Art & Seoul

Samcheong-dong
I had tried to set up a meeting with Bahk Seon Ghi, but he was in Europe so I had to settle for a meeting with his gallery, SUN Gallery.

My meeting wasn't until noon, but I decided to have breakfast in Samcheong-dong since MC had recommended that I try sujaebi, a soup with pasta, at Samcheong-dong Sujaebi (apparently, this place is known for this local dish). But by the time I saw the restaurant from across the street, I was craving my usual latte and remembered that JC said I'd probably prefer the cafes serving waffles and French toast instead. And wouldn't you know it, on my side of the street, was Cafe 62-16 by TeaStory. I wandered in ready to order their crepes, but unfortunately, their crepe maker was not working. So I had their brunch waffle instead, which came with bacon, egg, sausage, salad on top of a green tea waffle. With a cup of skim latte, it was the perfect comfort breakfast on a wet and chilly morning.

After breakfast, I strolled down the street with its quaint shops, sleek galleries, restaurants and lots of cute, little cafes like Cafe 62-16. It reminded me a little bit of the small streets in Daikanyama. On a sunny day, it would be prefect for a Sunday morning post-brunch stroll. Being a bit under-dressed for the weather, I walked briskly towards SUN Gallery to avoid the eventual downpour. Christine was already there. We went through Bahk's portfolio. She had just visited his studio a week or so ago and she seemed quite smitten with him. She kept insisting that I should meet him next time I'm in Seoul. "It's a shame you can't meet him this time," she said, "because you'd be good friends. He's very friendly." He showed me pictures of his studio, which is about an hour or so outside of Seoul. There were pictures of individual pieces of charcoal laid out meticulously on the floor. He gets huge amounts of charcoal delivered every day.

After going through Bahk's works, she offered to take me around some of the other galleries nearby. Again, there was that Seoul hospitality. We walked over to Kukje Gallery's New Space where they had an impressive show on of Anselm Kiefer's works. The gallery also owns The Restaurant, which is next to the main gallery facing the street (whereas the New Space is in a building behind SUN Gallery). Christine joked that The Restaurant has to be expensive in order to support the galleries when they don't manage to sell any art. Next stop was Hakgojae, which had an exhibition of stunning wall installations of oil-on-canvas paintings by Choi Insun. Choi's canvases are seductively tactile. The paints are layered on so heavily in places, giving them a sculptural quality. As we were leaving, the owner gave me a monograph of the artist's works and an umbrella; as it had really started to pour. Yet more soul-warming, Seoul warmth on a cold day.

Kim Joon & Nancy Lang
We were scheduled to meet Nancy Lang in front of the Insa-dong Starbucks at 6pm. "You won't miss it," said RK. "It's the only Starbucks with its name in Korean (스 타 박 스)." Nancy is incredibly spunky. Her outfit that day made me think of Harajuku girls. She had on black patent leather pumps with knee-high black socks and a black-and-white checked Heidi-ish dress. She was just missing the pigtails.With her long, jet-black hair down, she looked like the darker Asian twin of a yodeling Swiss Heidi. One of her Taboo Yogini works was on show at a nearby gallery. At the entrance to the building, a couple of ladies were handing out flyers to the restaurant downstairs. One of the ladies spoke to Nancy and then Nancy beamed, "They just gave us a discount, so we should eat there. It's traditional Korean food."

We went up to the gallery and she explained the symbolism behind her work. A lot of it has to do with the women's intuition and power, on the one hand, and their vulnerabilities on the other hand. There was a reason for each visual element in the mixed-media works. She explained that she often put a Louis Vuitton bag in, because she loves Louis Vuitton handbags. That's probably why LV commissioned her to produce a work for one of their events. On this particular day, she was carrying a Gucci canvas bag with pink leather trim. "It's raining," she explained. "I don't want to ruin my Louis Vuitton bags."

Kim Joon joined us for dinner in the basement restaurant. Nancy ordered the traditional meal with lots of little dishes and limitless re-fills. I can't remember how many dishes we had, but there was beef, pork, fish, along with several vegetable dishes, glass noodles and pancake. I requested a bibimbap, because RK had forgotten to order it the night before and I just had to try this in Seoul.

