my very own homemade experience

being a coffee maniac... you should not be surprised that i will be making my own homemade coffee on hermit days!! though what we use at home is not the conventional (some people call those "professional") coffee machine, what we have got is the nespresso essenza and aeroccino automatic milk frother, my housewarming present for him when he first moved in to his new home (actually more of a present for myself!); and i do think the coffee it makes is just as great as those that you get from other coffee machines (considering it is homemade).

these are a few earlier attempts of cappuccino with our essenza

living in hong kong, with the limited space and efficient-pace in everyday life, and as a beginner of homemade coffee, a nespresso machine is more than enough for me for the time being. they offer a wide range of coffee flavor in the form of capsules; our recent favorites are arpeggio and livanto - they are relatively bitter in taste, just the way we like it, and they are good for making cappuccino. though i am pretty happy with my nespresso machine for now, i can totally foresee myself moving forward to "real" coffee machines at some point in my life, just not yet, a promise to the next home.

the nespresso essenza and aeroccino automatic milk frother, my housewarming present for him :)

the coffee experience for a homemade coffee is not merely on its taste, it is more on its process and as i mentioned in my previous posting, as a coffee lover, i do enjoy watching the process of making a coffee, not to mention by my own hands. how i serve it, with condiments or cookies, how i decorate the frothy milk, the choice of coffee cups and utensils, definitely make a completely different experience as compare to getting a coffee at a coffee shop or a restaurant.

chocolate sprinkles on frothy milk (L); a specially designed coffee spoon with a hole in the middle (under cookie) for melting sugar with hot rum over coffee, a practice in the northern europe, from flea + cents (R)

we are never a big fan of iced coffee, but with the recently stuffy hot weather in hong kong, an iced coffee would definitely be a nice quencher!! so in one hot and stuffy saturday afternoon, i made my first attempt on an iced cappuccino. i was quite pleased with the result, very smooth, creamy and chocolatey, it is becoming our new crush this summer!!

my first attempt on iced cappuccino in one hot summer afternoon

another experience of homemade coffee will be my daily "office"-made coffee, also by nespresso - gemini. this is also how i started to fancy nespresso machines, the coffee it makes do bring a nice booze to my early mornings in the office. we do get a few flavors to choose from, what i like the most is the lungo forte; the taste of this coffee is very "office-like" in my own tasting standard, just not the type that would make you feel you are having one out in a coffee shop on a nice afternoon!! but this "office-like" taste do wake me up in drowsy mornings - this is, in my opinion, one of the best employee benefits working in this office.

my favorite coffee mug from starbucks, usa - broken at one point in time, but recovered by him afterwards - thanks again sweetie!! (L);

the "office-like" nespresso coffee in my tate modern mug (R)

it's been a while... let's catch-up over a coffee!!

life has just been too busy for me lately.. i could barely lay my hands back on this blog!! weddings.. trips.. work.. more work.. and more work!! this busy schedule has completely kept me me away from being what i always want to be - a couch potato(!!), not to mention a blogger!! at the same time, i was having a bit of a trouble picking a topic that i WANT to write.. apart from my life, my mind has also been quite stuck recently!!

anyway, here i am.. blogging again!! thanks to my dear blog reader - carol, who blamed me for not posting in quite a pleasing way!! :)

cappuccino @ l'atelier de joel robuchon - landmark, central

so" it's been a while.. let's catch-up over a coffee!!" is THE favorite line i will use basically on any occasion, any time of the day, anywhere possible. coffee coffee coffee.. if you know me well, you should know coffee does make a big part of my life.

i am in love with almost every aspect of a coffee experience. first, its aroma, especially when it is freshly brewed from the coffee machine, watching the process makes me smile all the time, it makes me feel its delicacy and the effort it takes; also in love with its color, the crema gives a very welcoming warmth when you first look into the cup of coffee;

regular coffee @ W hotel, maldives (L) and tea & herbs, fortress hill (R)

the presentation - the frothy milk with all these interesting latte art when it comes to expresso coffee drinks and how these delicate coffee shops will serve their coffee with specially designed condiments utensils and delicate chocolates, biscotti and of course what i love most - macarons!! to me this is a complete "coffee meal";

cappuccino @ tree, ap lei chau (L), agnes b le pain grille, causeway bay (M + top R)
and classified, central (bottom R)

and finally the taste of it, loving the mixture of the roasted and bittersweet taste that is just rich enough to stimulate your nerves when you took the first sip and how the aroma stays in your mouth in a swirl as you finish it off sip by sip. One of my favorites is the japanese sumiyaki coffee - for its roasty caramel taste.

