Word of the Day

C u s p

Cafe Veranda

Monday morning at breakfast, Sia flashed me an image of a chair he wanted to own - it was Charles Eames "Eiffel" side chair. Given a choice between owning one or re-visiting the place where I first sat in one, I would choose to lunch again at Cafe Veranda at Finlandia Hall where we had stopped at one mid-morning after a walk along the lake.

Charles Eames "Eiffel side chair" hard to draw but easy on the eye (and the backside)

The light green wing chairs contrasts nicely with the black glazed wall tubes. Kahvi or coffee is 2.80 Euros; Levios is bread (I think)

Hiatus

I apologise for the gap of one month in my posts. I took that time off to finish projects at work and at home. And while many projects remain incomplete, I have made enough headway and have earned myself a respite from the rush. So I thought that it would be appropriate to show you one of the things that has been occupying my time. Sam and Sara's too, they have building sub soil drains with me, making a ramped walk into the building and getting the place ready for our Chinese New Year Lunch and Launch of this little shed in our garden.

so here it is - a work in progress.

DNA visits Bangkok 2012

The highlight of the year for our office, a visit to Bangkok and then continue to the DATUM Design Conference in KL. Although I have been to Bangkok before, this is the first trip overseas as an office and a good opportunity to travel, eat and 'live' together for a 6 days. We took over one floor of a budget hotel in the Pratunam District

Part 5 - Stealing a Moment to Sit Quietly

Part 4 - Personal Best

This took place in March last year. 

This is our fourth trip to Bali and the second with Sean and Sara, so I did not expect to be surprised or to discover new things in Ubud. However, this was our first Bali trip with Robyn Fleming; good friend, family member and fellow runner, and we were there to run in the Bali Half Marathon.

As expected, Ubud did not spring any surprises. In fact, Ubud seemed tired and weary or perhaps it was my eyes that weary from seeing tourists dressed like hippies trying to fit into the ‘zen’ scene of Bali, or the rows of shops selling colourful trinkets.  

Luckily, we met some wonderful people and they became the highlight of the trip – Gede, our guide who brought us to a different ‘babi-guling’ stall every morning at nine; Cat Wheeler or ‘Ibu Cat’, author and rescuer of cats, dogs and feather-less cockatoos; Robyn and I sat in companionable quiet each morning while we waited to be served our breakfast, she wrote while I sketched; Grace who send us on the pleasant assignment of searching out a honeymoon getaway; the lady who operated the training hotel that we stayed at, training children from the poverty islands nearby in the hospitality trade; the street urchins who approached Sam for money at the night market and ended up with dinner instead. 

The personal highlight was the personal best time for a half marathon but it paled in comparison to the friends made and friendships reinforced. 

Part 3 - Sumptuous Shi Yang

This took place in March last year. 

It is proof that Chinese people will travel long distances to eat well. We drove out of Taipei to eat lunch at Shi Yang Culture restaurant. A long drive followed by a long walk along a mountain path brought us to the entry gateway of this famous restaurant. Seating is by appointment only and the menu is not published – the chef decides what you eat, which he decides based on the catch of the day and what is available in his organic garden.

 
Seating is by appointment only and the menu is not published – the chef decides what you eat and he decides based on the catch of the day and what is available in his organic garden. The low slung double storey building of steel and timber is set into the hillside, indeed there were cave-like dining niches accompanied by airy tatami rooms. 

There are Japanese influences in the architecture as well as the cuisine. For two hours, cuisine, culture and architecture converged lazily over an 11-course lunch. We were captivated by the dishes set in front of us, each a work of art in taste and appearance. And in between courses, our attention was captured by the views of the mountains in front of us.

So for a long time, the only sounds were made by the gentle scrapping of chopsticks against the bottom of porcelain bowls and a few discreet burps.