Kim Joon doesn't really speak English, so Nancy and RK did most of the translating. His works, I learned, were not photographs at all. I had initially thought that he shot real models and then digitally layered the patterns on top of their skin. It turns out, everything is a digital creation; no photography involved. His works are an exploration of the social, cultural and psychological meanings behind tattoos. As we were finishing up our meal, Kim Joon suggested we head over to his place to see some of his works. Once again, I was surprised by the show of hospitality. On arrival, we were greeted by his beautiful wife and absolutely adorable and precocious 18-month-old daughter. Kim Joon's works are mesmerising, but his daughter is the masterpiece.

It was great seeing how locals live, but even more interesting to see how an artist lives. I always imagine messy studios, but because all of Kim Joon's recent works are done on computers, his "studio" was more like a study. And his house seemed like any other house, complete with garden. It was very comfortable, homey and normal.

Leeum Samsung Museum of Art
The final art stop of the trip was the Leeum Samsung Museum of Art. Everyone raves about this musuem. It's got a great collection housed in great buildings. My favourite is Rem Koolhaas' Samsung Child Education & Culture Center. Museum 1 is designed by Mario Botta, while Museum 2 is designed by Jean Nouvel. This is an instance where the architecture doesn't try to steal the spotlight from the artworks (Miho Museum is a case where the architecture overshadows the collection). I loved the fact that the first piece greeting me at the entrance of Museum 2 was an Anish Kapoor -- a burgundy-coloured, concave mirror. The most fun, though, was an installation by Park Kiwon in the Koolhaas building. The piece, entitled Vacuum, is a room with all its walls and ceiling covered with industrial grease with the ground covered in inflatable square cushions. The museum has an audio guide that tells you about each piece as you stand in front of it. It's a well-done guide, well worth the 2,000won.

New York: Sunday in the Country

Woke up to a glorious blue sky Sunday morning. After a 10K run around Central Park at 8am when a biathalon race was already in progress, AP, AL and I headed "upstate". The drive out of Manhattan through the Hudson Valley was great. Playing in the car was Bossa n' Stones (as the title suggests, Bossa Nova covers of Rolling Stones tunes). AP and AL started singing along: "you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you might find, you get what you need". The song has quite a hook and it stuck with us through the rest of the day. What we all needed on this beautiful Sunday, was a bit of fresh air and a fresh perspective.


For the past few days, AP and I had been combing through the densely packed art fairs of Pulse, Bridge and Scope looking for emerging artists to include in the next Little Cream Book project. AP is an art consultant, so she does it for a living. In fact, she had just finished her rounds at the Dubai art fairs. Though I enjoy art, I was feeling a bit arted-out. So I wasn't exactly dying to go see more art all the way out in Beacon, but was lured by the promise of a nice meal at Blue Hill Stone Barns to tag along. As it turned out, dia: Beacon was just the fresh perspective I needed to see art through fresh eyes again. It's a contemporary art space with a collection of stunning works by iconic artists from the 60s onwards. All the pieces are brilliantly displayed in the converted paper factory. There is an incredible amount of natural light streaming into the galleries through 34,000 square feet of skylights. On this sunny day, all the artworks were bathed in sunlight. It's worth the hour-plus journey just to experience the gallery space. I sat in the Gerhard Richter 6 Gray Mirrors room meditating on my reflection. Equally meditative were Robert Ryman's white-on-white rooms and Agnes Martin's rooms filled with her rationally, straight-lined abstracts, also in shades of white and gray. But for me, the most uplifting experience was walking through the four Richard Serra sculptures. It would have been nice to have these set on an expansive grass lawn, look up from the expanse of towering spiral steel curves to see cloudless, blue skies, but the effect was not lost inside the gallery. This was art as its best, like walking into a vaulted Gothic cathedral -- moving, contemplative and transformative. It was the perfect antidote to the art supermarkets in which I had been immersed.


Next stop was Blue Hill at Stone Barns. Years ago, when I first had lunch at Per Se, I had asked one of the waiters what other restaurants were worth trying. Top of his list had been Blue Hill at Stone Barns (they also have a restaurant in Manhattan, but the Stone Barns experience is worth the journey). But because it's outside of Manhattan, several trips went by and I still hadn't made it to Blue Hill. Finally, I was going. I expected to have a nice Sunday brunch, but we arrived quite late in the afternoon. So we decided to stay for an early dinner at 5pm. We hadn't made any reservations in the restaurant, but the bar serves the same menu so we got seats at the bar. Stone Barns is a working farm and we had a bit of time to wander around the grounds. We were a trio of touristy city slickers snapping away at sheep, chicken, pigs and the beautiful surroundings.


