I really feel like PUMA is making all the right waves at the moment. Just browsing through a concept store the other day, I was pretty impressed with their line up of stuff. Hokusai print totes and a jeans collaboration with Evisu are among the highlights of their current collection. Then there's the very music inspired streetwear collection. The detailing is really fine on all the stuff, with great stitching on their tees and jackets, lovely little colored tags sticking out. And there's already all the various other big name collaborations with Neil Barrett, Christy Turlington, Yasuhiro Mihara, Phillipe Starck and Alexander McQueen. PLUS the prices are very very competitive. I'm compelled to shell out some dosh for a pair of grey Lab IIs with lime green sole and accents.
I guess its no surprise that a Puma kitted Italy won the World Cup as well what with them being all over the place. Or is there some undercurrent here...?
Ooh, check out this bike collabo with Biomega as well.
Browsing through the Sony Ericsson Japan website is like looking into a crystal ball and the results can be just as erratic. Whilst you are looking into the future, there's no telling it will be the right one. What I mean to say is Japan make really cool stuff that they keep at home, sometimes releasing a bit of it so the world keeps lusting after their mad design flair. I really really abhor this sort of design nationalism and the protectionist measures that Japanese companies adopt! Share the love dammit!
The latest subject of my (mobile) fantasy is SE Japan's latest S0702i phone which anybody in Japan can get if they sign up with NTT DoCoMo. This cool clamshell is cute and comes in 3 basic colors (black, white and pink) and two panels which you can customize. Instead of 2 or 3 options, you get something like 25 sets which you mix and match as well. The panels are separated into categories as well. Panel Travel comes in London, Nordic and Japan graphic styles, whilst Panel Maison comes with Paint, Print and Texture Styles. The graphic styles take on classic styles from the 3 areas whilst the Paint is a variety of candy colors. Print is interesting in that the face plates come with striking graphics as well as holes, which allow the original color of the phone to come through, resulting in a nice effect. The Texture styles add a more tactile feel, with leather and lace forming the embellishment. Heck they even have a colloboration with Porter even.
Alas that minority of the world that isn't Japan will not be able to enjoy such sweet delights and we can only wallow in our stone aged fate. By the way, have I mentioned the dearth of cool phones outside Japan at the moment? My old phone is getting pretty bang up and I'm saddened by the fact I might settle for a Nokia or even a PEBL which is sort of equivalent to settling for a pair of Crocs instead of Zvezdochkas.
You can't quite see it in full detail here, but check out The Circle Project anyway, intricate drawings of circles by Richard Sarson. The compositions are simple but beautiful. Via Cool Hunting.
There was a recent article in the Straits Times which got my dad up and about, taking us to every other location in the article in our weekly ramen hunt. It lists the restaurants in no particular order of merit but I'll be kind and break it down for you. Its generally accepted that the best Japanese food comes from Japan. Still, you'd be surprised to find there's actually pretty good ramen in Singapore. The tendency is for me to see more Japanese than locals eating at the two places I'm mentioning, which are the pick of the bunch for me.
If you want super simple and accessible ramen which you'll keep going back to, its none other than Ohsho @ Cuppage Plaza. Tucked away in a blink and you'll miss corner, its packed all the time and the only ramen you have to try before you die is their tamago ramen. The stock is deceivingly simple yet delicious and its the main reason why you'll be smacking your lips when your bowl is empty and panging for more. I'd recommend not eating the egg until they've warmed in the stock. Resist any temptation to order anything with chilli or miso in it. Don't think for an instant that its more flavourful that way. It just covers the real taste of the soup. You're not getting bang for your buck that way. Some things are meant to be simple. Tamago or no go. At $10... this is the best value ramen and fabulous to experience on a consistent basis. Their location in Orchard just makes them all the more compelling.
If you want to spend a few more bucks, then hop over to Liang Court and dig into the ramen at Tampopo. If you didn't know, Tampopo is this Japanese movie about ramen. I remember watching it as a wide eyed 12 year old as the male and female leads exchanged an egg yolk in their mouths. Anyway, the main draw here is the black pig, or berkshire pork, ultra thin slices of char siew that seem to melt into the soup if you leave them there. In this case, I highly recommend ordering an extra order of char siew. Disregard foolish health concerns about fatty pork for a few seconds. Your tongue will thank you. At $13.80 a bowl, its pricier but with extras like roe going on top of the excellent noodles and soup, its still worth experiencing at least once. Their stock only pales very very marginally to Ohsho's but the overall package takes them over the edge for me.
I'm pretty certain I will never set foot in any old chain ramen store again.
*Update 5th Aug 2006! Somehow I got mixed up with the Tampopo ramen. The first time I went down, I actually ordered their Kyushu ramen as they ran out of the black pig shabu shabu pork. I went there again just a day ago and ordered the black pig shabu shabu ramen. This one comes with a chillified soup. The pork is even more melty and its great but I really prefer the Kyushu ramen.
Back in the day, we used to order a pizza for tea on Sundays and other than the same old hawaiian from the same old chain, we chanced upon Rocky's Pizza as well. It used to be at Sunset Way along Clementi Road and their pizzas were so so good. Thin crusted and smothered with delicious toppings and chewy cheese, they were warm pockets of heaven. So its much to my pleasure that we've recently rediscovered that they moved into our backyard (sort of) at the Rail Mall, somewhere past Upper Bukit Timah and Hillview. The pizza's still the same great stuff and I thoroughly recommend their Boston Special which comes with pepperoni, sausage, beef, mushroom and extra cheese. There isn't any fancy schmancy sausage/cheese stuffed into the crust or heart shapes on Valentine's or 2 for 1 specials. This is just pizza at its base level, delicious comfort food. Simple and bloody tasty. They send to mostly the western side of Singapore and what's cute is I get my pizza delivered by a dude in a car, not some uniformed staff on a company scooter. Check the link for their full menu.
Above is the Cancerpants journal designed by Grammy-nominated illustrator Jesse LeDoux for If'n Books + Marks. It also comes with the Cancerpants Superfuntime Kit, including a temporary tattoo, sticker, postcard, pencil and journalling tips. $1 from the sale of every Cancerpants Journal will be donated towards a cancer-related charity so if you're looking for a cute little journal to write/draw in, then get this for a good cause.
Rokko Foyer is Johannes Breyer and Marco Werth, two guys outta Germany that make some nice tees. They only have 3 designs at the moment but I really like Cash Mouth. Via Josh Spear.
onedotzero is this UK based digital film fest that opened and closed recently here in Singapore. It keeps running on around the world though and you can check the schedule for a stop near you. In Singapore, they did more than just showcase films and also got a few local artists to design posters. These posters were put up at various bus stops around the city before the fest, as both publicity and in promotion of local artists. My mother, who makes her own jewellery (more on that in future) was involved as the festival also had this inQbox area, which displayed some selected items. My mom's stuff was on as a result. Since I was tagged with the task of making her display stand and helping set it up, I got to see the posters being moved into the red dot museum where onedotzero would be held.
