enough for the lurking internet movie buffs, Bearden has not put the film out on youtube, meaning that one has to see it at a festival (take that, cheapskates) - but the movie has been making many rounds at various festivals, so all is not lost yet.

hansel pop-up store

2009-07-19T13:17:00.010+08:00

The label Hansel, by designer Jo Soh, has taken over the space of the old Baylene shop at Stamford House and set up a temporary store selling her range of girly candy-esque clothing. The shop interior is a whimsical jurassic landscape of pixelated mountains, cut-out dinosaurs and floating cuboid clouds. Inspired by children's pop-up books, sheets of brown cardboard fold out from the wall to form clothing racks and cartons are stacked to create display shelves, partitions and a counter. The people behind the interior concept is a group of MFA students from the La Salle School of the Arts working under the name Musement. The shop is open till 26 July.

The Hansel Pop Up Shop
#01-04 Stamford House

www.ilovehansel.com/

ART HATE

2009-07-18T22:34:00.002+08:00

STATEMENT OF INTENT

AGAINST THE COMMON ENEMY

NATIONAL ART HATE WEEK has been instigated for the disruptive betterment of culture.

For one week in July the children of Albion will wake up and HATE ART on mass.

NATIONAL ART HATE WEEK is a call for direct action against the mass acceptance of art as a phantom economy for the smug manipulative elite and their ensuing grip of control over culture as a tool for mediated emotion, market lead non-critical homogeny, and boring popularism.

NATIONAL ART HATE WEEK presents a unified front of non-unified creative individuals against all that is despicable and loved by the people. We oppose the deliberate socio-economic strategy to make us all complicit in our own idiocy. We oppose the affront of state endorsed auto-cryptic balderdash and oppose the ruffians who have been pulled from the ghetto and polished up for elevated status and easy consumption by the masses.

ALL ART IS TAINTED

NATIONAL ART HATE WEEK will redress the balance and all art will be opposed and subjected to a sustained HATE.

NATIONAL ART HATE WEEK takes the symbol of the swastika hung from a gallows as an emblem of resistance against cultural fascism as disseminated by the bureaucrats of art.

During NATIONAL ART HATE WEEK citizens are encouraged to visit art institutions across the land and HATE. Individuals who are unable to attend an organised ART HATE are encouraged to open a random book on any given artist and HATE what they see.

If a child offers you a painting during NATIONAL ART HATE WEEK you are to turn away in disgust.

les amis

2009-07-16T23:54:00.008+08:00

What better time to spend some money than during a recession. Les Amis, perhaps the most well known French restaurant in Singapore, was the setting for a fancy (if slightly pretentious) lunch one weekday afternoon. The 15 year old restaurant is a major name in the local and Asian fine dining scene. Made famous by Chef Justin Quek and currently helmed by Chef Armin Leitgeb, it offers a prixe fixe lunch menu of 2, 3 or 4 courses.

After having our order taken, I jealously watched as my lunch companion got served a free glass of champagne. The restaurant was offering free bubbly for ladies on Mondays and Tuesdays. But in this sexist world, life goes on and the meal began with bread service and the amuse bouche which was smoked salmon served on a slice of crisp bread. As simple as the item might sound, the flavours were well composed, a smokey flavour and the soft gelatinous texture of the salmon were complemented by the oniony note of the chives, with the crisp bread providing a nice textural contrast.

The same play of textures and flavours was to be found again in my starter which was a huge hunk of Hokkaido scallop with a slice of Iberico ham wrapped in a crispy ciabatta skin and served with a slice of lettuce on a bed of heirloom tomato slices. The dish was aptly named BLT scallop, though the lone slice of lettuce would be rather frivolous if not for the name. My companion had the roasted Challans duck ravioli, celery and diced foie gras in an "essence of duck" consomme. As I had chosen the 4 course menu, I had a middle course which was an oven cooked pike perch with spinach and ribbon pasta on a bed of mustard, which on the whole was a tad boring and disappointing after what the amuse bouche promised.

For mains, my companion had the slow baked Britanny kabeljau with spinach and butter sauce (i can't remember what the thing is on top, sorry) while I had the steak done medium rare served with (a leaf of) lettuce and a (note the singular again) truffle potato fry. The steak was well cooked, with tender red centre which is not bloody. Again, I didn't really care for the lettuce, which in all fairness was well cooked, green, crunchy and oozing full lettuce flavour, blanched-to-perfection if you will. The potato fry, on the other hand, was a better complement to the steak, the crispy exterior wrapping around a smooth fluffy centre with bits of truffle.