When we finally sat down at the bar sipping their signature cocktails of elderflower royale (elderflower liquer and sparkling white wine) and blood orange martini, we were expecting a meal from fresh farm produce, simple and good. We got much more than simple and good. It was simple, elegant and a sheer delight for the taste buds. But what made it even better was having the company of Tomas Jacobsen who joined us at the bar. He's a Danish chef who was between restaurant stints in his native Copenhagen and decided to use the time off for an unpaid apprenticeship at Per Se. It's so much fun listening to chefs talk about food. They have such a passion for it. So for the next four hours, as we ogled his very, very special chef's tasting menu, sometimes even sampling bits off his plate, we grilled him about food, being a chef and his favourite restaurants. We were watching him taste everything with the deepest of concentration and waiting for his pronouncements.

Dishes in front of other people, especially when they are chefs and get special treatment, always seem tastier!

Chip envy got the better of us, so Tomas graciously shared one of his potato chips with a sage leaf with us. He also got to taste beetroot, squash and parsnip chips. Best potato chip ever!

He has sat through a 27-course meal at Per Se, but all the courses he was being served up were still delighting him. We got a different version of the chef's tasting menu, all excellent. I have never been one for eggs. I neither like nor dislike them, they just generally don't move me. Yet the morning's egg they served up with fresh farm greens and a thin slice of crispy cheek bacon was an egg like not other. The runny yolk was deliciously full of flavour. The slice of Berkshire pork belly was a little piece of heaven. The handmade pasta made from nearby harvest of spelt was a delight. All the dishes were beautifully presented.

This morning's egg with a thin slice of cheek bacon on top.

Berkshire pork belly & loin

Of course, I had to ask Tomas for his restaurant recommendations for Copenhagen. He highly recommended Noma (where he previously worked), a 2-Michelin star restaurant that highlights Nordic produce and culinary traditions. The chef at Noma had previously worked at French Laundry and el bulli. He leaves New York City today to head back to a job at the soon-to-open Nimb, which he describes as modern Danish. Asked for his favourite non-fine dining restaurant in NYC, he suggested Degustation (239 East 5th Street, T: +1 212 979 1012), where it's "a funny mixture of everything that inspires him (the chef)".

Vancouver: Monte Clark Gallery & Boneta

For the longest time, TB had been telling me to go check out his friend's gallery in Vancouver. For one reason or another, I never got around to it. Finally, I made it to the gallery on Granville and 8th Avenue and met Monte Clark, the owner. Currently on show are photographic collages by Roy Arden. But the most recognisable name on the gallery's roster is Douglas Coupland (author of Generation X, Microsefs, jPod etc.). Because I'm on the lookout for interesting artists to talk about what inspires them about the places they live and work in, I asked MC to recommend a Vancouverite. He immediately suggested Karin Bubas. I hadn't heard of her, but I had been drawn to one of her photographs in his private collection (Guest Bed with Bible from her Ivy House series). There's a strange sense of nostalgia in Bubas' photographs, which I find intriguing. I particularly like her Studies in Landscape and Wardrobe series, where a solitary woman is photographed in rather retro-looking outfits facing away from the camera in a beautiful landscape. There is an other-worldly quality to them, but apparently, all the photos were taken around Vancouver.

After feasting my eyes and soul on art, we headed to Boneta in Gastown (an up-and-coming part of downtown Vancouver that's undergoing some cleaning up) for a dinnertime feast. I had a wonderful bison carpaccio followed by the very popular seared scallops with celeraic ravioli (5 out of our table of 8 ordered this dish!). The restaurant was fitted out with a budget of less than CAD90,000. It's a nice, lofty space, with the exception of it being a bit too loud. We were in "the room", which is a booth in the back corner of the restaurant, which seats 8 just right. Yet, we could still hear the cacaphony from the main dining room. The three partners are all ex-Lumiere staff.

