Ann Demeulemeester S/S 09 lace up boots

I am back!

So what else could have been keeping me away from all of you guys? Well, unfortunately it's work again! :S I definitely won't be missing the crazy corporate life and back to back full-day meetings once I am back in school.

Thank you every one for your comments, tags and awards. I will be getting to them in my next post and I will be responding to comments as well, especially for those who have asked me questions via comments.

Remember my wishlist from a previous post?

I finally took the plunge and got the Ann Demeulemeester lace up boots for summer. I am amazed at how comfortable they are, despite them being 4-inchers.. I could imagine walking around New York all day in them. (Yes I am just back from New York and already I am scheming about how to get back!)

Here's a picture of me wearing them for the first time:

Wearing Zara blazer, Forever21 sweater, Elizabeth & James pants, Ann Demeulemeester lace up boots and yes finally doing the camera-in-the-dressing-room-thing.

 

Expect to see a lot of them in upcoming outfit posts... I can already feel an obsession beginning, much like how it was with the F/w 08 triple lace up boots.

All right I am off to catch up on my sleep and will be back soon with more!

New York City part III - Oiishi! A chocolate factory and all that jazz!

I have been obsessed with ramen ever since I tasted my first bowl of this Japanese-nified cuisine in Japan. (And no, I am not referring to the instant type.) So it was with a critical eye that I approached the ramen at Ramen Setagaya at the East Village. After days of sandwiches, hot soupy noodles sounded really appealing to KL and me.

As everyone knows, the true mark of good ramen lies in the broth. In this case, Ramen Setagaya did not disappoint.

I ordered the shio (salt) ramen. The broth was clear, yet tasty. The ramen was firm and springy, while the thin slices of pork, with their fatty rings, slide down my throat ever so smoothly. The egg was delicious too...firm but not hard and it had a gentle flavour, sometimes eggs have a weird taste to me, but definitely not this one! I still drool when I look at the ramen picture above.

KL and I also shared a side of veggie gyoza....oiishi!

Guess what we found while walking around after dinner - a stall serving Japanese streetside snacks like okonomiyaki (pancake-like dish with cabbage, eggs and other toppings) and my favourite, tako yaki! Tako yaki are octopus balls (pieces of octopus in balls of grilled batter) served with lots of mayonnaise, brown takoyaki sauce and bonito flakes. I could never locate them in Orange County so I definitely had to buy some to share with KL.

Left: the hole in the wall joint selling Japanese street snacks; right: me chowing down on tako yaki

 

Yummy...the hot tako yaki makes it the perfect snack for a cold NY night!

Just when we though we were done for the night, we came across this restaurant serving lots and lots of chocolate concoctions : Max Brenner - Chocolate by the Bald Man. The chocoholic in me was of course, helpless against the siren call of chocolate.

KL ordered chocolate chai. I think the presentation is pretty cool, just put the container over the drinking mug and tap to drain the hot chocolate out from the chai mixture.

I ordered the chocolate shot:

Yes that's right, shots of chocolate! I ordered dark chocolate, out of a trio of choices including milk chocolate and white chocolate. Just thinking about the chocolate rush makes my toes curl :D

The apparatus for preparing the chocolate shot, made me feel like I was conducting some kooky culinary experiment. I scooped some chocolate chips into the milk which was being warmed by the tealight, stir to melt and sip via the metal straw. Naturally I loaded lots of chocolate in for the ultimate rush!

The melting heart chocolate cake, served with berries and ice-cream.

And of course, what would a trip to NYC be without a visit to Broadway? We spent an hour or so waiting in the cold gusty winds to queue up for discounted tickets at the TKTS booth at Times Square. In the end, we settled on Chicago. I rather enjoyed the movie version starring Richard Gere, Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones, and the musical version was not too bad.

Finally the last outfit shot of me in NYC for this trip.

Wearing Rick Owens leather jacket, Zara top, Ksubi black jeans, Ann Demeulemeester boots, Phillip Lim scarf and Miu Miu black coffer.

So long (for now) New York!

New York City Part II - More food porn, the Met and Madame X.

Food! Food! Food!

If there's one thing that you'll definitely be spoilt for choice for in New York City, it's definitely food! From Zagat rankings to celebrity endorsements, most eating places in New York are plastered with such endorsements all over. For a foodie like me and KL, New York City is definitely an eating heaven.. a far cry from the heavily populated franchise restaurant scene in Orange County.

One of my favourite finds during this New York trip is A Salt & Battery.

It's essentially a fish and chips place, but the fish and chips is absolutely one of the best I have ever tasted! The owners were even involved in a throw-down with celebrity chef Bobby Flay and they won! And after eating at this place it's easy to see why:

KL and I got the seafood combo, which consists of fried fish and shrimp. (Sides or chips are a separate order.) The fried seafood is crispy, yet not oily at all, in fact the batter is so light but oh so-very-crunchy! And you taste the natural sweetness and freshness of the seafood through the batter.. I don't know how these guys do it but I didn't walk away with the oily, bloated feeling that I usually get from eating fried food. Seating is limited at A Salt & Battery though, so it's best to get there before the lunch/dinner crowds come in.