For dessert, we had the terrine of tropical sorbets with melting chocolate beignet (basically a deep fried chocolate cake) and the peach melba. The sorbet terrine came as a slice with various layers of multicolour sorbets separated by a thin layer of chocolate. It reminded me very much of a slice of nonya kueh or those neopolitan ice cream from the supermarket that comes in a tub. I stole a section of the sorbet and tasted it layer by layer. The effect was melodious, with sweet mellow flavours contrasting with the high notes of the citrusy flavours, mediated by the slight bitterness of the intermediate chocolate layers. The peach melba (we were told was named after the opera singer Nellie Melba), a composition of vanilla parfait, peach jelly with raspberry foam and a slice of peach on a biscuit base, was in contrast much lighter. The flavour profile, though aromatic and cleansing on the palate, lacked a heavier or stronger component which might help set of the lightness of the rest. We ended the meal with lychee infused oolong and a cup of cappuccino, along with a delightful mignardise plate which consisted of cherry financier, orange meringue, hazelnut biscuit and canele.

I left the restaurant reassessing my impression of Les Amis, it is perhaps not as "haute" and fancy as I had expected but is really about serving simply but well cooked dishes that respect the ingredients, allowing their inherent flavour to shine and not clouding them with complicated flavour combinations and over the top presentation.

Les Amis
1 Scotts Road
#02-16 Shaw Centre

'driftwood' - AA summer pavilion 2009

2009-07-15T22:59:00.007+08:00

an exercise in fluidity, 'Driftwood' by Danecia Sibingo (concept author) stands out from the angular townhouses in its corner of Bedford Square in London, albeit mildly and without any bombast. inspired by images of the Jordanian city of Petra, the piece consists of 28 layers of plywood concealing a Kerto structural system. harnessing this system, 'Driftwood' intrigues with its continuity, reminiscent of a mobius strip and a topographical model all crossed into one. the form lifts off the ground at points, allowing the visitor to enter the central space, where he finds himself enveloped by the layered surfaces.

while there is a certain suspicion that the piece is simply an empty study of form, there is at the same time a feeling that there is a clear and organic beauty in the structure. wrapping itself around a lamp post, the use of bare plywood exposing the grain, and the slightly disjointed character of the panel construction grounds the entire structure in its environment and avoids any sense of awkward artificiality despite its size. one might go so far as to suggest that the piece could have been planted anywhere and still retained this feeling of harmoniousness.

serpentine gallery pavilion 2009

2009-07-13T00:40:00.011+08:00

SANAA: “The pavilion is floating aluminum, drifting freely between the trees like smoke. The reflective canopy undulates across the site, expanding the park and sky. Its appearance changes according to the weather, allowing it to melt into the surroundings. It works as a field of activity with no walls, allowing views to extend uninterrupted across the park and encouraging access from all sides. It is a sheltered extension of the park where people can read, relax and enjoy lovely summer days.”

For this year's Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, SANAA, the collaborative between Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishisawa, performs a disappearing act, creating a silver cloud of aluminum slithering among the trees of the park above a forest of silver slender columns. The barely there, paper thin structures are signatures of SANAA and the floating cloud motif can be seen in some of their older projects, like the Civic Centre of Onishi or Flower House.

photos by Iwan Baan

The simplicity of this year's pavilion is a stark contrast to last year's bombastic car crash by Frank Gehry. Instead of making a big visual statement, it invites the user to consider the more inconspicuous qualities of the space and structure and its dialogue with the environment. Ryue Nishisawa describes the piece (here) as " a non-architecture idea, such as water or a rainbow". It can be said that both the SANAA and Gehry pavilions are both statements of exaggeration but on opposite poles. Whereas Gehry made a grand display of tectonics in his a tense and visually unstable structure, SANAA reduces tectonics to the level of abstraction, the pavilion visually becomes an abstract organic 2D plane floating above the forest of sticks; there is no architectural space, the inside and outside is one. My favorite part of the pavilion is perhaps the part where the canopy dips down creating a very low space which can only be occupied by sitting on the floor, breaking down the formality of the public space.

Photo by Javier Vergara Petrescu via Archdaily

The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion is a yearly event where renown architects are comissioned to design a pavilion on the grounds of the Serpentine without any programmatic and budget constraints. The pavilion is funded entirely by sponsorship and the sale of the structure its tenure. This year, the pavilion will be open from 12 July till 18 October.

look back away from the glare

2009-07-13T00:18:00.022+08:00

video installtion showcasing reworked clothing by 6 young designers

Look Back Away from the Glare
part of Resuscitation presented at 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road

locanda locatelli

2009-07-12T09:23:00.012+08:00

we finally made the journey to Giorgio Locatelli's restaurant near Marble Arch after months of planning a hypothetical visit "at some point". having had mixed experiences with Refettorio, where Locatelli consults, we were happy to find that Locanda Locatelli was yet another step up. locanda, which translates into "inn", lives up to its name with its unpretentious and rich flavours while still capturing remarkable complexity with each bite.

we started with an octopus carpaccio (carpaccio di polipo), which came with a simple accompaniment of tomatoes and basil. the octopus was the star of the dish, thinly sliced and losing the toughness that one tends to get when eating octopus, especially in sashimi.

