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Christmas In London

December 25, 2014, 6:56 pm
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Another year, another Christmas in ol' Blighty. While most of my friends contribute to the desolation of London by driving or jetting home for two days of seasonal bingeing and parcel-passing in the name of the lord, for the foreigner with family an ocean away who don't celebrate 'Jesus day' (Godless heathens!) the options for whiling away Christmas Eve and the day itself are limited. Option  1: trawl the empty, eerily quiet streets of London imagining yourself the lone survivor in a 28 Days post-apocalytic scenario (did that in 2011). Two: keep busy with volunteer work (a personal tradition since 2013). Three: find an adopted family for the season (did that last year and the year before). And finally, four: combine forces with others who remain in the city with a most unorthodox Christmas evening where tradition begins with turkey and ends most abruptly in a most unfamily-friendly night of Cards Against Humanity, black comedy, and decidedly improper running commentary on all the Christmas TV specials.

This year Henry and I spent our first Christmas together starting at my Shoreditch place and ending at Sara's West London home. There were presents wrapped in brown paper and red string, homemade gingerbread and the most delightfully minty white chocolates, and heaps of turkey with lashings of stuffing but not a dusty behemoth of a Christmas tree with screaming petulant children dangling off the ornaments in sight. Oh, to be able to cackle and swear openly on Christmas Day! This is the dream, you guys. 


Mandatory Christmas pearls (vintage and Vivienne Westwood, naturally) and 'buy once then throw away' Christmas jumper from Primark (surprisingly tasteful) accessorised with signature red lips (too racy and 'too fast' for grandma).


In lieu of a Christmas tree (where would I put it and what would I do with it after? Feed it to the feral squirrels of East London?) I hastily grabbed a festive bouquet from the local Tesco (which I resisted decorating with Ferrero Rocher in place of baubles) 'cos Posh, Broke, & Bored, ya'll. My £5 supermarket Christmas bouquet juxtaposed against exclusive prints gifted by Louis Vuitton to their best and most loyal customers is true evidence of the contradictory nature of my blog title. I mean it when I say that I pair Primark with Chanel without irony.


A Christmas brunch of sorts that I pulled together with ingredients I hastily snatched off the supermarket shelves the night before. Only on Christmas day can champagne, cheese, and truffles constitute as a perfectly respectable meal.



How to fool your way into the title of domestic goddess: get a slab of camembert, cut an 'X' into the centre; fill with honey, sea salt, and chilli flakes, bake, and present the salty, spicy, sweet, crusty, gooey goodness on a marble cheese plate with the effortless flair of the 'dream girl' who says she walks everywhere in heels but really calls an Uber when noone is looking. Oh, who am I kidding, it's public knowledge that I never walk if I can 'Uber it' and I openly admit to wearing flats everywhere. There's a reason why I'm always the shortest woman in Mayfair. 

Christmas: you stay for the dinner but you come for the presents (don't pretend you're here to see pervy cousin Tarquin). If there's anything I like better than shopping for gifts (apart from receiving them) it's wrapping. But only because I'm quite good at it, some would even say I have a gift. *chortle*


...I may have unwrapped one of my gifts before Christmas Day itself, but in my defence, the present mummy sent me wasn't even labelled as a Christmas present. The card wasn't even signed. But I know my mother's handiwork when I see it!

Henry got me a grand total of nine presents so I thought it be nice if I reciprocated with many silly gifts as opposed to one big thing. Well, I guess I'll save the ostrich egg for next year...


...Henry's just started his own blog: Wandering Demon Boots and has renewed his interest in amateur photography. Supportive girlfriend that I am, I gifted him the tools of artistic expression: a laptop and a Canon telephoto lens.


Can I just say that shopping for your significant other is a covert mission of serious tactical complexity when you both spend every second of the day together? I've lost count of the number of times we've had to order the other out of the room during present-wrapping sessions. 

Henry knows I love mint green, travel, and stationery so he got me a few things that fit those bills...!


For the studio: a desk lamp in my favourite colour, stationery and candles.

For travel: flights to Riga, Latvia (I already knew about this weeks ago!) and the luggage I've been lusting over for ages, the retro-inspired Suit Suit 'Fabulous Fifties' cabin bag in mint green, all the way from Denmark!


My elegantly (ha!) restrained smile does not do justice to how much I LOVE THIS SUITCASE. Hello, it's mint green with white detail which will perfectly compliment my dream city car (the Nissan Figaro), the front is minimally elegant (none of that flowery twee nonsense), and it's 1950's inspired. How can anything be so perfect for me? 


Christmas carnage: the violent aftermath of a satisfying afternoon of unwrapping presents.


Happily, Henry is just as pleased with his Christmas presents from me as I am with mine from him!


I got him a telephoto lens so he could level up his wildlife photography. The first animal he practised on with the new lens was...Coolio the hamster.

Don't worry, Coolio, I didn't forget about you. Here's your own Christmas tree, and a special Christmas day lunch: fresh kale.




As the last of the winter daylight came to a close, I packed up a sack of Christmas presents for Sara and a bottle of Bolly for dinner at her's. 


After a thirty minute taxi ordeal from Shoreditch to the heart of West London we were greeted with a roaring fire, home made sweets, and the most unbelievably tantalising scent of roast wafting from the kitchen. 



Hello, we are the Foreign Legion of London's International Christmas Children. 








We whiled the rest of the evening away over copious consumption of champagne, cocktails, and all the festive trimmings of Christmas: turkey, stuffing, sweets, and Christmas TV specials before hauling our sleepy (but clearly not too sleepy to blog) selves back to Shoreditch. Thank you Sara and Sarah for hosting our lovely Christmas dinner, and to Roger and Vishal for a most entertaining evening of Frozen sing-a-longs and very adult commentary on Downton Abbey!

And here, my Christmas present to you: Henry, on Christmas eve, topless in the stables as he tends to his pony.


Well, that's next year's Christmas card sorted.

Seasons Greetings, and peace, love and light to all!

Now we just need to survive New Year's Eve...

x

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20 Random Facts about Me

December 26, 2014, 5:05 pm
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Back in September I may have copped out on the '20 Random Facts About Me' tag by volunteering my boyfriend as tribute (he had no say in it). Boo, hiss, spoilsport etc. but the surprising truth is that despite occupying an obnoxious amount of space on the internet with what is undoubtedly the most self-serving form of navel-gazing - that is, blogging - I'm actually quite a reserved person. Pick your rolling eyes up from the back of your skull - it's the God-honest truth, I swear it. Your disbelief is not unfounded, after all how can someone who has been eyeballed nearly 17 million times on Google+ (itself the most barren of social media deserts) profess themselves an introvert? That's the funny thing about people with selective attention whore tendencies - they love to share a very carefully curated version of their selves for validation and love from strangers while furiously hiding the more vulnerable, tender, and awkward aspects of their personalities which ironically is what makes them more human and therefore more endearing to a judgemental yet sympathetic public. 

So here I am, prostrating myself to you, with an offering of 20 Random Facts About me, myself, noone else, in the sincere and humble hope that perhaps you won't judge me too harshly for the lush you might think I am, and even see that behind the seemingly gilded veneer that I present on this blog - itself a performance piece of irony that has gone too far - and beneath all the fauxhemian affectations and trappings of a posh, broke, bored savant I am really just an ordinary person: warts, farts, and all. I'd ask you to be kind to me but then again it's my choice to write a blog, so I expect that dissent comes with the territory of putting yourself out there on the internet.

- 20 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME - 

1. I used to openly pour my heart out but now I’m much more reserved. This is something that evolved as I grew older and realised that most people don't care, they are just curious. Also, never tell anyone about your problems: 80% don't care, the other 20% are glad you have them. 
2. I am generous to a fault. The few people who I call my friends know that I am very giving, always giving everything I have even when I have nothing left for myself. Because of this, I often attract people who need help or want something, and they always take advantage of my naive, giving nature. 
3. Here's a contradiction - I am at once incredibly confident and extremely insecure. I believe myself to be a force of nature (as does Malaysia Tatler) but all it takes is one ill-placed remark to make me question all the good I have done. I can go, in a flash, from admiring myself in the mirror for hours to covering all the mirrors in my house so that I won't be confronted with the sight of myself. 
4. I get extremely affected by sad news and inevitably cry whenever I read horrible things in the paper. I believe it is this reason that I have for so long chosen to insulate myself in a happy little bubble where all is right with the world, where everyone is privileged and born with a silver spoon in their mouths, and nothing as harsh as reality can penetrate this purposely sweet delusion.
5. Despite horrible things that have happened to me that no woman should endure on the basis of being the weaker gender, I still believe I was born under a lucky star. Everyday I remind myself to be grateful for the many blessings in my life and to extend whatever help I can to those who are vulnerable, frightened, and in need of kindness.
Outtake from a shoot with Malaysia Tatler. It's a shame they didn't use this shot as it's my favourite - I really want a high resolution copy of this photo!

Now that we've got the more 'heavy' things out of the way, here are some light-hearted facts about me.

6. I taught myself to sing operatically - or at least to sound classically trained to the novice ear - and my crazy, secret dream is to perform a musical role to a West End audience.  
7. I can sing Let It Go in two languages - English and Malay. 
8. I’m good with languages - I speak English, Malay, and a bit of Mandarin and Cantonese. I can pick up the 'feel' of a language quite quickly and repeat foreign sentences in a passable accent. This is why people think I'm better at languages than I actually am! But it's not all superficial, I actually learn languages quite easily. I taught myself some Japanese just by watching subtitled anime. 
9. Speaking of anime...I was a mangaka (an artist of manga) and I drew Pokemon doujinshi (fan comics) as a teenager. With a group of similarly imaginative nerds, we contributed to our own spin-off of the Pokemon anime with a role-playing comic series. Naturally, my character was a baddie in Team Rocket and her team were the five 'Eeveelutions': Jolteon, Vaporeon, Flareon, Espeon, and Umbron. It may also amuse you to know that the first comic series I wrote and drew was about super-powered hamsters with human bodies and sci-fi costumes. The main character was Rootski Tootski, a golden Syrian hamster in silver knee high boots who could fly and absorb other superhero's powers just by touching them. Rootski Tootski was based on Rogue from X-Men. 
10. Another nerd alert - I love collecting stationery. In high school, I expressed myself past the restrictive uniform code with a collection of baby blue stationery. I had a huge pastel blue zippered bag full of baby blue erasers, pens, highlighters, pencils, rulers - you name it, I had it - in baby blue. 
11. I suffer from mild asthma and carry a Ventolin inhaler on me at all times.
12.  I have a sick obsession with tweezing stubble off men's faces. Nothing gives me a bigger thrill than whipping out my tweezers and plucking out those little suckers. I've begged Henry to let me pluck some of his facial stubble - I started negotiation at two hairs but he bargained it down to zero. Bah. I'll get you one day Henry! *twitches* 
13. I've travelled to Europe, North America, the Caribbean, Australiasia. I haven't yet traveled to South America, Africa, Antarctica, and the Middle East. My dream destinations are Peru, Trinidad & Tobago, and Bora Bora.
My Triptease profile, in which I review some of my favourite places in the world.

14. My pinky fingers curve inward - they look almost like devil's horns. Freak. 
15. I’m extremely superstitious despite not being very religious at all. Whenever I'm in Kuala Lumpur I consult my fortune teller and ask advice for the coming three months, which I am open-minded about (after all, nothing is set in stone - the cards are there, but it is up to you to deal them, or delay and reduce their presence in your life) and type up on a piece of paper to keep near me as a loose reference. 
16. I gained my hoarder tendencies from my late grandfather. The man's house in Bukit Timah, Singapore, was like a museum of dusty artefacts - there were vintage Jaguars rotting on the lawn (including a stunning XKSS which more or less fell apart by the time I inherited it, grrr), swords in the hallway, relics in the dining room...he had a great big front half of an airplane in the garden of one of his houses, which he turned into a whisky bar cum karaoke lounge. His 'if you love it, buy it and deal with it later' nature is very much alive in me and given the chance I'd turn my home into a museum of curiosities. In fact my artist studio is basically an impermanent collection of vintage military clothing as old as the 1890s... 
17. My favourite colours are mint green, taupe, rose gold, and dove grey (sorry baby blue, you've fallen out of favour with me). If it's mint green, I'll buy it - I have dresses and shoes in mint green that I'll never wear, a suitcase in mint green that I'm too afraid to check in for fear of scratching its lovely exterior, and an egg-shaped lip balm in...you guessed it, mint green. 
18. I could have studied design at Parsons or RISD but in the end I came to London to go to Central St Martins. My decision to chose CSM was ultimately swayed by a British Vogue article about John Galliano (back in 2005 when he was the darling of the fashion world) in which he describes the creative energy, resourcefulness, and bohemian spirit of what he truly believed to be the greatest gathering of the fashion world's brightest stars of the future. That the article was about the fashion course and made no mention of the graphic design course (which I enrolled in) was of no consequence to me. I was so desperate to taste that flavour of idealism and wonder that I picked CSM and thought - maybe some of that will rub off on me. Did it? I think it did, at least until I graduated   and became jaded by 'the real world'. 
19. When it comes to making art (or doing anything really) once I’m focused I’m unstoppable. My trouble is getting started - it takes me years to execute paintings because I'm so afraid of failure that I'd rather say 'what if I'm awful' rather than proof myself right. But once I pick up the brush, that's it, you won't hear from me for weeks until I'm finished.

