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Culottes
Posted on Sunday, September 28, 2014
F21 Culottes | Bangkok Shoes | Vintage Backpack
September 2014
F21 Culottes | Bangkok Shoes | Vintage Backpack
Ties that Bond
Posted on Monday, September 22, 2014
I've been putting this bonded neoprene ASOS dress to good use for yet another TOC photoshoot! Sometimes I buy so many clothes and am too lazy to take pictures of me in them because I'd much rather be the one behind the camera. If only I could clone myself to follow me around then maybe this blog would be more updated haha.
Anyway, you'd think having so much time now that I'd be able to keep this blog going at a more regular pace, but in all honesty fact I feel less satisfaction publishing my photos here because sometimes I feel like I am speaking to an empty theatre (though I do appreciate the numbers that still come back regularly to view this graveyard, whoever you are)! These days I just like to enjoy being around people and not constantly shoving my camera in everybody's faces to get my posts, but at the same time I do sometimes panic that I'm not catching and profiling life's moments.
Randomly - I don't plan on becoming a commercial photographer, but it's always nice to be recognized for your work. I think I've always been very poor at marketing my talents because I can't bear to shamelessly stick my name everywhere all the time. And yet, the most important thing to a photographer is credit, which is free yet hard to come by. It sucks every time to see a photo shared but no mention of the person who took it even though it wouldn't have cost that person a cent to just type a little bit more. Every little bit counts in keeping the dream alive guys.
Bangkok Video Diary
Posted on Sunday, September 14, 2014
More or less what happened!
Bangkok Visual Diary - Part 3
Posted on Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Last day in Bangkok!
Justin and I wake up at 6am in the morning to head off for our cooking class! It begins with a trip to a proper Thai wet market so we can see where all the produce is bought from.
The moment we enter the market, we are just hit by this amazing stench beyond anything I have ever smelt in my life. I've done plenty of wet market shopping in Singapore, but this is a level above in the weirdass things they sell.
Frogs. Pretty graphic (sorry no warning, just like how these were just in my face when i was walking through).
Bugs for eating. There are some regions in Thailand (called Isaan) that eat these more than other regions in Thailand. Even our Thai guide and cook, Poo, said she can't stomach these herself!
Condiments that Justin regrets not buying. We blaze through the market so it's pretty hard, really.
Itty bitty terrapins for cooking too I suppose. *Sniff*
There's so much variety from just your usual day to day things like eggs.
The ang moh tourists in our group ooh and ahh over the exotic tropical fruits lolol.
So much of so many varieties of things like seafood, all lined up. The roads are crammed and bustling and you just have to you know, make way for the random motorcycle passing through.
Fascinating horseshoe crabs. Never eaten or seen one in my life!
Crabs full of roe, and my love, hum. Sigh.
Oh yeah, not wise to wear flip flops to a wet market. I do it all the time in Singapore because it's comfy, but in actual fact the smack of your slipper against the floor when you walk sends black water spattered all over the back of your legs. Not cool. I know, I know. That's why they wear wellies.
Justin's kinda hood.
And we're done with the market in an hour! It's really quite an eye opening experience, and great that we also had a guide like Poo to tell us more about the food itself and guide us through the chaos so that we didn't get overwhelmed.
We head off to Poo's house to learn how to cook! It's located in some slums in Bangkok, which sounds incredibly unsanitary (and is the WORSE smelling place I have ever been in my life because there is no such thing as plumbing there), but fortunately Poo's place is all swagged up with air con and proper floors and most importantly, clean (phew), her story is quite amazing and i'll share it with you in a while!
So depending on the day of the week you come, you get to learn to cook different stuff!
Poo begins by cooking something extra for us all to try - an Ant Egg Salad. That's right. Initially we heard "An Egg Salad", but nope, those little white round sacs you see up there are full of ant eggs! I try it, because YOLO right? And in honest fact, it really tastes fine and all, but the thought that you are crunching away at insects just kind of affects the way you eat it. I have one spoon, that's all.
