Turkey sandwich at Dean & Deluca.

My made in China (read fake) Converses are falling apart.

Only in Thai KFC: fried chicken with green curry over white rice.

Street talk

Been doing 3D model for a road sidewalk today and this got me thinking. Streets constitute 80% of the city's public realms. Building or prescribing a good street is almost synonymous with building a good city.

Greyhound Café

Everyone in Thailand knows not to take mall restaurants seriously. After all, these are dismissed, rightfully so, as overpriced when their food is mediocre at best. The bang for the buck factor is even more salient in a country in Thailand where cheap, delicious hole-in-the-wall eateries abound. Sadly, these restaurant often overcompensate with decor clearly targeting at well-heeled diners and young people in general.

This is why spaghetti with Italian sausage (180 baht) at Greyhound is a pleasant surprise. With generous so generous and ingredients so fresh, this dish can only be described as robust. From the perfectly al dente spaghetti to the flavorful chunks of tomatoes, everything is done to perfection.

Spaghetti garlic & oil

Spaghetti garlic & oil or 'aglio e olio' is a perfect dinner for a Saturday night in where you don't want to do more than just throwing a few things in a dish. That's basically what aglio e olio is. You cook minced garlic in low-heat olive oil (extra virgin for rich taste). Then throw in cooked pasta al dente. Finally add salt and pepper to taste. As a finishing touch I find it refreshing to have a few plumb juicy cherry tomatoes that can nicely round up the plate.

The Little Street

The Little Street (circa 1657) is one of the lesser known works of the Dutch painter Jan Vermeer. Since he was not a prolific artist (or at least never got to be, for he died relatively young), the public mostly comes to associate with the Girl with the Pearl Earring (1665) or the Milkmaid (1660).

As with Vermeer's other works, the Little Street depicts a genre scene of a Delft town. However, unlike others that tell of the domestic sphere, this is one of the few that shows the urban landscape that teases the blurry yet intimate boundary between the public and the private. While the viewer is, at first, presented with the sheer architectural magnitude of a house's facade, s/he gets to sneak a glimpse into the delicate smaller world, thanks to the human presence.

The painting exudes such quiet poetry where the meticulously detailed urban fabric is punctuated with the stillness of human activity. This reminds me of the gently opened mouth of the Girl with the Pearl Earring who stands against an otherwise muted background. Or the flowing milk in the Milkmaid. This is how Vermeer captures a moment.

The final intriguing touch to it is the point of view. The painting exhibits a mix of the public and private life, a mild hint of voyeurism, and the contemporary urbane activity of 'people watching.' Are we looking from the same point as Vermeer? Are we invited into his world?

The painting is part of the Rijksmuseum's collections in Amsterdam.

Photolog

Oh the things I find in my bedroom.

Yellow t-shirt. NYC cab yellow. Must have bought this at either Siam or Khao San rd. Value of not exceeding 200 baht.

In case anyone should wonder, that's a monkey and it says 'baby mild' underneath.

A Year in Provence

I'm at the bus station waiting for my coach to Khon Khaen, a city 400km northeast of Bangkok. Have an hour to kill so I might as well blog from my BlackBerry.

I know I'm going to be labelled unoriginal being saying this but I love Provence. (Even though the 'Provence' that I've experience is a one day-trip in Aix-en-Provence). Of course being me, I like the medieval town and its civic square, the twist and turns of the streets, the narrow facades. And the clam shady courtyard. Everything that the ideal urbanism embodies.

As I was cleaning my bedroom saturday night, I pleasantly chanced upon (ok I lie, I hid it) a book I received as a gift for being a nerd in high school. I'm not sure if 'A Year in Provence' by Peter Mayle will be as unoriginal and clichéd as I want it to be, the foreword by Julia Child suggests otherwise.

Some 20 pages into it now. So far so good.

Sushi dinner at Zen, Impact Arena.

Who else thinks diet coke tastes better than regular coke?

Anti-government protesters in Bangkok

I swear I've never seen more soldiers patrolling the streets of Bangkok, especially in a CBD like Silom. Earlier tonight I took the subway to Silom to meet with friends for dinner later. The soldiers and the barbwire were all over the place because the protesters had threatened to take over Silom as part of their stronger measure to force the prime minister to dissolve the parliament. So yeah, pretty much defense on the govts part. Otherwise it was pretty normal and business as usual. Save for the M16. Never been so close to one. Brrrr...

But otherwise, Bangkok lives on.

Nighthawks by Edward Hopper (1942)

There's no paintings that can capture the feeling of loneliness and American downtown blues like Hopper's Nighthawks (1942). Sublime.


I love everything in this painting: the stillness of frozen actions, the flat tonality, the lit interior against the gloomier urban environment . And that man. Not only is he tucked in the corner, he also has his back towards the viewer. Reminds me of Chicago.

References in the Simpsons:

Our favorite wonton mee in Tha Rua, Ayudhya

Vincotto Restaurant at the Granmonte vineyard

One hot summer day in Khao Yai. Approximately 1:30hrs away from Bangkok, Granmonte is new yet increasingly popular vineyard and winery. Tucked away in a corner is their restaurant Vincotto that serves Italian-style dishes and wine selectionsrom their own winery.

Granmonte vineyard in Pak Chong :)

Chicken rice at Shanghai Xiaolongpao. I know...me and my chix rice.

Eating ramen off the paper cup. Loving the experience. Slurps.