New York City Update

The highlight of my New York trip was seeing Voyage, part one of Tom Stoppard's Coast of Utopia trilogy with Ethan Hawke playing Michael Bukanin and Billy Crudup playing Vissarion Belinsky, just two of the lead characters. Tom Stoppard is by far my favourite playwright. His plays are brilliant not just because he manages to entertain, but also because he manages to dilute the mosts complicated of subject matters to a something easily digested by the average audience member with the utmost wit and humour (a great example is Hapgood where quantum physics is made entertaining when set in the context of an entertaining spy comedy). In the Coast of Utopia, the heady subject matter is Russian literature, philosophy and politics (or rather, the people behind them) during 19th century Tsarist Russia. As with most of Stoppard's plays, the topics are presented with a light touch and trademark quirky sense of humour. Can't wait to see Shipwreck and Salvage.

Aside from the play, I also had a lovely dinner at MH's neighborhood restaurant, Daniel (the lounge is much more casual and laid-back than the main dining room with the food being just as delicious), a meeting in Philadelphia with Anthropologie's home buyer and a breakfast meeting with an editor at Knopf at Four Seasons Hotel (love their breakfasts). And here I'd like to dispel the myth that editor's don't have the time of day for mere plebes like me. SW, who is the editor for such luminaries as Joan Didion, is one of the most generous people I've met in any industry. She's been a great person to chat to and gain a deeper understanding of the publishing industry. I had a pretty packed schedule, but I still managed to squeeze in a morning yoga class at Some Like It Hot, where I ran into the soon-to-be wed JK. Had wanted to check out the new Bowery Hotel (Eric Goode and Sean MacPherson's new hotel since Maritime) and Waverly Inn (Goode and MacPherson own that this too along with Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter), but didn't have time since I was staying with MH uptown. There's always next time!

I also had a surprisingly quick and pleasant visit to dermatologist Dr Marc Grossman. I highly recommended him (actually he had been highly-recommended to me from PT's aunt). I'm one of these people who dreads seeing any kind of doctor or dentist and Dr Grossman had a manner that put me at ease from the get-go. The wait in his office actually created more anxiety than the actual examination. It took him all of 3 minutes (perhaps even less) to evaporate all my melanoma fears. The rest of the time was just spent chatting and taking my medical history since it was my first visit. I suppose I'm a bit of a hypochondriac, but with so many friends diagnosed with some form of cancer over the past couple of years, one can never be too cautious.

Well, now I'm back in Hong Kong with piles of work ahead of me, which means I'm staying put until Easter.

Whole new level of home spa: Miami's Ten Museum Park

Was researching clinical spa for Little Cream Book: Health today and going through Clinique La Prairie's website for details of their Rejuvenation Programme when I saw their press release about their new Chad Oppenheim-designed Ten Museum Park (across from the work-in-progress, Herzog & de Meuron-designed Miami Art Museum), a Clinique La Prairie "Lifestyle Residence", a term that's bound to become this decade's "boutique/design hotel". But I'm a sucker for lifestyle concepts and I love the whole idea of bringing CLP's wellness regimes into your very own condo block. Although it did not appear that they would have any of the more hardcore medical aspects of CLP's practice on premise such as the CLP extract therapy, which involves injecting live sheep embryo cells into your bottom. Ten Museum Park also advertises the privilege of VIP access to Miami's hottest scenes. Condo prices start from US$400,000 to more than 10 times that.

But what I'm really looking for is a residence that is a marriage of Aman's aesthetics and pampering with Mayo Clinic's medical expertise and facilities in a stunningly-beautiful location.

Tidbits: Kapok, Kahn and a Bryn Mawr dinner

Was going to blog about Kapok, this really cool shop at 9 Dragon Road in Tin Hau (T: +852 2549 9254), which has a beautiful, huge tree smack dab in the middle of this rather quiet street. But, me being my usual absent-minded self, I forgot my camera, so post will have to wait till Thursday. I only found out about this shop because daytauchung.com hosted a party there on Saturday night after having taken a group of AA (Architectural Association) students on a tour of Hong Kong.

Instead, just had to mention this NY Times article by Nicolai Ouroussoff: Restoring Kahn's Gallery, and Reclaiming a Corner of Architectural History, at Yale. Mainly because Kahn's Yale University Art Gallery was my favourite for the "Y" entry in Little Cream Book: Architecture. In the end, though, Kimbell Art Museum won over Yale as the Kahn representative. Reading the article made me a bit nostagic for the 3 years at Bryn Mawr I spent living in Erdman Hall (another Kahn work), by choice I might add (Erdman was one of the least favoured dorms on campus since most found Erdman cold). At least I can rest easy that Erdman Hall will not go the way of 1 Broadcast Drive, an apartment block in which I spent one year from 1979-1980. The Hong Kong government auctioned off the site a couple weeks ago. Sino Land won with a final bid of HK$1.94 billion or US$240 million (HK$9,868 per square foot)! In Hong Kong, you know you're getting old when your childhood memories start to disappear.

Digressing back to Bryn Mawr, had dinner on Friday at Lumiere (chosen out of practicality, but food turned out to be pretty good, although the bar ambiance was a bit to loud for diners) with a handful of alum and Prof. Toba Kerson, who's in town with her neurologist husband Dr. Larry Kerson to present a paper on the depiction of epileptic seizures in films at the 5th International Conference on Social Work in Health and Mental Health in Hong Kong this week (her thesis is that while depictions of other chronic illnesses such as cancer and AIDS in film have changed dramatically over the decades, depictions of epileptic seizures have not and continue to reinforce stereotypes). Definitely not a topic that comes up much at your typical Hong Kong dinner table conversation, but it was one that I found fascinating. She's trying to compare films across many cultures as well but hasn't come across any Chinese films yet. I'm still trying to come up with some, but coming up blank. Anyone with ideas?

Bay Area Theatre: Shotgun Players' The Forest Wars

I love posting about friends' projects! Kevin Clarke emailed about the Shotgun Players' production of The Forest Wars, a play written and directed by Mark Jackson (Lisa Drostova of San Francisco Magazine wrote that Johnson's 2003 The Death of Mayerhold was "one of the best new plays to come out of the Bay Area in years"). Kevin is performing in the play, which opens at The Ashby Stage in Berkeley tonight and runs through to 14 January 2007.

