Get ready! Sharlene VS Hong Kong premieres on MTV Canada on Monday April 16 at 8pmET. Here's a quick sneak peek from our first day in the city with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart:
HONG KONG NIGHTLIFE GUIDE WITH JOSIE & THE UNI BOYS
Of course, by our 6th and last night in Hong Kong, my vicious jetlag had almost dissipated and it was time to go home. To close out the show, I meet Josie & the Uni Boys at Man Sing Restaurant in Tai Han, an up and coming neighborhood at its very start of gentrification, similar to the early days of buzzy East London in the UK and Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Fronted by Josie Ho, who’s also a film actor and producer, Josie & the Uni Boys knocks out angsty rock for the dancefloor. Their single Watch You Going Down is an English track off their latest EP and was also featured in the satirical Hong Kong horror film that Josie also produced and acted in called Dream House. In the film, Josie kills her victims with a variety of "creative" tools such as a bong and a vacuum-packed bag. If you want to catch Josie in a North American release, she’s in the Hong Kong storyline in Contagion as well as in the upcoming film The Courier with Mickey Rourke.
Although many people in Hong Kong know Josie as the rebel daughter of Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho (last checked, he had an estimated worth of $7 billion US), she’s also a huge force in the indie film scene when she’s not yelping and jumping all over the stage. 852 Films is a production company that she formed with her manager Andrew Ooi and husband Conroy Chan (who also co-created Alive Not Dead with some of the Rotten Tomatoes guys), and is completely dedicated to pushing the boundaries in HK with younger, edgier films.
PHOTO OP WITH THE MAN SING FAMILY
After chatting about the band’s DIY approach and opting for an indie vs major label deal, we full-on indulged in Man Sing’s signature home comfort food, like the meat tower, sweet 'n sticky pork chops, and spicy tofu & crab.
THE MAN SING MEAT TOWER
For dessert, we hit Josie’s fellow actor-friend’s shop, Siu Tan Ku. Here, classic desserts are given a delicious modern twist like my favorite of the night, the lychee panna cotta. Listen, I’m lactose intolerant and didn’t have my Lactaid on me but I finished the whole damn thing. Worth it.
THE LYCHEE PANNA COTTA AT SIU TAN KU
To cap off our night, we headed to the epicenter of HK nightlife, the Lan Kwai Fong district, and dodged past all the bright lights and pumping fists through to an abandoned square where we walked up and over to get to this really rad bar, a Josie & the Uni Boys’ fave, called Yumla (which has since been shut down, and nothing to do with us, I swear).
DODGING THE TRAFFIF IN LKF
Much love to Josie & the Uni Boys for closing out the Hong Kong episode of VS. with me and showing off the HK night guide you would no doubt NOT find in any other travel show.
MORE HONG KONG POSTS:
MILKTEETH IN KWUN TONG
SIMON YIN AT VICTORIA HARBOUR
EATING AND SHOPPING WITH PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART
TIGERBOMBERS IN LAMMA ISLAND
NOW TV'S ATM GAME SHOW!
So not only did I get to live out the unreal of appearing on a crazy Asian game show but I also got to guest co-host one while in Hong Kong. The show's called ATM and no, I did not miraculously learn how to speak Cantonese in 5 days but I did memorize one line in the dialect (“I’m very happy to be here today”) which, surprise, doesn’t actually get you too far, so I was allowed to speak English for the rest of the show with the other hosts translating while enthusiastically waving around different colored plastic hands. Confused yet?
ATM is like Who Wants to be a Millionaire except viewers at home who subscribe to the show actually play along with special remote controls in real time and get the chance to win the huge money prize that can vary from $25,000 to $100,000 depending on the amount of correct answers. The show airs live Monday to Thursday at 10:30pm with a rotating cast of hilarious hosts who present the questions and answers. The choice of answers corresponds to a color- red, yellow, green, or blue. Hence, the colored plastic hands we waved around like mad. Silly? Yes. Fun? Hell yeah.
SCRIPT MEETING WITH THE PRODUCERS AND HOSTS
GETTING BIG HAIR FOR THE SHOW
READY TO WALK-ON
THE LIVE SHOW BEGINS!
Thanks so much to Now TV and the awesome staff at ATM!