We begin with the Papaya Salad! The good thing about Poo is that she really asks you how you enjoy your salad and shows you which sauces to use to cook it to your own tastes, so if you like it more sour, you add more tamarind juice, and if you like it sweeter, you add more palm sugar. Mine is sweeter :)
After shredding all the green papaya, we have to mix it in with some technique using a mortar and pestle.
Next we do tom yam soup! Look at Justin all serious and stuff about cooking haha.
Like the Papaya Salad, Poo guides us on how to use the Thai ingredients according to our own taste preferences, so more chilli oil ("nam prik pow") for a spicier kick, and fresh milk to reduce the heat. We also learnt that if you add the lime juice too early, the tom yum soup won't have a sour taste, so you have to add it just before serving.
Yay my own tom yum soup which is extra milky and not too spicy :D
Last of all, Phad Thai! Frying scares the bejeezus out of me so actually Justin did most of it for me and I just am posing here pretending I cooked it hahaha.
On top of our lovely 3 course lunch we cook for ourselves, Poo provides a generous amount of exotic asian fruits for us to try, some I myself have not even tried before either.
Yes, I've seen but have never eaten mangosteen before, don't judge...
Red and white dragonfruit (only eaten the white before), Snake Fruit (looks like snakeskin outside, a bit hard - not something I would eat again), longan, lychee, rambutan (ok these I have eaten so I am not that noob, ok).
AND FREE FLOW HEAVENLY MANGO STICKY RICE, ALL LAID OUT IN MINI DISHES FOR US TO TAKE.
So I never noticed before this, but there's actual sprinkles of yellow stuff on the rice that Poo tells us are fried mung beans - and once she tells us this, I really notice how they do add an extra depth of flavour and texture to Mango Sticky Rice - and I don't think I can ever eat a sticky rice without these beans of GOLD.
By the way, I eat two plates cause there were extras. I am not ashamed.
Poo's story is amazing because she began the cooking class 6 years ago without even knowing English, till now where she managed to turn this into a real job and even employ her neighbours to help lift the whole community's standard of living up. She has things like a cookbook that is selling on Amazon, and traveled to places like London with Jamie Oliver to teach Thai cooking. Impressive from someone who almost had nothing! Justin buys the book ;) If you want to sign up for cooking classes with Poo when in Thailand, just visit the website here!
We also take the Bangkok MRT for the first time just for fun because it's an experience. It's not actually cheaper than cabbing, but quite efficient!
And I'm sorry, but that is the last photo I took in Bangkok because after that we just hung around for a while and rushed to the airport hahaha. Experienced tons of withdrawal symptoms after with dear Jiehui, but it was a really great trip! And a week after we returned I actually made a video for us to remember the trip by and have been hiding it till... now. I miss all our intense eating and snacking and just having the chance to enjoy the good life with a fellow like-minded couple + favourite person in the world, Justin. Can't wait to travel again!
Bangkok Visual Diary - Part 2
Posted on Monday, September 1, 2014
Hello all! The adventure continues from our Bangkok trip haha.
View from our hotel while enjoying the complimentary drinks. Nubbad! For those of you who didn't read Part 1, we were staying at the Chatrium Riverside Hotel (60% off, thanks).
After that we navigate our way to Rod Phai Market! And by navigate I mean take a taxi to the place lolol. It's a first time for me at this market despite having been to Bangkok lots in my life (oops).
Saved our dinner tummies for some STREET FOOD! They have a little food market when you first walk in to the market. This grilled chicken / pork shoulder store is ah-ma-zing. So amazing we go back again for another portion after walking and eating our way through the market.
Sights and smells of street food. Mmmm.
Fried chicken cutlet chopped up and tossed in a sweet yet spicy thai salad. Tons of onions and sweet sauce which is quite biting, but interesting!
