a couple days ago, i attended a luncheon with some remarkable people.
one of them was an incredible poet who later gave me her book.
here are some lines from her book
清辰永远牵不到黄昏的手
彼此间却有着永恒的期待
dawn never holds the hand of dusk -
there is an eternal expectation between them.
**********************************************************************
i haven't been able to discuss what i've been eating because nothing has really stuck out at me. i mean granted i'm in the land of sweet and sour pork, and peking duck, but i haven't been AMAZED yet.
Okay thats a lie, i have been amazed. I attended a late lunch at this place called Green T House, an oasis in the middle of farm and construction zone. And what they did have a Tom Yung Kung soup. Normally i prefer the seedy place down the street where you literally see the bugs crawling out of the kitchen, and i am 80% sure they just let them crawl straight back into the darker coloured dishes and serve them. but this Green T place would never do that. Not only were the ceramics of every person's bowl different (i later had the priviledge, and strictly by coincidence, went to her studio to see how she works), the soup had enough lime flavour to it to not have the shrimp and clammy seafoodness overpower it. The hint of coconut as well was just a hint.
Post pics soon!
Saturday 26 September 2009
Lions
(Originally written September 23, 2009)
I spent about an hour in the feeding cage of the big cat department at the zoo yesterday. There were so many things to observe other than the obvious: their living situation, how it was florescent lit, the lack of circulating air. It was a prison more or less. Everything was grey, green and it smelled of meat and shit and hay.
Though being in the presence of these incredible creatures, was something very special, I was standing in the centre of the room surrounded by the largest species of cats in existence, watching them eat. Lion, Siberian tigers, white tigers, jaguars, some lynx all together in one room. At least 20 different ones surrounded me gnawing at meat roaring at each other. There’s something inherently sexy and attractive about these massive animals. And despite their living situations, and although their dignity has been stripped away from them, they exuded a type of confidence and an instinctual quality that so many of go one in life searching for. They could be in any situation in a prison and still just BE.
Of course I couldn’t tell what they are roaring each other. I could make the assumption that it was about hunger, but I’d like to think it was something complicated. I felt this sense of camaraderie and respect they had for each other. And if for a moment I thought what chaos it would bring if I let them all out. That little shock may be what we need. We are constantly under the gaze of what others think or see, or basically how everything is HYPER observed. But is that good for us? Look at how miserable the lions are. We know too many words, descriptive terms, we can classify everything, separate them into categories, and put everything in its apparent correct place but it is what we need in life? I really hope not. After all who wants to be a huge lion stuck in a cage at the end of the day.
I spent about an hour in the feeding cage of the big cat department at the zoo yesterday. There were so many things to observe other than the obvious: their living situation, how it was florescent lit, the lack of circulating air. It was a prison more or less. Everything was grey, green and it smelled of meat and shit and hay.
Though being in the presence of these incredible creatures, was something very special, I was standing in the centre of the room surrounded by the largest species of cats in existence, watching them eat. Lion, Siberian tigers, white tigers, jaguars, some lynx all together in one room. At least 20 different ones surrounded me gnawing at meat roaring at each other. There’s something inherently sexy and attractive about these massive animals. And despite their living situations, and although their dignity has been stripped away from them, they exuded a type of confidence and an instinctual quality that so many of go one in life searching for. They could be in any situation in a prison and still just BE.
Of course I couldn’t tell what they are roaring each other. I could make the assumption that it was about hunger, but I’d like to think it was something complicated. I felt this sense of camaraderie and respect they had for each other. And if for a moment I thought what chaos it would bring if I let them all out. That little shock may be what we need. We are constantly under the gaze of what others think or see, or basically how everything is HYPER observed. But is that good for us? Look at how miserable the lions are. We know too many words, descriptive terms, we can classify everything, separate them into categories, and put everything in its apparent correct place but it is what we need in life? I really hope not. After all who wants to be a huge lion stuck in a cage at the end of the day.
Tuesday 8 September 2009
The Two Cs
There's something about the two Cs that always put a smile on my face. CLAMS + COCONUTS
i go to this small place in China town that i have personal history with. I believe it was my father who started working there as a busboy when he first came to America. The food that day was so-so, so i will not put it on the list but here are some things that have entered my belly in recent days.
BROILED SWORDFISH ATOP OF BED OF HARICOT VERT
BEET AND CUCUMBER SALAD
QUICHE LOREN
YOYOS - A CORNBREAD MUFFIN STUFFED WITH CHEESE AND YOU INDIVIDUALLY DIP THEM INTO SYRUP
over the weekend, i attended a relatively quiet dinner party. everything seemed to have the same theme: GRILLED at times i think to myself: what did i ever do to get to eat these things? No fried food this weekend thats for sure, and maybe thats why i had nightmares because of the lack of fried chicken
at the Grilled Dinner on Rooftop i'll refer to it from now as GDR, we had one of the two Cs: Clams. The clams were simply put on the grill until they opened up. I think my favourite clams are still cherry stone. They are huge, but full of the ocean flavours that bring such a huge smile of satisfaction to my face every time. After the clams, we ate some of the grilled vegetables that included carrots, corn, squash, asparagus, portobellos.
