One night at dinner, I had a brief conversation with my cousin. It revolved around a particular star shaped green bean that is often used in Malay cuisine. Which then turned into a short discussion that you can’t really do great French food with local ingredients and that local ingredients probably deserved better then to be shunted into another cuisine, like some unwanted lovechild.
This got me thinking. I’m often obsessed by the latest amazing, exotic ingredient from the caverns beneath Timbuktoo or the discovery of some incredible thing that came from a lab in Stockholm or whatever but I know next to nothing about the food of my own country. I was ashamed. I mean, I know a bit but not as intimately and the same passionate fervour as I do with stuff like, the next big trend for guys (tapered multicolored patterned sweatpants) or what Takeshi Kaneshiro says during the freeze frame in Chunking Express.
So, in view of that, I decided I’d attempt to cook something using only local ingredients, so local that I only go to the nearby market and nowhere else. Reason being, I’m a cheapskate, but more so because I think it really amplifies the eat/cook local thing. The market in question is Bukit Timah Market & Food Centre, where the produce is pretty pedestrian. Whatever you can find there, you can find all over the island’s many markets. Its got absolutely nothing super special.
The other thing I’m going to do, is I’m not cooking French food. Or fusion food. I’m just cooking food period. It’s not even particularly Singaporean or Chinese. It’s just what I see in the market and what I think I could make that would be interesting, and taste good. 3 courses, service a la Russe, 9 people (5 friends + 4 family), copious amounts of alcohol and nothing too fancy.
The first thing that popped out when I went to the market, was these pig’s trotters. What’s great is the availability. Every pork butcher had them and in some quantity, enough for my plans. Also, its a good part of our food heritage involving Chinese stews whether using vinegar or oyster sauce as the base. I reckon having a stew as a main, with a thick, gelatinous texture and a rich mouthfeel would probably hit the spot no matter how bad I sucked. But I wanted to do something funny with it. Other than slow cooking it with some onions and leek, I thought I’d debone it and then wrap up the trotter with some enoki mushrooms as an edible “bone”, which complements the pork in terms of flavor and lends a textural contrast. I’m also going to mix up the flesh with some extras (perhaps some pears, used in Chinese soups as well as being a classic pairing with pork) and then put that back in and this way, I’d hopefully get an elegant rolled up log with concentric circles. Then I’ll sear this off in a pan before slicing it to serve for some color and extra flavor.
With the juices, I’ll reduce it and add some soy for color and flavor, possibly some honey although I reckon the collagen in the feet will make the juice thick already. We’ll see.
Now I just need to decide on the entree (probably some kind of seafood), the veg for the pork (spinach or kangkong or some local type green I’ve never touched before) and the dessert (leaning towards a soy milk flavored panna cotta).
In my quest for food related films, I stumbled upon a rather interesting magazine with covers that look pretty stunning. Gastronomica is based in Massachussetts in the US and dabbles in anything related to food, from writing to recipes to restaurants etc. It also has a good long list of films related to food. I have managed to watch a smidgen but that I managed at all was thanks to that same list.
Right into the first scene in Vivre Sa Vie and I was sorta hooked. The camera was shot from behind the two characters, seated at a bar, moving from point to point, back and forth in languid, thoughtful strokes. The cinematography here isn’t just about lovely black and white shots of people in cafes like every other Godard film but a certain detachment from the character in question. You get these awkwardy, sideways, behindy, off kilter type shots. The camera feels alive, moving constantly, like your head is bobbing around, trying for another view as if you’re some kind of curious busybody angling for some drama.
Anna Karina plays the lead role of a prostitute that once harboured dreams of being an actress but somehow ends up losing sight of that naive dream. I think her stunning short bob and fragile face really move the film. One scene has her juxtaposed against a film in film version of Joan of Arc, each actress with a tear halfway down the face. It’s pretty, and pretty damn sad, like watching the last flickers of a candle fade out to nothing.
Then, we get to this beautiful part of the film, where Anna inexplicably turns to an old man next to her in a cafe and they get into this discussion. Its lengthy and involving. Gentle fawning youth, bursting with a certain exuberance, yet wholly uncertain of its actions, conversing with the sage that is time. Then she turns and stares at the camera, dead on. Classic. I wish I was as wise as this dude.
Filed under: Fashion, Retail, Singapore | Tags: apc, jumpsuit, sg, shop, steez
I actually shop at more places than just Uniqlo. There’s also Muji for instance. Pricier but better quality, if rather understated in style. When there’s a sale on, I’m surprised people don’t drag shit off the shelves. Not to mention the always interesting food section with stuff like an apple juice drink flavored with perilla (shiso) that made it taste berry-esque. Or the awesome stationery like this dope hexagonal 2 sided pen I scoped. Ultimately, I pulled the trigger on a really solid vegetable peeler for work purposes and a pair of white canvas shoes.
