Sun Above, Sin Below. SCARLETT and Maggie Choo’s Makes Nightlife Lush Again

Bangkok is quite good with super “Designed” Wallpaper*-esque nightlife concepts and offerings and has been since the emergence of “IT” joints like Bed Supper Club, FACE Bar, and Fallabella in the last decade.

While those bars are a memory of what they once were, making waves as of late are two new hotspots located high above the city with, SCARLETT, perfect for those wanting a sunset with a scene, and a new “speakeasy” very low underground, at the new/old Maggie Choo’s, for those wanting a bit of naughty privacy.  

If you plan on going to SCARLETT, make sure you get reservations first because patrons come here early to catch the sunset with pre drinks, and then follow-up with delicious Tapaz, cold cuts, and cheese, with wine pairing. In addition, the menu is formulated by 2-star Michelin Chef Manuel Martinez. 

The original SCARLETT is located in Beijing. The Bangkok bar is the sister location.

Designed by friends of mine at P49 DEESIGN, one of Asia’s top hospitality design studios, SCARLETT’s has plenty of greens for that softer touch and nice comfy outdoor lounging areas, plus indoor share tables perfect for big groups or impromptu meet ups. Tables are lit with exposed pendant bulbs to have that floating candle-light effect, and are framed by by colorful black, white, and red graphic tiles on the floor to add a bit of that Spanish fun and color but in a modern and subdued way.

It’s located centrally on the 37th floor of the Pullman Bangkok Hotel G where I stayed earlier this Spring. Its very easy to get to.

The sunset views are really the best part of the Pre-Dining experience here.

That same week, my friends and I were trying to figure out where to go for nightlife. And thinking that I wanted to blog about something new, a friend mentioned to me that a new bar, called Maggie Choo’s, just opened up by the same team which includes “IT” designer and “Nightlife Baron”, Ashley Sutton.

You may know Perth-born Sutton’s work via his other destination bars, Iron Fairies and Fat Gut’z. And recently he’s just opened a family friendly eating establishment at Siam Center, Mr. Jone’s Orphanage, and a bookshop/bar called Bookshop Bar. Funny that.

Just when you thought 1920’s Shanghainese fetishism in design has gone been-there-done-that… well, you can change your mind again with Sutton’s version of the concept… a concubine’s haven run by head-mistress, a character named, Maggie Choo.

What’s great about Maggie Choo’s, is that it’s truly a “speakeasy”, even the theatre of the sense of arrival gives you a feeling of naughy (using the word again) anticipation. 

The door (as all faux-speakeasies tend to be) is a side door on the Ground floor of an old Novotel on Silom Road. You walk in, see a tiled wall with a picture of men eating noodles, then you notice you’ll need to walk down a flight of stairs (hand carved) and enter a what seemingly looks like an old-school dai pai dong Cantonese noodle bar.

“Is this it?”, you ask yourself, “Where are the concubines on a swing I keep hearing about?”. Just when you thought you’d give it all up, a lady tells you to follow her through a door with curtains.

And then just like some magic trick, the space expands… into this…

…A lush cavernous bar lined with vaults clad in steel and brick, a plush central bar that looks like a bank teller… and swings… everywhere. That night I got there too early so there were no concubines on swings, (they were swinging on their own… ghastly), but I got the point.

You’ll be surprised to know that all the bricks, steel, and vaults were actually already there and were just incorporated by Sutton for the design… so no faux “Disneyfication” here.

The site was originally a 1947 East India Company Bank underground vault. The concept works great with the space. Each vault has a VIP sitting area, and i’m sure you can close it up for privacy. Also each vault area connects to the other vaults so you can have one big party.

We ordered yummy “cantonese” snacks of friend dumplings and chicken wings plus fries and fried peanuts with house cocktails which tasted like the 1920’s. 

These two served us.

It’s very well done. Although next time i’ll really want to try the noodles and dumplings at the cafe out front… which you can do before or after drinking!

According to their Facebook Page:

Maggie Choo’s was named after Shanghai cabaret owner who fled her hometown in 1931 following the Japanese invasion that tore the city.