Which brings me to my last point, about how I got into photography and blogging---

20. When I was 18, I was gifted a Canon prosumer camera. Inspired by some of my favourite self-portrait photographers on Deviant Art, I taught myself photography through trial and error. My photos were 'conceptual self portraits' of me drowning, hiding in shadows, expressing pain, rage, ecstasy etc. basically all the self-serving emo sh*t so typical of the Myspace era. I posted my self portraits on my now defunct blog 'Jasiminne the Penguin' which made me somewhat well-known when popular Malaysian blogger Kenny Sia mentioned my blog in 2006. Naturally, I got a mixed bag of attention: some vitriol (my first taste of the poison of internet trolls who hide behind the safety of anonymity and hateful comments) but mostly quite encouraging comments from people who enjoyed my photography. 
In a way I've been blogging since 2006, even though I stopped when I moved to London in 2009 and only took it up again two years ago. Despite this temporary absence from the interwebs, I never lost my love for writing and photography, and it is this love that drives me to share snippets of my live, my thoughts, and pictures of the things I find beautiful in the hope that you too will derive some pleasure from it. It is with this sincere desire to open a small part of my world that I accept that there will always be people who will dislike, loathe even, someone they know little about yet who are brave enough to want to try and share some of the beauty in their lives with a stranger reading another stranger's blog. 
So...those are my twenty random facts about me. I hope they haven't been too terribly taxing or insufferable to read, but you know what? I shared them with no expectations beyond hoping to make a person or two smile. I certainly hope you did. Have a beautiful day. x
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    (Belated) Boxing Day date: ZSL London Zoo and Smack Deli

    December 27, 2014, 5:20 pm
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    My Boxing Day mission was a bit of a fail - the grand plan was to wake up gloriously early (HA!), for Henry to take me to London Zoo on a date and then after braving the Boxing Day sale (why?) in Selfridges. Needless to say that an entire Christmas Day spend ingesting copious amounts of Bolly, eating my body weight in turkey and Sara's incredibly morish peppermint chocolates saw to it that my most ambitious feat on Boxing Day was waking up at midday to eat a pizza in bed only to fall asleep and wake up four hours later to a pitch-black sky as unfathomable as my post-Christmas shame. I call it Santavitis. Well, so much for that. Henry and I finally left the house yesterday out of contrition (also to put off cleaning up the Christmas chaos) and set out to get some fresh air. I even made up my face and wore matching socks, ya'll. My penance is real. 


    OUTFIT DEETS --- Knee high boots: Stuart Weitzman 5050s / Handbag: Hermès Herbag / Reversible scarf: Primark

    Can I just put it out there that the Herbag is not the ideal choice of arm candy for when you have to  handle a camera? Maybe it's the sugar comedown that's messed up my hand-eye coordination or maybe I'm not evolved enough to do two things at the same time but I swear that the Herbag is strictly a work bag - it fits A4 paper perfectly- but it is not a working bag. As in, do not carry it awkwardly on your wrist while trying to photograph fast-moving animals in low light. There is not enough auto-stabiliser in the world for that superhuman feat of balance.

    For Christmas I gifted Henry a telephoto lens - ideal for his love of wildlife photography - and he was keen to test his new piece of kit on the animals of London Zoo. I must say that the Canon 55-250mm lens works like a charm on creeping up on critters - we zoomed in on penguins, tigers, monkeys - and despite the poor winter light (it was after 2pm) the lens yielded crisp shots. Henry was thrilled with his new lens and even I had to snatch the camera out of his hands so that I could have a go. Here are some of my favourite shots, both by Henry and I...  










    Of all the creatures we met - giraffes, okapis, penguins, camels - my favourite is and always will be the majestic tiger. It's the animal whose year I was born in and I find the most beautiful of all the big cats. Those stripes; the silent, measured powerful stride, those arresting eyes...the lion may be the King of Cats but to me the tiger is Emperor. Perhaps the Land Of The Lions exhibit, which is coming to London Zoo in 2016, will convince me otherwise - and I look forward to seeing it, although not as much as I am to go on an African photography safari tour - but until then, my regent is the tiger.

    When we left the zoo it was dark, freezing, and I was feeling faint from having eaten nothing but a single chocolate bar (Snickers, if you were wondering). I was keen to go to nearby York & Albany but all the restaurants and my favourite Primrose Hill gastropubs weren't open till dinner - oh the woes of the hungry who refuse to dine at respectable hours. I'd planned to go to Selfridges despite all common sense, so we headed to Mayfair to try out the new sister restaurant of Burger & Lobster. 


    Just around the corner from Selfridges, Smack Deli is the latest offering from the people that brought us the three choice menu brilliance of Burger & Lobster. The good people at Smack Deli it seems know what they're good at - lobster - and offers variations of lobster rolls. The premise is quick, cheap, and cheerful - you order and pay for your food at the counter, pick it up, and you can either choose to takeaway or eat in the restaurant, perched on bar stools lined up along cafeteria style tables in a minimal, industrial chic setting.



    Henry plumped for the Happy Ending while I chose a California Roll, and we shared a lobster pot and courgette fries.


    Luxy mentioned that the courgette fries were too salty when she visited Smack Deli but I found them just right - crispy yet chewy, perfectly battered and fried, and the flavour just so. Perhaps Smack Deli have stepped up since her visit, and I am happy to say that they have. The lobster pot is the perfect side for lobster lovers who like their meat unadorned by sauces but for a squeeze of lemon and are too lazy to pick it out of the claws themselves. 


    Henry reported his Happy Ending as very fresh.


    My California Roll (I asked for no cucumber) was well done, the avocado mayo with lime a rich but refreshing compliment to the buttery brioche bun. Although it did feel strange to have anything as vaguely as healthy as lettuce and tomato in what I consider to be a 'guilty pleasure' food, I imagine that fans of lobster rolls will be pleased by the offerings of Smack Deli's menu.

    So that was how my delayed Boxing Day date played out. I had to give Selfridges a miss - the high street was teaming with shoppers and the whole thing was very much like a biblical plague (locusts come to mind) - and so here I am coming to the realisation that I don't want to buy anything badly enough to endure crowds, not when I can do everything online. In fact I've got a few Christmas presents winging themselves over to me in the coming week. And no, they're not belated, there are 12 days of Christmas so as long as my presents get to me before the 5th it's still a Christmas present, yes? x

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    2014 : A retrospective

    December 29, 2014, 7:46 pm
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    What a year it's been. 
    January seems like a lifetime away yet somehow 2014 has gone by in a flash. Where did the time go? And where did I go, or more importantly - where did I start and where am I now? If not for this blog and my chronic obsession with documenting my days I wouldn't remember a thing - and I am grateful for my compulsive desire to photograph, write about, blog, and share my memories on Posh, Broke, & Bored. I am especially humbled and grateful that you, dear reader, have joined me for the ride - through my moments of excessive narcissism, emotional weakness, and overbearing excitement for the world, the people, and the events that orbit around the gravitational pull that is my colourful, exasperatingly indulgent but always painfully sincere world. Thank you for being my satellite. I can't express in words how happy I am that this blog has introduced me to friends I can't imagine having lived without, to opportunities I'd never think would come my way, and especially the kindness of strangers who extend their kind words, warm wishes, and thoughts to me whether by comments (however sparse they might be, won't you speak up more?), tweets, and emails. Ah! Just thinking of you all and how you've accompanied me on my journey through the year is making me emotional. I shan't run the ire of the orchestra by wasting everyone's time by waffling on with some teary-eyed speech - "I'd like to thank the producers, the directors, and their dogs..." so please, let my photos do the talking, and enjoy the retrospective. Let's give 2014 one last look before we move onward to the brave new year. To infinity...and beyond! x

    JANUARY


    January was a good month for work - both lifestyle writing and art. I covered London Fashion Week for both Arcadia Online and Tresor Paris, got a taste of working in an artist studio in Bermondsey (which placed me to sample the flavours of Bermondsey Street which would be the catalyst of 'Bermondsey Bites'), and I worked on an artist collaboration with Moët & Chandon for a charity auction in Kuala Lumpur. 

    FEBRUARY

    This was the month of jet lag. After the Moët & Chandon auction, I flew from Kuala Lumpur to Borneo for Chinese New Year, then to Singapore for a day, dashed back to K.L, and then finally back to London to report on LFW for Tresor Paris. Did I say finally? Oops, my bad - right after arriving in London I flew over to Istanbul for the weekend for my cousin's wedding. 

    MARCH


    Nokia, one of my longstanding clients, sent me to the countryside to cook with Great British Chefs and two-Michelin star chef Josh Eggleton at Walnut Farm. I collaborated with Tresor Paris to create illustrations for their new watches, and proudly debuted them at their launch in the Bentley showroom, Mayfair. Afterward I nipped over to Malaysia again. This was a trip that didn't end well, with my beloved Leica stolen at Nuffnang's 007 Birthday party. I had to now rely on my new Lumix GF6, and thanks to the swivel screen, my selfie game seriously levelled up. Oh, and as London Fashion Week wasn't enough, I ended up at Mercedes-Benz Stylo Fashion Grand Prix in Kuala Lumpur. And ended up blogging about it. This time for free. And now I've been put off from fashion weeks.

    APRIL


    I recuperate at the lavish Taaras Villa in Redang, Malaysia, whiling away the week in the lap of turquoise watered luxury. Hennessy X.O sent me to Danga Bay, Johor, for their Hennessy X.O 'Appreciation Grows' annual dinner where we were embarked on a culinary journey of the world's flavours. 

    MAY





    I met Henry and my life has never been the same. He enlightened me by telling me the secrets of the cats, which he may one day divulge to the public, but for now we are inducting carefully selected members to the cult (who have to be approved by the cat council). Anyway. My Malaysia Tatler feature came out in the May issue, and I'm pleasantly surprised to see that I made the cover. Cass Art profiled me for a feature 'Illustrating Excellence' on their website. I took my favourite holiday yet - Cuba! Luxy, Ciara, and I spent ten surreal, wonderful, and eye-opening days in Havana and Cayo Largo Del Sur. 


    JUNE
    I started to get involved with Regimental Vintage - Henry's military vintage and accessories online shop - by directing the photography and eventually producing the photoshoots. Henry and I travelled to our first destination together - Rome& Vatican City - where we met the Pope (sort of) and I wandered the Eternal City in search for inspiration for my next illustration project...

    JULY


    ...'An Illustrated Roman Holiday' inspired by Roman Holiday, commissioned by The House of Peroni! It was a challenge to say the least, and my many tears, tantrums, and hysterics throughout proved Henry's patience and level-headedness. To celebrate, Henry and I took a holiday in Lisbon.

    AUGUST


    The warm (by English standards) summer days saw myself spending more time in the country. Henry and I picnicked with The Eccentrics at Fawley Hill and he took us camping at Hadleigh castle for my birthday.



    I discovered Well & Bucket which was the beginning of a longstanding love affair with their lobster roll - still my favourite lobster brioche ever, and in my opinion the best in London - and their crab cheese fries.

    SEPTEMBER


    A nasty little reprobate at the train station got drunk, started threatening people, and attacked Henry who showed remarkable restrain in defending himself and keeping the situation under control. It was a very dramatic day and you can read about it here. Thankfully the rest of the month was a far more refined affair with us putting on our glad rags for the Country Life Royal Reception Ball at The Natural History Museum, and scrubbing up to see Rufus Wainwright at BBC Proms. Oh, and Top 10 Asia named me as one of their 10 Most Inspiring Female Personalities.

    OCTOBER


    I finally got my own artist's studio - proper blog post to come! - and illustrated the Twin Geeks banner for Sara's new Youtube channel. I brought Henry to Malaysia and while it felt surreal at first, having my two worlds (London and Kuala Lumpur) meet, we quickly eased into the languid pace of Malaysia of eating, sight-seeing, and driving. I showed him the world's oldest rainforest at Taman Negara (National Park) where he cuddled a wild Malayan Tapir, we met the butterflies and birds of Kuala Lumpur, sweltered in the heat of former Dutch quarters of Malacca, and scaled the concrete steps into the limestone chambers of Batu Caves. T'was quite the adventure indeed, and I enjoyed playing tour guide as much as being tourist in my own country. Henry got quite the tan. I upgraded my trusty old Canon 450D to a Canon 600D and started taking photography a bit more seriously, which I hope you've noticed in my recent photographs. With better tools, my enthusiasm for being the photographer of Regimental Vintage increased tenfold and I became even more involved with Henry's brand - I'm now the co-owner of Regimental Vintage! - and together we source, direct, photograph, and basically run the shop. 


