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May 17 2012
 
Listening to: Blue Sky, Black Death, The Darkest Time
Black is the Rebellious Child
I’ve always been a pretty straight-laced, disciplined kid. I’ve never been hungover and never pulled an all nighter in college (yeah go time management skills). I never saw the point in partying because it was a teenage cliche or procrastinating on homework when eventually you’d have to do it. I’m only ‘rebellious’ whenever it comes to the question of Aesthetics and Taste. If people say “black bedsheets would look Halloween and emo” I would do it to continually challenge their perception of beauty.
Anyway I’ve always loved the idea of making a black cake. I’ve seen many Japanese bakeries sell black bamboo charcoal swiss rolls and two years ago I tried to look for the powder but it’s not exactly something I could find in New York. Is it safe? Well the Japanese eat it…
Black Bamboo Charcoal
I dedicate this post to Jeannie whom I first tried to make a swiss roll with two years ago and failed miserably.
We were in New York and my friend Jeannie (runs this graphic design blog) invited me over to experiment in the kitchen. For some bizarre reason she told us that the recipe said to roll the freshly baked cake with a towel, unroll it and then pour the fresh cream on top while it was still hot. The cream turned into water, started squirting out and the cake soaked up all the liquid like a sponge so it was one big wet mess.
And that is why I’ve stayed away from making any kind of swiss roll the past two years. You can find the (successful) recipe here. I doubled the amount of black charcoal here.
Photos and layouts by me.
May 14 2012
Listening to: John Mayer- Stop This Train
Here’s a few snippets of the morning of my birthday which was this past Saturday to whet the appetite before I do a full-blown post. Tania and I had lunch at Hotel Icon here on the TST side (yum I love cod). As a teenager I thought 25 years old was old, but now that I’m here I feel like I’ve just begun tackling life.
Ok I gotta run- I have a belated birthday dinner at Ye Shanghai tonight and a few very special visitors from Seoul in Hong Kong this entire week! They aren’t strangers on this blog and I’m so very excited to take them around my city this time ’round. Everything is happening this week in Hong Kong: HK Art Fair 12, the Tangram Gift Studio pop up shop and the Isabel Marant grand opening in Central!
Ok more later! Hope you’re all having a great start to the week! Sorry I can’t stop placing exclamation marks at the end of every sentence!
All photos by me!
 
 
 
May 11 2012
Cafes in Kowloon
I often see reviews on Open Rice that begin with “so I decided to trek over to the Dark Side and I was pleasantly surprised with [insert restaurant]” which elicit some eye rolling on my behalf. Don’t you think it’s about time we stop calling Kowloon ‘The Dark Side’?
Since I posted an entry on quirky new cafes in HK, I thought I ought to do some justice with my side of the neighbourhood. It’s interesting to note that the clientele is quite different from the ones on the Hong Kong side. Generally the people are younger (high school to young adult) and are mostly local (born/raised in HK).
Initial Cafe, Tsim Sha Tsui
 
 
While Initial Cafe isn’t a newcomer, it probably is one of the initial western style cafes (pun was too tempting) in Hong Kong. The cafe is part eatery and part clothing store off of the busiest shopping roads in Tsim Sha Tsui (TST). If you’re one of those suckers who like prettily presented beverages (hi me!), I recommend Initial. Above you’ll see photos of an onsen egg salad, green tea latte, a mocha cookies and cream frappe and the one I’m drinking is a tiramisu coffee where they serve it with a shot of espresso, cheese and syrup.
Initial cafe on Open Rice
48 Cameron Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Kubrick Cafe/Bookstore and Cinema, Yau Ma Tei
 
 
Don’t be misled by the old photos of Kubrick on Open Rice. The cafe bookstore has been revamped with a larger space for food/beverage and a relatively tidier selection of reads including The Monocle and Wallpaper. On the cafe side the metal chairs have now been replaced with communal tables, wooden seats and milk bottles stuffed with wildflowers. It’s nice to get a rose latte before or after a film next door (food isn’t as great).
The cinema/cafe is set in the middle of a residential complex, old-timer HK style cafes and industrial kitchenware stores. It’s unique in a way because it’s hidden from the teenage hype of Mong Kok and the shopping mecca that is Tsim Sha Tsui.
Kubrick website
3 Public Square Street, Yau Ma Tei
Dessert Kitchen, Tsim Sha Tsui
 
Creeper shot of this girl and her sundae. Thanks Winnie for lending a shoulder.
 