Here’s some other joints that I’m looking forward to visiting if I get the chance. I filtered out quite a buncha stuff, mostly because I’m no longer interested in streetwear stuff. Of which, it must be said, there’s a good amount of here in Singapore. I hope none of these stores have collapsed though.
Blackmarket – they stock Lad Musician and a shitload of local labels according to the website.
Front Row – If only because I want to look at this kooky A.P.C jumpsuit. They probably won’t have it. I also probably will never buy it.
Blackjack/Club 21 – So I can shop for a sugar tai tai.
Style: Nordic – Mainly for Filippa K. I don’t think they have what I’m looking for though.
Asylum – They brought in Chronicles of Never and Diet Butcher Slim Skin. But I’m mostly wanting to ogle some silly, useless objects.
Ambush – Might be interesting since the last time I went there, it was still in Far East and not so nu rave labelled.
I’m sure there’s some more places. I might compile a food list next. All my notes for each place seem to indicate I’m mostly half hearted. I’m expecting all the stores to stock mostly just tees, polos and jeans. I also wanted to mention that I’m disappointed by the selection at the Clarks shop in Suntec. The uncle was pretty nice and helpful though.
Filed under: Art, Comedy, Culture, Film, Food, Graphics, Politics | Tags: surrealism
The DVD cover art for Luis Bunuel’s The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie has got a giant pair of lips with some feet and a big hat. Its kinda cute and says a good bit about what the film involves. Instead of a face, we get enlarged, fetishized elements of a person, presumably someone who puts on airs. A big black hat, glossy painted lips and high heeled shoes.
Its a satire in the strongest sense of the word, not just poking fun, more outright denouncing the subject matter entirely. I wouldn’t say its funny though. Its really cynical and pokerfaced. You may be puzzled by the odd sequencing and bewildered by the situations but I never had a laugh out loud moment, that’s for sure. I don’t even think I snickered.
The central element of the film is the attempts of a group of upper class donks to get together for a meal. They try their best, but a combination of unfortunate events and their animalistic impulses deny them this. Towards the end, they even sit down and get to the main course, but Bunuel denies them the finish. These dogs aren’t even allowed a simple meal.
The subversion is obvious. Its purposeful but not spiteful. These crusty, fako folks are pathetic, sad creatures. You almost feel sorry for them. They gather and shoot shit, mostly shitting on a fictitious country and the ambassador, or talking about how their poncey food is so good. They do the same thing 500 times over. It’s sad. Plus, they can’t even finish what they wanted to do. From a simple misunderstanding to the death of a restaurant manager to an army invading the room, we get a whole spread of crazy interruptions. Which saves us from the boring episodes of inane behaviour amongst the preening actors.
Every facet of the Bourgeois is given a grilling here, even the church. A Bishop with a green finger fetish joins the group, buffoon like in one interchange where he reveals the depth of his lack of knowledge. He appears at first in his robes, greeted with a kiss by a maid but returns in gardening gear and gets ushered out by the owners of a house. Yet, in Clark Kent swiftness, he rings the bell again and is greeted with apologies when he’s back in the robes. Clothes maketh the man. If he were wearing papal robes, they’d probably take him for the pope too.
Then there’s the dream sequences. The characters get into nighmarish situations, where they variously end up in jail only to be saved by a dead policeman or they end up as actors on a stage when they thought they were going for dinner, even forgetting their lines. There’s dreams within dreams and these get stitched together by the 6 main characters walking down a lonely road in a huge field with no destination in sight. Rather peasant status for some rich folk.
It’s one big slap in the face for anyone who thinks they’re anything more than the apes we really are. There are those who will feel aghast at the thought of themselves as pretentious twats. Then there are those who think it’s a massive insult. Then there may be those who might dismiss it as mere entertainment. And yet others might actually trump the film as some sort of masterpiece, like the Academy For Motion Picture Arts And Sciences handing out the Oscar Discreet Charm won for best foreign language film back in ‘73.
More Coen Brothers’ goodness and more heist goodness as well. Ladykillers is a 2004 film about a bunch of criminals hatching a plot to steal some money from a floating casino somewhere in the Southern region of the US.
Its actually a remake of a 1955 flick of the same name, only the setting, situations and characters are altered somewhat. Reading off wikipedia reveals that the plots are similar.
Basically, its another flick with a cast comprised of screwball characters, which is a classic Coen stamp it seems. The leader of the criminal gang is Tom Hanks’ Professor character, whose penchant for speaking endlessly in a faux old timey southern dandy fashion is seriously irritating, but is also his best trait. He rents a room from an old black lady, who’s a fervent church goer that loves gospel music and hates “hippity-hop”.