    NOVEMBER


    Cinderella goes to the ball! The Malaysia Tatler Ball, that is - only the social event of the year. Henry loved every moment of it, especially being encouraged to smoke cigars in the ballroom. Oh, and I got fat - I came to the shocking realisation that I'd gained 10kg since May. I consoled myself by redecorating my London bedroom and living room.

    DECEMBER

    I held my first blog giveaway just in time for Christmas - it felt good playing 'Santa', that is selective Santa. I realised how much of a thrill I get from gifting people and wrapping presents! I was sad that I don't celebrate Christmas until Henry declared that we would do it his way. We ended up gifting each other something like 14 presents between the both of us, and spent Christmas evening at Sara's. Before Christmas we both travelled to Transylvania, Romania, in search of Dracula. We didn't find the head vampire but I'm certain it was one of his vampire bat cronies that stole my brand new iPhone 6. Bah! Should've carried more garlic. Anyway, I replaced my iPhone 6 and I finally learnt to buy insurance. 

    *takes a deep breath* Well, that's my 2014 - 365 days summed up in one blog post. To say that it's been one heck of a year is an understatement. I'd never have dreamt that things would've turned out the way they had this year, and in retrospect, a lot has happened that has changed me for better and for worse. Would I have done anything differently? Yes, in hindsight, but I'm not one to try and change the past, especially knowing that it's also the badness and the sadness that makes you who you are, not just the easy times. After all smooth sailing never made a good sailor. Of course I may have glossed over (more like not mentioned at all) the tears, the pain, the misery *plays the world's smallest violin* of 2014 but I'm choosing to remember it for all the happiness, excitement, and joy it brought me. And now that I've turned around, looked back at the reel, and back to you again, dear audience, I say - let us take a final bow, close the curtain on 2014, wait for intermission (New Year's Eve) and welcome our next act - 2015.


    Happy Rest of 2014. Here's to an even better and brighter year. xx
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    T w e n t y f i f t e e n - 15 things for 2015

    December 31, 2014, 4:00 pm
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    Five, four, three, two, one...Happy New Year!

    I scheduled this post to publish itself at midnight - the first second of 2015! By the time this goes live I'll be teetering tipsily with a glass of kir royal at the Dark Circus Party - the less hardcore sister of Torture Garden - beneath the 1920s art deco ceiling of The Grand Hall, and quite possibly swinging from the chandelier. Hello, drunk Jasiminne, this is sober Jasiminne sending you a message from the past - remember to stay hydrated and please, please, take off your makeup before you fall into bed. You'll thank me in the morning. You're welcome. Sober Jasiminne, out.

    In anticipation of that dazzling optimism, new year-idealism, and hungover contrition that follows the celebratory ushering in of a spanking new year (You guys in the UK think you've got it bad? I have to do this all over again in February for Chinese New Year. Goodbye liver) I've put together a list of 15 things for 2015. I refuse to call them 'resolutions' - those are far too easy to underachieve and by the second half of the year always results in a undercurrent of shame that dogs you all the way through to Christmas - these are just achievable goals for myself, and lifestyle changes and good habits I want to instil in myself for life, not just for the new year. 


    - 15 THINGS FOR 2015 -
    1. Overhaul my figure by Spring. I'm going to lose 10kg (1½ stone, 22 lbs) by 20th March - the day of Spring Equinox - and get back the figure I had when I was 19. You'll see. *cryptic* 
    2. Regimental Vintage brick & mortar shop. Henry and I are going to make the leap from online shop to physical shop - we're aiming for March -  as we have too much beautiful things to sell just on ASOS. With the volume of clothes and accessories we have
    it's impossible to photograph and list everything, and besides Henry and I have a vision that we can't wait to share with you all! *wriggles in glee*
    3. Improve my photography skills. I'm getting a new portrait lens - the 85mm 1.8 which is a significant upgrade from the 50mm I've had for years - and I'm looking forward to putting it to good use, so expect a marked improvement in my photography.
    4. Use more graphic design in my blog posts. I have a BA in graphic design which I've never really applied to my work. Inspired by the layouts on Park & Cube and the myriad of blogs I've discovered via Bloglovin - I've just joined, follow me! - I'm going to utilise the little I've retained from my years in St Martins and use more graphics on Posh, Broke, & Bored.
    5. Try my hand at videos and maybe even vlogging. Believe it or not I was a bit of a filmmaking whiz kid during my art school days - stop motion animation, film, you name it - and for some reason using Final Cut Pro comes more naturally to me than iMovie. With bloggers transitioning to YouTube it makes sense that I try my hand at video blogging - as awkward-sounding as I am on tape! - and at least try and capture some of my adventures on film.
    6. Travel. These years destinations are Riga, St Petersburg, and Moscow. To do on my bucket list for 2015 is another Carribbean destination *nudge nudge, Luxy!* and I definitely want to go to Santorini. 
    7. Be more patient, even-tempered, and not take the ones I love for granted. Something I've been working on for the last 20 or so years. 
    8. Be more zen. Or specifically, stop giving a damn. I refuse to stop trying to save damsels (also applicable to men) who love their distress and not let the things they do (for attention or otherwise) bother me. 
    9. Write daily (and nightly) in my gratitude book. I have a little grey book, gifted by Dior, that I've stuck my business card onto to cover the logo in a bid to make it more personal. In it, I write my affirmations, the things I'm grateful for, and the things I'm wishing for. At the moment I only use it whenever I want something - the Universe is my genie - but I want to make it a habit to write everyday and night to remind myself of my dreams, goals, and blessings. 
    10. See that Coolio lives another year. Last October, he reached the end of his natural lifespan of 2 years but I’m determined he’ll live to see his third birthday. Come on, Coolio! *puts vitamin drops in his water* 
    11. Get back into art and illustration. My last project was back in October and I'm ashamed to say that my artistic work has taken a backseat because I've been so enthusiastic about Regimental Vintage. That artist studio I got in October? I haven't made anything in it apart from an Anaconda dance tribute video which will never see the light of day.
    11.5 Oh, and I need to get cracking on my solo show and make paintings to fill it with. 
    12. Scale down my studio to half the size. My artist studio, I just realised, is at least two times too big for my needs. Boohoo, privileged fauxhemian middle-class problems etc. but it's the truth - as it was my first ever artist studio that I could truly call my own, I may have gotten over excited and overestimated my needs. Either I sublet my current studio to share with another artist (interested? email me jasiminne (at) gmail.com) or I find a smaller one.
    13. Decorate the rest of my apartment. First on the agenda is the hallway.  
    14. Redo my bedroom to a scheme of white, grey, mint, gold. I'm so excited for this, I've made a collage (below) of the colour scheme and the furniture/accessories I'm going to fill my bedroom with!
    15. Move my office from the artist studio into my bedroom so that I’ll be inspired to blog and work the moment I wake up.  At the moment my studio is a huge, empty space with two desks: one pristine white one for 'office work' (which I still do at home on my dining table anyway) and another paint-stained one for 'art work'. Needless to say, travelling to South London to blog in the studio is an impractical endeavour that hardly justifies the effort when I'd much rather do 'desk work' from the comfort of my home. I'm going to combine the redecorating of my bedroom with my new home office to produce this:  
    Shopping list: 
    Headphones | Camera | Bed | Bluetooth speaker | Candle | Lamp | iMac | Chair | Desk | 2015 diary | Notebook


    So these are my fifteen things for 2015. I can't wait to start cracking - not today, obviously (I've already made a hangover kit for the inevitable post NYE comedown) but as soon as this weekend - and start the new year on a productive, optimistic, high!

    Happy 2015, ya'll!

    x
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    Wanderlustin' : my 2015 travel destinations, dream destinations, & travel blogs you must follow

    January 1, 2015, 6:07 pm
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    Here are five words in five languages that sum up how I feel right now -
    Wanderlust (English): the irresistible, uncurable desire to travel or wander   
    Fernweh (German): "farsickness", being homesick for a place you've never been 
    Resfeber (Swedish): the restless race of the traveller’s heart before the journey begins, when anxiety and anticipation are tangled together 
    Vagary (Latin): an unpredictable instance, a wandering journey; a whimsical, wild or unusualidea, desire, or action
    Saudade (Portugese): “the love that remains”, a nostalgic longing to be near again to something that is distant
    One of my 15 things for 2015  is to travel - to continents I've yet to see, countries I've dreamt of for as long as I can remember, to destinations off the beaten path and to places that my heart yearns for. What is it about the new year that makes us fantasise about holidays, pin our dream destinations, and make a travel bucket list? Maybe it's the optimistism of the start of a new year or it's the bitter cold of winter (for Londoners). Indeed, both Luxy and Angie (two of my favourite, fabulous bloggers) feel the same way - Luxy's even made a Facebook page for UK travel bloggers -  and they've just blogged about their travel wishes and wanderlust lists for 2015. I thought I'd jump on the blogging bandwagon and share with you my 2015 travel plans, dream destinations, and also travel blogs that I've just discovered that you might like to follow.

    - TRAVEL DESTINATIONS FOR 2015 - 

    January (confirmed) : RIGA, LATVIA 

    Source: Pinterest
    For Christmas, Henry surprised (OK it wasn't that much of a surprise, I was in on it!) me with flights to Riga, the 2014 European capital of culture (don't you dare say 'Oh that's so last year...'). We're looking forward to the art nouveau district, sipping Black Balsam cocktails, Swan Lake at the Latvian National Opera, and...firing AK47s at the city shooting range. 

    February (confirmed) : BORNEO & KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA 

    Source: The Borneo Project
    Chinese New Year in 2015 falls in February, and every year I travel to my mother's hometown in Borneo. I've been to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre as a child and was delighted by the 60 to 80 orangutans wandering freely in the reserve. I thought Henry might enjoy it too, budding wildlife photographer that he is (he loved photographing critters when we were in Malaysia so I gifted him a telephoto lens for Christmas) and he's never been to Borneo, so stopping over to Sepilok after Chinese New Year would be an amazing opportunity for him to observe these gentle, fascinating creatures and the untamed beauty of Borneo.

    Source: Primatology

    April (in the works) : MARRAKECH DESERT TOUR, MOROCCO 

    Source: Morocco Excursions
    Roaming across deserts on camels and in jeeps, crossing the sand dunes, sleeping in riads and under the desert sky along the way...what could be more romantic and a more perfect one-year anniversary holiday? It's only January but I'm already perusing Morocco Excursions and dreaming up the perfect desert getaway...

    May (in the works) : THE CARRIBEAN 

    Source: One World 365
    Luxy wants to sail around St Vincents and the Grenadines, I've always wanted to visit Trinidad and Tobago, and we've been missing Cuba ever since we left last year...this one is a no-brainer. We could sail around the islands, laze on the beaches, and when we're ready to escape the resorts we could volunteer with One World 365 with their rewarding community and conservation projects and do something beneficial to local people, animals and the environment. 

    August (confirmed): ST PETERSBURG & MOSCOW, RUSSIA 

    Sources: Guidora, Tony Gro, and Tim Dutton
    Source: Burghess Yachts
    This year my family are actually inviting me to go on holiday with them (laugh all you want). because the trip falls on my birth month! Mummy wants to go to Russia and has left me with the task of organising St Petersburg and Russia for my birthday I'm so excited! The architecture! The history! The military clothing I could buy for Regimental Vintage! I did want to go on a Russian river cruise with Viking Cruises but as you need at least 10 days to truly do it properly (and time is of the essence, the most we have is a week) my tale of two cities will have to be on foot. Perhaps I could return to Moscow on a nostalgic train journey with  the Trans-Siberian express from London via Moscow to Ulan Bator in Mongolia, Beijing, and finally in Manchuria.

    September (in the works): SANTORINI, GREECE 

    Need I say more?

    Source: Wallpaper Up



    - - - - 
    - DREAM DESTINATIONS - 

    MALDIVES

    Source: The Luxe Nomad
    BORA BORA

    Source: Hilton Bora Bora
    The perfect honeymoon destination. Now all I have to do is...get married.

    MACHU PICCU, PERU

    Source: Alliance Abroad
    Source: Ron Rosenstock
    Last year, my parents went on a tour of South America without me *cries* but nevermind, I'll have my own Machu Piccu adventure! 

    AFRICAN SAFARI

    I've always wanted to shoot (with a camera, don't get any funny ideas) Africa's noble, exotic, and beautiful wildlife. And possibly hold up a lion cub and sing Circle of Life to an enraptured audience of zebra, gazelle, and elephants. Naaaantsingonyama!!!! 

    Source: PixGood
    - - - - -

    - TRAVEL BLOGS I'M LOVING - 


    Let's start with the most obvious one: Messy Nessy Chic. Messy Nessy Chic blogs on the offbeat, the unique, and the chic with posts of strange, surreal, and fascinating places with a good dose of history and enchanting photos.  

    Fernwehosophy combines 'Fernweh' (the German word for wanderlust) with philosophy to create this beauty of a travel blog.  Dreamy travel photography with elegant typography - even if you can't read German, the photography is enough to make you lose an entire afternoon on this blog.