Photo Credit: Jessica Palopoli

Featured: (L-R) Thu Tran, Drew Anderson, Kevin Clarke, Erin Stuart, Reid Davis

THE FOREST WAR

Local phenomenon Mark Jackson, creator of the critically acclaimed The Death of Meyerhold

returns to Shotgun Players with a new work that is finely tuned and stunningly staged.

The Forest War is high theatrical tragedy, with lovers torn apart, cruel villains, political intrigue,

and a sense of melodramatic fun keeping pace with the drama. Though it takes an ancient form,

the debate over violence, politics, and personal opinion is one that we're all facing daily in

newspaper headlines, television broadcasts and around our dinner tables.

Previews: Wednesday, November 29 and Thursday, November 30
Opening: Friday, December 1
Runs: Thursday - Sunday through January 14, 2007
All performances at 8PM

SPECIAL NEW YEAR'S EVE PERFORMANCE AND POST SHOW CELEBRATION

NO PERFORMANCES THE WEEK OF DEC 18-24

TICKETS / INFO / DIRECTIONS

www.shotgunplayers.org

+1 510-841-6500

U.S.A.: It's Election Day!

PLEASE VOTE! It's our right, it's our privilege and our responsibility. We have a choice, now let's go choose!!

"Elections belong to the people. It is their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters."
-- Abraham Lincoln

For New Yorkers: This Friday's Project by Project 8th Annual Food & Wine Tasting Benefit for Asian Cinevision

Can't believe I forgot to post about Project by Project (a group of social entrepreneurs that works to raise money to benefit the Asian-American community) earlier, especially since we sponsored a couple sets of Little Cream Book for their silent auction as well as copies of Goodwill for their celebrity goodie bags.

Anyhow, Project by Project's Food & Wine Tasting Benefit is tomorrow night (Friday, 29 September 2006) from 7-10pm at Copacabana (560 West 34th Street). Tickets are US$200 at the door (VIP tickets including entry to the VIP reception from 6-7pm are US$300 at the door). Proceeds from the event benefit Asian CineVision.

There will be celebrity sous chefs cooking with the chefs and team from participating restaurants. One celebrity sous chef, in particular, caught my eye: Georgia Lee, director of Red Doors, winning-film at the Tribeca Film Festival 2005. CT had sent out an email inviting his friends and family to join him at the film's opening screening and party in San Francisco last Friday. Alas, I was not in San Francisco, but it sounded like a blast. Wish I could see the film too. It would be cool if I could buy it off of iTunes.

If you can, please go and help Project by Project raise lots of money for Asian CineVision (to benefit Asian-American filmmakers) by bidding lots and lots of money on our Little Cream Book sets as well as other cool items such as round-trip JFK-HKG business class tickets on CX, Sony PSP, Armani Exchange Moto Jacket!!

Burning Man + Art Towns

KC got back from Burning Man and emailed:

"This was a banner year at burning man. the weather couldn't have been more

favorable [given the extremes] and the temperament of the attendees was equally

mild--in a good way. several of the art pieces boggled the mind, notably the colossus

known as the "belgian waffle" and enormous amorphous dancehall constructed entirely

of equal lengths of 2 x 4

http://www.vimeo.com/clip:101393

there were plenty of other very incredible pieces. like a four star hotel with concierge

service [none other than chris weitz of film fame]. i'm not sure the photos do it justice.

they had four spotless suites, available for one night. and all of their structures were

deluxe. in the middle of a prehistoric lakebed, mind you.

http://www.ashramgalactica.com/Home.html

so, yes. we had a wonderful time."

I am so intrigued now. Maybe I'll do a combo Burning Man + Marfa, Texas trip one year. AD tipped me off on Marfa, where Donald Judd's Chinati Foundation and the Prada Marfa store installation by Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset can be found. And then there's DR who raves about the real estate prospects of Bisbee, AZ with its vibrant artist community. He mentioned that a friend actually bought a book on artist towns in America and made real estate investment decisions based on towns in that book.

Stormy D.C.; Saved by Whole Foods

These past few days, I was in Springfield, VA visiting my brother. I arrived Wednesday night, spent Thursday meeting up with NBdT and family for lunch at the Smithsonian's National Musuem of the American Indian. Incidentally, its cafe, Mitsitam, has some of the best museum cafeteria food. The menu is based on indigenous cuisines of the Americas and is grouped by regions. The weather was somewhat dreary, but not quite rainy. I managed to spend the afternoon walking around Old Town Alexandria, which is charming enough for a couple hours.

On Friday, the weather took a turn for the worse. I woke up to stormy weather and it didn't change for the rest of the day. We were resigned to the fact that we would be staying at home working or watching TV. But all of a sudden, the power went out, which meant no internet connection, no TV, not even hot water to do laundry. So what to do? Go shopping at Whole Foods! I love Whole Foods, just as I love Starbucks (which was stop no. 2 so that I could have the seasonal Pumpkin Spice Latte. I love Starbucks' seasonal drinks. The appearance of Pumpkin Spice Latte signalled the end of summer for me.), Apple and google.com. In fact, I had only recently come into contact with Whole Foods via their NYC store in Time Warner Center, but hadn't had much time to explore the merchandise in detail. Already, I was impressed by the whole look and feel of the store as well as the detailed labelling of produce and its presentation. At the Alexandria, VA Whole Foods, I found the largest selection of flavours for my favourite nutrition bars: Luna (Dulce de Leche and S'mores are great) and Pria (the Creme Caramel Crisp is my favourite). There was a huge selection of everything else too, including prepared foods, which all looked absolutely delicious. I had such a hard time deciding what to eat and wanted to buy all sorts of snacks to bring back to Hong Kong. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), I had no room left in my luggage.

NYC: L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon

I had eaten at Paris' L'Atelier when it first opened and remember not being very impressed with the EUR50 lunch I had there. So when MH & HB suggested checking it out, my reception to the idea was a bit lukewarm. Not to mention that it was difficult to get in. When I checked into the Four Seasons hotel, where the restaurant just opened, I had asked whether the front desk could make a reservation for me. The reply was: "Oh, you'll have to take your chances. They're not taking reservations yet and they're very popular". Basically, she couldn't help. Yesterday morning, I decided to try my luck and called the restaurant. Et voila! I got a reservation. They even asked me what time I would like the reservation for! I requested to sit at the counter, because that is where all the action takes place. While counter seating is not very social if the group is larger than 3-4 people, sitting at tables takes some of the drama, excitement and intimacy out of the whole L'Atelier dining experience. One way to solve the problem is to sit on the corner if you have more people.