Shortly after arriving in Bangkok, she found a 19th century Thai Chinese shoe box restaurant crammed into a basement 10 meters below Silom road serving authentic Thai chinese shophouse food.

When one day, she discovered behind the walls in the corner of the restaurant an entrance that lead to a derelict 19th century East India company bank built in 1847 used for storing porcelain and spices that the British used to carry back to England for Queen Victoria, her past caught up with her and she converted the old bank into a cabaret, just like when she used to back in Shanghai.

Today the cabaret is yet to be revived again…

Have a great night in Bangkok! We always do!

EAT SCARLETT Wine Bar & Restaurant, 37th Floor, Pullman Bangkok Hotel G, 188 Silom Road +66-2238-1992 / DRINK Maggie Choo’s, Novotel Bangkok Fenix Silom Hotel, 320 Silom Road 02-63506055

JJ.

Notes From Phuket, Songkran at Maikhao Dream

Songkran a.k.a. Thai New Year starts so much later in the year relative to Western or Chinese New Year, and this year the Thais celebrated this festive day on April 13th.

I was just so happy that I had the schedule to leave Hong Kong’s cold and wet Spring to bask in the Phuket sun as I was attending my first Songrkan while at the same time staying at the Maikhao Dream Resort & Spa in Natai, Phang Nga, one of Phuket’s newest and most luxurious resort properties.

According to Thai tradition, New Year rituals begin early in the morning when Thais rise to give alms to Buddist monks at the temple. As practice, children and the young are supposed to pour scented water over the hand’s of elders, and are then wished good health, happiness, and prosperity in return. This exchange of water for wishes is called “Rod Nam Dam Hua”. However, these days… it’s like an episode of “Thais Gone Wet & Wild”.

It’s the only time of year when Thais let loose and en masse go to the streets to go all water crazy. Using big water guns, pails, and hoses, locals splash water on themselves, other cars, and unsuspecting tourists who should know better. That said, most foreign visitors go to Thailand during Songkran just so they can party and get dangerously wet on the streets.

While my friends opted for Bangkok for the same weekend, I was looking for Phuket’s more chill environment. That said… with trucks and vehicles blasting dance music, and people with water guns all over the street, the Songkran scene in Phuket is not any less than other parts of the country.

Overall the trip was indeed sunny, fun, wild, and wet.

The Maikhao Dream Villa Resort and Spa played extraordinary hosts to the long Songrkan weekend. They had an amazing festive set up on New Year’s Day which included the freshest Thai Food market-style with the best spices, greens, and seafood available.

I mean seriously. The chef went to town. I think I pretty much had the best Pad-Thai of my life at that resort.

The properties, and there are two… one located in Phuket at Maikhao Beach and another one 15 minutes away at Natai Beach in Phang Nga, are rare in that they’re literally beach side (meaning you can step out of your villa and jump right into the water), and that the beaches are surrounded by National Parks, making them completely private, luxurious, and quiet from “party tourists”. 

You can literally have breakfast, lunch, and dinner quietly while watching the waves go by.

And if the beach is not your thing, every villa and room has immediate access to the central Salt Water swimming pool… while a few, like my suite, has a private pool extending directly from the room.

The resort’s designers, Bangkok based dwp, opted for a simple, lush, and contemporary subdued style which relates strongly with Thailand’s traditional colonial architectural history.  

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So This Happened. Inflatables Attacked Hong Kong.

The last time images of giant inflatables moved in into a large metropolitan area, everyone was sprayed with toxic laughing gas… then died. 

Above. Batman, 1989.

While Mobile M+ may have mirroring motives (ie. to make you happy), death by laughter is certainly not one of them. Warning, a big smile on the face may be a side effect.

How about an air-filled roast pork by China’s Cao Fei in House of Treasures, 2013.

Or perhaps South Korea’s Choi Jeong Hwa’s black lotus flower in Emptiness is Form. Form is Emptiness, 2013?

Floating higher above, a great work by Jiakun Architects of China with With The Wind, 2009 which debuted at the Shenzhen Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale for Architecture and Urbanism.