    Angie, a fabulous Londoner takes us through her foodie adventures, life in London, and glamourous travels across the world on her blog SilverSpoon London. If it's luxurious, decadent, and enriching,  Angie will be there, and you can bet she'll blog about it for us to lust over. I'm so jealous of her upcoming trip to Singita Boulders, South Africa! This is luxury lifestyle blogging at its best.

    Tiffany, the 'digital nomad' behind World Meets Girl  is living the dream - after a fateful journey through Africa she renewed her passport, sold all her 'junk', and now she lives out of her suitcases as she travels across the world photographing her adventures from dogsledding in Canada to hosting photography tours in Peru (I want in!).

    Triptease is a travel community for people to share their travel tips in little snippets or 'teases'. This London-based app makes it easy for everyone - professional travel writers, bloggers, or the non-writer who just loves sharing wonderful things - to write concise reviews with a choice of simple, slick layouts that look straight out of the pages of a glossy magazine. It's like Facebook for travel destinations. If you're on Triptease, follow me! I'd love to see what recommendations you have for me, I'm always up for a tease. 

    Postcards From Rachel is a lovely new find I discovered via Bloglovin'. I haven't yet had the time to sit down and properly sink my teeth into this blog - is a collection of Rachel and her husband's travels, expat stories, and more - but so far I'm loving her blog post on Cusco, Peru and her tips for travelling on European budget airlines. 

    Bonus: Wandering Demon Boots. So I might have given Henry the 'blogging bug' - he's started his very own blog - of his travels and of weird, unusual destinations. He's new to the game and is starting to get the hang of blogging, and I'm sure he'd appreciate it if you leave him some feedback to encourage him. Henry has a wonderfully imaginative, surreal, and colourful outlook on life - combined with his love of adventure, childlike wonder, and affinity with animals you can expect a blog full of exotic creatures, a collection of cat photos from around the world, and happy eggs (he added that last bit). Oh, and now he's just wandered off sighing dreamily: "I wish I was an egg'. Don't we all? Follow Henry on Instagram (@regi_mental) for beautiful places, beautiful girls, and beautiful animals.

    So these are my travel destinations for 2015, my dream destinations, and the latest travel blogs that I've added to my reading list. Do you have a travel blog I could read, or any blogs you could recommend I follow on Bloglovin'? Tell me in the comments! And also follow me on Bloglovin' - I'm late to the party but whoa, what a party it is!

    x


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    Hello, darkness! Shooting in low light

    January 4, 2015, 4:00 pm
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    Today's post addresses a common conundrum that has plagued many a snap happy blogger - how to shoot crisp, clear photos in low light without using a flash. You know the story: you're at a Instagram popular-page pretty event, restaurant, or date, the setting of which is so painfully photogenic that it simply begs to be have its photo taken. Problem: the duskily-lit venue in all its incandescent glow, so ambient in real life, shows up in photos as a dark blob with blurry pinpricks of light, faceless blurs for people, and sometimes colourful streaks of God knows what (very interesting if you're at a rave, but not quite when you're trying to capture a classier scene). Do you: a) pop the camera flash, taking photos that look 'flat' and give the people in them rabid-animal red eyes while possibly irking all else present in the room or b) struggle to hold your camera still (possibly dislocating a rib while holding your breath to keep your hands steady) and despite six hundred attempts still end up with blurry, out of focus shots? It was the latter that I used to struggle with (I have the sore ribs to prove it) until I finally figured out the easy way to take clear photos in dark settings without having to use that obnoxious pop-up flash on my camera. This way, I get clear shots of my subjects (my cocktail, my friends, my Celine purse *ahem*) without sacrificing clarity nor the atmospheric ambience of my softly-lit surroundings. How? Read on...

    1. THE LENS

    You don't need an expensive camera or lens

    I see a lot of novice bloggers inspired by their heroes, spending serious money on a Canon 5D or 7D in the hope that it'll make their photography on par. The thing is, it's not about the camera, it's more about the lens or more specifically your understanding of the best results you can get out of it. You don’t need a 5D or 7D if you know what you’re doing - you can take good pics on an entry level DSLR. I myself shoot for Regimental Vintage (often in awful natural light, thank you London!) with a Canon 600D using a set of prime lenses.

    For shooting in low light, I recommend using a portrait lens or a prime lens. For my Canon, I have: EF 24 mm f/2.8, EF 50mm f/1.4 portrait lens, and I'm still waiting to received my upgrade: the EF 85mm f/1.8. Why a portrait or prime lens? Simple, it's all about the aperture. The smaller the aperture, the more light the lens lets in, meaning you don't have to compensate as much with ISO (too high ISO = too much noise) or a lower shutter speed (are you as still as a tripod? No one is). Also, these lenses are lightweight, and prime lenses have a 'fixed shape'' (the can't be extended to zoom in) and so they fit in handbags more easily.


    Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens | Canon 85mm f/1.8 lens | Canon 85mm f/1.2 lens | Canon 50 mm f/1.4 lens 

    Started from the bottom now we here...started from the bottom now my whole team here. 

    I started with Lambrini, graduated to Prosecco, and am eagerly dreaming of the day when I deserve champagne.


    2. SETTING THE SCENE : SHOOTING

    Here's how I cheat my way into looking like a professional photographer. (You didn't think I shot in manual, did you? Have you learnt nothing about me?)

    a) Settings cheat sheet (easy peasy not so sleazy)
    ✦ I change my settings to Aperture Priority mode (AP). 
    ✦ I know many photographers suggest that you shoot in RAW, but I've never bothered. 
    ✦ Use the lowest aperture. I prefer f/1.8, no more than f/ 2.5. 
    ✦ Use manual focus if you can, but if you use autofocus like me, switch on your auto stabiliser. 
    ✦ Don’t be afraid to switch focus points - play around with spot metering. Your camera will yield more precise results by focusing all it's crispness on a tiny area of the frame, giving you a clear shot of your subject with a soft-focus background. Ambience, baby.   
    ✦ Use automatic ISO until you get hang of ISO. Never go higher than ISO 1600 unless you want your photos to be nosier than a gathering of horny crickets. 
    ✦ Underexpose slightly. Your camera can get confused in a dim place with many light sources, resulting in 'blown out' brighter spots. I find that lowering the exposure to -1 EV makes for more balanced lighting without overexposing the brightest points in the photo. 
    ✦ White balance. In many dimly lit settings, photos tend to come out looking more orange than the fillies at Aintree. To compensate, play around with your white balance. I myself embrace the Tango, but you can set your white balance to 'tungsten' to counteract the Oompa Loompa effect. 
    Allow me to demonstrate. 

    All these photos were shot on a Canon 450D with a Canon EF Lens (24 mm, f/2.8) using Aperture Priority mode (AP), f2.8, ISO 1600, -1.3 EV. 

    The setting: Looking Glass cocktail club on Hackney Road, East London. Apt given the name of the bar and this blog post...
    From the website: Looking Glass Cocktail Club is a mystical and adventurous world in its own right (tipping hats to Lewis Carroll's parallel universes and looking glasses). Based at the Columbia Road end of Hackney Road, in and amongst the coolest places in London, there lies the realisation of their dream cocktail club with a speak-easy vibe and the most unexpented events.

    The cocktail that killed me (I had to be propped up all the way home): a bellini.

    b) Use an external light source

    No, not your camera flash! I'm talking about utilising whatever sources of light you have around you. A candle on your table nudged closer to that cocktail you're snapping, the glow off your iPhone (true story), or the torch on your iPhone which is what I use for shooting people. Far less obtrusive than a camera flash going off at intervals like lightning.

    My first cocktail: Breakfast In Bermuda. A creamy concoction of Goslings rum shaken with crème de cassis, ruby port, egg yolk, Solerno and lime sherbet; served in a coupette.
     

    Hi mum, I'm sorry (not) that I stole your Celine handbag. (I bet you didn't even notice)
    My willing test subject - my long-suffering boyfriend Henry.
    With our 'daughter' Priska, whose birthday we were celebrating on this joyous occasion.

    3. THE EDIT

    a) Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop.

    Before. What secrets lies in these shadows?
    Some photography purists may disagree but I believe that post-processing plays an important part in photography. 

    ✦ If your photo is too dark and lacking detail, try adjusting the tonal width using Shadows/Highlights to 'reveal' the detail in the shadows. (Image > adjustments > Shadows/Highlights) Be careful not to overdo it - too much Shadows/Highlights can produce a strange 'embossed' effect on objects and even worse a 'fake tan gone wrong' on most skin tones.

    ✦  Play around with curves and brightness/contrast. 

    ✦ If you hate the colours, why not turn your photo into a monochrome masterpiece? How I do it: Go to Image > Mode > and select Grayscale. Play around with curves, adjust the contrast till you're satisfied, maybe  add some film grain (Filter > Artistic > Film Grain) if you like the 'journalistic' look. Don't forget to change it back to RGB (CMYK if you're printing).

    Mid-editing...
    After. Hello brick wall, I see you!

    b) Smartphone editing: Instagram and VSCO cam filters

    If all else fails, and you hate the photo quality but like the photo itself, edit the photo on Instagram or VSCO cam. Embrace the lo-fi!




    FINALLY...

    Don’t be disheartened - you’ll only get better with practise. Bring your DSLR out with you wherever you go - please insure your lenses and camera! - and get snap happy. Take every opportunity you can to improve your photography skill (perhaps not at dinner on a first date, that's just impolite), especially at parties - your friends will love you for having lots of photos of them (that is, if they're the snap happy sort!) for memories, keepsake, and Facebook.

    This blog post is not sponsored by Canon (although it should be as I have been a loyal customer for years), Instagram (ditto), VSCO cam, nor Looking Glass. This blog post however owes it thanks to Jesse for its existence: it was after I deftly showed her how to make the most of her portrait lens by shooting Christmas cocktails at Four Sisters in Islington that she suggested I share my easy cheat sheet of tips on taking photos in low light. 

    If photography is your thing, why not check out Regimental Vintage? Most of the photography for mine and Henry's online shop is by myself. Also, check out my travel blog posts, that's where I tend to make the most effort with my photography. Lastly, if you're on Bloglovin, follow me! I love to see my readers' blogs and my reading list in in desperate need of new blogs to follow! 

    Good luck, ya'll, and keep shooting for the stars (hehe)! x

    Let's get social: Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin | Google+ 
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    Tweedledee, Tweedledum.

    January 6, 2015, 4:00 pm
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    No more excuses, it's time to get back to work. Henry and I have used up our Christmas-New Year allowance of festive indolence - the last photoshoot we did for Regimental Vintage was before Christmas, lazy even by my standards - so we decided it's time to get cracking on photographing and listing our beautiful stock of vintage designer and military clothing for our online shop. These threads aren't going to sell themselves from the murky, unseen depths of my studio, so out to the fresh country air they went. I jest - while the setting of these photos are decidedly as rustic as the Scottish Isles that these Harris Tweeds come from, the photoshoot was not in the countryside but actually in the city. A brisk walk from Shoreditch and we found ourselves in Haggerston Park in the London Borough of Hackney.





    HAGGERSTON PARK
    A small, luxuriant nature reserve whose formal landscaped gardens could very well be mistaken for rolling countryside landscape, Green Flag award-winning Haggerston Park was born in the ‘50s on the site of a former brewery, derelict housing, a tile manufacturer, and the old Shoreditch gasworks. Haggerston Park sees hordes of children visiting Hackney City Farm in the south of the park every weekend, yummy mummies spilling over from the Sunday flower market on Columbia Road into Frizzante cafe, teenagers and hipsters with quarter-life crises biking and skating on the slopes of the BMX and skate park, and volunteers getting elbow-deep in the the Haggerston Park community orchard and food growing garden. The call of the park was heard even from Hollywood - in 1992, Michael Jackson landed at Haggerston Park in a helicopter with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse where he visited the children at the nearby then children's hospital Queen Elizabeth Hospital for Children (now being redeveloped into fancy apartments Mettle & Poise while retaining the former hospital’s original Victorian facade).







    HARRIS TWEED

    Harris Tweed has always been and always will be a favourite of Henry's and is a bestseller of our boutique Regimental Vintage. Embraced by royalty, landed gentry, Hollywood icons, and the finest couturiers alike the humble Harris Tweed was born in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The islanders of Lewis, Harris, Uist and Barra, long known for the excellence of their weaving, produce this luxury cloth entirely by hand. In 1846 Lady Dunmore chose to have the Dunmore clan tartan replicated by Harris Weavers in tweed and soon after devoted much time and effort to marketing the tweed to her wealthy friends further afield. The Harris Tweed industry took off and steps were taken to protect the good name of Harris Tweed from imitations from elsewhere seeking to cash in on the island’s success story. A system was introduced whereby the tweed was inspected and, if passed, given a certifying stamp which would give confidence to the trade and public. A company was formed under the title The Harris Tweed Association Limited to ensure the grant of a new trademark and an application was filed to register the well-known Harris Tweed Orb and Maltese Cross with the words Harris Tweed underneath. This Certification Mark was granted in 1909, registered in 1910 and stamping began in 1911.  
    Now, Harris Tweed is a wardrobe staple, a must-have item for discerning customers across the globe. In its rise to prominence, Harris Tweed scaled Everest and graced the Silver Screen, sailed the Seven Seas and showed off on red carpets and catwalks. By the middle of the 20th century the Clo Mor (Gaelic for Big Cloth) had secured its status as a true and timeless classic textile. Even after a century of change and challenge, Harris Tweed rises above fad and fashion. Its endurance and longevity is a testament to the age-old skills of the artisans passed on from one generation to the next, to the exacting standard of Harris Tweed, enshrined in law and forever meeting the needs of those who seek a luxury fabric, longevity and value, style and timeless quality. (source)

    Regimental Vintage are thrilled to include garments - jackets, blazers, and caps - made from a cloth of such pedigree in our shop. 