And literally by accident, KL and I found this hot dog store named Papaya King:

KL and I remembered seeing a feature on it on Food Network before, so we had to try the papaya drink that the signs plastered all over the store were hawking:

And you know what, the drink lived up to its hype! It's sweet and creamy, yet not overly so. We could taste the papaya in the drink and it was very refreshing. The hot dogs were good too, better than most I had tasted, but I personally preferred it without the onions which were hmmm, a little overpowering to me. One thing to note though, KL and I first tasted this at the Greenwich Village store and we ordered the same papaya drink again when we came across Papaya King a few streets away from the Met. It seems like the quality varies from store to store as the papaya drink at the Met location was really watered down and not at all like the manna that we had tasted the night before.

Did I mention the Met (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)?

I wanted so badly to see the exhibitions at the Costume Institute when I was there but it was closed. Nevertheless the Met was a great visit, even for the second time, as there was plenty of stuff to occupy my and KL's time!

Ancient jewellery:

I'll gladly wear these cuffs!
Some serious bling:

I don't know what is it about me and ancient sculpture, but I am always tempted to do some cheeky (no pun intended) poses of the butt-pinching variety among them. Maybe it was just a desire in me to offset all the seriousness of the crowd brought on by the history of the pieces. Or the nudity was getting to my brain ;) I'm not too sure how my well my antics would have gone down with the stern security personnel nor the crowd, but nevertheless I managed to sneak a couple in:

Say meow!

One of my favourite permanent exhibits at the Met is the Arms & Amor collection:

The intricate details on all the armor and weapons are amazing, not to mention the skils it must have taken to produce them. What I find intrigung though is how small most of the suits of armor are...even to me. I guess people were really smaller back then!
A close-up of a burgonet in the shape of a lion's head. I believe it's Italian in origin...note the attempts at mimicking the texture of fur and hair using metal:

And for first-time visitors, the Temple of Dendur is a most see. It's a Nubian temple that was phyiscally relocated (yes, building, gates and all!) to the US and subsequently the Met in the 60s'.

This was a perfect opportunity to break out my "Walk like an Egyptian" pose, but the security personnel there was so tense and stern that he quickly dampened any enthusiaism that I had. He was always anxiously scanning anyone who approached the structure..hmm, first day on the job perhaps?

The painting collection of the Met is definitely impressive and I didn't have time to take it all in at my leisure. Yes, even on my second visit. I knew that there was one painting that I had to see again:

Madame X. The original It girl maybe? Once again another painting which I had studied in school that fascinated me then and still, today.

And here's a random outfit shot of what I wore that day.

Zara military jacket, helmut lang top, ksubi jeans, ann demeulemeester boots, miu miu coffer.

Next: Last night in New York City and all that jazz!

New York City part I - Of good eats, the Rockefeller center, AMNH and the New York City Ninja

As you call all tell from my photo, it was absolutely freezing when we arrived in New York City at night.

In Ninja mode - Ozetta large warmer from etsy, Zara military jacket, black vintage tiered ruffled dress, Falke tights, Ann Demeulemeester boots

When it comes to eating, New York City is one of the best cities to be in. Great eating places are open till late at night, or early in the morning, depending on how you look at it. So, be prepared for lots and lots of food porn because I do have plenty of pictures to share!

One of the shops that KL and I had to visit was "Eileen Special Cheesecake". We discovered this hole in the wall joint by accident on our first trip to NYC and fell in love with the cheesecake there. Unlike certain cheesecake factories on the west coast, the cheesecake at Eileen's is light and fluffy, with just the right amount of sweetness. The cheesecake in the shop is sold in small portions so that you don't feel guilty indulging. I had to stop myself from ordering all the flavors that they had available!

KL and I finally decided on the Oreo cheesecake and the strawberry cheesecake:

Washed down with a canoli ;)

Yummy!

At night, KL and I walked over to the Rockefeller center which was near our hotel. The skating rink is still there, even though it's already spring!

A shot of the building through the fairy lights on the trees. Ah, memories.

The very next day, we went to the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). I believe that this is the very same museum in the movie, "A Night at the Museum"?

I was really looking forward to seeing all the dioramas again, as well as view the exhibits that KL and I missed out on the last time we were there. But, first.. DINOSAURS!!!

When I was a kid, I loved to spend Saturday mornings in my bed reading and re-reading my encyclopedias on dinosaurs and pre-historic mammals like the mammoths and the sabretooth tiger. So I definitely had to hunt down their skeletons:

From left: Mammoth skeleton, sabretooth tiger skeleton.

It's kind of a pity that we'll never get to see these animals alive again. But that's evolution and seriously, I highly suspect that they will not inspire half the fascination that they do now if their species were still around today.

And the dioramas....it's weird as the animals seem so life-like, but of course they are just the creations of really gifted taxidermists. It's hard to believe that the dioramas were constructed in the 30s' - look at the skill of the taxidermy involved!