Here’s a pile of poo. Thanks to Paul McCarthy from the US with his work titled, Complex Pile, an “inflatable sculpture of a twisted pile of excrement”.

Here’s a roach from Tam Wai Ping, a Hong Kong artist, with his work, Falling into the Mundane World, 2013.

As an architect i’m drawn to this almost 1:1 scale inflatable model of Stonehenge in Jeremy Deller’s Sacrilege, 2012.

Now I have no idea if the following work is part of the Mobile M+: Inflation! Exhibition above in the West Kowloon Cultural District Promenade (WKCD), but this thing happened today at Harbour City in Hong Kong.

Titled Rubber Duck, this 16.5 high floating wonder is conceived by Dutch conceptual artist, Florentijn Hofman. The duck represents a work “with no frontiers, discrimination, or political connotation.” According to Hofman, “the friendly Rubber Duck has healing properties: it an relive tensions as well as define them. The Rubber Duck is soft, friendly, and suitable for all ages.” Harbour City always gets it right. Rubber Duck leaves June 9th, just after Art Basel Hong Kong is over.

Meanwhile the inflation on the WKCD Promenade is part of the Mobile M+ series which began last year. Via their PR Sheet:

“Mobile M+: Inflation!” aims to pose questions about the nature of public art and the ways in which audiences might engage with it. Several of these are derived from everyday objects that have been inflated to outsized proportions as a way of rendering the familiar unfamiliar, more tangible, and uncannily touchable than ever before. Other works in the exhibition question the nature and potential of art and architecture in public space through installations that evoke ephemerality and reflect on human relationships to built environment and to the natural world.

VISIT Mobile M+: Inflation!, West Kowloon Cultural District Promenade, Open all days and Public Holidays except Mondays from 11am to 8pm, Free of Charge / VISIT 16.5-meter-high Gigantic Inflatable Rubber Duck Exhibition, Ocean Terminal Harbour City, Victoria Harbour 

JJ.

NOTE: Thank you so much M+, West Kowloon Cultural District Authority for the Photos by Nicholas Tse and Thank you Harbour City for the photo of the Rubber Duck courtesy of Florentijn Hofman.

Scene&Seen: Our Imminent Domain, Asia Society HK Brings Future Design Now

Dreams and musings abound in a new exhibition about tomorrow’s design by 12 of Hong Kong’s most renowned and award-winning designers, curated  as an original show for Asia Society Hong Kong. This, the first non-imported exhibit for Asia Society since opening it’s doors in Admiralty a year ago, is a big push towards highlighting Hong Kong as a “Design City”. While I believe we have a very long way to go before that is the case, the site specific works within a grand venue, designed by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, and the curation, by Fumio Nanjo, Director of Mori Art Museum in Tokyo gives the whole experience an added weight and legitimacy that is needed to further foster the works of these designers and to push their ideas further within a more international sphere.

The beautiful site, a building designed by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien.

This amazing piece, a mixture of steel and LED lights, by Architect/Designer, Dylan Kwok, titled, Skyscrapers.

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CULTURE CHANEL 02: Curator Jean-Louis Froment Choreographs Chanel Exhibition of Passion, Fashion, and Picasso

In Guangzhou, Architecture, History, and Fashion are all intertwined in an elegant dance, choreographed gracefully by acclaimed French Curator and Artistic Director, Jean-Louis Froment for the third chapter of the Culture Chanel Exhibition which first opened to audiences in Beijing and Shanghai a few years ago. The architecture of Zaha Hadid’s Guangzhou Opera House is the show’s site. The History is the work on display of master artists, Pablo Picasso and Jean Cocteau among the few. And the Fashion is the work of the House of Chanel from its inception to now.

“Dance” is the keyword for an exhibit with a main center piece that is not a Chanel item, but the world’s largest original Pablo Picasso, Le Train Bleu, a 10m x 12m stage curtain of two voluptuous female figures dancing for a 1924 Sergei Diaghilev ballet of the same name.

Curator, Jean-Louis Froment below in front of Le Train Bleu.