Tip for Rod Phai Market - skip all the Chatuchak-like junk in the front and head straight to the furthest part of the market which contains all kinds of vintage treasures! I swear they sold all kinds of cool things like old typewriters to American diner style furniture to actual vintage vans. The amount of space and thought put into the stores is so kitschy and cool, we swore we could literally just buy and furnish an entire hipster cafe from here!
Ok i didn't take a lot of good photos cause the place was a little too empty so you get shop keepers staring at you the whole time, but really a great visit and recommended visit from the usual Chatuchak kinda thing!
Hahaha glad he is not THAT fat.
The next day we hit Chatuchak! Which seems a lot less diverting after having visiting Rod Phai. We only hang for about half a day before heading back, and our timing is impeccable because the moment we return back to the hotel, it started raining!
Hmm why didn't i buy anything from this store.
Definitely a highlight - coconut ice cream. Don't laugh, but this is my first time trying it despite being to Chatuchak quite a few times. They let you choose up to 4 ingredients to add on top, but you must, must MUST choose the sticky rice. It sounds crazy - rice + ice cream, but the sticky rice has this sweet pandan flavour that perfectly matches the ice cream in an unexpected way! So will try this again the next time i come :)
Hehe matching bracelets with Jiehui <3 We wear it religiously throughout the whole trip!
So our hipster cafe idea is actually possible with 50 baht/kg shipping from Thailand to Singapore. No shit! Of course you have to buy a crate's worth, but it's pretty possible, right?
More food we see but do not eat because we are saving for the... best meal of the trip!
The funny thing is, I actually walked past this "restaurant" before the last time I came and remember it being chocked full of people. It still is. I don't think it has an exact name, but here is a sign of the street it was on:
It's near the Chatuchak MRT station + the toilets too! To me, this is what eating in Thailand is about. Dodgy street side shacks that are full of people. Food that tastes amazing that you don't mind that your stomach MAY pay for it later. Here's why:
I'm an enormous fan of hum (cockles) - and I can't believe I almost gave these a miss. Luckily Renhao also likes hums so I didn't have to be "embarrassed" to eat one whole plate just for myself (though now i wouldn't mind...). Hum is really dirty, but the reason we decided to take the risk was because a) Justin saw that they cooked it for 45 seconds, which is really quite long and thorough b) the basket of hums above looked too inviting c) we saw locals eating it, so it should be ok... right?
Best dish ever on this trip, hands down. I still daydream about the sauce that came with it - not something you can find in Singapore. It's a mixture of fish sauce, chilli padi, coriander, sugar and parsley and some sprinkle of rainbow magic sauce or something. It's sweet, yet sharp and distinctively Thai. Ahhhhhhhh. Need. To. Eat. Again.
And yes, no tummy problems after. Hurrah!
We ordered tons dishes and it all added up to around 700 baht in total ($6.50 a person???) Here's the fried chicken and papaya salad.
Tom Yum soup has so much ingredients inside there's actually not enough soup! We also order veggies just cause we are trying to be healthy. Not.
I love how seafood is essentially like free in Thailand. Giant clams cooked in a spicy broth. But the hum still beats all, sorry.
The fried omelette comes last, and I'm a bit too full to enjoy it. Personally, I find it a bit too oily, but that doesn't stop us from gobbling it up.
Great, great meal. The menu was honestly more extensive, but I think we sampled a good part of it. A definite visit to if you go to Thailand! (Ahem: Yu Qi and Janine to note!)
So after we beat the rain and had a little rest and freshen up in the hotel room, we head out again in style to Lebua State Hotel!
Not my first time here, but it's a great place to come at the end of a trip to Bangkok to really tie things up nicely. It's more than 60 stories high, but the good part is that going up the elevator is free. I believe that other places charge to get a view like this:
Hellooooo Bangkok!
Only setbacks are that drinks are a little pricey (450 - 600 baht for the cocktails), but I call it elevator costs? Oh and these weirdos who were playing around with the weird floor lighting.
A really nice way to end our last night in this bustling city and our trip :'(