Old Town Scottsdale Refreshed

It's been fours years since I was last in Scottsdale. Back then, Scottsdale Fashion Square and Biltmore Fashion Park were the two main hang-outs, with Biltmore having the higher end shops. Since then, the area south of Cambelback (i.e. the Nordstrom side of the mall) is being developed into the Waterfront, a mix of residential, retail and office space. I used to remember Stetson Drive, Fifth and Sixth Avenues as being uninteresting for its overabundance of shops selling cowboy boots, southwestern turquoise and silver, chunky belt buckle and jewelery among other cheesy Southwestern souvenir shops. That area is now undergoing quite a transformation, part of which is the new SouthBridge development, which does not take in any chain stores as its retail tenants. Whereas once "irrelevant" might have been the word used to describe the scene along those streets, now people use the words "trendy" and "glam" to describe the area and its much younger clientele.

I spent a couple hours one afternoon strolling around the area. The highlight of my walk was a stop in g2 Gallery, where I came across the intricately-zen works of Kaoru Mansour (collages on a celadon-crackle background) and the whimsically-sureal works of Patrick LoCicero.


Also worthy of mention:
Fine's Cellar -- An absolute godsend after nearly a week of drinking Starbucks' watered-like coffee (The Starbucks experience, for some strange reason, is so much better in Asia; at least there is the smell of coffee when walking into a Hong Kong Starbucks. I was glad to hear that Howard Schultz is taking the reins once again as CEO after seeing its share price take a nose dive in 2007.). I had tried The Coffee Bean and Coffee Plantation, which were marginally better. But it was the Caffé Mokarabia in Fine's Cellar that put the smile back on my caffeine-addicted face. And from the name, they also have a very fine wine cellar.
Lululemon -- Even though I'm spending a considerable amount of time in Vancouver, the hometown of Lululemon, I couldn't resist walking into the store since it was right behind Fine's Cellar. The store only opened three weeks ago, but they have a wide selection of styles. I didn't have time to check out any yoga studios this time around, but the Lululemon staff suggested I try At One Yoga.
Rejuvenation -- Just across the street from Fine's Cellar is this rather chic-looking Thai massage and private yoga/mat pilates center.
The Mix @ SouthBridge -- A collection of independent fashion and lifestyle boutiques including a beautiful floral design studio, Angelic Grove.

Lies 1 @ Six Keyz Gallery

Was having drinks at Zuma on Thursday (or as SF likes to call it, "boring bourgeoise drinks") when I got a call from ZL to drag me off all the way to the other side of Hong Kong island in Chai Wan to check out a party/exhibition opening. We ended up on the 6th floor of an industrial warehouse at Six Keyz Gallery, which houses a mini-half pipe for skateboarders. The exhibition was a series of mixed media paintings and a site-specific work by Lies 1, a French graffiti artist. The show is called C1V1L1SAT1ON and the paintings are beautiful, in particular the first in the series. There's a certain explosive, optimistic energy to them. It was definitely worth the trek to see them. In the next room, DJs Doze, Sam1r and Swamy were spinning a funky vibe. The crowd was much funkier than I've seen in Hong Kong in a long, long while and a bit eclectic. Ran into BK, whom I haven't seen in years as well as CMY, one of the trainers from Pure.

London Update

Spent the weekend in London and the last few days in NYC.

In London, I ate mainly British food in Chelsea's Gastropubs (since I was staying at EH's just around the corner from Sloane Square) at The Ebury, Galvin for Sunday Brunch, Tom's Kitchen and breakfast at the very cool and recently-opened Napket (loved their slogan, "Snob Food", their selection of bread loaves of which I had a slice of the fig, rocket and cheddar loaf, as well as the iPod minis at the table with personal headsets so you can choose your own music). Saw the Gilbert & George Major Exhibition at Tate Modern, which was excellent, especially the audio guide with video clips of Gilbert & George discussing their art. It made a lot of sense to see this show in London, which places their artworks in the context in which they were created. I had a coffee at Sloane Square Hotel's Brasserie. If I hadn't been staying with EH, I might have checked out Sloane Square Hotel, which just opened last October and is in a fabulous location without London's fabulously high rates (online rates until the end of Feb 2007 started from GBP125). All this aside, one of the things I love most about travelling is catching up with old friends and the opportunity to meet all sorts of interesting people. In London, through AL, I met the Chairman of Farlows, an old English fishing and field sports shop, and the COO of San Francisco-based brand consultancy The 2M Group. One never know where chance meetings might lead...