The food turned out to be stunningly good. There was a sea urchin in gelee (we all agreed that was made from a lobster broth) with cauliflower cream and beautifully-dotted parsley cream. The flavours just burst in my mouth. While I couldn't eat the oysters, judging from the "mmms" and the wide-eyed looks on my friends' faces, it was a hit. The other hit, although sure to be a cardiac-arrest inducing one, was the signature mashed potatoes. I had just a taste and it was pure cream and butter, but absolutely delicious. It was a perfect compliment to my lamb. If I weren't on my low-fat diet, I would have ordered the quail stuffed with foie gras, seared toro tuna belly and wagyu beef. Actually, there were just so many dishes I wanted to taste! We were three diners and ended up ordering 11 tapas and there were still dishes we wanted to try (they also have regular-sized appetizer and mains, but the tapas makes it easier to share and taste more dishes). Then there were the desserts (we were joined by three more people for this, so we got to order three desserts). My grapefruit and white cranberries with yuzu foam (or was it jelly, can't remember), mint sorbet was a symphony of light, refreshing flavours.

We got to meet Yosuke Suga the executive chef. NK, who is Japanese and in the restaurant biz struck up a conversation with him. He's 29 years old, but looks not a day over 16 (apparently, that's when he started apprenticing under Joel Robuchon in Tokyo). There is a Japanese influence on the dishes, like the smoked foie gras and eel that we tried and the use of yuzu. Perhaps that's why I warmed to this version of the L'Atelier menu more.

I'm so glad I went. It's great food and one of those places where it would be fun to dine alone. The rest of the group have already made a booking for their next visit this weekend!

NYC: Zaha Hadid @ Guggenheim

Zaha Hadid is a genius. The way she conceives and visualizes buildings and translates that vision into graphic, abstract paintings is breathtaking. Her current retrospective at Guggenheim Museum runs until 25 October 2006. The exhibition displays paintings, drawings, models, photographs and furniture. I always wondered why Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels (i.e. The Peninsula hotels), the developers of The Peak in Hong Kong didn't actually build her competition-winning entry. Instead, they built what I like to call the big wok by Terry Farrell. I wonder if they are regretting that decision today.

To be honest, I find it difficult understanding her paintings as representations/schematics for her buildings or urban planning projects, but they make beautiful, rhythmic, poetic works of art. In terms of her built buildings, I really liked the BMW Plant Central Building in Leipzig, which is not only a brilliantly-executed, user experience-enhancing environment, but also a successful example of social/corporate engineering through architecture. The building brings plant workers and management together. It reminds everyone working for the company what each person is working towards -- delivering quality, high-performance, luxury automobiles.

Hadid's buildings always make a statement. They are never bland or boring, conventional or safe. Instead, they aim to challenge and push the envelope. Oftentimes, the end result is quite moving. The exhibition is a great retrospective spanning 30 years of Hadid's career that has led to her being the first female architect to be awarded a Pritzker Prize in 2004. Displayed all along the Guggenheim's spiral, it makes for a great journey.

Midtown NYC: Four Seasons Hotel & Per Se

After 2 nights at Gramercy Park, I moved back up near Central Park to the I.M. Pei-designed Four Seasons Hotel. The first thing I noticed was that the doormen, bellmen and other staff aren't hired from the portfolios of modelling agencies. The moment I walked into the grand lobby, I felt like I had entered a decidedly more serious, adult world; one of bankers and consultants rather than starlets and playboys. Likewise, the staff carry themselves in a more formal manner. The attitude is more "we're here to serve you and serve you well" rather than "welcome to our popular, little clique; you're lucky to be here".

I was in the lift coming back up from the gym with two other guys who had just worked out and one was raving about the little touches. In this instance, it was the refreshing menthol in the refrigerator stocking cold, water bottles (they also have water bottles at room temperature). While I was working out, gym staff were always on hand passing out bottles of water and towels. This is the Four Seasons level of service that I have grown accustomed to -- anticipating guests' needs before they realize what they need. Compare that to Gramercy Park where there was no staff on hand at the gym and when I called down to front desk with a question, they said they would send somebody up. Nobody ever showed up. A comparison between these two hotels is a bit unfair, because their approaches are so different. But I just wish somebody could come up with hotels that marry the two approaches -- something fun, hip AND serious about serving its guests.

The room at Four Seasons was a Deluxe king-bed Room with a sliver of a park view (I was given a corporate rate of US$495++ with a complimentary room upgrade). It was very spacious, a real hotel room -- practical and comfortable. Even though the decor is nothing spectacular, it is tasteful, well-executed and maintained.


The bathroom had the signature tub that fills up in under a minute, separate shower and TV.


Only complaint is that it only has one sink. The wardrobe/dressing area is roomy as well.


There's ample space to hang clothes with ample hangers as well as drawers. Likewise, the sitting area consisted with two armchairs, an ottoman, side table facing a swivel TV. While there is no wi-fi, there is high-speed ethernet connection, with the outlet by the desk. The charge is US$10/day compared to US$14.95 at Gramercy Park Hotel. I actually have an issue with hotels, especially of this calibre, charging for internet connection. If motels or run-of-the-mill hotels can offer free wi-fi, surely a 5-star hotel charging much higher room rates can afford to do the same.

At the moment, the hotel's brand new restaurant, L'Atelier du Joel Robuchon, is still in soft opening stages (since 9 August) and is not taking reservations yet, but diners are welcome to pop by and try their luck. This is the fourth installment of this particular restaurant (the first opened in Paris' Hotel Pont Royal, second in Tokyo's Roppongi Hills complex and the third in Las Vegas' MGM Grand Hotel). However, I made a call to check availability for dinner tonight and got seats; can't wait to try it!