the two pasta dishes arrived together: the malfatti with ricotta, walnuts and aubergine, topped with tomato puree and a slow-roasted basil leaf, and the tortelli with veal, parmesan and saffron filling. of the two, the malfatti was the more surprising, with the unexpected texture of the roughly diced walnuts and thinly sliced aubergine interrupting the smooth ricotta. the beauty was the basil leaf, which was roasted on a low heat for hours to arrive at the final papery crispness. the complexity of this pasta probably stands it amongst one of the best i've had. unfortunately, in comparison to this the saffron in the tortelli ended up rather lost in the rich veal flavour.

not pictured (but equally enjoyable) was the dessert, a strawberry and mango lasagne with vanilla ice-cream. the lasagne had a clear crystallised sugar coat on top, providing a crunch. the mango did tend to detract from the refreshing tang of the strawberry. while demolishing the dessert, we considered various combinations of fruit - strawberry and rhubarb in the lasagne, with a mint ice-cream?

the entire experience was made especially enjoyable with the attentive service, and after chatting with the waiter all evening, we traded recommendations at the end of it: Atari-ya from us since his wife loved sashimi, in exchange for Il Ponte, a restaurant in Barga, Italy, run by a friend of his.

Locanda Locatelli
8 Seymour Street
London W1H 7JZ

15minutes

2009-07-11T04:51:00.006+08:00

A reference to the well known Warhol quote "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.", 15Minutes is a bar/bistro located in what used to be a ground floor gallery space at the corner of one of the 6 prismatic blocks in the La Salle School of the Arts .

Separated into 2 sections, the upper deck had an array of canteen tables and benches filling up the space, an L-shaped service counter borders 2 sides with a sliding blackboard menu at the back. At the lower deck, the space is furnished with loungey furniture with a drinks bar on one of the long sides with a stage tucked at the end. The overall space has a raw econo-chic aesthetics coupled with the high ceiling and exposed ducts and pipes. While their facebook group says it's "Good for kids", the place, unsurprisingly, attracts a crowd of mostly young creative types.

Although the Warhol reference is rather trite and the premise of the place sounds like one architecture school project cliche in another, they actually serve quite decent food here. The simple menu is made up of mainly pastas, pizzas, salads and soups. I had the prawn aglio olio with prawns that I quite enjoyed. The spaghetti had a nice firm bite and lightly spiced with a curry mix, giving the dish a delightful twang. And judging by what the other patrons ordered, they seem to make a mean glass of cocktail too. Unfortunately, the food did not arrive in 15minutes, as the name might suggest, and we had to rush through the meal so that we could make it in time for the plays that we were watching in the same building.

The words "Friends, food & fame" are boldly emblazoned on the glass in front. While you probably will not find fame at 15minutes, the place is unpretentiously chic and a wonderfully pleasant for chilling out IF you bring your own friends. Have to wait a little for the food though.

15minutes
Blk D, #01-01,
1 McNally Street,
LASALLE College of the Arts

excluded from art

2009-07-10T00:47:00.005+08:00

The building must please everybody. In contrast to the work of art, which does not have to please anybody. The work of art is a private affair of the artist. The building is not. The work of art is brought into the world without there being a need for it. The building supplies a need. The work of art is responsible to no one, the house to each person. The work of art wants to tear people from their comfort zone. The building must serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary, the building is conservative. The work of art opens new avenues to mankind and thinks of the future. The building thinks of the present. Mankind loves everything that serves his comfort. He hates everything that wants to tear him from his habitual and safe position and that bothers him. And thus he loves the building and hates art. Thus does it not then follow that the house has nothing to do with art and that architecture would not be counted among the arts? Thus it is. Only a small part of architecture belongs to art: the gravestone and the monument. Everything else that serves a purpose can be excluded from the kingdom of art.

Architektur, Adolf Loos

shutting up shop

2009-07-09T08:49:00.011+08:00

'shutting up shop' is the title of a book of photos i encountered today - by John Londei, a UK-based photographer, who created this collection of portraits of tradespeople and their stores, all local small-time establishments that belong to that stream of forgotten trades and places. his project stretched over 17 years, beginning from 1973.

something in this work clicked with Susan Sontag's quote from a letter to jane (Jean-Luc Godard): "this photograph...is physically mute. it talks through the mouth of the text written beneath it."

in this case, Londei's subjects speak through his interview transcripts, in complete, anecdotal and nearly-nostalgic sentences. as anthropological documentation of a dying way of life, it is too sentimental; as story-telling, it is too systematic. and yet it works: i found myself pouring through the 60 sets of photos and text, including the afterword where Londei reports on the shops as they are today. most no longer in existence, some winding down due to financial pressures, others due to their owners' passing.

Woods&Woods x Work

2009-07-09T02:16:00.006+08:00

A series of work wear created and presented in collaboration between Theseus Chan from WORK and Woods & Woods. Panels of fleece,waterproof cotton and woven plaid are put together to create pieces ranging from colour block blazers, shirt-jackets to carpenter pants and drop crotch shorts.

presented at 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road

woods & woods fw09

2009-07-09T01:02:00.008+08:00

Woods & Woods fw09
"Stranger than Fiction"
8th july
presented at 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road