But before this apex which occurs in the Opera House’s black box (a perfect fit), Froment takes us on a walk through amongst pieces straight from the Chanel Archives, arranged amongst manuscripts, drawings, photographs, and art by Coco Chanel’s contemporaries, Picasso, Jean Cocteau, Amedeo Modigliani, and Max Jacob, just to name a few. Of course there are current Chanel pieces in there by Karl Lagerfeld which mirrors archive works, as well as photographs by Mario Testino,  Jerome Schlomoff, Peter Fink, and Corinne Day. 

A Photograph of Coco Chanel

Works by Picasso at Culture Chanel Guangzhou 2013.

Thankfully the works are housed in delicate glass boxes with no text, label, or date, to explain them. The visitor is forced to really look at each piece which is removed from context and time deliberately by Froment, so the focus is not on a linear narrative, but a visually thematic one.

As an example, each major piece from the archive is placed in one of 5 chapters which all touch on the themes of the ballet, Le Train Bleu. The themes of Breathe, Move, Love, Dream, and Invent, connect to a period in the life of Coco Chanel, as well as her adventures on the beach as a sailor, on horseback, as a tennis player, as a dancer, as a lover of men, as a lover of the countryside, as a muse, as a dreamer, and as a crafty inventor. (I put it literally linear for you all.)  

Initially it may be a bit jarring that there is no explanation for which bottle of perfume is original and which was made last year, but that is the point. The point is not to look at the placard next to the work, the point is to look at the work, and to formulate for oneself the items created by Coco Chanel and the House of Chanel, as a gauge of what women seek in their time.

A few exceptions however, this piece cannot be mistaken for current perfume and is an OBVIOUS original. The original bottles for Chanel No.5 designed with perfumer Ernest Beaux. The small one in 1921. The large one in 1924.

On top of being introduced to this show in Guangzhou by Chanel, we were also given the opportunity to speak with curator, Froment about the 3rd show and the overwhelming space designed by Zaha Hadid.

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theWanderlister+ Interview with Curator, Jean-Louis Froment RE: Culture Chanel Guangzhou 2013.

W+: How exciting was it to prepare an exhibition for the Guangzhou Opera House, a Zaha Hadid space? Is the feeling different from the first two exhibits in Beijing and Shanghai with you?

JLF: Absolutely! This architecture really inspires me a lot. And definitely the architectural context was distinct. It really gives a certain dynamism to this exhibition, that Chanel appreciated.  The fact that this is not a traditional venue for exhibition, we had to invent a subject that had a relationship to such a venue. The exhibitions in Beijing and Shanghai wouldn’t work in such a venue, because immediately if those exhibits would be housed here, the Opera House as a building would be irrelevant. That’s why I requested the House of Chanel to frame the exhibit around the performance and specifically “the Ballet”.

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CULTURE CHANEL 01: A New Guangzhou Experience

“I Want to be part of what is going to happen,” Says Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel.

And now she’s exhibiting at the Guangzhou Opera House (GOH) by Zaha Hadid from beyond the grave. How about that? She’s still a part of the Zeitgeist.

Coco Chanel was indeed very much a part of what was happening during the time she established her Atelier in the first half of the 20th Century, helping lead a movement in her own way of female cultural liberation in terms of their role beyond the home… in the arts, in education, self expression, and sexuality. All of these aspects were explored in a narrative formulated by curator Jean-Louis Froment, for the Guangzhou leg of the Culture Chanel, which isexhibiting at the GOH.

But getting ahead of myself, before writing about the show and my interview with Mr. Froment in the 2nd part of this post, let’s talk about Guangzhou. 

The last time I ventured to Guangzhou, I wrote about Hadid’s Opera House within months of its opening and was left feeling a bit skeptical about the Opera House and the new Central Business District (CBD). In my opinion it seems that everything was pretty rushed, and construction time compressed in an effort to build a new CBD at lightning speed. Additionally I was worried, too, about the CBD’s new context. That said with my recent visit this month, some of my worries have not gone away, but was quite happy to discover that the New Zhujiang Town in Guangzhou, as this place is called, is looking pretty good. There is no other pedestrian street like it in China with commercial and cultural icons flanking both sides of a linear promenade. And definitely no promenade with a granite clad Hadid building adjacent. This is definitely the perfect location for the Culture Chanel Exhibition.