In the meantime, I went to Per Se for dinner and asked for a healthy, low-fat dinner. My foodie friends thought it a bit sacrilegious to go to Per Se whilst on a low-fat diet, but the nearly 16-course menu came out very healthy (with the exception of cheese, which I skipped and dessert, of course). As always, a meal at Per Se is always very memorable. I always walk away remembering every single course I have. It goes without saying that a meal at Per Se has never been disappointing. Service is always attentive without being overbearing or overly stuffy. The staff are extremely knowlegable and accommodating to special requests. Some of my low-fat favourites were: Sevruga caviar served with cucumber sorbet (the non, low-fat diners got the signature "Oysters and Pearls", a "Sabayon" of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and Russian Sevruga Caviar); Citrus Cured Fillet of Hiramasa with "compressed" summer melons, yuzu sorbet, Molokai Black Sea Salt and "Petite" Mint; butter poached Nova Scotia lobster tail braised torpedo onion, Matsutake mushrooms, "Emince" of scallion and Matsutake broth. Everything was perfectly cooked, flavours perfectly balanced, beautifully-presented and portions were perfectly-sized -- just a taste -- so that by the end of the dinner, I did not feel like I had binged on a huge meal, though it was a 4-hour dinner. Those that indulged in foie gras and wagyu beef courses felt a bit more stuffed though. We were presented with a platter of 10 salts (5 from Hawaii, 1 from Japan, 2 from France, 1 from England, 1 from Montana) and two butters (one French, the other from California). Our table had fun tasting the various salts with the butter and bread. Our favourite was one of the salts from Hawaii, black in colour from being infused with charcoal. The best part, though, was the kitchen visit. I had previously visited the kitchen when the lunch service had been completed. Everything was already spic-and-span, squeeky clean. I could hardly believe that they had just churned out 15 tables of long menus. This time around, with the last seating at 10pm (our seating was at 7pm), I got to witness the kitchen at work. It bears no resemblence to Gordon Ramsey's drama-filled kitchen on the FOX reality show, Hell's Kitchen. It was a picture of perfect order and even calmness with Chef de Cuisine Jonathan Benno at the helm of this expertly-crewed ship. Everyone was busy at their stations, but nobody seemed to be under pressure. It was like a well-oiled machine. Stations were very clean -- no spills or even drips, no stacks of dirty pans or dishes or other equipment. The video link between the French Laundry kitchen was also up-and-running, so could watch both kitchens in action. All in all, I am happy that Per Se managed to prove the foodies wrong; that great French-styled cuisine need not necessarily mean a fatty, butter-and-cream laden meal.

NYC Wrap-Up: Shows & Restaurants

Got back to Hong Kong early Monday morning and headed straight to the office after a quick stop home to drop off bags and shower. Oddly enough, it doesn't feel like I've been away for 2 months. New releases of Little Cream Book: Architecture, Romance and Golf arrived on Tuesday and it's been crazy ever since. The last few weeks in New York, I was on the phone with the printer nearly every night. Orange, my mobile phone provider, finally called to tell me that I had exceeded my roaming quota and that I would have to pay my HK$8,000+ bill immediately to avoid suspension of my roaming privileges. Am still missing NYC though, so though I'd do a final wrap-up of all the things I missed in my previous posts.

Hotel
Mercer -- I got to check out one of the rooms at Mercer when I visited A&K. They have their own architectural practice, Naga Concepts, based out of Phuket and were in town working with Andre Balazs on his new resort/residential project in Anguilla. Interiors will be by Christian Liagre and there will be a John Pawson-designed spa. I was really excited for them, because it sounds like an awesome project to work on. And I had previously stayed at Hotel QT, and liked it very much -- it's great value for money in a very convenient Times Square location. The rooms, though not exactly spacious, are sensibly and practically thought out. And I love the bar pool (the major disappointment at Four Seasons was that it did not have a pool!). So I had high expectations when I visited Mercer, especially since I knew it was another Liagre-designed hotel. I was in for a disappointment though. While the room I saw was spacious by NYC standards, the decor looked much more bland than I had expected. The bathroom (without a tub) was standard-sized and looked like a bathroom in a medical clinic with its white tiles. All in all, not the level of luxe I was expecting, but its location in the heart of SoHo cannot be beat.

Shows
I managed to catch three shows this time around. But August is not really the best time for shows. I was so sad to read that my fave playwright, Tom Stoppard's trilogy, The Coast of Utopia, doesn't start until 17 October. I'm hoping I'll be able to schedule a trip to NYC to coincide with one of the marathon Saturdays next year so I can watch all 3 plays (Voyage, Shipwreck and Salvage) all in one go. And then there's Butley, starring Nathan Lane, which AD is designing the set for. That runs from 5 October (previews, opening on 25 October) to 14 January 2007 at the Booth Theatre, so it will definitely be hard for me to catch that one. Anyway, here's what I did get to see:
Kiki & Herb: Alive on Broadway -- On until 10 September 2006, this cabaret act is a riot! Kiki is absolutely outrageous: "I always thought, if you weren't molested as a child, you must not have been very attractive". It's a fun show though.
Absinthe -- On for the rest of September in the Spiegel Tent down in South Street Seaport. This is definitely one of the sexiest vaudeville acts I've seen. Make sure you see the finale! It's kind of a child-unfriendly Cirque du Soleil. Although the night I was there, there were at least 2 children in the first row. If you go, get there early, because it's free seating
The Lieutenant of Inishmore -- Ended 3 September. Could have skipped the first act, but the shocking and funny second act more than made up for the slow first act.