Lech: Hotel Almhof Schneider, Allmeinde Commongrounds

On my favourite run: Rufikopf from Lech to Zurs

Woke up at 3:30am and couldn't get back to sleep. Not sure if it's jetlag or the fact that I can't wait for the day to start so that I can go get a pair of Differences skis to try on my last day of skiing before I head back home tomorrow. Gerold Schneider, owner of Hotel Almhof Schneider, told me I should try them since I like zai skis, of which EN (my INSEAD section-mate) was the founding CEO. I fell in love with zai skis the first time I tried them in Verbier. Differences, Gerold told me, are produced in Vorarlberg nearby.

I met Gerold and his lovely wife Katya yesterday. Have been a fan of their establishments here in Lech for some time. In addition to the hotel, they also own Schneggarai and Klosterle in Zug (Not knowing the family connection, my friends had actually booked my b-day dinner at Klosterle last night). Recently, they converted an old barn into Allmeinde Commongrounds, an art exhibition space/office/library/artist residence. The couple are both trained as architects and they have been working on revamping the family hotel for the past 10 years and Gerold thinks he'll still be working on it for the next time years; Katya reckons five though. They've put in a mini cinema/puppet theatre, a beautiful wine tasting room/cellar, children's playroom complete with Playstation. Their ski boot room is the most beautiful I've seen yet. Each ski boot locker has two sets of boot warmers. The lockers are made from rose oak. They've also revamped the swimming pool, one of the restaurants and the rooms. Most of their 52 rooms are suites and my favourite feature is the huge changing room/closet.

But actually, I was dying to see Allmeinde Commongrounds. So I was really excited to get a call from Gerold yesterday morning (I was meaning to pop by, but he knew where I was staying at Hotel Madlochblick right behind his hotel and found out from Andrea, the hostess, that I had already arrived. That's what I love about Lech, the small town, everyone-knows-everyone, feeling). I met Gerold at the hotel and then we walked up to Allmeinde Commongrounds to meet Katya. My photos don't really do the place justice. Hopefully, I can get some better ones before I leave. The style is minimal, as though it was trying not to intrude on the beauty of the surrounding, while keeping its aesthetic essence of its former life as a barn. It's beautifully conceived and its visual simplicity belies the functional complexity of the building.


The first floor contains an office space, a library with a long table that seems to extend all the way into the snowy slope outside and a serious kitchen (for catering functions). The second floor is an exhibition space. On the right side is a wall of some thickness. I just thought it was storage space behind the wall for hanging artwork. But then, Gerold started to transform the whole rectangular block into a home. Panels opened out to reveal a mini kitchen, storage, toilet, bathroom with shower and sink, a large work desk with desktop computer and a double bed! Quite clever!



Their original idea was to have an artist-in-residence, but they have not found one yet. Currently, there is an exhibition of photographs by Margherita Spiluttini. The space is open most afternoons until 6pm or so. Katya works out of the office most of the time and welcomes visitors. Allmeinde is actually a word that refers to common land that the local community could send their animals to graze.

My Klosterle birthday cake

Dusty Hanoi: Sofitel Metropole

Arrived in dusty Hanoi and was greeted by a familiar smell. The city and its taxis smell like China! The traffic is even more chaotic than China though -- cars constantly sounding their horns, motorcyclists weaving in-and-out of lines of cars that don't all stay in their lanes, slow-moving cyclos that glide along at their own tranquil pace seemingly oblivious to the hustle and bustle around them and the pedestrians that dart into the street as if they were protected by forcefields.

Sofitel Metropole was a welcome respite. I got a room (USD390++; I only booked it through Sofitel's website yesterday.) in the newly-refurbished opera wing. On check-in, they even give you a bouquet of cream-coloured calla lilies. While not particularly large, the room is comfortable and well-thought out, though it doesn't meet JR's standard of hotel luxury (i.e. no separate bathtub and shower). There's ample desk space and the broadband cable works (US$15/24 hours). There's supposed to be wi-fi in the public areas, but have not yet tested it.



Service in this hotel is efficient and good. The staff show initiative. I was looking for the hotel gift shop to buy magazines and newspapers to read during my lunch and the staff suggested that I could read the magazines available in the bar. The menu didn't have pho or vietnamese coffee and the waiter offered to see if it could be made (it could be). Fresh fruit was delivered to the room, followed by fresh-cut red roses for the room and bathroom. Come turn-down time, there was a platter of chocolates and the next day's weather. All a nice change having just come from Wynn Macau, where the rooms are large and well-appointed (the iHome console for your iPod was my fave), but their insistence on charging MOP60++ for use of the gym struck me as really petty and the front desk staff often seem lost and flustered rather than helpful. With new hotels tending to focus more on decor and ambience, it's nice to see that service is still important at some hotels. Granted, Sofitel Metropole's been around for a while, so the staff are much more experienced.