    Thank you, Harris Tweed, for bringing such quality and beauty in my life and in my shop. Thank you, Haggerston Park, for giving me such a green oasis to practise my photography in. And finally, thank you and lots of love to Henry for letting me paint your nails festive gold for Christmas, the remnants of which you can just about see in these pictures. x

    Let's get social: Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin | Google+ 
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    Tweet & Eat

    January 7, 2015, 4:27 pm
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    For the obsessive-compulsive documenter of all things photogenic and delicious - the two must go hand in hand! - there is nothing more welcoming than dining with your own tribe - that is, bloggers - where you can all tweet and eat throughout your meal without any judgement. Well, there is one other thing - to do all of the above at an establishment that actively encourages such interaction. DF/ Mexico is such a place. Ever since their arrival to Brick Lane, East London last summer I have been actively engaging DF/ Mexico in some serious Twitter banter. Bloomzy too fell for their flirtatious charms - all 140 characters of it - and so it was at our favourite Mexican diner that she organised a catch-up dinner for us blogging types. Question: What is a collective noun for bloggers? Answer: Hashtag. A hashtag of bloggers. Certified and authenticated by yours truly. 


    Bloomzy's Olympus Pen which I love for its vintage-style looks. I'd love one in taupe and white. Is it too late to write to Santa?

    Frozen margaritas - raspberry, hibiscus, and passionfruit - a round of which DF/ Mexico kindly sent out for us. Tweeting is tiring, thirsty work.

    There's something fishy about Sara's earrings...


    Bloggers at work - Bloomzy and Honey. Tirelessly photographing London's best eats so you don't have to.




      
    For a more comprehensive review of DF/Mexico read my blog post about them, here.

    I'm slightly tipsy and may have sustained blogging-related injuries at dinner - first, from getting a splinter in my back when I skedaddled up the wooden booth to photograph our dishes; second, pulled my shoulder from strenuous social media activity (ie. excessive tweeting, the new tennis elbow); and third, I threw my back out while throwing some serious 'fashion blogger' shapes when taking outfit of the day photos. The latter was for naught, no amount of 'finding the light' and tippy toes will ever find me in favour of Tyra - some people are better behind the camera than in front of it (as evidenced by yours truly's stunning photos of Henry further contrasted by derpy shots of...me).


    Wearing a poncho because post-Christmas food baby, ya'll.

    Thank you ladies for supplying the laughs - I couldn't ask for better company and conversation - and DF/Mexico for supplying the noms, the Twitter banter, and the frozen margaritas. x 
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    Winter White & Fashion Blogs I Love

    January 8, 2015, 4:57 pm
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    I have a strange relationship with fashion, or rather the concept of fashion.

    While the observation of prevailing sartorial choices makes for pleasing visual stimulation, insight to the collective consciousness of a certain group of people, and most of all a powerful, personal tool for self-expression; the very notion of making decisive choices about the clothes on my back that I know will make the first and possibly most distinctive impression about myself as an individual is a daunting, if not terrifying prospect that plagues my already stymied before-I-leave-the-house routine: ankle-breaking go-getter heels or scuffed but comfortable biker boots? Do I match my lipstick to my handbag and should I wear a hat? Touch up the chipped polish on my nails or pray that I won't have to shake hands with anybody? No wonder I'd much rather work from home - behind the safety of a Skype conference call nobody can see that you're wearing Simpsons pyjama bottoms with toesies last manicured from the day before the Tatler ball stuffed in matching Homer Simpsons house slippers. 

    Just so we're clear - I am as transparent as my policy on blog disclosure - I am not the most fashionable person. I sort-of-know what looks good on me (right now it's anything that hides my post-Christmas thighs) but I still sometimes wilfully ignore that with the occasional purchase of a style that I know won't suit me (not to self, side boob is not a elegant look when you're over a D cup). But mostly when it comes to seasonal shopping for clothes I stick to one silhouette and one colour palette. How do I not run out of things to wear? Here's my confession: most of the time I'm an unrecognisable slob (see paragraph about working from home in Simpsons merchandise) and I only pull out the 'socially acceptable' threads for when I need to dress to impress. Occasions like these are hard to come by so when I do make an effort, you can be damn sure I'll have the camera on hand to record it for posterity. Behold, my winter uniform:





    Why am I getting some serious Michael Jackson vibes...anyway, in homage to Coolio, my gracefully-aging winter white dwarf hamster, this season's uniform is all about whites and nudes. For fear of my pasty, sun-deprived complexion going incognito against my light dress palate I never go without red lipstick, the redness of which will hopefully tell drivers to brake when I absentmindedly stroll into moving traffic, and if I really need to stop traffic, my red Sofia Coppola to match. These reds are the only thing stopping me from looking like a ghost, or someone's white sheets that've strayed from their washing line.  

    I doubt you'll get many fashion posts out of me until I go away for the winter at the end of this month (one month in Asia, finally, some Vitamin D!) so for the sake of diversity I thought I'd share with you some blogs that are much better at this whole business of looking fashionable and such.

    - FASHION BLOGS I LOVE -


    Let's start with the Londoners. 


    SHINI PARK, PARK & CUBE
    www.parkandcube.com

    Shini Park is the humorous, self-deprecating petit rebelle voice; the creativity, and the killer graphic design and web skills of Park & Cube. Born in Seoul, raised in Warsaw and now London based, this innovator among fashion bloggers is a regular fixture at the fashion week front rows but despite her serious credentials (she's collaborated with Cartier, Barbour, Louis Vuitton but to name a few) remains a maverick in a glossy, polished sea of fashion personalities - her writing is distinctively  down-to-earth in an IDGAF way and endearingly dorky - she unabashedly professes to be more familiar with weapons and battle tactics than fashion designers. 


    PEONY LIM
    www.peonylim.com

    Peony Lim is the very personification of classic elegance and feminine beauty- that bone structure! those perfect curls! dem Birkins! - whose adorable silly faces and bright, wide smile softens her cool,  Ice Queen-like demeanour that comes across in her perfectly composed, stunning high-fashion editorials. I had the pleasure of meeting the woman with the tiny dog (Thumbelina the mini daschund) at a Bloggers Yard Sale and she was so friendly and wickedly funny that I went from coveting her luxurious wardrobe to just wanting to be her - gorgeous hair, great taste, infectious laugh, and all. 


    NANA
    www.bwincessnana.com

    Nana, my 小妹妹 (xiao mei mei - little sister); fellow Malaysian and 'Leo baby' is every bit the little princess her blog title professes to be. While her blog would be better described as lifestyle for its diversity on topics as beauty, events, fashion, and travel, she's better known to her sizeable following for her passion for fashion; be it her supporting Malaysian designers by wearing their creations at fashion shows or her edgy street-style inspired outfits. Nana! Be a good girl, OK? Your jie jie is coming back to K.L and can't wait to see you! ♡


    ARISSA CHEO
    www.instagram.com/arissa.cheo

    Her immense amount of Instagram followers (Arissa has since created a new Instagram account devoted solely to fashion and beauty) covet her 'fairytale life' and her impressively prolific high fashion collection but it is her rock-chick style and ability to dress up casual, tropical weather-suitable  (Arissa is from sunny Singapore) in a fun, and youthful way that catches my eye. This fashion entrepreneur is the founder of Carte Blanche X, an fashion, media, and culture online portal that makes her dreamy, pastel-hued with a touch of rock & roll aesthetic available to buy with brands like her clothing and jewellery line Sacred Hearts X.


    STEPHANIE ER 
    www.pootsville.com

    New mother-of-one Stephanie Er, or simply 'Poo' of Pootsville, drew me into her beautiful world with her magical, imaginative photography; and childish yet introspective writing - often simple yet hilarious captions like "The best thing about being pre go: having a Homer Simpson silhouette. The worst thing about being prego: having a Homer Simpson appetite". Her love of dressing up, cartoons, and animations - as showcased in her stop motion animation Instagram videos, a testament to her commitment to the craft of image-making - hints at the sort of innocent wonder at the world that you just have to love her for.  

    Aaaaand that's it for my pick of my favourite fashion bloggers which I absolutely insist you check out. I just realised that my choices are all Oriental (fine, people of East Asian descent) and maybe I might be biased because I'm Malaysian Chinese myself, but can you blame me when Asians have  such killer bone structure? 

    Anyway, while I'll never be a trailblazer of style nor fashionista, I do love following fashionable people with an interesting and creative sartorial approach, so if you could recommend fashion bloggers for me to follow I'd be grateful! Send me some Bloglovin links, and while you're at it follow me on Bloglovin! x

    Let's get social: Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin | Google+ 
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    Dotty Bag Lady - What's In My Handbag

    January 11, 2015, 6:06 pm
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    I may not yet be worthy of the accolade of 'bag lady' but if there is one thing I love it is a classic handbag with a twist - an artist collaboration.

    Whether it's James Gillary on an Anya Hindmarch tote or Julie Verhoeven's illustrations on a M.A.C palette there is nothing so pleasing to me as a marriage between art and fashion (although if they are somewhat related, is this like marrying your cousin? Eh). Louis Vuitton is no stranger to this concept, having flirted with the likes of artists Murakami, Verhoeven, and Sprouse but to name a few. Of all the artist Louis Vuitton have teamed up with, my favourite collaboration yet has to be the Yayoi Kusama and Louis Vuitton collaboration of Summer 2012. I have two handbags from this collection - which I don't think I've ever shared on Posh, Broke, & Bored - one of which is my current go-to day bag so I thought I'd do a blog post about it, tell you a little more of one of my favourite artists, and show you what's in my handbag.





    I've always loved the shape of the Louis Vuitton Neverfull, as much as I find the thin straps don't distribute the immense weight of my camera and other gadgets as well as I like. Perhaps the shape is better suited to carrying lighter objects like jumpers, scarfs, and the sort - but somehow this Yayoi Kusama edition has never strained my shoulders as much as other Neverfull variants have. I do love the Neverfull though for the many print versions it comes in - I have at least four - perhaps it's the collector in me that likes having many of the same thing, but different. 





    The Louis Vuitton Yayoi Kusama was a limited edition from two years ago and has mostly sold out but you can still find a few popping up for resale here and there -


    A bit of background on the dotty (sorry, I couldn't help it) artist behind her famous patterns - 

    At 10 years of age, this virtuous Japanese artist from Matsumoto – also known as the Priestess of Polka Dots – started painting her renowned dots and webs as a result of her visual and auditory hallucinations caused by experiences that terrified her. Through art, she found a way of calming her obsessive and depressive feelings. This motif has remained a central feature of her work, and expresses her feeling of revolving 'in the infinity of endless time and the absoluteness of space,' and her view of herself as 'a dot lost among a million other dots.' Sources (1, 2)
    "My artwork is an expression of my life, particularly of my mental disease... My art originates from hallucinations only I can see. I translate the hallucinations and obsessional images that plague me into sculptures and paintings." 
    Her first artworks were based on obsessive repetition of circular forms that she accumulated in great canvases, creating rhythmic patters. In 1957, during the boom of pop art and everything psychedelic, she moved to New York where she met Andy Warhol, Donald Judd, Claes Oldenburg and Joseph Cornell. During this period, she expressed herself more freely through new spaces: she experimented with peculiar designs on soft sculptures and surprised the entire world with her radical performances and happenings. In 1973, she checked herself into the Seiwa Hospital for the Mentally Ill by choice and has been living there ever since. (Source)
    “A polka-dot has the form of the sun, which is a symbol of the energy of the whole world and our living life, and also the form of the moon, which is calm. Round, soft, colorful, senseless and unknowing. 
    Polka dots become movement…Polka dots are a way to infinity.”  
    I first came to know about Kusama-sensei's work in 2009, when I was confronted by her polka dot mushrooms on the roof of the Hayward Gallery. Fast forward to three years later, in 2012, and Kusama-sensei's iconic work popped up again at the Tate Modern. Completely enamoured by the dots - you could say I was seeing spots - I was thrilled when soon after her collaboration with Louis Vuitton made its debut. The rest, as they say, is history - I went completely dotty and snapped up what I could from my favourite French luggage brand.