FOR MORE ON HONG KONG:
CANTOPOP STAR KARY NG AT OZONE
The mainstream music scene in Hong Kong is still very much dominated by Cantopop, a genre of music that mainly focuses on dramatic love songs sung by pretty young things. Not exactly my kind of thing but so deeply ingrained into the pop culture here. The huge stars in the game include Edison Chen and Joey Yung, but the scene is changing. TimeOut Hong Kong recently did an interesting feature on the changing face of Cantopop and how it’s starting to delve into the folk and rock territories. The love songs are still there but the sound is starting to evolve with new artists like singer-songwriter Luke Chow and rapper MC Jin breaking new ground.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Kary Ng was apart of a girl group called Cookies when she was 15, then joined a rock band called Ping Pung, and now barely in her twenties, she’s a huge Hong Kong star who can be seen plastered on billboards around the city, selling out arenas, and taking Cantopop to its next level. I invited Kary to come meet me at Ozone, also known as the highest bar in the world located in the highest hotel in the world, to teach me the ways of Cantopop while taking in some delicious cocktails and tapas. You know me, I always gotta get food in there!
PICKLED PEAR AND SERRANO JAMON
Being a huge beauty junkie, I wanted to know Kary’s favorite place to buy all those special cosmetic brands that are exclusive to Asia, so she took me to Harbour City to shop around their Faces department (cue ultra-girlie moment) and yes, I just about died. And between us, I also just really wanted to see what going around Hong Kong with one of their own pop stars would be like- basically, lots of giggling young girls gathering around with their iPhones is what happens.
SHOPPING AROUND HARBOUR CITY
FOR MORE ON HONG KONG:
I dropped by the Toronto studio of Chloe Comme Parris and chatted with the lovely sister designing duo as they are diligently preparing for their Fall/Winter 2012 collection for the forthcoming Fashion Week in March.
Here's our interview with images of their previous sketches and gorgeous designs:
JOEY BASHA, MILKTEETH
From the second of meeting Milkteeth, a self-professed freak-folk group, I was absolutely captivated by frontman Joey Basha, a charming 25 year old former sex writer from St. John’s, Newfoundland, who originally moved to Hong Kong for a boy. The romance didn’t last but Joey’s love affair with Hong Kong was serious and he decided to stay to finish university and start Milkteeth with friends Jeroen Brulez, Theo Chan, Dixon Chan, and Paul Yip. 8 days after shooting with us, Joey was found dead in a public toilet near his home in HK. It’s not the type of news you expect to find out over the holidays and needless to say, it was beyond shocking and saddening to hear about the tragic end to such a bright young talent. I’m incredibly thankful that I got the chance to know Joey during his last few days and happy that he got to meet his goal of being on MTV one day.
I met Milkteeth in the Kwun Tong district on top of the Jumbo Industrial building where they had set-up for a special rooftop performance. There are tons of abandoned factories that are made into rehearsal spaces by artists in this area. Milkteeth usually find themselves grabbing some beer at the nearby 7-11 and lugging whatever instruments they can carry up the twenty-odd story buildings and just chill and play music as loud as they want, for as long as they want. Joey tells me this is the essence of “dirty-pretty” in Hong Kong.
After playing a few songs for me, I chatted with the guys about their racy band name (Milkteeth is Asian porn slang meaning ‘barely legal’) and how their honest and at times downright dirty subject matter fits into popular music in Hong Kong, which is dominated by the usually squeaky clean Cantopop. Joey explained that just choosing to play music as a living opposed to more money-making careers like banking or engineering, let alone being openly gay, is seen as rebellious here; but at the same time, he said that Hong Kong can be an encouraging environment for artists like Milkteeth to continue to push the boundaries. It’s a world of contrasts and contradictions… it’s dirty-pretty.
To cap off our day, the boys took me to Senses 99 in Soho for a few celebratory drinks. Senses 99 is a two-story bar that is supposedly someone’s house in an old run-down building with a kitchen-bar/serving area and a stage on the second floor that looks like a rehearsal space. Once you buzz in and walk up the stairs, you'll see pieces of art on the walls that have been donated by its artist-patrons, a TV fish tank, and the young (like kid-young) bartender will do a Jedi mind-trick to ask what you want to drink. Weird but cool, right? Senses 99 is such a rad space and the perfect spot to wrap our shoot and time together.
My love and thoughts go out to Milkteeth and Joey’s friends and family, Joey was indeed an incredibly special soul.
MORE HONG KONG POSTS:
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF HONG KONG
EATING AND SHOPPING WITH PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART
SIMON YIN AT VICTORIA HARBOUR
NIGHLIFE WITH JOSIE HO
Simon Yin is a writer/director/producer/actor from Atlanta, Georgia, who has called New York, L.A., and now Hong Kong home. We met at the old Clock Tower near the Star Ferry concourse that overlooks the iconic Victoria Harbour. One of Simon’s films, Supercapitalist, a financial thriller that was picked up at Cannes last year, was shot in this same spot.