I visited Art Vietnam Gallery and came across a beautiful scroll painting by Nguyen Minh Thanh called Ace Diamond from his "Playing Cards" series. Unfortunately for me, at USD8,000, that painting cost more 3 times what most of his other pieces cost. I asked the woman at the gallery about the price differential and she explained that the artist usually sets the price and that painting was one of his favourites. Major bummer.

Then I headed to the Old Quarter and shopped around Nha Tho for a bit before flagging a cyclo for the obligatory tourist ride around town, which cost VND100,000 (around USD6.25 for a 30-minute ride). Am sure I paid the tourist price, but the guy deserves it. All that high-risk peddling and breathing in all the dust and fumes.

Singapore: Justin Lee, Iggy's

Another action-packed day: breakfast at P.S. Cafe (my fave breakfast hangout in town), speaker sessions at INSEAD on Women in Management and Partnerships between Business and NGOs, checked out some of the Singapore Biennale exhibits at Tanglin Camp, met artist Justin Lee, dinner at Iggy's, then checked out Butter Factory and Hacienda.

Old army barracks were converted into exhibition spaces.


My favourite installation was Takashi Kuribayashi's "Sometimes I feel like I'm in an aquarium". Located in Block 73A. It occupied the ground floor and the lower floor. I walked into the ground floor and saw only an aquarium in the middle of the room. Two Japanese women were staring at it. Disappointed, I walked out and ventured downstairs. On entering, all I saw was a black, plastic, blow-up seal. Nearby was a sign politely asking visitors not to physically abuse the seal. I was ready to leave when I notived a ladder in the middle of the room. Funny, I hadn't recalled an opening in the ground floor. Where did the ladder lead? I walked over, looked up and saw a hole in the ceiling, so i climbed up the ladder and realized I had climbed up through the ceiling and into the aquarium! Too bad the two Japanese women weren't still there. It would have been funny to see their reaction to me popping up into the aquarium. When I descended, I noticed another ladder at the far end of the room. This one led up to a jungle environment.

Next art stop of the day was Asian Art Options' office where I met up with Audrey Phng and Justin Lee to see my first art acquisition! I met AP earlier this year in Singapore and we really hit it off. While browsing her site's list of artists, I came across Justin Lee and really took a liking to his whimsical, kitschy work appropriating and re-interpreting Asian motifs and icons. So when I found out that Justin had designed several of the rooms at New Majestic Hotel, I made sure to request his rooms for my stay. I loved the rooms so much that I ended up commissiong a piece from Justin. And here are the fruits of his labours, which I absolutely adore. Many thanks to AP for making my first art aquisition happen! We celebrated the event with a bottle of VCP Rose and a box of Springli Grand Cru truffles (fresh from Zurich) courtesy of EO and Triple Chocolate Brownie from The Brownie Factory (at Takashimaya) courtesy of Justin. I was trying very hard not to ruin my appetite for dinner at Iggy's, but the truffles and brownies were just too tempting...

There are a lot of Justin Lee motifs here: paper-cut, double happiness, lightbulbs, the powerful female figure (in this case, guanyin dressed up in a super-hero cape). There was one new element that I hadn't seen before, but it also happened to be the first thing that caught my eye -- a tiny, little sheep on the bottom right corner of the canvas. A lot of Justin's art work deals with themes about Asia's place in the world, it's struggle to embrace Western culture and brands of status while trying not to turn its back on its own past. He asks questions about the power of brands and consumerism, women's role in society (are they goddesses, Wonder Woman or prey (the antelope headdress) or both?), are we free-thinking and acting or or we slaves to our ambitions to keep up with the Joneses?

On the way to Iggy's, we popped into Ambush (not knowing that it was a shop), a couple shops down from AP's office and ran into another one of AP's artists: Miguel Chew shopping for a new shirt (he also designed rooms at New Majestic)!