Left: warm brownie square wrapped with mochi
Taste of Uji matcha sundae
I’m usually in TST and it’s pretty difficult to find a good after dinner dessert place (oh trivial issues of an HK blogger). And then earlier this week Winnie and I stumbled upon this new dessert restaurant. In the name of research we actually came here two days in a row and to our embarrassment as the staff were probably thinking “we have regulars already?? Or are they hardcore Open Rice critics?”
Hum no it’s more like because The Dessert Kitchen is quite spacious and situated on the ground level of Hau Fook St (therefore has presence), has a good looking menu and best of all fusion Asian/Western desserts. Here you’ll find layered Japanese style sundaes with star shaped jelly, sago and cornflakes or Taiwanese shaved ice with slices of mango and taro ice cream mochi ($42-$48). And if you know me I love cornflakes in my sundaes.
I can foresee huge crowds on the weekends to follow as the temperatures are rising.
The Dessert Kitchen website
G/F 12-12A Hau Fook Street
May 9 2012
This is what jobless artists do: collage nice stuff together and talk about it.
My Ponderings on Summer Fashion:
1. Bikinis: I’m not sure why they rule the beach because I think there’s a lot of design possibility in the one-piece. Who likes sucking in their stomach anyway?
2. Bermuda: Bring ‘em back (styled with that long coat).
3. Dipytque: as expensive as they are, they’re so pretty..
4. Lightweight knit: Gah want a textural one. Saw this in Lane Crawford.
5. Rotund: Women, if you want a guy’s attention, wear circular shades. Whether or not they think Gaga or hot is another topic.
May 2 2012
Fabric swatching in Sham Sui Po:
Hello Kitty X Laduree macaroons fresh from New York from my dear friend, Philina!
As unspectacular as the ‘fashion’ side of this blog is evolving into, I adore this look. After struggling for half an hour post-Capsule Wardrobe challenge, I ended up wearing my capsule pieces and throwing in the parka (as I write this, the temperature has become very un-parka friendly). You can’t go wrong with a little ripped denim, soft jersey and a boxy jacket.
While The Hunger Games was a questionable movie I couldn’t help but feel a little like Katniss Everdeen with the parka and backpack in the featured outfit.
Note to self: learn how to hunt squirrel and tie self to tree climb a tree.
Throughout the entire film I was thinking that Patagonia and Timberland would have made perfect clothing sponsors. Imagine the taglines:
“The Odds are in your favor. Patagonia.”
“Last Man Standing. Timberland, the official sponsor of The Hunger Games.”
Methinks I should go into marketing.
Thanks for the photos and Laduree Philina! City and macaroon shots by me.
H&M parka, Uniqlo men’s heattech long sleeve, F21 ripped denim shorts, Tangram necklace, Zara oxfords, A-Land backpack from Japan
April 30 2012
April 24 2012
Part of the Capsule Wardrobe: Cocoon jacket from Seoul, Chinese Arts & Crafts double silk scarf, Uniqlo boyfriend pants, Zara oxfords and bag, HK market beanie
Outfit photos by Jeff, others by me.
Mel and I look really out of place.
 
  
Dear PR companies,
Thank you for giving me the chance to be part of the cool social crowd in Hong Kong but I am not very ‘cool’ in that sense nor glamorous by dress or label.
I’m not going to lie but I’m not a girl who likes to go clubbing on Friday nights. It’s not that I have anything against it but… can you imagine me wearing this to a party?
No I didn’t think so.
The irony is that I partially started this blog because I don’t club and needed a hobby of some sort. And now along with fashion events, I receive club invitations which is very nice but not very me.
So a Friday night looks something like this- British pub pies stuffed with pork and apple with mash/gravy and beans at the very rowdy Globe with a couple of friends where we were probably the only ones not drinking alcohol and the only Asians hanging out with Asians. A circuit around Soho to get the digestive juices working again to perch ourselves at the dessert bar, Sift, for sticky toffee pudding and chocolate cake.
Please send me some invitations for afternoon tea (or brunch?) instead of Hed Kandi which I prefer to listen in the solace of my home.
Love, Sam
April 20 2012
Beyond Dim Sum
Emily and I were saying there’s an obvious niche market in Hong Kong to cater cafes and restaurants to the small artsy/hipster crowd in the city. I say this because I bumped into her three times in two weeks at the same watering holes. Her profession as an illustrator and I in fashion probably makes us a good statistic for baristas wanting to pitch a business plan to investors.
So here you go, three places I recommend to try out in Hong Kong.
Supporting local and independent!:
Teakha, Sheung Wan
 