Since moving to Hong Kong, Simon’s also created CB FRESH, a sketch comedy show that blurs the line between reality and fantasy, directed music videos for huge Cantopop star Edison Chen and rapper MC Jin, started a production company called Bamboo Star Productions (meaning overseas Chinese, just like him) and directed Zombasians, a horror film in "3DD" starring, you guessed it, sexy Asian zombies.
I was curious as to why Simon (and a slew of other young talent like him) would leave the country that his parents worked so hard to emigrate to "for a better life with more opportunities," to only go back to the very country they had left to do so, decades ago. Simon joked that his mom cried for 10 days when he told her he was going to move to Hong Kong to jump into the lucrative world of filmmaking. His internal pull-back to Hong Kong pays a great deal to the fact that because the city is so small, everyone’s like 2 degrees separated, which makes for a super tight-knit community that harbours creativity. For example, Simon’s friend in New York from his MTV Chi VJ days, knew someone from the online artist community Alive Not Dead (founded in part by the same people behind Rotten Tomatoes) and from there, he got to meet other likeminded talent and just started creating… and hasn’t stopped since.
MORE HONG KONG POSTS:
MILKTEETH IN KWUN TONG
EATING AND SHOPPING WITH PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART
TIGERBOMBERS IN LAMMA ISLAND
NIGHTLIFE WITH JOSIE HO
After parting ways with Simon Yin, I made my way to Wan Chai to meet MC Jin (who coincidentally is buddies with Simon and have worked together on a music video- there’s that 2 degrees of separation Simon was talking about earlier). Jin was waiting for me at a basketball court that he regularly frequents and I got to show off some of my (non) b-ball skills while getting to know the Miami-born rapper. Surprisingly, I actually made the one-shot for camera. Like a champ.
Jin’s been living in Hong Kong as a rapper and actor for the past four years and like fellow expats, Jin’s determined to shake up the culture in HK. You may recognize Jin as the first Chinese rapper signed to a major label after winning seven battles in a row on BET’s Freestyle Friday on 106 & Park, inducting him in the Freestyle Friday Hall of Fame. His first single, Learn Chinese, featured Wyclef, and from there, Jin’s collaborated with Kanye West, featured in Far East Movement's "Millionaire," introduced President Obama during his Presidential campaign in New York City, and is pictured on ads across the city. Many fans questioned Jin’s choice to move to Hong Kong and the rapper explained that in the few years he’s lived in the city, he’s experienced more opportunities for acting and music than he has ever had prior in the States. For a dude with as much as hustle in him as Jin, that makes being in Hong Kong a no-brainer.
FOR MORE ON HONG KONG:
Hong Kong’s Tigerbombers is a trio commonly described as 'Surfer-billy' with a vicious kick of riot grrrl and comprised of Arthur Urquiola on guitar, Natalie Belbin on bass, and Jasmine Robertson on drums, with all three sharing vocal duties. The band is heavily involved in the burgeoning indie scene in Hong Kong, especially the lone lucky male, Art, who previously used to be in at least 6 bands, including Six Pack of Wolves. I had only watched, and loved, the band’s two youtube videos (below), before I reached out to them to see if they would be interested in helping me get to know their city and was stoked to find out more about their sound, the music community they are helping to build, and what a typical day in Hong Kong is like for them.
Natalie and Art met me at Central pier no.4 after their Clockenflap set and we made our 25-minute journey via a very bumpy but scenic ferry ride (make sure to pack whatever anti-motion sickness methods work for you or you will definitely not notice even a hint of the beauty) to Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island, where Natalie lives. Lamma Island (population 5000) is home to numerous bands like David Bowie Knives, Transnoodle, and Dark Himaya, and DJ's Songs For Children (a couple who's promoted international acts in Hong Kong such as Asobi Seksu, The Drums, and Deerhoof).
Natalie tells me that Lamma is known in HK as the 'island with all the hippies.' There’s a chill vibe that instantly washes over you here as soon as you touch ground at Yung Shue Wan, which is such a drastic contrast to the hard hustle of Hong Kong. On Lamma Island, you’ll find loads of little organic 'green' cafes, leash-free dogs running about, graffiti, lush jungle, and a beach with a massive power station.
We take a walk through the jungle with Natalie’s dog to Hung Sing Yeh beach to check-out the power station that was built in 1972 and supplies energy to Hong Kong Island. Here, they have BBQs and jam with their instruments into the morning light. Natalie’s friend Makha, an incredible Senegalese djembe drummer, can be found here playing on the beach on any given day.