Restaurants
Wajima -- 134 East 61st Street (b/w Lex and Park) 212 813 9065. I had passed by this restaurant a couple of times and thought it looked interesting. Then MH told me that her mother had been for lunch and they had great lunch specials for US$10. I decided I had to go check it out and it was definitely worth it! For US$9.80, I got one rice bowl with sashimi, one rice bowl with 3 pieces of tempura (2 of which were shrimp), a bowl of cold soba, a bowl of miso soup and an egg custard! Definitely great value for money and the food was good. At lunch time, the place was packed with Japanese.
Raku -- CS and I paid Ray a visit after seeing Kiki & Herb. It's a great pre- or post-theatre joint since it's on 47th b/w Broadway and 8th. ML, Ray's wife, had told me that their specialty is rolls, with its multiple combination of fishes, are not that popular in Hong Kong. Raku comes up with roll combinations in honour of its best clients, Morgan Stanley being one of them.
Bar Masa -- This was the fall back option after I walked all the way down to Sushi Yasuda only to find out it was closed for lunch on Saturday. I had a sushi sampler. One of the few sushi places I've been in the US that actually serves up Japanese-sized sushi. All the fish was very fresh and tasty, but because I was on the phone with a friend, I didn't get a chance to ask what each fish was before finishing them off. A bit pricey, though certainly not as pricey as Masa.
A Voce -- SP who worked with Andrew Carmellini at Le Cirque took me there the first time around. I loved it so much that I booked dinner there for friends 3 nights later. We got to try a lot of dishes. All were light (worked for my diet, i.e. not heavy with butter and cream) and fresh Italian dishes. My absolute fave was the sweet corn ravioli. I had a dish all to myself the second time around. At dinner with S&A, both chefs, I learnt that a creme brulee at Le Cirque uses 6 egg yolks, shocking!
BLT Fish -- Had some very sweet clams there. Definitely prefer the less formal shack downstairs to the more formal upstairs dining. Others had all-you-can-eat mussels, but nobody asked for more after the first bowl. Everything was served with plenty of fries, which I did not touch.
Am really bummed I did not get a chance to check out Sushi Yasuda; that's going on the top of my list of restaurants to try next time! It was a S&A recommendation. MH, seconded it, but added that she no longer patronized the restaurant on principle. Apparently, the sushi chef is a real chauvanist.
Magnolia Bakery -- 401 Bleeker Street 212 462 2572 Yes, I was on a low-fat, low-sugar diet, so cupcakes weren't exactly what I was supposed to be eating. But I got BL to buy one just so I could have a teeny, tiny bite. Absolute happy food! It would be awesome if they opened shop here, definitely beats Krispy Kreme (an outpost of which has just opened up downstairs from my office here in HK)!

Work-in-Progress: The making of a Meatpacking photography studio

Decked out in a baseball cap, baggy khakis and flip-flops, K, a B-school classmate who is working for a company that just IPOed in Toronto and London, asked, "Do I look the part of the poor, starving artist?" as he excitedly ushered me into his space above the Rubin Chapelle shop on West 14th. It was quite a mess. He and P are doing much of the work themselves with help from friends, converting the space into a 1,000+ square foot photography studio: eveNYC. It was fun to check out a work-in-progress in Meatpacking, especially since I had just come from visiting two other apartments (the first near Gramercy Park, the second in Chelsea) that were more-or-less complete. On 18 August, this is how the space looked:


By 23 August, it was already looking much better!



The studio should be ready in early September. Can't wait to see it then!

NYC: Ian Schrager's New Gramercy Park Hotel

I traded proximity to Central Park, Museum Mile and Madison Avenue shopping for keys to Gramercy Park yesterday. NC, my rebounder instructor, had tipped me off to a really bad review of Ian Schrager's new Gramercy Park Hotel in The New York Sun by James Gardner. So before I checked in, it seemed that word on the street was that Gramercy was a major disappointment.

I have previously stayed in three of Schrager's properties -- Hudson, St Martin's Lane and The Clift. My favourite has been, and still remains, St Martin's Lane. Unlike the other two hotels, St Martin's Lane has a proper bathroom that doesn't get treated like the poor hillbilly cousin. For me, Schrager's hallmark is his ability to turn the lobby, restaurants and bars into one of the city's most happening scenes, while the rooms are actually secondary. If you check into a Schrager hotel, you are not so much paying for a room to sleep in, but entrance to a club to party in. Hence, the oftentimes annoying habit of requesting that hotel guests produce their room keys before allowing them entry into the hotel.

Thus, it came as no surprise when I walked into my "Loft" category room (The introductory rate until 4 September is US$340++. The rack rate is expected to more than double after that to US$805++, with special rates at US$645++) and found nothing more than what normal hotels would simply call a Deluxe room. There was no loft bed and the ceiling height is by no means lofty. However, relative to usual Schrager rooms, the "Loft" room was quite spacious. There was a seating area with sofa and leather desk (with a medieval-looking upolstered chair that was a tad too high such that you have to hunch over the keyboard of your laptop) as well as a red armchair with ottoman. There was a king bed with two nightstands and ample room to maneouver. A nice touch was a small vase of fresh flowers by the bedside.


This time Schrager did not use Philippe Starck to do the interior design for his hotel. The painter Julian Schnabel (of broken plates fame) has had a hand in the public spaces, while the bulk of the interiors is by Michael Overington and Anda Andrei. To me, it's a Jacques Garcia wannabe. It's a tarted up version of the Costes Brothers' Hotel du Bourg Tibourg in Paris' Marais (the wood-panelled bathroom really reminds me of HdBT). It's got that Adams Family feel, with a lushness, or perhaps louchness, that comes from an abundant use of richly coloured crushed velvet (robes in royal blue, sofas in olive green, armchairs in scarlet red, curtains in lobster rose, side table in goldust).


There is a very well-stocked in-room bar complete with red, cut-crystal goblets and all manner of gourmet snacks (at super gourmet prices, of course). All this is a mahogany and mirrored bar a la Las Vegas party limo. In addition to the flat screen TV and DVD/CD player, my favourite in-room accessory is the JBL iPod speaker dock (even though the sound is not so great, it's fun. Note to self: remember to unplug from dock when leaving!!).


The one-bedroom suite (Introductory rate is US$400++; rack rate will be US$875++, with special rates from US$655-705++) does not feel as spacious as a suite should. The bedroom is typically Schrager small.


In the bathroom, there is only one sink, no bathtub. The shower and toilet are separated by a door from the sink, which is exposed to the bedroom.


The sitting room is separated from the bedroom by a door. I actually prefer the layout of the Loft to the one-bedroom suite.


All in all, it's a fun hotel and its location on Gramercy Park (with guests getting keys to the private park) a plus. But there were signs everywhere that the hotel opened in haste. For example, poorly fitted door handles:


The restaurant and rooftop club are not yet open. So a simple breakfast is served in one of the meeting rooms facing the park. Main complaints include a lack of electrical outlets for guests who now need to charge phones, laptops, cameras etc. In my room, there was only one available outlet in the lamp, with the other free outlet in the bathroom (definitely not charging my laptop in there!). The windows are neither double-glazed nor sound-proofed. At night, you can hear the ruckus from the street (and there will be lots of ruckus as the bars become the next IT spot post Labour Day). In the morning, I was rudely awoken by construction racket at 8am.