    I like to collect artist collaboration fashion pieces as an affordable way to get into art, and also it serves double duty - display it on my shelves or on my arm? What a wonderful conundrum. Do you, like me, like your art where everyone can see it (on your person)? Are there any other artist and fashion collaborations that you think I would like and should know about? Let me know. x
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    Keep it Simple, Silly - Simple #AboutFace party

    January 14, 2015, 6:13 pm
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    'Cos you know I'm all about the face, 'bout the face... The saying goes 'Keep It Simple, Stupid' and Simple, the sensitive skin care experts, have this down to an art. Simple's products contain just the purest possible ingredients that are kind to skin (even sensitive complexions) with no artificial perfumes, dyes, or other nasties. Simple know all about how much the skin suffers - hormones, stress, city lifestyle to say nothing about the ravages of winter and party season. 



    #AboutFace is the January campaign from Simple that aims to take your complexion "from December distressed to January de-stressed". It's all about being kind to your skin and addressing the sensitivity and imbalance of winter and party season. Call it a New Year resolution for the face - December was about endless parties, fun, and falling asleep with our makeup on but January is #AboutFace. 

    I took Sarah from The Prosecco Diaries to discover more at Simple's first ever #AboutFace Party.


    The #AboutFace party was held at Ham Yard Hotel, a new boutique hotel in the heart of bustling Soho. To stroll off the chaos of Piccadilly into the serene, 'urban village' of Ham Yard up to the  intimate setting of The Ham Yard apartment was quite a fitting parallel to rescuing one's skin from the stress of the city with Simple's gentle and effective skincare. 


    Beauty bloggers were greeted with tiers of biscuits, trays of canapés, endless glasses of champagne,  and rows of Alice In Wonderland-esque vials of the world's smallest bottle of sparking wine The Bubble. 

    The Ham Yard Apartment is the hotels' most spectacular apartment spread over two floors. Just past the king size bedroom and the most gorgeous marble bathroom is a sweeping staircase leading up to a vast living space with oak floors, baby grand piano, floor to ceiling windows and stunning views of the Soho rooftops and beyond. My photos didn't do the place justice, so incandescent was the setting that not even my low light photography tips could penetrate its ambient depths, so I pulled a couple of photos from the Ham Yard Hotel website - 




    I nearly swooned at the wall-to-floor marble setup - this is my dream bathroom! I just had to sing its praises -


    Meanwhile, waiting for us upstairs at The Ham Yard apartment was a Simple skincare expert on hand to explain winter skin challenges and offer consultations on how to help turn things around and being kind to our skin. December was about endless parties, fun, and falling asleep with our makeup on but January is #AboutFace. 


    Sarah and I wandered through the living room through to the kitchen for the main draw of the event - an illustration workshop by artist Sophia Langmead. Guests made a self-portrait to take home with line drawings of faces by Langmead, to be coloured and decorated with markers, glitter, and craft paper against a selection of templates with skincare slogans like 'Dry January' and 'Sugar Detox'.




    The illustration workshop was incredibly relaxing - all the colouring, stamping, and crafting transported me back to the blissful, innocent days of kindergarden art classes (replace Thomas the Tank Engine backpacks with Louis Vuitton Neverfulls and toddler shoes with Kurt Geiger heeled booties). And so I regressed back to simpler pleasures thanks to Simple, the purveyor of pureness and simplicity. Simply well played, Simple.


    Sarah was pleased, naturally.


    I chose the only brunette head left and made her look more like me by adding thicker, straighter brows, eye bags, a Vogue superslim (to remind me to kick the habit) and the slogan that summed up my ultimate skincare sin: 'Slept In Makeup - Cleanse'.


    After our delightful DIY lark, Sarah and I adjourned downstairs to the bedroom to learn more about Simple skincare.

    Press photo. How wonderful is that grey and taupe colour scheme?



    Simple's 'Kind to Skin' range is lauded for 100% soap free and being suitable even for sensitive skins with a perfect blend of ingredients to keep skin thoroughly cleansed and nourished, with moisturising goodness containing Pro-Vitamin B5, Vitamin E and Bisabolol. With a wide offering of products  from daily cleansers and moisturisers to occasional treats such as face masks, and at such affordable prices it's no wonder that the Simple 'Kind to Skin' range is a popular cheap-and-cheerful staple found in the bathroom cabinets of beauty editors, beauty bloggers, and the everyday consumer alike. Pictured here is the Vital Vitamin Foaming Cleanser, Moisturising Facial Wash, and the 'hero products' - the Purifying Cleansing Lotion and Facial Toner. 


    Simple gave me some goodies to take home from their Kind to Skin and Kind to Skin+ range including some travel size bottles to bring with me on holiday. I'll be including a couple of these products in tomorrow's post about my current skincare choices, so keep an eye out for that.

    Meanwhile, why not make sense of your skin and get started with your personalised Simple skincare routine? Register on the Simple website for, tell Simple about your skincare and your lifestyle, and Simple will create a free personalised skincare routine for you - with results of healthier looking skin in less than 4 weeks! Simple have also launched Skin Social, an online platform for teen skincare, fresh with articles, pictures, animations and videos, with contributions from a panel of aspiring teen vloggers and bloggers and the YouTube heavy hitters - beauty vlogger Zoella, Simple vlogger PunkChyaz (Charlotte), and a small group of devoted Skin Social Interns. Skin Social invites you to get involved - like, reblog and share posts from Skin Social to help spread the love.



    Why not get a head start on better skin for 2015 and make January all #AboutFace? I've included some products from the Kind to Skin range to get you started. Go forth and cleanse! x


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    Billions of bilious blue blistering barnacles*

    January 15, 2015, 6:52 pm
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    As a blogger, happy shutterbug, and photographer for Regimental Vintage I'm always scouting for new locations to shoot whether it be in London or as further afield as the snowy mountains of Transylvania. After all, how could I lay claim to being the intrepid gadabout I profess myself to be if I only ever contained my roaming self within the confines of my postcode? Henry and I acquired some lovely naval clothing for our online shop so we were eager to photograph them in a somewhat nautical setting. So it was that yesterday I did a photoshoot around Limehouse Basin in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, a new and underrated location I'm thrilled to have discovered - I daresay you may, too!

    *the title is a reference to Henry's uncanny resemblance to Captain Haddock. You'll see.







    We started our photography journey at Limehouse Basin Marina, a watery oasis of calm surrounded by luxury apartments and flats the lucky inhabitants of which enjoyed the view from their balconies and floor-to-ceiling windows. While the rest of us content with a front-room view of our neighbours' cars, or in my case the park on my doorstep, the residents of Limehouse Basin get a sweeping view of London's river, canal and sea going pleasure craft undulating ever so serenely on the water. Gulls, ducks, and geese bob up and down on the water like apples in a barrel at a funfair. The marina makes a perfect base from which to explore London and the surrounding waterways, providing a navigable link between the Regent's Canal and the River Thames through the Limehouse Basin Lock. 


    Every day the paths along the waterways leading to Regent's Canal sees millions of footsteps as joggers, parents with strollers and children, and daydreaming wanderers alike travel the length by foot pass Mile End, Camden, the aviary of London Zoo, to as far as Regent's Park and finally the Little Venice basin in Maida Vale. From Limehouse Basin Marina we walked up to Mile End football stadium and through the freezing wind (splashing droplets of water into Henry's eyes, too) we enjoyed a view that changed from neat rows of candy coloured boats to wooden wharfs to green parks with families of geese. The path is reminiscent of a video game, with little platforms that take you out to the middle of the canal, bridges of steel and brick both over and under, and narrow walkways flanked by the never-ending ribbon of the canal.




    Suffice to say I'm quite pleased to have discovered Limehouse Basin, a little gem of a place that has been lurking in my part of London that I've never ventured to. Although the setting wasn't strictly nautical I liked the subtlety of it - you can barely see the surroundings anyway thanks to my new prime lens - I found the whole thing to be quite industrial whereas Henry thought it vaguely apocalyptic, like...a sailor who survived a zombie outbreak by sleeping out his coma on his barge, only to wake to a empty city. With a month-old beard and seriously sharp naval threads, naturally.

    Here are my favourite photos from today's Regimental Vintage photoshoot - 


    Royal Navy military tunic on Regimental Vintage.


    How uncanny is Henry's resemblance to Captain Haddock? Beard? Check. Thick Aran fisherman's jumper under a naval jacket? Check. Penchant for superfluous euphemistic oaths? Check.


    How stunning is the colour of this Cold War era East German Naval officer's tunic? It's the most unique and my favourite naval piece from our collection, with golden anchor buttons to the front and to the cuffs, and golden naval rank insignia to the sleeves. 

    And finally, a staple no self-respecting seafarer should go without...


    ...an Aran jumper, lovingly handknitted by a wife for her fisherman husband (I'd like to believe) in the thickest, best quality wool.

    All these photos were shot on my Canon lens, the 85mm 1.8 which works like a dream. Granted, I have to stand a good fifteen feet away if I'm to get a full body shot in the frame - but look at that crispness! that bokeh! the focus! You don't hear me complaining. I'm looking forward to using this lens for more fashion photos although I can't imagine the side eye I'd get at events while making my designated blog photographer scoot across a room to get all of myself down to my shoes into the shot. 

    I'm always looking for new places for photoshoots. Photographers and bloggers, what are your favourite locations to shoot in London? Please share. x

    Let's get social: Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin | Google+ 

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    Kouzu

    January 16, 2015, 4:00 pm
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    There's a gorgeous new Japanese upstart in the prestigious white columned streets of Belgravia and it is Kouzu. 


    A fine dining restaurant headed by Chef Kyoichi Kai (of Zuma and Arts Club prestige) and his impressive all-Japanese kitchen staff, this contemporary Japanese restaurant is housed in a grand historical Grade-II listed beautiful period mansion from the 1850’s. I waltzed through the towering palatial entrance door to find Kate waiting by the stairs leading to the omakase sushi bar on the upstairs floating mezzanine level.



    We were ushered to our table on the ground floor with a view of the sleek cocktail bar opposite. Unbeknownst to us the silver open-plan kitchen hide a secret door to a private dining room where seven diners could enjoy a private chef at their beck and call to create bespoke dishes in front of their eyes. How delightful! Although Kate and I missed out on that wonderful privilege our experience at Kouzu more than made up for it with their creative gastronomical offerings, attentive service, and being tickled silly by the sight of the adorable succulent pots (a sure way to make me smile) under the mezzanine stairs. 

    Succulents, ya'll.

    The omakase sushi bar on the upstairs mezzanine level.

    Oh hai Kate.

    Kate and I whet our palates with the customary bowl of edamame, perfectly salted with flecks of coarse salt that added a satisfying texture and just the right amount of saltiness - I can't abide bland edamame and I'm happy to say that Kouzu's edamame to salt ratio was just so. The attentiveness to balance in even this simplest of starters was a good sign of things to come.

    We started with four selections from the new stream sashimi menu. 


    The sea bass with salsa and green pepper sauce was perfectly tangy. Lime-cured with salsa, micro herbs and pink peppercorns, it was a tantalising starter that tickled my tastebuds. Even the greens, which I usually avoid didn't escape my chopsticks - every ingredient was chosen to perfectly compliment each other and make for the perfect balance or flavour and texture.  


    The award for prettiest starter must go to the salmon with yuzu soy dressing. Salmon, the humblest of fish, was elevated to refinement thanks to the presentation of shredded ginger - which Kate couldn't get enough of - and the inclusion of garlic was a bold choice that paid off. 


    Kate chose the yellowtail with ponzu truffle dressing. Again, the combination of truffle dressing with  shiso, myoga, ginger, and spring onion was unexpected but a very pleasant surprise. My only wish was that there was more spring onion, but then again I'm not as experienced as Chef Kyoichi Kai to decide how much of my favourite toppings (they are usually the more pungent ones!) should garnish a dish, especially those as delicate as sashimi.


    I forgoed the beef fillet tataki for the tuna tartar with spicy sauce and I'm glad for my choice! This dish was an absolute standout. I love a tuna tartar as much as the next person and I've had many, but this one stood out for it's winning combination of chilli sauce and sesame seeds. The spiciness is something I usually associate with steak tartare which you may know is my absolute favourite, but where the 'earthiness' of steak tartare's raw egg is were ribbons of mixed salad which balanced out the fieriness of the tuna. 

    Next, the mains. 


    Kate and I shared a salmon and avocado roll - there wasn't much to say, it's a straightforward dish whose composition doesn't leave much room for the creative flair of the chef, but well prepared nonetheless - and a platter of nigiri.


    We chose four from the nigiri menu: seared eel, scallop (interesting to eat raw, but not quite for me), o-toro (delightfully fatty!), and ikura. I've never been a huge fan of nigiri - I'm more of a sashimi girl, my infidelity to my heritage is betrayed by my 'meh, whatever' attitude to rice - so perhaps you should ask Kate for a better review of Kouzu's sashimi. Judging from the way her eyes lit up when I said 'Go on, take the rest of the ikura' I think it's safe to say that the nigiri platter hit the spot.