 
Apologies for the excessive photos of me but I just wanted to show you my Tangram necklace that matches the egg yolk of my sandwich which matches my bag. Fashion people are soooo weirdddd
Set on the ground floor of a residential building, the seating at Teakha spills onto the back alley with a two seater ‘bar’ area with a window peering into the open kitchen. Their cake menu changes daily- so far have tried the Swedish almond cake and am eagerly waiting to try their chocolate cake that Paola raves about.
Warning, if you visit, you have a 98% chance of bumping into someone you know which happened to me 2/2 times I’ve been there (that would be Emily who we gave our table to both times)
Teakha website
Shop B, 18 Tai Ping Shan Street, Sheung Wan
Tai Lung Fung, Wan Chai
 
 
This is a partly biased review because of the good company and beautiful weather, but hands down this is my favourite new spot. Tai Lung Fung is situated across the historical Blue House in Wan Chai (really close to where I used to live!). The decor is reminiscent of retro Hong Kong in the 70′s and the kitchen serves slightly upscale Western style HK food with a twist. The menu is printed like a vintage style newspaper and on acrylic boards. Set lunches are HK $98 (appetizer,entree,drink) and they were kind enough to give us complimentary dessert.
I suppose most people come here for the happy hour so if you want to avoid the lunch lineups or find a place with wifi to work at, this is the best place to hit up. We were the noisiest crowd there and I don’t doubt if you live here, you recognize at least one of the people at our table.
Take a look at JJ’s (The Wanderlister) more cultured view on The Blue House and its future here
5 Hing Wan St, Wan Chai
Ms B Cakery, Tai Hang
 
 
C’est la B is located in Tai Hang (Tin Hau station, Exit B) which reminds me of Lower East Side in New York. It’s definitely becoming more hipster with Unar coffee nearby and new pizzerias popping up. If you have a penchant for Alice in Wonderland then I recommend stopping by the cake shop. The interior is done up like one of their cake boxes with glossy striped floors, butterfly graphics on the ceiling and girly cushions all over the place.
After a dinner of Japanese curry/pizza/ramen/all of the above head over the the cakery for dessert. I took UK-based blogger Winnie of Diamond Canopy there last week (check out her post hereeee).
The prices are still on the high-end scale with each slice starting at $60 (and tea that is about the same price as a cake). My favourite is still the Better than Sex chocolate cake and no, I will not answer that question. This post is going to get a lot of random and creepy search engine hits.
Takeaway is cheaper but you don’t get the visual experience.
c’est la B website
Shop 3, G/F, 110-114 Tung Lo Wan Road, Tai Hang
April 19 2012
Sadly Hong Kong doesn’t have MTV Cribs so here is the Sam is Home… in someone else’s home. I don’t know about you but I’m the type who likes to stare into people’s houses while I’m walking or taking a double decker bus just for the sake of seeing how people furnish and personalize their own space.
So hiya, this is Emily who I got to know when she first invited a bunch of us over for a Valentine’s Day party (Italian potluck theme complete with sangria and tiramisu). She’s been in HK for 6 years as an artist-in-residence and has done collabos with Lane Crawford (Click to see!). Initially she invited me over to help her to do some head shots for her newly launched website but I fell in love with her little space and snapped more photos of her room than her face (Haha sorry).
View from her rooftop (the best place for parties)
 
She spray painted her kitchen with chalkboard paint.
Imagine the menu essays you can scribble on that.
Emily and I bond over retro Hong Kong stores and vintage interiors.
We went to this 40 year old ceramic shop to purchase hand-painted bowls.
 
“Teen Vogue is my guilty pleasure.”
Same here!
 