At the current rates, GPH is a fun hotel (it's convenient to Union Square, Chelsea galleries, Meatpacking scene etc.). But as two ladies chatting on the treadmills in the gym commented, they would never pay the increased rates. It's just not worth it; there are too many better accommodation choices in this city. Unless, of course, you want to party on the rooftop with the IT crowd.

Here's a tip: Skip the hotel breakfast. Instead, headd to 71 Irving Place cafe (T: +1 888 710-3844) on the other side of the park. Grab your paper and a park key on your way out, get your breakfast and have it in the park.

Hamptons Weekend

"I'll be going to the country on Wednesday," said JK as we were trying to fix a day for dinner. "The country" evoked images of the Cotswolds, English manor houses and the like, but she was talking about the Hamptons, the eastern end of Long Island, consisting of Southhampton, Bridgehampton, East Hampton and neighboring towns. Hampton snobs don't really consider West Hampton to be of the same standards as the other Hampton towns and there is this "south of the highway" snobbery as well (the highway in question, really a two-lane road, is Montauk Highway, Hwy 27). So my image of the Hamptons was very country clubby complete with garden parties and white dresses. When A&C extended an invitation to join that at their summer share in Wainscott with K&M, I jumped at the chance to see what all the fuss was about.

As it turns out, it is true that tout-New York is in "the country" or "by the beach" over the summer weekends (which pretty much extend from Thursday to Monday for many). However, it's less country club in feel than I expected. A 2-2.5 hour drive from Manhattan, it does really feel like New England countryside (think Cape Cod). With the exception of East Hampton, which has big brand shops such as Gucci, Tiffany & Co. etc., the rest of the villages are quite quaint and charming. On a beautiful, sunny day, driving along Hwy 27 with the top down, life is pretty sweet.

I caught a ride out with AD, who was excited that he and CS's feature in the Sunday New York Times was already out. Sunday stories actually appear online by Friday evening, so we printed copies of the article. By the time we got in the car, it was nearly 8pm. We were hoping to miss the traffic for the Friday night exodus. We got to Almond, which was packed, in Bridgehampton before 10:15pm, so traffic wasn't too bad. We met up with C, K and M for a drink before heading to their house in Wainscott. The 3-bedroom house, owned by a dentist, was simple, but comfortable. There was a pool and deck where we ended up lazing away most of the weekend -- we pretty much had all our meals there. They were all great in the kitchen, baking blueberry muffins and a killer carrot cake, making pasta salads, seafood bakes, hamburgers and hot dogs on the Weber grill etc. The only local restaurant I got to try out was Nichols in East Hampton, which served up home-style, American food in a pub atmosphere. Apparently, it's also a good spot for celebrity sightings.

I spent Saturday morning in Sag Harbour, a little town with cute shops and stunning yachts. Sunday morning, after reading the Times, we headed out to Montauk, all the way out to the lighthouse. Montauk has much more of the secluded beach feel, because it is at the most eastern tip of Long Island, which is a very long island. There were hardly any people at the beach, and unlike the other beaches in the Hamptons that require permits for parking in the beach parking lots, Montauk's lot offered free parking. It also had a very charmingly done up shack selling refreshements and snacks, which the other beaches did not seem to have. The beach was a little more cluttered with pebbles and shells, but the quiet was very soothing and it's fun watching all the boats come and go from the inlet.

Andre Balazs' Sunset Beach is out on Shelter Island (you can drive from Sag Harbour, but you need to get on a ferry). Apparently, it's quite a happening beach from which to watch the sun set on a Sunday evening. If I weren't staying with friends, I would probably stay there or The American Hotel in Sag Harbour.

NYC: Upper East Side workout spots, Fig & Olive, Shake Shack, etc.

I've been in NYC for a little over a week now. It's been great. Been staying at MH's place on 65th and 3rd, and been absolutely spoiled. The neighborhood's been so convenient. I've had a smorgasbord of workout experiences -- got a temporary one week membership to Sports Club/LA on 61st & 1st where there's a dizzying array of group sculpt classes and the facilities are great, another one-week trial for US$25 at Some Like It Hot Yoga on 63rd & 3rd, Jivamukti Yoga Studio is just around the corner on Lex and a INShape, a private exercise studio on 68th & 5th that offers rebounder (workout routines done on a mini-trampoline) and pilates. Of course, the park is also right nearby. In addition to working out, I've spent some time working at the public library on 67th & 2nd (also has free wi-fi, but a bit of a small neighborhood library so the hours are a bit short).

Despite all that, the highlight of New York is meeting people over meals. The first dinner I had was at Shake Shack in Madison Square Park on 23rd. Started by the same people as the famed Gramercy Tavern, Shake Shack has become something of a phenomenon. The website has a live feed of the lines queuing for their delicious burgers, hot dogs and shakes. I arrived at 6:45pm and did not sit down with our group's order until 8:25pm. But it was a very pleasant evening, so the waiting was bearable. And the food was sinfully delicious. I had a bird dog (chicken dog) with the works and a coffee milk shake. I was later advised by CH, who lives nearby, that the best time to go is around 4:30pm.


AW had sent me on a mission to check out Whole Foods, but MH & CR both tipped me off to an even better neighborhood find -- Really Cool Foods on 3rd & 63rd. The place is great for people who want to eat in, but don't necessarily want to go through all the hassle of preparing a delicious home-cooked meal. Really Cool Foods prepares all the ingrediants, offering single (and larger) serving packages of meal components such as sauteed sliced mushrooms, sauteed ground turkey with chillis, grilled chicken pieces or strips, steamed asparagus etc. as well as other food items. It's a great mix-n-match food concept. I prepared a delicious salad with a ceaser salad package with the ground turkey and mushrooms, which I reheated in the microwave in 30 seconds and then tossed everything together. I didn't even need any dressing.

So far though, my favourite neigborhood restaurant has been Fig & Olive on Lex & 62nd. It's been great for healthy eating, but that place is always soooo packed. They always do a complimentary olive oil tasting of 3 different olive oils, one each from France, Italy and Spain. Their pastas (penne with mushrooms and truffle oil and crabmeat & ricotta ravioli) are cooked just perfect and I love their Fig & Olive salad.