    Now here's an opinion of mine you can absolutely get behind - my enthusiasm for the roasted black cod, from the special menu. Given that I never eat cooked fish if I can help it (I'm serious, I either eat ceviche, sashimi, or nothing at all) it is high praise indeed when I say that I couldn't get enough of this! The black cod, marinated with fennel and miso to give it a wonderfully creamy texture, achieved a paper thin yet nearly-cripsy skin which I simply could not get enough of. The sweetness of the cod skin and the citrusy tang of the clementine (I think) slices was a marriage of flavour that could be best described as harmonious. Even non-cooked fish lovers would enjoy this, I think!


    I realised that in this review I've used the word 'perfectly' five times (including this sentence) but that superlative is well deserved. Chef Kyoichi Kai's skill, balance, and sense of aesthetics made for an impressive culinary experience of flavour and presentation which I felt was best displayed in the new stream sashimi starters. My advice would be to order everything on that menu - all six dishes - for yourself and perhaps a main (I thoroughly recommend the black cod). We washed it all down with cocktails: Smoky Negroni for Kate, a fiery but sweet whisky cocktail better suited throughout dinner rather than at the end of a lunch, and a Yuzu bellini for me which went down a treat despite a rather comprehensive lunch - such is the testament to a good meal, to leave the diner comfortably full yet without the 'heavy' feeling.

    Altogether, a meal for two of four starters, a main, a sushi platter, two bolls of edamame, a roll, and two cocktails would come to just over £150, excluding tip. Kate and I were invited to review Kouzu but all opinions and words here are my own. You can find Kouzu at 21 Grosvenor Gardens, SW1W 0JW, Belgravia.

    x
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    Interiors: My artist studio - too much, too soon

    January 17, 2015, 4:46 pm
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    Jasiminne Yip's Bermondsey artist studio

    Today I present an interiors post on a space of mine that many have been asking about for a while - my artist studio. 

    The backstory: a year ago I got my first taste of working in such a space when I was sharing a fixer upper with a friend in the now defunct V22 studios, Bermondsey. I have nothing but fond memories of the place -as spartan and ramshackle as it was - blasting Drunk In Love on repeat while working on my collaboration painting with Moët & Chandon then for dinner sampling the culinary offerings of nearby Bermondsey Street. After V22 closed for good, I convinced myself I absolutely had to have a studio of my own, as a self-validation of sorts. Some people feel better about themselves if they have the latest Celine handbag, Ferrari, a child...I felt like I would be 'complete' if I had an artist studio. So last September I started searching for one. Believe me when I say that the perfect artist studio is hard to come by, much like the search for the perfect home. My requirements were simple; at least 200 square feet, a large window with plenty of natural light, close to where I live (Shoreditch) and no more than £200 per month. HA! I do love to dream, don't I? Somehow, I found all of that and even more miraculously I beat at least eight other people interested in the space who had been on the waiting list longer than I. Last October I got the keys to the first artist studio that I could call my very own and I was actually more ecstatic than the day I bought my first London apartment.

    What I did not foresee through a haze of excitement was that the studio was too big for my needs. I believe the saying is 'an embarrassment of riches' or rather in my case 'too much, too soon'. I was too taken in by the fantasy of having a vast, high-ceilinged, light-filled artist studio that I didn't think that I actually didn't need that sort of space - in hindsight all I actually needed was a space half that size, a third even - and without thinking it through I moved my home office out of my dining room and into the studio where it sat, unloved and used, beside my painting desk in a studio filled with canvases, a plinth, and drawers of paints that I wished I had used more of. To be fair, I did a lot of work in that studio - my only gripe was that I didn't need nearly as much space as I thought I did, so I made use of it by inviting my friend Nichole to paint there with me and also Henry to move our Regimental Vintage headquarters there. Three people, three functions in one studio...if that isn't a sign I have too much room, I don't know what is.

    So now you know my secret shame and the real reason why it's taken me nearly four months to show you my artist studio. The title says it all - too much, too soon. Ashamed by my greed and waste - especially since such spaces in London are hard to come by - I ended my lease on the studio, moved my home office back into my apartment yesterday as I had planned to for 2015, and when I return from my annual Chinese New Year travels I'm going to start looking for another studio that's half the size. Start small, baby. Without further ado - I'm sorry this introduction is so long, but I felt you deserved an explanation - here are pictures of my artist studio which I will always look back on with the fondest of memories.



    A lot of the furniture in the studio was salvaged and upcycled - one person's trash is my treasure! - such as the steel shelves, the white plinth, the shoe rack turned bookshelf, the beer bottle crate, the black office chair, and the mucky paint-streaked desk. Only the white office desk, Kartell ghost chair (taken from my living room, luckily I had two!), easel, and white drawers are mine.


    A print I bought years ago for my first apartment as a not-so-subtle hint to my then-champagne-socialist-boyfriend to get his butt off benefits and get a job. Today it reminds me about the joys of work, as does the two motivational posters I printed and framed to prop at the window.


    The Buckland's beer crate and Veuve Clicquot champagne bucket was found by Henry, the shoe rack and sad-looking plant I rescued from the trash. Yes, that is an action man figure.


    My beauty and skincare saviours from long days of handling corrosive material and being elbow deep in grime.


    A view of the work stations. The studio is square shape and at over 200 square feet that works out to each wall being just over 18 feet long. One wall accommodated two desks side-by-side (one grimy desk for painting, a sleek white one for office work) and the Regimental Vintage corner - two industrial clothing rails and piles of stock, just out of sight.


    That pile of bags you see under the rail is just a fifth of the Regimental Vintage stock Henry and I have which is now safely locked away in a storage unit that is five times smaller than my studio. Perhaps I should just work from the storage unit instead of an artist studio.




    My office desk. Can you guess from my mood board (really just print outs taped clumsily to the wall) what I'm working on?


    The mint green lamp was a Christmas present from Henry that I absolutely adore, and the postcards are illustrations I did for Tresor Paris.


    God, that painting desk is grimy but I do love it. I found it folded up by the trash and gave it a new lease of life in the studio where Nichole promptly made it even more paint-stained. 


    My drinks cart - when working I live on a diet of coffee, tea, and whisky - with a cat postcard I bought for Henry in Rome, a framed postcard I found at a car boot sale, and a framed photo of the one time I modelled for Regimental.

    Jasiminne Yip's Bermondsey artist studio

    And finally, the windows that made me fall in love with this studio and made me snap it up so hastily. You can't tell from this photo but by night it has such a lovely view of London - you can see the Shard lit up in the distance against a sea of the city lights, and on some days the sunset is a brilliant sea of red, pink, and orange.

    I'm not going to lie, I am already missing this studio, but as I've handed this space back to the building I hope that the next artist will have more use for the generous space than I did. I've moved my home office into my bedroom (where I'll be doing my blogging work from), the Regimental Vintage stock and the excess furniture into storage where it will be waiting for new homes: a new brick and mortar shop for the fashion side of my work, and a smaller studio for my art work.

    I hope you enjoyed the studio tour as much as I've enjoyed those wonderful times I spent in it, and I'm looking forward to sharing my new home office soon - just as soon as I organise and furnish it properly. x
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    Chinese Afternoon Tea at Le Chinois, Millennium Hotel, Knightsbridge

    January 19, 2015, 5:46 pm
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    On Sunday me and several bloggers were treated to a Chinese afternoon tea by Joe Blogs at Le Chinois in the exclusive setting of Sloane Street. A flurry of bloggers (or 'hashtag' which I insist must be the collective noun for bloggers) descended upon the gilded designer-label clad streets of Knightsbridge to sample the delights of Le Chinois's Afternoon Tea menu - a clever take on British high tea with an authentic and innovative Cantonese twist. In lieu of the usual scones and cucumber sandwiches; we nibbled on dim sum, scallop rolls, and duck pancakes while sipping on champagne in the dark red and warm tones of Le Chinois' elegant restaurant, in our own private room behind light curtains where we were free to mingle, tweet, and be as snap-happy as we pleased. While some dishes were comfortingly familiar - dim sum is a huge part of my upbringing, I was brought up with a traditional but liberal Chinese family and dim sum Sundays were a family ritual - like char siu bao, siu mai, and crispy duck pancake; others were delightfully expected such as the wasabi prawns, the mochi, and the pièce de résistance - the cake stand laden with dim sum. It was a symbol for the combination of the British ritual of high tea with the Chinese tradition of 飲茶 (yum cha). It amused me to observe that this meeting of Oriental-Occidental tea rituals paralleled the assimilation of my Malaysian-Chinese heritage with the London culture that has ingrained itself into my mannerisms and accent. Anyway, enough of my words - allow my food photography to do the talking.



    A Sunday afternoon, languid but for the hashtag of bloggers hard at work with an army of cameras and phones coming out to play.


    Delicately crispy and paper thin, the 'wings' on these butterfly prawns were as much a visual delight as it was a textural and flavourful one.

    The most tender beef (I think) I've ever had the pleasure of slipping ever so smoothly off a skewer.



    The mochi was an unexpected arrival, as I usually associate it as a Japanese dessert.


    The wasabi prawns were a much needed kick - I could feel the impact in my nose when I shoved a whole one into my mouth - when I started slipping into a dim sum and champagne-induced coma. By the end of it I had gone from #ToastOfTheTown to #NappingOnTheTable - true story.




    The showstopper I mentioned above - a cake stand bearing Cantonese dim sum both traditional and with a Japanese twist. To be honest I've never enjoyed British high tea as much as my Chinese counterparts - you know the sort, the Orientals who stop over The Berkeley for high tea the moment they touch down in London and take photos the whole time. I'd much rather while an afternoon away having yum cha - a preference I took with me from Malaysia when I moved to London. So while the other bloggers oohed-and-ahhed over the novel factor of the little savoury parcels from the Orient, I was mostly washed over with nostalgia and also struck by a clever new way to serve dim sum. 


    Calamari in shot glasses and spring rolls.



    Much to our delight, we were treated to a demonstration of the finesse and expertise of slicing thin layers of crispy duck - the scoring on the meat is meticulous and the skin so finely sliced you could almost call it translucent. 



    Once again, while some of the bloggers were transfixed by the exoticism of it all I was mostly homesick for the finer aspects of my Chinese heritage- happily I'll be back in the throng of it next week, just in time for Chinese New Year!


    I find it pleasing that the diamond grid of my purse echoed the lines of Le Chinois's skylight windows.



    You've seen my photos and read my words, now here are some from Le Chinois themselves -

    "Le Chinois Restaurant and Bar offers modern Chinese cuisine in an exclusive setting on Sloane Street. Le Chinois has been inspired by the award-winning Hua Ting Restaurant at the Orchard Hotel Singapore, celebrated for its fine dining and the exquisite culinary experience, with its traditional, yet innovative, Cantonese cuisine. 
    Since opening in 2012, Le Chinois Restaurant and Bar has offered guests an exquisite and unique dining experience, with sophisticated and contemporary culinary creations. The restaurant showcases Cantonese lifestyle and art, and celebrates the traditional flavors of the East. Just a few months after the restaurant was opened, Le Chinois was awarded two prestigious AA Rosettes and Head Chef, Anthony Kong and his team are working hard to gain further recognition and accolades for their skills and culinary excellence. Fitting with the Asian culture, our à la carte menu is designed with sharing in mind. We suggest that you share dishes amongst your friends and companions, and embrace this custom as well."
    We had the dim sum menu (available daily from 12 - 5pm) and there is also the  à la carte menu, lunch menu and sharing menus to choose from. You can find Le Chinois at The Millennium Hotel in Knighsbridge - 17 Sloane Street, London SW1X 9NU. I was invited to review Le Chinois but all opinions and words are, as always, audaciously and truthfully mine. x
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    My baby's a swinger...

    January 20, 2015, 4:23 pm
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    Vintage Aquascutum seafoam argyle golf jumper on Regimental Vintage.

    ...and that's putt-ing it mildly. In all seriousness though, Henry and I acquired two gorgeous vintage golf jumpers from Aquascutum and Burberry so what better prop for a photoshoot than a golf club? Yesterday we shot some of our new stock for Regimental Vintage in our local marsh Haggerston Park. Here are some of my favourite photos from yesterday, as shot by yours truly. 


    Vintage Burberry's wool golf jumper on Regimental Vintage.


    Wax coat and French military satchel on Regimental Vintage.

    This photo is all kinds of hilarious because of that cane. Henry spotted it at an auction in all its splendid goat horn handle, badge covered glory. Before he could decide if it was 'the most amazing or the ugliest thing ever' I bid on and won it for him, because I'm awesome like that.


    I love that this French military satchel is perfect as a camera lens bag with its two compartments divided by leather flaps - and that compact size! Neat square shape! If only it was in dove grey leather with rose gold hardware - that would be my dream lens bag.


    US military parka in an unusual 'desert night' camouflage. The digital pixelation camouflage is designed to disrupt night vision viewing apparatus. Right: a vintage suede bomber I picked for our shop.