As we walked to Natalie’s house, I noticed that there weren’t any cars on the island… because there are no cars or even streets for cars. Bicycling is the mode of transportation here, which I can only imagine results in a very interesting scenario when moving house.
By the time I finished my Lamma Island experience, the sun was gone and I full-on entered delirium. I had no idea what I ended up saying at Natalie’s house (was I even speaking in sentences… in comprehendible English?). Jet-lag was proving to be a mega-bitch for me here in Hong Kong but it was only day 2 and I hadn’t vomited yet on any of the choppy boat-rides (it’s the small victories that count), so I was determined to kick the time difference’s ass… tomorrow.
Thank you so much to Natalie and Art for being my Lamma Island guides for the day! xx
MORE HONG KONG POSTS:
NIGHTLIFE WITH JOSIE HO
EATING AND SHOPPING WITH PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART
MILKTEETH IN KWUN TONG
Our first day in Hong Kong was also the first of the two-day Clockenflap music festival. This year, the free festival, now going on its 4th year, set-up at the West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade and included a line-up dedicated mainly to local bands mixed in with international artists like Santigold, Bombay Bicycle Club, and Pains of Being Pure at Heart.
After the band’s soundcheck, I met up with Pains of Being Pure at Heart’s Kip Berman and Peggy Wang at the Clockenflap grounds. Since it was both our first time in Hong Kong, we had to experience what the city does best… FOOD. So we headed for lunch at the legendary 24-hour Tsui Wah Restaurant. Tsui Wah is a popular late-night joint for those post-boozing and partying with its signature dishes being the crispy bun with sweet condensed milk, spicy seafood and lemongrass noodle soup (my fave), and sizzling fried noodles with king prawns. We had all that plus about five more dishes with drinks like “Creamy Corn,” which Kip ordered and actually really loved.
I DON'T KNOW WHY KIP HAS CHOPSTICKS, WHILE PEGGY AND I WERE GIVEN FORKS. IRONY?
THE LINE-UP AT TSUI WAH
While stuffing our faces, we talked about life since the release of their second album, Belong, which came out earlier in the year, and our first jet-lagged impressions of Hong Kong. Since I grew up in an area where Asians were the minority and with a family that’s not typical Chinese (my parents are neither Cantonese or Mandarin but rather Hakka from India), I never really connected deeply to popular Chinese culture and was hoping this trip would help me to better understand that side of my identity. It was interesting to also hear Peggy’s perspective on growing up in a predominantly white neighbourhood and what it was like growing up Asian(watch the video at the bottom to see our interview).
After our feast at Tsui Wah, we walked over to Tung Choi Street, better known as Ladies’ Market, in Mong Kok (an area notorious for being a sneaker haven) to shop for some really rad cheap deals. The entire market is about 1km long with hundreds of stalls selling everything from watches, purses, clothes, and trinkets on each side. It's like Canal Street on acid. We found a small stall selling funny custom tees and I got to use my smooth bargaining skills.
Pains of Being Pure at Heart was leaving the next day so it was awesome that we got to hang before their Clockenflap set and get introduced to the best of the city together - eating and shopping, two things that Hong Kong kicks most cities' asses at.
"I PEEPED YOU ON THE PHONE AND EVERYBODY WANNA COME BACK TO THAT BODY"
MORE HONG KONG POSTS:
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
TIGERBOMBERS IN LAMMA ISLAND
SIMON YIN AT VICTORIA HARBOUR
NIGHTLIFE WITH JOSIE HO
DRIVING FROM THE AIRPORT INTO TSIM SHA TSUI AT NIGHT
At first sight, Hong Kong can be overwhelming but if you're like me and you love big cities and actually get an adrenaline rush over the energy that emanates from crowds and the possibilities that come along with it, then Hong Kong is your spot and 4 million fellow visitors last year also agree. I’m counting on this adrenaline to help me transition to the 13-hour time difference. So far, I was dying to clean away my day-old in-flight grime and dreaming of my hotel room.
AIRPORT MINIBUS. FEELING DELIRIOUS.
An exceptionally spacious and friendly hotel that takes the best of urban modern design, The Mira is located on the Kowloon side of the island in the heart of the action-filled Tsim Sha Tsui district. Walking distance is the Star Ferry, Hong Kong’s beloved subway (the MTR), and Knutsford Terrace (Kowloon’s nightlife epicentre).