We arrived iggy's late and found Chubby Hubby and his S as well as AP's D had been waiting for us for half an hour (I had mis-read the email. So, so sorry guys!!). It is always a treat to dine with Chubby Hubby and his S, because they are like walking food and wine encyclopedias, not to mention that they know the chefs and get extra good service. To say the least, our 10-course tasting menu was nothing short of fabulous. Highlights were: Onion gratin with 2g of Alba white truffle, Crispy roasted suckling pig with apple puree and tumeric oil, Cappellini with ssakura ebi and home-made scampi oil (AP actually asked for and got seconds!!) and a panna cotta (at least I think that's what it was) with candied tomatoes and basil ice cream (meant to be a reinterpretation of a caprese salad). But the food adventure of the night was one of the canapes. On the menu, it said: Pan-fried shirako with green curry foam. Shirako, a beautiful sounding name, is actually sperm of whale!!!

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.

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!

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!

Singapore 1: New Majestic Hotel

26 April -- Arrived Singapore early morning after an overnight flight from Delhi, which is always a great respite from the chaos and madness that is Delhi airport. Got to New Majestic Hotel at around 8am. New Majestic's grand opening party is scheduled for next Friday, but they have been soft opened for at least 2 months now. It is the more luxe property for the owners of 1929.

The new hotel is located in Chinatown, within walking distance of lots of happening shops, restaurants and clubs along Tanjong Pagar, Club Street and Ann Siang Hill. It has been totally gutted and revamped the site of the old Majestic Hotel, and the only reference to the old hotel (aside from the name) is the exposed lobby ceiling. The rest of the lobby is a pristine white, which showcases a well-curated collection of 20th century chairs designed by modern masters as well as a pair of more quirky dentist chairs by the front desk. Also in the lobby is one of Cai Zhisong's Ode to the Motherland copperplate scultures (it is a male nude kneeling on one knee), which sold at this month's Sotheby's Chinese Contemporary Art in Hong Kong for HK$900,000. There is another piece by Cai in the hotel's contemporary Cantonese restaurant. All the rooms in the hotel have been designed by a selection of artists. The art consultant for the project was Asian Art Options. I had met Audrey Phng, one of the directors of AAO at a dinner last time I was in Singapore and met her again in Hong Kong when she was in town for the Sotheby's auctions. She is incredibly fun to be with and has a great eye in addition to being extremely knowledgable about art (not just Asian art). It was while looking through her site that I came across Justin Lee's work and was drawn to his works' strong graphic statement and kitschy sense of humour. So when she told me that Justin Lee is one of the 9 artists that worked on the rooms at New Majestic Hotel, I made sure to request his rooms for my one-night stay.

I booked my room by email to the hotel. Three categories of Justin Lee rooms were available. I opted for the Premier Garden for S$250+++(US$160/night). When I arrived, the front desk told me it was too early to check in and my room was not ready yet. However, they had a Justin Lee suite (normally S$500+++/US$316/night) that I could use until my rooms was ready, but would have to charge me an extra half day based on my current room rate. The loft suite (room 403) was beautifully done by Justin. There were two main paintings on the wall. Both use the paper-cut, double happiness motif-- one is of the Singapore flag with the Singapore skyline worked in and another is of a Samsui Woman decked in barrister robe and traditional headgear again using the double happiness motif. The two paintings face each other. Directly in front of the Samsui Woman are two bathtubs in the bathroom area, which opens into the living area (the two areas are separated by a plasma TV on a swivel stand). Directly in front of the flag painting in the desk and the sitting area with a barber chair. The bed is in the loft just above the sitting area.





The Premier Garden room (room 201), while much smaller, was still very comfortable. There was a desk hidden behind closet doors so as not to clutter the look of the room. The highlight, however, was the outdoor tub, a real luxury in any city hotel!



All the facilities and room of New Majestic have been well designed and executed. Everything is very high quality from the ploh featherbeds to Bose stereos and free in-room wifi access. There is a pool (not exactly a lap pool though, but still a nice feature) and the gym was being completed. My only complaint, and hopefully this will iron itself out in a couple months, is that the service level is a bit rough at the moment. For example, on returning from dinner, there were no staff at the front desk or in the lobby. The lobby was shuttered and it was difficult to find the entrance, so a staff on hand would have been helpful. It took 20 minutes and an additional phone call to get a requested pair of scissors and the staff don't address guests by their names either when picking up the phone or in person (in a 30-room hotel, there is no excuse for this).

Once the service improves, New Majestic will be a well-priced hotel offering one of the best and most unique hotel experiences in Singapore as well as other majore cities around the world. A lot of heart and soul has gone into the concept and design of the hotel, the service staff just needs to translate more of that passion into their service.