Okay, the meal was beautiful to look at and you could taste all the flavours perfectly. of course my favourite was the Clams. You can't go bad with clams really because its either they are just ROTTEN or they just WORK, and a large clam makes a peawok very happy. Quail has its natural flavours that drip from their little bodies and the meat was tender. My only critique was this: There was no butter used! I know there are alternate products: olive oil, pam, etc but i really believe the secret to life is Butter. Well Butters and the two Cs.
I also wanted to include another image from a meal that I made in the spring time. it was not GDR but inside the kitchen instead!
i go to this small place in China town that i have personal history with. I believe it was my father who started working there as a busboy when he first came to America. The food that day was so-so, so i will not put it on the list but here are some things that have entered my belly in recent days.
BROILED SWORDFISH ATOP OF BED OF HARICOT VERT
BEET AND CUCUMBER SALAD
QUICHE LOREN
YOYOS - A CORNBREAD MUFFIN STUFFED WITH CHEESE AND YOU INDIVIDUALLY DIP THEM INTO SYRUP
over the weekend, i attended a relatively quiet dinner party. everything seemed to have the same theme: GRILLED at times i think to myself: what did i ever do to get to eat these things? No fried food this weekend thats for sure, and maybe thats why i had nightmares because of the lack of fried chicken
at the Grilled Dinner on Rooftop i'll refer to it from now as GDR, we had one of the two Cs: Clams. The clams were simply put on the grill until they opened up. I think my favourite clams are still cherry stone. They are huge, but full of the ocean flavours that bring such a huge smile of satisfaction to my face every time. After the clams, we ate some of the grilled vegetables that included carrots, corn, squash, asparagus, portobellos.
Okay, the meal was beautiful to look at and you could taste all the flavours perfectly. of course my favourite was the Clams. You can't go bad with clams really because its either they are just ROTTEN or they just WORK, and a large clam makes a peawok very happy. Quail has its natural flavours that drip from their little bodies and the meat was tender. My only critique was this: There was no butter used! I know there are alternate products: olive oil, pam, etc but i really believe the secret to life is Butter. Well Butters and the two Cs.
I also wanted to include another image from a meal that I made in the spring time. it was not GDR but inside the kitchen instead!
everyone look UP
Walking home this evening was supposed to be uneventful until i looked up into the sky and saw these two lights beaming into the clouds with at least 300 or more fireflies going through the lights. Something that always touches me is seeing an incredible feat; experiencing human resilience is such a privilege.
i spent the day with an artist that i had worked with in the past. its so interesting to me how we all eventually cross paths with each other, that is, if it was meant to happen. he even said to me "i didn't expect this to turn out the way it was going to be."
An old friend of mine and I were laying in her empty apartment the other afternoon. She said to me "peawok, wouldnt it be lovely, if we could just watch the ceiling all day and not have to worry in life?" I know its tempting, but i had to disagree. its such an extreme emotion and expectation to only want that. the lack of balance makes these wonderful fantasies feel so great. My point is this though: Do we need these extremes in our lives? Saying you're bored is still an extremity in itself as well right?
On another note, Brains called me "Baby Venus" the other day because my i apparently don't break hearts, but always have my heart broken. So am I then a "Baby Persephone" instead?
i spent the day with an artist that i had worked with in the past. its so interesting to me how we all eventually cross paths with each other, that is, if it was meant to happen. he even said to me "i didn't expect this to turn out the way it was going to be."
An old friend of mine and I were laying in her empty apartment the other afternoon. She said to me "peawok, wouldnt it be lovely, if we could just watch the ceiling all day and not have to worry in life?" I know its tempting, but i had to disagree. its such an extreme emotion and expectation to only want that. the lack of balance makes these wonderful fantasies feel so great. My point is this though: Do we need these extremes in our lives? Saying you're bored is still an extremity in itself as well right?
On another note, Brains called me "Baby Venus" the other day because my i apparently don't break hearts, but always have my heart broken. So am I then a "Baby Persephone" instead?
Wednesday 2 September 2009
evian is naive backwards!
my brother taught me that years ago, i guess every one knows that by now. so i'm such a great mood lately. there must be something in the air. I had a weekend of ONLY fried chicken! On sunday, i attended a dinner party that requested for food that you grew up with. My friend brought pineapples, because he was from Hawaii, and i brought.. Donuts..two dozen assorted dunkin donuts.i mean for myself, anything would be easy so long as it had to do with mass american chain food restaurants. i do not need Ladurée, the Atelier, or Bouley to bring me pleasure. though those are my favourite places..
there were a bunch of dogs sniffing each others butts at the park this weekend, and i began to think. How would our relationships be if we just treated each other like a bunch of dogs? "You sniff, i sniff, No Thank You or Lets be friends" how simple would life be? No complex situations, no awkward conversation, no denouement or climax necessary, no feeling bad or guilty... Just wag your tail, show some teeth. the end. the point is this: we make our relationships so much more complex than they really deserve to be. our taught, beautiful skin, long necks, and glossy hair does not deserve this type of stress on it.
there were a bunch of dogs sniffing each others butts at the park this weekend, and i began to think. How would our relationships be if we just treated each other like a bunch of dogs? "You sniff, i sniff, No Thank You or Lets be friends" how simple would life be? No complex situations, no awkward conversation, no denouement or climax necessary, no feeling bad or guilty... Just wag your tail, show some teeth. the end. the point is this: we make our relationships so much more complex than they really deserve to be. our taught, beautiful skin, long necks, and glossy hair does not deserve this type of stress on it.
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