sumiyaki coffee @ random coffee shops, tokyo (L + bottom M), lavazza cappuccino @ vero, wanchai - one of his favorites (top M) and brewed coffee @ fleetwood diners, michigan

meanwhile, i also believe the when, where and who factors do make quite a difference to a coffee experience. i fancy coffee shops.. preferably small quiet ones with street views.. i spend most of my free time in coffee shops, it is where i study, work, kill my time in between appointments, catch-up with friends, or even just flipping through magazines with my boyfriend. another experience on this freshly brewed coffee i had at this diner in michigan during our last US trip, i never like how americans make their watery coffee, this one i had at this diner was quite pleasing after all.. maybe it was because of the chilly morning after a long haul plane, and this is also the place where he had the most treasurable memory and i was quite looking forward to it.

take-away coffee cups @ bouchon, napa valley (top L), l'atelier joel robuchon, central (top R) and last but not least, starbucks take-away cups - one of my favs (bottom)

another section of coffee that i like is its conventional yet practical take-away packaging, in 3 main parts - the cup, the lid and the sleeve. coffee sleeves are one of my biggest collections over the years. all the different design and graphics make me, a coffee and art lover, cannot help but to collect them as i visit different shops for a take-away coffee.

take-away cappuccino @ cova, taikoo place - the luxurious treat that lightens up my long working day

part of my collection of coffee sleeves...

this is just a brief introduction to the love of my life - coffee.. will get into more details of each and every aspect of it in my later postings. stay put!!

in memory of...

one of the happiest memories of my childhood will be riding at the back of this triumph on a sunday afternoon. one little trick that my sisters and i would do was to make sure we wore a hair-band instead of a pony-tail, this was meant for the big messy hair the strong wind would get us in this manually convertible top. a hair-band would always be more convenient to my parents, who did not usually do our hair, especially this was usually a daddy-and-daughter afternoon thing for us, did not expect my mom would be wearing a hair-band after all.

what's more would be taking an afternoon stroll at the vintage car show with him and my godfather after a triumph ride, those cars all looked the same to me back then, like cartoon cars that could talk; being the little ones then, we were usually there for the big green lawn and popsicles under the summer sun.

in memory of my beloved father... happy birthday daddy!! we miss you!!

dwell for the superhero...

having quite a crazy schedule recently, can barely find the time to sleep.. i still can't help but to spare some time to put this on while it is still hot!!

saturday midnight + isquare imax + iron man 2 - screen a bit too big for 8th row - sequels is never as good as orignals = still love it!!

i am quite a big fan of all superheroes, and recent years my new favorite is undoubtedly ironman!!! loving his outfit (actually the process of putting that on..), loving his attitude, loving his dandy house on the cliff (later discovering it being a computer model house in an national park in malibu), and all the neat furniture that are in there!!!

the flos arco lamp, the arch-shaped sofa, the charles eames lounge chair and ottoman in the living room, and an "early" version of eames lounge chair (670) in camel green color in his workshop, though many of these furniture are getting a bit common in designer homes nowadays, the placement of these classic items in this particular house does accentuate tony stark's attitude. the stone attached to the fireplace reminds me of the falling water by frank lloyd wright.

another awesome item will be the double pendulum that is on pepper's desk, it is called the swinging sticks kinetic desk sculpture (or the swinging sticks), as it is named, a good combo of science and art.

a heartfelt surprise in india..

many of you that knows me, i am one of those very few people on earth that is not craving to go to india (anymore), maybe it is simply because i have to go at least once a month or two and the nature of my trips are mostly for WORK. (yes i have to cap that to emphasize how BIG of a thing it is to be WORKING IN INDIA!!)

(above: some of the photography credit goes to my colleague, christian glassl, as i have stolen some of his photos taken in india on fb.. many thanks!!)

images of skinny kids in ragged clothings begging for money, naked babies crawling on streets, non-stop-honking jeepneys down the road... even in a more civilized sense - dreadful unconstructive meetings, not accepting updated technologies due to their ignorance, serving coffee from their men's room, using bottled water while we brush our teeth, making sure our mouths and eyes are closed when showering.. this is india, a place where i do not understand why so many people is craving to go. maybe... maybe i will have less negative feeling to the place if i am not there for work, maybe i will see the more artsy side of it if i am going with some friends, maybe i will like it a little better if i am there for the word ADVENTURE.