Through MH, I was invited to a dinner party at HB's beautiful Tribeca flat. She had just gotten this incredible exercise machine called ROM (Range of Motion) that promised the benefits of a 45-minute workout in just 4 minutes! Both MH and I thought it sounded too good to be true, but were still very curious to give it a whirl. The machine is huge. It allows you to workout the upper body while seated; it's a bit like rowing, but instead of just pulling front to back, you pull and push in sort of a circular motion. Hence, increasing the range of motion. On the back end of the machine, you can work your lower body and abs. The lower body workout is a bit like a stairmaster workout where you take incredibly huge steps up. I want my gym to get some. It's sure to be a hit!

ROM and delicious Mexican food aside, the most fascinating part of dinner were the people. Because HB's friend film producer friend MC was in town from LA, there were a few film industry people around. P is working on a film about an American woman who marries a Korean-American and decides to have an affair with another Korean man so that she can conceive a child for her husband's family. The film was in the middle of shooting in NYC. MC herself was working on a film about her mentor, Shin Sang-Ok, the Korean filmmaker who was kidnapped, along with his wife, by the North Koreans to make propoganda films. And then there was BD whose book, Closure, which he co-authored, has just been released. The book is about the 9/11 rescue-and-recovery from the perspective of Lt William Keegan of the Port Authority Police Department. BD had many fascinating stories to recount, which made us all want to go out and buy the book.

San Francisco: The Clift, Matthew Barney and Postrio

Spent last weekend in cool, breezy San Francisco. I checked into The Clift, because I wanted to see if the place had lost any of the Schrager beauty & buzz since the the hotels became Morgans Hotel Group and went public. I have to say, I was most disappointed by the bathroom. I checked into a Deluxe Double (has two, double beds) at a rate of US$255++ per night. The bathroom had only one wash basin and the rest of the bathroom looked like a moderate, non-designer hotel bathroom. The shower head was one of those typical shower heads you might find in a mid-range chain hotel. The bathroom was utterly uninspiring, bordering on offensively boring. But the wi-fi worked (at US$10/day, it should work). The room was a decent size for 2 people. However, most shocking was that they charge for a sewing kit (which is free in most decent hotels) and even for the first-aid kit! Fortunately, when I did somehow cut myself, I went down to breakfast and the waitress brought me anti-septic spray, a band-aid and some tissues for free. When it came to evening, in typical club/hotel fashion, we were asked to show our hotel key when returning from dinner. It seems that the Clift's Redwood Room is still quite a scene in San Francisco. A & C, who were also staying at the hotel, recounted how they had sat down for a drink on checking-in around midnight. A young Korean sat down with them and started chatting. The young Korean guy started asking their opinion on how he should spend the US$1 million that his father had given him as a present having successfully just graduated from Stanford. Will be checking into Ian Schrager's new Gramery Park Hotel on 23 August, wonder what characters I'll run into on the rooftop.




A must-see at the SF MoMA until 17 September 2006, is the Matthew Barney show. In fact, they are doing daily (except Wednesdays) free screenings at 2pm of his Drawing Restraint 9, the film he stars in with Björk. I first came into contact with Barney's work back in 1992 when I was interning at Barbara Gladstone Gallery. Gladstone had just signed him on, and he was doing exercise-equipment inspired sculptures in petroleum jelly. He was coming from his experience has a footballer (American football, not the World Cup kind) and wrestling; athletic bodies are created and built by working muscles to the point where the fibres breakdown. His Drawing Restraint series were often about how exploring the creative process that comes out of physical restraint. I find Barney's work very relevant and inspiring, because his work really speaks to what we all deal with day-to-day in life; we all strive to create something out of a certain set of constraints and we are always trying to explore the limits and even break beyond those limits, whether they are physical, social, mental, cultural, economic etc. In Drawing Restraint 14, a work Barney created at SFMOMA, he crossed the skylight's bridge by hooking himself to carabeners. He then drew on the wall at the other end of the bridge. I didn't manage to catch the Drawing Restraint 9 screening (I got there half an hour late and they weren't letting people in after 2:15pm), but from the stills and the trailer (can be viewed online), it's a visually stunning film (a bit reminiscent of Peter Greenaway). Though at 145 minutes long, it may require a bit of patience. It's set on a huge Japanese whaling ship with beautiful images of Japanese pageantry, tea ceremonies, Shinto wedding costumes etc.



Had a great dinner at Postrio. CS had tried to book Town Hall, but it was full, so ended up going to Postrio. I have to admit that I didn't hold high expectations for Postrio since Wolfgang Puck Expresses are popping up in places like Denver Airport. Don't get me wrong, I didn't think it would be a bad meal, but I didn't think it would be exceptionally good either. We were all very pleasantly surprised. I ended up ordering three appetizers -- Chioggia Beet Salad, Duck Confit Raviolo and one of their market specials (it was a fish prepared two ways -- seared and sashimi). I also "tasted" nearly half of L's Hamachi Carpaccio. My favourite was the beet salad, but they were all delicious. AD raved about his plate of chacuterie. Likewise, dessert was a difficult choice was all. I opted for the Chocolate Espresso Roulade. My one major disappointment is the decor, which looks like it hasn't been touched since it opened. Fortunately, I heard from DN at Kimpton Hotels that Postrio will get an interiors update soon.

I was having dinner with CT and gang and a very interesting conversation came up about Burning Man. Previously, Peter Guy, the editor of ESCAPE, had mentioned this festival in the hot, Nevada desert, where people camp for a week. At the time, it did not sound very appealing. But KS and KC were raving about it. KC will be going for the 6th time and KS for the second this year. Imagine, a whole city (nearly 40,000 people go now), Black Rock City, gets built and destroyed, without a trace left (not even a speck of glitter), within a span of a week! What I found most fascinating and intriguing about the event though, was the lengths to which people go to create interesting camp concepts and installations, especially given that the event is entirely non-commercial, everything operates on the gift/barter system and that everything has to be destroyed by the time the week ends. KC recounted how one installation was a gigantic chandelier (at least a couple storeys tall) from heaven that had fallen to earth and came complete with a piece of the ceiling/sky. Imagine bringing all that out to the desert knowing that you have to dispose of every last piece! Anyway, I can't wait to hear all about their experiences this year!

24 Hours in Seattle: Hotel Andra, Pike Place Fish & Double Take

Yes, am a bit behind on my entries, but better late than never!