I strongly urge anyone who hasn't been to the AMNH before to go in the morning and be prepared to spend the whole day there. It was the second visit for me and KL this time, and we went right after lunch, but still it wasn't enough. Besides the dioramas, there are also exhibits on different cultures, a gemstone gallery, IMAX movies to catch...you get the idea.

And in the spirit of Easter:

Don't tell Tobey and Raisin!

Next: It's getting hot and heavy as the food porn continues.... and Madame X! :P

Philadelphia part II - Hello! Fashion: Kansai Yamamoto and R.Mutt

I had the opportunity to catch the Kansai Yamamoto exhibition while I was in Philadelphia.

Kansai Yamamoto's designs are usually exuberant, theatrical and over the top, compared to the austere designs produced by other Japanese designers like Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo and Issey Miyake. Comparatively, Kansai Yamamoto's liberal use of Kabuki prints can seem distracting. Still there's something about all this flamboyance that makes this exhibition such an interesting visit.

Playsuit with arm guards, leg guards and hood:

Cape with bodysuit and clogs (how spectacular is the cape?):

Dresses with appliques (strangely I can see myself wearing either dress today!):

Long coat (I love its kimono inspiration and this was first modeled in the year of the Tiger, hence the tiger image on it. The coat also has the kanji characters for tiger and Kansai on it.):

And the most spectacular Kansai Yamamoto piece - the circular cape, pants and clogs:

There ares also other Kansai Yamamoto creations and another collection of pieces by Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo and Issey Miyake in the exhibition which I have not shown. I strongly urge everyone who can, to drop by the Philly museum to view this exhibition for yourself. The last day is on April 31st, I think.

For more information on Kansai Yamamoto's work and his collection, check out his website here.

And look what I found in the museum as well!

I believe this is one of the Fountain replicas which is authorized by Dada-ist Marcel Duchamp. It was certainly a thrill for me to see something which I had studied during high school, in real life.

Next post: New York City!!

Philadelphia part I - Of UPenn, cheesesteak and the Liberty Bell

I'm back from my trip to the East Coast!

It was originally supposed to be a week long trip to New York City, but my group and I decided to make a pit stop in Philadelphia as well. KL and I travelled to the east coast this time with another couple, but it was great fun as they are fellow Singaporeans as well as kindred foodies!

The four of us probably did the craziest time ever by rushing to Philly on our very first day on the east coast. Our plane touched down at JFK at approximately 6am and we had to immediately lug our luggage to get to NYC's Chinatown to catch a bus to Philly. The east coast is 3 hours ahead of the west coast, so we were jetlagged and cold, not to mention starving when we arrived in Philly.

We took it easy on the first day and made it to UPenn to soak in the college town atmosphere. I contemplated buying a Wharton sweatshirt to wear it to one of my future UCI Merage mixers, but gave up as I decided that it would be too pesky ;)

Here's me catching my breath outside the UPenn bookstore.

Wearing Vanessa Bruno sweaterdress+scarf, Helmut Lang cashmere sweater, Rick Owens leather jacket, Ksubi black jeans, Ann Demeulemeester boots, Miu Miu black coffer and a "I heart NY" sticker ;)

A note about the weather then - I had underestimated how cold the east coast would be, so I really piled on the layering all the time! Expect to see the Rick Owens jacket a lot as well as my blue military jacket in all my pictures for this trip. (And yes, I finally took the plunge and got myself an RO, but I would save that story for another post, as well as how the Yaya Aflalo vapor jacket compares to it.)

On the second day, we decided that we must try out the Philly's cheesesteak before we went to visit the Liberty Bell and the Independence Hall. So we checked out Pat's and Geno's, both proclaimed to be Philly's best when it comes to cheesesteak. Unfortunately, both KL and I only had the stomach for one, so the 4 of us ate at Geno's...no special reason for choosing it over Pat's. We ate there because we reached there first ;)

A picture of Pat's (left):

KL and I posing with Geno's cheesesteak:

A close-up of the cheesesteak:

The verdict? I'm sorry Philadelphians, but personally I find that Geno's cheesesteak is not all that it's cut out to be. Maybe I should have ordered it wet or asked for more onions, but I wanted to taste the beef and it wasn't really all that well-seasoned to me. Still, it was a great experience and the cheese fries were not too bad.
That doesn't mean though that I think Pat's is better. I have no opinion on Pat's as I have not eaten there.

After the meal, we headed back to Independence Hall for the tour. Here's a picture of a very special room that I'm compelled to show:

This is the exact room that the US' Declaration of Indepedence was signed in. According to our guide, the moldings in the room itself have been made over several times, but the chairs and the light fixtures are original. So yup, that chair on the dais is probably the very one that George Washington sat in.

It started to drizzle heavily when we reached the Philadelphia Museum of Art, so it was a good thing that we would be spending most of our times indoors.

KL and me being corny and doing the Rocky run on the steps leading to the museum:

That's all for my first post on Philadelphia! Check back next for a detailed post on my favourite exhibition in the museum:

"Hello! Fashion: Kansai Yamamoto"

I promise fashion porn pictures ;)