however, in my last trip to india, feb 2010, one of my colleagues, who stations there (yes, i can never imagine how he can put up with that..) took me to this place after our usual long dreadful meeting, in which it has completely changed my perspective to india and its quality. the tote, one of the very few fine-dining restaurants in mumbai, was a heartfelt product of serie architects (professionally taken images of the tote in the link attached). having such a breath-taking designed and delicately built structure in mumbai is definitely beyond my expectation, especially when i have been through all those frustrating coordination for our projects in there.

the second i walked through the gate, i was completely overwhelmed by those tree structures, it appears to me as a bleached, enchanted forest under some real mature rain trees, putting my mind in an adrenaline state.

we first came across a banquet area surrounded by the beautiful white tree structures, as we walked through the building, we got into the casual lounge, with these absolutely gorgeous scandinavian-looking chairs, next to it is the fine-dining area under the same bleached forest, and as we walk up to stairs we got ourselves into another dream world - the bar lounge, a cave-like zone covered with randomly angled wooden panels and elegant steel trusses support the high ceiling.
i was truly impressed by this place, impressed by the design itself, its workmanship, as well as all the frustration the designers have put up with to get this thing built. the tote does give those, like me, who have work or projects in india some hope.

i will leave this up to my photos to end this blog with a "wow".

the french windows...

the french windows, one of my most beloved elements in architecture, in my dictionary, they define romance, history, smell of old wood, sound of the old wooden joints and warmth with light rays on wooden panel floors.
to be frank, i was not very keen on "classical" style a few years back; i believe that happens to all young designers, all they keep in their heads are contemporary, modern and "cool"; however just recent years, i started to fancy vintage, oldies, everything seems much more precious when it is old and aged (another sign of aging for me i must say..)

with all my profound love to this architectural element, i can't help not to visit this recently opened restaurant in ifc, the french window, just its name has already drowned me in this dreamy french setting. we went there for lunch on a nice saturday, as we walked through the tall, mazed-like passageway from the entrance, we entered into a rather elegant yet cozy dining room, i will call this style - contemporary french, i was totally in love with this and am impressed with how well the old and new blends in. ABConcept, the interior designer definitely did a great job.

the french windows, represented by chrome metal-frame etched glass screens down the hall, etched glass panel wall along the back, giving emphasis to the vip spaces, classical french lantern along the windows. it was just an amazing setup. we were fortunate enough to have got one of the best tables in the restaurant, from where i was sitting, it maximizes my perspective in this interior space. i must say this place is meant for lunch, it will be such a waste to have kept all these great interior elements in the dark at dinner hours. i felt like i was in a complete different world once i entered this place, i felt like i was in a dream, a very sweet and romantic dream.

P.S. i believe the 2 photos below are pretty self-explanatory; our pan-seared lamb, and the later was taken right after lunch outside of ifc.

"to be teri-fied" for the first time...

whenever i start reading blogs of others, i will have this crazy urge to make one myself!! it took me a total of 3 months to have finally setup this page.. but that's me.. i am not a very big fan of starting something from scratch.. nor in new platforms that is beyond what i am familiar with. i hope i can keep up with this and make this a place where i can share what i see in my eyes with people of similar interest. recently i do feel that i have been running away from learning new things, keeping myself updated, a sign of aging i bet.. therefore i am also hoping this blog can bring me back on track with what's up and what's on!!

the very first step in doing anything is always the most difficult, in terms of this blog, i wonder what i should put as my first post, i want it to be something meaningful, something that inspires me the most in whatever terms, something that reminds myself of who i am on this day when i read this again years later..

i am a very keen amateur photographer, this shot was one of my recent favorites, as it is a big combo of a few of my favorite items on this planet.. being the main guy in this photo, the butterfly stool by sori yanagi, one of my favourite furniture pieces since school days (to be exact since 1st year in cmu archi), loving the curvature of it, the simplicity of its symmetrical structures, the elegancy of how it touches the ground in its tip-toe manner, as well as my favorite walnut finish. this is more of an art piece to me than a functionable stool.

some more items at the back will be our caravaggio P2 by lightyears, i will save its introduction for another post to show my respect to this lamp. more to follow will be the wishbone chair by hans wegner (am sure i will come across this chair again later if this blog stays on..). and last but not least, my favorite brick wall. i looove brick walls, in any color, in any setting.. maybe it is due to my architectural background; though technically it is not, bricks are one of the most symbolic items when it comes to "building", the most stable house in the story of the 3 little pigs was then built in bricks!! though this one we are looking at is not a real brick wall (they call this culture-stone in hk) the result of it has already turned me upside down.. loving the rawness of it and its symbolism.

to conclude, this photo is definitely a good representative of myself in the past decade.

note to west: thanks again for letting me be part of this and making this happen, this is definitely the best project i ever had.