I flew into Seattle from Jackson. I was glad to hear announcements made in English and Japanese; not many American airports are multi-lingual. It took a while for the luggage to arrive, but getting downtown was a breeze since it was Saturday afternoon and traffic was light. I checked into Hotel Andra on 4th Avenue. It was a toss-up between Hotel Monaco Seattle (it's practically next to the Seattle Public Library), but in the end, I opted for Hotel Andra purely for interior design reasons (if it's not Jacques Garcia, then I tend to go for cleaner, simpler lines). The room I had at Hotel Andra (US$199++ for an Andra studio) was not the most spacious I've been in (in was difficult to find enough space to open up my big, Burton suitcase without obstructing paths), but it was comfortable enough. The Tivoli radio and the bottle VOSS water were nice touches.

As soon as I dumped my bags, my brother (who happened to be in town for work) and I walked down to Pike Place Market.

I, of course, wanted to make my pilgrimage to the first Starbuck. My brother wanted to take me to Pike Place Fish. At first, the thought of watching fish mongers shouting and throwing fish around didn't seem quite as appealing as my usual iced, tall, double shot, no vanilla, non-fat caramel macchiato. But, as soon as I arrived, I was not disappointed. There was a crowd in front of the counter and a huge buzz. No other stall in the entire marketplace attracted to much attention, even though there were quite a few copycats, who shouted out orders. What makes Pike Place Fish special is their passion and their ability to communicate that passion to their customers. They're not just selling fish, they're selling an idea: Success is about building comraderie and friendships, believing in a dream and collectively working towards making it happen. It doesn't matter what you do, as long as you give your heart and soul, you will become a success. They've published inspirational books based on their own experiences and they give motivational talks around the world. Of course, standing there, my brother and I just wanted see fish fly. After 10 minutes or so, we finally saw it: a fish flying.

So then, it was off to Starbucks just down the street, where I ordered my drink and bought the mug. The place was packed and it was standing room only. There aren't really any seats around.

The next morning, I walked to Seattle Center, where the Space Needle and the Experience Music Project are. The Space Needle was much shorter than I imagined it to be.

Frank Gehry's building for emp reminded me of Darth Vader for some reason. But I suppose it's apt, since it does also house the Science Fiction Museum.

I had wanted to go to emp to see the Double Take show. The show was great. The premise of the show is to present unusual and thought-provoking pairings/groupings of art from Impressionist/Post-Impressionist with those from modern & contemporary periods. All the pieces are from Paul Allen's collection (who is also the founder of emp). Paul Hayes Tucker, an art historian and leading authority on the works of Claude Monet and other Impressionists, did an incredible job curating the show. This is one show where you must listen to the audio guide. The way Tucker pulls you into the paintings and prods you to think about each one from a fresh perspective is really refreshing. My favourite pairing was a Jasper Johns sulpture (made to look like a painting) and a Monet (who was trying to make his painting more three-dimensional with thick, textured applications of paint). The show runs through 24 September and is definitely worth going. It's not a big show; it took me a little over an hour to go through it all. In conjuntion with the exhibition, there are is also a lecture series. Eric Fischl talks on 24 August and Nan Goldin on 21 September.

And of course, if you have read from my previous post, you will know that I ended up spending the last 4 hours or so of my 24 hours in the truly exceptional Seattle Public Library. It's the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon in Seattle, and the perfect way to end my stay!

Koolhaas' Awesome Seattle Central Library

Judge not a book by its cover, nor a building by its exterior.

When we were kids, my Dad would to take us to the library every Saturday morning so that we could pick out books to read for the week to come. That was the way we earned our allowance. I think we got about 5 cents for every page we read. He would give us suggestions on books we might be interested in reading, but he never really dictated what we should read. I went through my Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys stage, Choose-Your-Own-Adventure stories, World War II, dinosaurs, biographies, even Barbara Taylor Bradford, different books at different times. I always enjoyed those Saturday mornings at the library. It not only nurtured our love of books and a curiosity to find out more about our world, both past and present, but it also gave us a sense that no matter what the problem or question was, we would always be able to find an answer at the library (these days, google is a great substitute).

Since graduating from B-school, I haven't really used a library (except for a brief visit to Erik Gunnar Asplund's beautiful Stockholm Library last August). I do love libraries though. When well-designed, they're a real sanctuary (in fact, I am writing this entry from the Vancouver Public Library, because I'm having problems getting high-speed internet service installed in the apartment). They're places from which one can learn, reflect, work, but also to relax, socialize and bond, as we did with our parents. They're wonderful, multi-purpose public buildings that bring the community together. At their best, libraries provoke, inspire and enlighten.

I first came across Rem Koolhaas' Seattle Central Library when researching for Little Cream Book: Architecture. Unfortunately, it got dropped from the list, because we wanted to include more Asian architects, so the S entry went to Toyo Ito's Sendai Mediatheque, just as worthy an entry as the Seattle Library. So when I found myself in Seattle for 24 hours, I just had to visit. It was truly an awesome experience. While the traditional libraries of universities are dimly-lit, sombre halls of learned endeavours (Dont' get me wrong, I actually have a soft spot for such libraries, the ones with the green, banker's desk lamps, long wooden desks and a fierce librarian that glares at you from over her bifocals the moment you make a noise. The old Art & Archaeology library at Bryn Mawr was like a crypt, but I loved it). Koolhaas' library, on the other hand, is a joyous occasion. The moment you walk in, you feel like the world's doors are opening up in front of your eyes. There's an incredible sense of freedom.; your eyes are drawn skyward, your soul feels lifted. There's a feeling of excitment, a buzz. And its all because he dares to inject a bit of bold, playful colours into the whole scheme of things (the 4th floor housing meeting rooms is entirely fire engine red).


This is a view of the 3rd floor entrance to the Living Room area, which houses a gift shop, cafe, teen area etc., from the 5th floor Mixing Chamber, where there are more than hundreds of computers for library users.


The 5th floor Mixing Chamber.There's a layer of mesh on the windows to reduce the glare of the sun. And notice that the frames are painted in sky blue.



The Spiral is an amazing concept for housing the stacks. The floors circle upwards, with a flourescent yellow escalator running through its core, leading up to the Reading Room.





Approaching enlightenment...


...otherwise known as the Reading Room.


And if the books don't inspire you, there's always the art...



Between the sky blue frames, the real plants and the carpet silkscreened with fake plants, it really does feel like the perfect lazy, sunny Sunday afternoon in the park with your favourite book or a copy of the Sunday New York Times.