Tom Hanks – Clearly NOT a Nigerian Prince.
The house itself also has a basement, which the professor convinces the old lady to allow him to use as a recital space for his “renaissance” ensemble. This crew consists of Gawain, a young black man working on the inside on the casino, The General, a presumably ex-Vietcong tunnel expert/Hitler worshipper, Pancake, an explosives expert with irritable bowel syndrome and Lump, the dum goon. They cart in instruments and basically set up camp, playing one of the most classical pieces ever by Boccherini to disguise their inability to play anything at all.
They actually manage to steal the money, only one by one, they fall foul of fate and ultimately, its the old lady, Mrs. Munson, who outlasts them all.
I’m just hypothesizing here, but if Ladykillers is anything to go by, I’d expect the original to be the film that may have possibly spawned the deadly granny concept, seen in recent films such as Madagascar and its sequel.
Bob le Flambeur is a brisk crime caper, directed by Jean-Pierre Melville that comes with an unexpected ending. Roger Duchesne plays the lead role with a slick white mane and a casual approach to life. There’s an inkling of that fatalism that seems to be a central element that we see in Le Samourai and Le Cercle Rouge.
Naked Gun 444 1/4?
Looking a helluva lot like Leslie Nielsen makes things confounding because there’s a tendency to think Bob’s going to slip on a banana peel or something. But no, he’s got more panache in one fingernail than George Clooney could ever have. He breezes through most everything, always seemingly in control and calm to a point. He also manages to pull a girl young enough to be his granddaughter without even trying. Its a slightly unconventional character to be the lead anti-hero in a noir crime caper.
Apparently Bob has been clean for 20 years. He’s even got a good friend in a police inspector. On the first day, he wins big at the races but then blows it all at roulette almost just as quickly, justifying the title in one nonchalant sweep. Almost broke, he hatches a plan with a mate to steal 800 million francs from a casino. He finds a Scottish backer, pays a croupier off for information and gathers a crew in preparation for the heist.
Things get complicated when someone blabs to a girl and another bitch snitches. The police get wind of things and the inspector even invites Bob for dinner, trying to persuade him not to do what he was going to. Bob pays little heed to the warning, instead suiting up for the final showdown, where things don’t quite fall into place the way we were shown beforehand.
If I have learned one important lesson from the film, it’s Bob’s little quip, “Never spill to a dame.”.
I just caught a trailer of this documentary, which resembles 2001: A Space Odyssey in spirit. Koolhaas Houselife is basically a film by Ila Beka and Louise Lemoine, which follows the life of a housekeeper in one of the Dutchman’s houses in France.
Designed by OMA and built in 1998, the Maison a Bordeaux is in Bordeaux. That bit of nifty info came from my superior analytical ability. Its set on a hill and conceptually, its 3 houses in one, linked by a giant moving mechanical lift with no sides, moving very cleanly throughout. You can see that and much more in the following trailers.
Filed under: Fashion, Retail, Singapore | Tags: koppage, sg, shop, steez, uniqlo
Ok I was there at 10-ish and it was packed. The store at Tampines 1 is located on the 2nd floor and its rather small but its expected given that its just Tampines. Although, Singapore being so tiny, you could open a store in Punggol and it might do fine. The locals go where its worth it. They’re smart like that. The crowd was a mix of youngsters and aunties. Its only Uniqlo, but in Singapore, it was kind of a big deal. To me, its largely an awesome basics company, with optional extras. I crow about it only because I’m broke as and it provides my nether regions with a spot of color.
I have to say, I’m a touch disappointed, largely because the Opening Ceremony collabo wasn’t there. Hello Opening Ceremony at the Opening Celebration? Wah lau. Isn’t that kind of auspicious?
I was expecting them to slash most of the selection and basically have a polo/tee/jeans kinda vibe and that was exactly what the store was. So I guess, I was semi prepared for a let down. I just kept hoping that the OC stuff might just make the cut. I’m also expecting, based on conversations with the super lovely store staff, (who helped me get another pair of jeans cos of my fat ass. thank you girls so much!) that the Orchard Ion store will hopefully stock the other stuff, like outerwear, cardis etc. I’m crossing my fingers that the next time I want something, I can just get someone to pop down and grab it and not have to proxy stuff and pay shipping and fees etc.
Anyway, I did get the jeans and some other stuff I wanted. So I’m still ok. Like the auntie behind me in the Q said, “Come all the way here, if dun buy something, feel left out!”. She also said, “Come back next week, when the fever die down, then buy some more.”.
Words of wisdom, although I’m pretty sure I won’t be grabbing much else. Maybe some more socks. I like they socks.