 
What I love about Emily’s space is because it looks lived in. From the Illy jars filled with exhausted paintbrushes to the stacks of jewelry in her cubby to the eclectic mix of dishware, everything looks like it’s been used.
It’s like people who buy notebooks and journals because they hope to fill them with ‘ideas’ but never actually write and eventually shelve them. They are more in love with the idea of filling them than with the actual execution. It’s the same thing with minimalist ‘trendy’ interiors of today or even when bloggers photograph a book and a cup of coffee, it feels rather stiff and ‘done up’ for the sake of the photo. I am no less guilty of this as you can tell by the glimpses of my home but I’m quite challenged to be more authentic with how I live. Am I buying for the sake of show or am I actually incorporating that object into my life? Emily has done just that in her space- naturally deviating to things that she likes and creating a signature space that feels inviting and not pretentious.
Photos by me.
April 16 2012
Aloha! So The 15/30 Project is officially over. I’m partially relieved due to the fact that some of my silk shirts really need to be dry cleaned and yesterday I went to a rooftop BBQ and all my clothes smell like charcoal.
Other than that I had the most intensely fun weekend that started on Friday night with a family style Chinese dinner and then live music. However Emily and I decided to pitch in to help her friend finish a window installation at Lane Crawford so we were there from 1:30-4:30am with a ton of 7-11 snacks (we treated it like a girl’s slumber party upgraded in an upscale store). Honestly it was like ‘Night at the Museum’ and I was hoping the Alexander Wang sweatshirt would suddenly come alive as we were cutting paper. Emily crashed at my place after and woke up eating toast with jam that Paola made and flipping through magazines (seriously chill Saturday) and then blearily wandered to East Tsim Sha Tsui for a Singaporean lunch where we planned a BBQ at her place for the next day. In the evening it was a girl’s night for Japanese soba and ice cream. On Sunday it was church, lunch, grocery shopping for dessert ingredients (I ended up making two desserts only to realize one needed to be refrigerated for 8 hours) and then the BBQ at Emily’s cool pad with a really cool mix of people (curator, director, magazine editor, hair stylist, interior designer).
Anyway I know I rarely blab about what I do but yeah this is more for personal record. I’m also a little starved for friends in the arts and because you’ll be meeting a couple of them- Emily and Paola oh so soon on Sam is Home. But back to The 15/30 Project.
Archive:
Click for Week 1
Click for Week 2
Click for Week 3
Day 22:
Met up with a friend for McD’s breakfast. Japanese lunch with aunt, bought film tickets and groceries. Baked maple buttercream cupcakes. Finished project.
15: H&M trousers, Club Monaco striped top, Equipment signature shirt
Acc: Diesel canvas bag, Aldo lace-up boots, Cotton On Scarf
Day 23
Met up with Tania at Mana. Dinner and film with Pauline.
15: Thrifted men’s sweater, Zara shorts, H&M leather moto vest, Uniqlo men’s heattech
Acc: HK market pompom beanie, Zara oxfords, Diesel bag
Day 24
Went to prison to do women’s ministry. I tried to hide the mosquito citronella patches in the cuffs of my rolled up trousers. Dinner and fro yo with Mel on Star St.
15: Korea pink blazer, Uniqlo men’s heattech, H&M trousers
Acc: Tangram necklace, Zara oxfords and bag
Day 25
Church, worked at home, Linguini Fini with LJ
15: Zara print skirt/playsuit, cocoon jacket from Seoul
Acc: Zara oxfords and yellow leather bag
Day 26
Agnes teatime, meeting with Tania in Central, dinner at home, baked tart
15: Cocoon jacket from Seoul, Equipment signature blouse, F21 ripped denim shorts
Acc: Zara oxfords, Zara yellow bag
Day 27
Worked on freelance projects, finished tart, bday dinner with friend
15: S.Nine lace skirt, Madewell charmeuse shirt,
Acc: HK market beanie, Zara oxfords, Diesel canvas bag
Day 28
Lunch with SP/Vine kids in Wan Chai, Stanley chill and work session
15: H&M moto vest, Uniqlo heattech, F21 ripped denim shorts
Acc: Tangram necklace, Zara oxfords, Kate Spade Japan tote
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