Above the Guangzhou IFC (2010) by KFP, a building with a triangular footprint. Below, Rocco Design’s Guandong Museum (2010).

Above, the Guangzhou Library (2011) by Nikken Sekkei. Below… an urban Peanut (2009), by sculptor, Xu Hongfei.

Our friends at Chanel got me to Guangzhou in about 1.5 hours via a direct car service which picked us up from the Four Seasons HK in Central, door to door, to the newly unveiled, Four Seasons Hotel Guangzhou at the IFC.

Four Seasons Hotel is located right in the middle if it all in the Zhujiang, and a five minutes walk away from the opera house and the exhibit.

If I thought the cultural street was pretty cool, it was nothing compared to what was in store for me on the 70th floor of the Four Seasons Hotel Guangzhou Atrium Lobby… This.

This is the Instagram Photo I took as soon as I entered this Atrium Space. What you’re seeing in the photo are the hotel room floors opening to the central void in the shape of a triangle. The edges of the balcony oscillate in such a way that the embedded led strips of the balustrade formulate what seems to be a star expanding from the triangular center.

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Beijing JJStyle 06: Streets of Style

It’s not a proper vacation to Beijing until you’ve experienced old and new world shopping unique only to this city. I’m talking about making time to visit the boutiques and cafes of Nanluoguxiang Hutong and the edgy and exciting retail experience found at Sanlitun Village.

Nanluoguxiang was built during the Yuan Dynasty in the 1700’s, and today is still home to many of Beijing’s residents. This hutong is also a popular venue for those who are looking for the quirky gift or unique fashion find that are design-oriented pieces original to the artists and craftsmen based in the city. Check out these cheeky porcelain figures.

… Or these funny postcards. Most of them are in “Engrish” (Chinese-English), but you get the general gist of the message.

Shops sell everything from authentic shoes worn by Beijing people for hundreds of years…

…To propaganda shirts which remix historic Chinese images to create new messages and designs that give their product that “contemporary art” edge.

Im speechless.

There were so many lanes which branched out of the main street. It would take a whole day to visit all of them.

With so much to see, it’s easy to get a bit tired. That’s why it’s always good to take a rest and to have a sip of some hot Chinese Tea or coffee at one of the many establishments in the Hutong made for visitors and tourists. These cafes have plenty of character and allows one to recharge before continuing their shopping journey.

For lunch we had some “Dan Dan Min (Hot and Spicy Noodles)” at another local eatery,  Red Ding Coffee.

They had a beautiful courtyard.

But for street food… you can opt for steamy yams.

Or Caramelized Fruits on a stick. This was divine.

This dessert is called Tanghulu and it’s a Beijing original. I had figs.

Other fashion finds for me include these original (read “real) Feiyue shoes for about 130RMB (18-20USD).

And this fashionable gentleman.

Across town it’s all about modern indoor-outdoor shopping experiences with Sanlitun Village.

Criss crossing glass planes, diagonal pathways, and a LED lights define this new shopping environment. 

Every corner is a different discovery.

From Home furnishings…

To current fashion trends… it’s all here.

Vying for your attention.

New or old…

… There’s something in Beijing for every stylish individual, like this gent I spotted at Sanlitun Village.

Or this gent at Nanluoxguxiang who was channeling a young Woody Allen.

Also spotted… Fashion Blogger, Vanessa Hong at Sanlitun Village. Love the quilted jacket and ripped jean denim.

We hung out with Vincent from VICE Magazine China.

I’ll miss all this. Thank you Hilton Hotels & Resorts for such a wonderful and memorable trip!

SHOP Nanluoguxiang Hutong / SHOP Sanlitun Village / EAT Red Ding Coffee 

This post was originally published on November 24, 2012 for CNN.com and Hilton Hotels and Resorts for the CNNGO Experience Asia Contest.

JJ.

Beijing JJStyle 04: Visiting Tiananmen

On our first outing the day after arriving, we paid homage to Beijing as China’s center of political power by paying a visit to Tiananmen Square located right in the middle of the city. But first we needed to fill up on a power breakfast at VASCO’s at the Hilton Beijing Wangfujing, our hotel.