    These photos were shot at Haggerston Park by yours truly on my new 85mm 1.8 lens which although produces beautifully crisp yet soft shots is a bit of a pain to use - I have to scoot back as far as twenty feet to get all 6'1" of Henry in a shot - as seen in my blog post about Limehouse Basin Marina. I've considered selling this lens and getting a 28mm 1.8 to replace it but I've changed my mind (fickle thing that it is) and think I will keep the 85mm and save it for outdoor photoshoots.

    I'm a novice to Bloglovin - you can find me here! - and I've been looking for blogs to follow. Could anyone recommend some male fashion bloggers I could follow? And also any military-themed and army lifestyle blogs? x

    Let's get social: Regimental Vintage | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin | Google+ 
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    Sky Garden London Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill

    January 21, 2015, 4:00 pm
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    Sky Garden London Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill

    'The sky is the limit' and this is certainly the case when it comes to dining (that is until Richard Branson opens a restaurant on the Virgin Galactic). The Shard (here and here), Duck & Waffle...what is it about dining at high elevation that is so appealing? London's latest landmark, Sky Garden at 20 Fenchurch Street, is the new destination for those who like their eggs with a side of sweeping views of the city...or those who like the 'high life'.

    Sky Garden opened a couple of weeks ago and has been all over Instagram, but as Luxy pointed out, there haven't been many reviews about their restaurants - Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill on level 37, Darwin Brasserie on level 36, and Sky Pod bar on the 35th. So when Luxy snagged us a reservation  at Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill for Tuesday I felt it my civil duty to photograph this skyscraper stunner and report back on my findings...only to realise when I got there that I brought my DSLR sans memory card. D'oh! All photos on this post were taken on iPhone and edited in VSCOcam so please excuse the quality of the pictures. 

    Sky Garden London Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill
    Bimbo and The Blog - I brought a knife to a gun fight.
    Sky Garden London Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill

    Sky Garden London Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill

    After a security search and scan not unlike an airport, we stepped into the lift and shot up to the 35th floor where we greeted with a sprawling vision: a vast steel space with wraparound glass walls offering a stunning cityscape of London by night from the London Eye to St. Paul's, a mezzanine hanging over the Sky Pod bar which was accessed by a set of stairs flanking both sides of the room, and the ascent to the restaurants leading us through paths among the gardens designed by award-winning landscape architecture practice Gillespies. I had sudden flashbacks to Singapore's Gardens By The Bay and it all felt very futuristic - like a sci-fi movie set in a future where nature's greenery was a thing of the past and so gardens cultivated indoors were a symbol of wealth and a zoo exhibit of Earth's verdant history. I was chillin' like a James Bond villain.

    Sky Garden London Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill
    I looked up to the mirrored ceiling and felt like a tiny fish in a huge aquarium. 
    Sky Garden London Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill

    Sky Garden London Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill

    I always complain about climbing stairs, but with a path like this it's difficult to moan. To the right, a glimpse of Darwin Brasserie on level 36.

    Sky Garden London Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill

    We reached our gastronomical destination for the evening - Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill on level 37. Quiet and mostly empty at first - we arrived at the early bird hour of 7 - the restaurant and seafood bar filled up very quickly and soon we were surrounded by well-heeled cliente speaking in so many languages you'd almost believe you were at a UN meeting.

    Sky Garden London Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill

    Sky Garden London Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill

    Sky Garden London Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill

    What can I say about Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill? First of all I must commend the excellent service. I ordered two starters in lieu of a main (and a Diet Coke because you can always count on me to lower the tone) but changed my mind when the waiter brought out our amuse bouche - the venison tartare. One bite of this tiny morsel and I went straight to heaven. I begged our waiter to ask the chef if he could make this my main and cancel one of my starters. Many trips back and forth to the chef and our waiter told me, regrettably my starters were already being prepared and that there wasn't quite enough venison, but would I like a steak tartare? Would I like a steak tartare?! That's only my favourite dish, ever. So it transpired that instead of having a modest two starters and a shared pudding (I'd had a pizza a couple hours before dinner) I ended up with my two starters, a very large (and delicious) steak tartare made especially for me, as well as an amuse bouche, a gorgeous palate cleanser (more on that later), and half a pudding. That's another thing I should point out, that the portions at Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill are generous. As generous as the staff's accommodating of my unreasonable demands - five stars for service!

    Sky Garden London Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill

    Our amuse bouche - venison tartare. Simply divine, I only wished this was available as a main! 

    Sky Garden London Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill

    Sky Garden London Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill

    I had two starters - the scallops (perfect in everyday) and the salt heritage beetroot salad (it was alright, but my main course made up for it).

    Sky Garden London Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill

    My main - a steak tartare made especially for me. I could taste the love and care in it and every bite made me tear, not just because the portions were massive and I was beginning to feel the strain.

    Sky Garden London Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill

    Luxy's main - the duck with chicory tarte tartin which she described as 'heavenly, tender, and full of flavour'.

    Sky Garden London Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill

    Our palate cleanser - a passionfruit soufflé with lemon curd that hit the spot. Sweet, zesty, and tangy, it was just the treat we needed to reset our tastebuds in anticipation for our pudding...

    Sky Garden London Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill

    ...The St Clements Posset which was a delicious epilogue to, as Luxy calls it, 'a very decent meal' which although lacked a view, was made especially memorable by the attentiveness of the staff who took good care of us.

    Sky Garden London Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill

    My happy food coma face.

    My meal of two starters, a main, a pudding, two complimentary dishes (amuse bouche and palate cleanser) and a Diet Coke came to just under £65 including 12.5% service charge.

    My verdict? The food is certainly as good as many restaurants I've been to - and I've been to a few - and it's certainly worth going to Sky Garden just for the experience. However, if you're there for a view, stick to the SkyPod bar on the 35th - the higher you go and the more you pay, the worst the view. Go in the day and take advantage of the amazing light - you can read the Luxury Columnist's blog post to see what it looks like by day - and grab a drink by the terrace. I would recommend the restaurant to try if you're a foodie, but also to visit by day to see the two sides of Sky Garden. Find them at 20 Fenchurch Street, City of London. x
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    Destination: Riga, Latvia

    January 22, 2015, 4:00 pm
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    Labdien (hello) from Latvia! Perchance you may have seen on my Instagram (@jasiminne) that I'm in Riga, Latvia. Dear friends, I write to you now from the comfort of luxury boutique hotel Gallery Park Hotel ensconced in the warm enriching glow of an eight hour nap followed by a spellbinding evening of ballet - Swan Lake at the Latvian National Opera - and a satisfyingly heavy meal which Henry and I (tried but failed to) walk off with a stroll through the park. Everything is covered in a blanket of snow and the city looks just like a postcard of the ultimate fantasy of what a European city should look like (but without the crowds, the chaos, and the urban grime of say, Paris).


    Why Riga, you ask? Well, Henry and I were on a 'post-holiday comedown' after Romania when he was seized by the fancy to take us to a country we'd both never been to. Riga came to mind - we'd both read in an in-flight magazine that it was named European Capital of Culture in 2014, it was nearby and cheap to fly to from London; and it had that wonderful combination of being safe,  accessible, and historical. It's a highly underrated travel destination and we wanted to see it before it became so mainstream that it would be as Kate said about the Cuba I visited before the recent travel restrictions to Americans were lifted: 'turned into Disneyland'.

    Things I'm looking forward to in Riga:


    The Art Nouveau architecture. The city has the largest and most impressive showing of art nouveau architecture in Europe, with over forty percent of the city's buildings adorned in sweeping undulating lines, goddesses, sphinxes and opulent details inspired by nature.

    The Riga Shooting Range. 'Feel the power of combat shotgun' the masculine black website boasts , offering a knee-quivering list of guns you could never fire in London - Winchesters, AKs, Glocks, Magnums - and even the names of movies their guns have made appearances in. It's enough to make a slack-jawed yokel weep with joy. The staff even said of taking photos - 'You can make model with Soviet uniform for take many nice picture'. Did you read that in a thick Eastern European accent? I did.

    The food! I have a list of restaurants I want to try (we ticked Benjamin's off the list for our first dinner yesterday): Vincents ('slow food' championed by Prince Charles, Hestal Blumenthal, and Queen Elizabeth II), Renomme (Gallery Park Hotel's award winning Latvian and Baltic restaurant), the food stalls and cafes of Lido Recreation Centre...and of course I must sample Riga Black Balsam!


    I'm off to bed now - it's nearly two in the morning here in Riga and I have to be up nice and early for a hearty breakfast ahead of a day full of firing guns, walking, and of course pausing every 10 metres to take photos. Have you been to Riga? Do you have any tips and recommendations for me? x

    Photos from various sources on Pinterest.

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    Arriving in Riga: Gallery Park Hotel (Pt.1)

    January 24, 2015, 4:00 pm
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    Intrigued to explore the charming capital of Riga, Latvia - awarded the honour of European Capital of Culture 2014 - to report on this beautiful, historical city, Henry and I chose a hotel that reflects the elegance and sophistication of Riga: Gallery Park Hotel. 

    The entrance to Gallery Park Hotel Riga, tucked in a discreet quiet thoroughfare just off the main road and beside the Russian embassy.

    A 5-star luxury boutique hotel in a stunning location in the affluent centre of town, Gallery Park Hotel is the only hotel in Latvia with the prestige  of being a member of Châteaux & Hôtels Collection. Formerly a mansion owned by a yacht magnate and a 19th century historical building listed as a UNESCO World Heritage sites, the hotel opened in 2009 after a grand restoration and in a short space of time was awarded the Best Hotel in Latvia. 

    The rich, woody tones of Gallery Park Hotel lobby felt warm and welcoming, not unlike that of a dear friend's country house.

    Sourced from auction houses from around the world - Sotheby's, Christies, and the like - every bit of furniture was rich in detail and had a story of its own.


    I've always loved luxury boutique hotels as larger chain hotels can feel 'soulless'. Gallery Park Hotel felt personal and cozy - after all it was once someone's home - rather like staying at a friend's place. And how personal it was! From even before our trip (a month before we arrived) the wonderful Olesja went out of her way to accommodate Henry's and my requests; the staff at reception stand to attention when so much as your foot crosses into the vast lobby, making you feel like your every need is anticipated and attended to, the service was impeccable (I've lost count how many times I've had to call the front desk for extra adaptor plugs to be brought to our room, yet the staff delivered before I could even put down my room phone), and Olesja was kind enough to give us a tour of every corner of the hotel with an explanation on the fascinating history behind every bit and bob that goes into each room. For example; the guest rooms and suites are decorated with antique furniture and original works of art purchased from the world's leading auction houses - Sotheby's, Christies, etc. and the anecdote of a Korean tv series filmed in the Imperial Suite even though the series was actually set in Berlin! 

    A personal touch: Henry and I (hilariously addressed as Mr. and Mrs. Yip!) were greeted with a handwritten note and a basket of fruit when we reached our room.
    A (Superior) Room with a view. Our windows faced the twinkling, postcard-prettiness of a main road yet it was so peaceful and quiet - we slept like babies even though we were only on the 2nd floor!
    Our modern, masculine bathroom was a contrast to the classical European decor of our Superior Room.
    Holiday uniform - hotel bathrobe and matching slippers, naturally.
    Every morning Henry and I looked forward to breakfast, especially for this beauty of a bread basket.
    Gallery Park Hotel Deluxe Room
    Gallery Park Hotel Royal Suite
    Gallery Park Hotel Imperial Suite - a popular filming and photography location.
    Truly, our stay in Gallery Park Hotel was one of hospitality, luxury, grandeur, and convenience. The hotel location enjoyed that incredible privilege of being in a 'quite zone' yet minutes walking distance from the town centre. While the setting was decidedly historical - just seconds from the opulent Art Nouveau district and surrounded by international embassies - the amenities of the hotel were happily modern with the most deliciously warm underfloor heated bathroom tiles (that I may or may not have spent too much time standing on to warm my feet after a cold day out and about in minus temperatures), Frette bed linen, and Thalgo toiletries. My only regret was that I didn't have the time to use the jet-stream pool, sauna, or have a massage at the spa, but I think Henry and I made up for any lost-spa time by sampling the gourmet Baltic cuisine at their award-winning restaurant Renommé. I'll be reviewing Renommé restaurant and show you the hotel bar in my next blog post about Gallery Park Hotel, so stay tuned!

    I thoroughly recommend Gallery Park Hotel Riga for an intimate, luxurious, and convenient stay in Riga - the staff are impeccably attentive (even organising for Henry and I to go on a husky sled ride today, which I can't wait for!), the history and aesthetics of the building is fascinating and stunning with gorgeous details everywhere, the location is perfect for those who want to walk around the Old Town and Art Nouveau areas of Riga, the Latvian bread basket (complimentary at breakfast) is a work of art (hehe), and those suites are a dream! A stay in the Imperial Suite would be a perfect romantic getaway for Valentine's Day. 

    Gallery Park Hotel Riga on Tripadvisor | Gallery Park Hotel Riga website 

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    Photos 2, 3, 13, 14, 15 courtesy of Gallery Park Hotel Riga. I was a guest of Gallery Park Hotel Riga but all words and opinions are, as always, audaciously and honestly mine.
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