We asked for coffee… and we got a whole pot of coffee press coffee. Impressive.

While I’ve been to Tiananmen Square in the past, it was the first time for my friend, Denise. It was really exciting as we were approaching the Square, a short 5-10 minute ride from our hotel.

I keep forgetting how the scale of the streets, buildings, and open spaces that make up the Square and the walls that surround the Forbidden City adjacent are planned and designed in such a way to amp up “Wow” factor for any tourist, visitors, and all state guests. The wide lanes and the open spaces also make room for processions and pageantry of all sorts.

Tiananmen actually refers to the initial portal of the Forbidden City, also called The Gate of Heavenly Peace. This gate was first built in 1420 during the Ming Dynasty, and appears in many Chinese printed iconography, including the official National Emblem of China.

Tiananmen Square is the city square across the road from the Tiananmen and is the site of where most Political pageantries, shows, as well as public gatherings have been held over the years. And compared to when I first visited, the Square today is very safe, clean, and full of Chinese nationals from all over the country paying a visit. 

Below is an ultra huge LED screen devoted to showing tourism-style travel shows of each region in China to visit. This is a recent addition which is new to me.

The reason why it’s safe to visit now, is because like any National Monument, these days the square is fenced off from all sides, and you have to cross a security checkpoint, complete with body and bag scanners to make sure you’re not carrying a weapon. The checkpoint will generally filter out any street hawkers or the type of people that tend to harass tourists in these kind of places.

Denise was just excited to have a neat backdrop to take “street style” photos for her fashion blog.

Unfortunately we didn’t have the whole day to explore… but there’s just so much to see here at the seat of China’s political power.

Everything is so tidy and clean.

On the way out we picked up a few propaganda goodies for fun.

There’s more in Beijing to see. Time to go!

Impressive.

It rained. Alot.

It made everything look a bit moodier which I love.

Great times.

VISIT Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City / STAY Hilton Beijing Wangfujing / EAT Vasco’s

This post was originally published on November 20, 2012 for CNN.com and Hilton Hotels and Resorts for the CNNGO Experience Asia Contest.

JJ.

theW+ Invites: Direct to DETOUR 2012

Starting November 30 until December 16th you can check out a POP-UP Renegade Style Exhibition at an urban scale via DETOUR 2012, an annual design festival which began a few years ago to coincide with the same dates as Business of Design Week (BODW).

This year designers will take over the Former Police Headquarters, its plaza, and spaces throughout the streets and neighborhoods around it in Wanchai.

Projects include walk-in installations (be respectful to them please), graffiti interventions, a giant blackboard, a portable marketplace (HAWKERAMA 2), for designers to hawk their wares, and workshops by artists themselves. The exhibition and events are free and open to the public. All the ask is for you to have fun, enjoy the works, and enjoy hanging out in one of Hong Kong’s heritage building sites.

Works include the Shell Star Pavilion (pictured above) by San Fransisco based architect, Andrew Kudless. Berlin experimental architecture practice, Raumlabor, will present the Hong Kong Fountain House, which will act as a central point within the festival’s plaza area, and will provide water as a gift to guests, “encouraging visitors to consider the crucial role free water plays in bringing together society.”

A work by Raumlabor below. The Generator, 2010.

Crying in Public, is a work by Civic Centre: Candy Chang and James A Reeves, US based artists. They will utilise a giant blackboard for passer-bys to pause and reflect their emotional connection to the city. The board will ask questions like “Where was the last place you cried?” and “Where was your first kiss?” Guests are encouraged to participate with answers.

Other artists on exhibit… Rebar.

And Architectural artist, Tim Li from Hong Kong.

Other artists and designers participating include, Kacey Wong, Rraay Lai, Billy Potts (Handsome Co), Eileen Chan of The Yesterdayskin, and Amus Leung plus many more. Exhibitions daily until December 16th until about 9pm depending on the program and is located in the Former Police Headquarters and the passage at the Central Oasis. 

VISIT DETOUR 2012

JJ.