First things first - order room service and charge batteries… We’re always charging batteries- laptop, video camera, photo camera, go-pro, cell phone, etc. It’s the bane of our existence on trips, often nearly causing fires in our rooms every time. I was already preparing my apologies to the Mira. Fortunately, the extremely friendly staff at the Mira had the foresight to have a bunch of 20-pound power transformers for our adaptors and happily delivered them to our rooms.
DINNER. THE MIRA BURGER. BEST.
MATCHA CHEESECAKE WITH MOCHI
After an amazing much-needed bath and eating my weight in room service, I hit the sack and proceeded to wake up 3 hours later and staying awake until breakfast. Welcome to jetlag, folks. Day 1 is sure gonna be a pretty one, and the pretty one ain't gonna be me.
THE VIEW FROM MY ROOM: THE KOWLOON PARK.
INFO:
The Mira
118 Nathan Road
Telephone: 852 2368 1111
Email: reservations@themirahotel.com
Website: www.themirahotel.com
MORE HONG KONG POSTS:
MILKTEETH IN KWUN TONG
SIMON YIN AT VICTORIA HARBOUR
EATING AND SHOPPING WITH PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART
Happy new year, friends! I'm starting to get my shit together (caught the nastiest cold that spanned the entire holiday week... woe is me, it's fiiine) and will be rolling out my tales from Hong Kong soon, promise. To say the least, this trip was beyond any of my expectations and preconceptions that I had about the city and was the perfect jet-lagged way to end a whirlwind year that also included incredible trips to Iceland, Denmark, Portugal, UK, and Thailand.
In the meantime, here are some of my favourite photos of 2011 that I was able to capture in between eating my face off and being blown away by the talent in all pockets around the world.
GOLDEN CIRCLE, ICELAND
GRINDAVIK, ICELAND
SUNSET IN LANTAU, HONG KONG
TEENAGERS IN COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
DANISH STYLE IN COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS IN LISBON, PORTUGAL
GENERATIONS COLLIDE IN SHAM SHUI PO, HONG KONG
A DAI PAI DONG IN HONG KONG
TIM HO WAN DIM SUM IN HONG KONG
SWEET SITIO DA PEDRALVA, PORTUGAL
FISHING NETS IN THE ALGARVE, PORTUGAL
LAUNDRY DAY IN LISBON, PORTUGAL
You know when you finally get off your ass and go grocery shopping, buy everything in sight, and then most of it goes rotten before you get the chance to cook it? No? Just me? Ok… So, I started to do this thing where I throw my veggies into the freezer before it gets the chance to go bad as a solution (why don’t you just cook them up right away and eat them instead of going out on dinners you shouldn’t be spending money on, you may ask? To which I say, stop asking me so many damn questions).
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| KALE/BEET/POMEGRANATE/RED QUINOA SALAD |
I finally had some time on Sunday night to do some cooking but since I hadn’t gotten any groceries for awhile, I scrounged up everything I had that was still fresh and some stuff I had in my freezer and came up with the following ingredients: 1 beet, kale, 1 pomegranate, 1 lemon, shallots, garlic, some dried up basil and mint, and Ziploc bags of frozen chopped Portobello mushrooms, Japanese eggplant, jalapeno, and Vidalia onion. With that, I came up with the following 3 dishes below. Cook what you got y'all!
DISH #1:
LEMON PENNE WITH MUSHROOMS
I really wanted lemon linguini (I dream of Dominick’s version of this very dish almost on the daily) so my one lonely lemon stepped in and the result? Absolutely delicious, of course.
Ingredients:
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp of butter
- Basil, roughly chopped
- Portobello mushrooms, cubed
- Salt and pepper
- Pasta
Instructions:
Boil whatever pasta you got on hand.
Meanwhile, heat up a pan on medium, throw in the butter and garlic. Once the garlic and butter have melted together nicely, add the zest and squeeze some juice from the lemon in there too. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Let it party together for like 5 minutes.
Your pasta should be al dente by now, so throw it into the garlic/lemon butter sauce. Once all that goodness is mixed up real nice (about 2-5 minutes) transfer to a serving bowl.
In the same pan with the remnants of the garlic/lemon butter still there, add the mushrooms, and fry them up until golden, then mix in the chopped basil, some salt and pepper and pour it on top of the lemon pasta. Add some grated parmesan on top and you're set.
DISH #2
KALE, BEET, POMEGRANATE, RED QUINOA SALAD
Ingredients:
- 1 cup cooked red quinoa
- Kale, roughly chopped
- 1 beet, grated
- 1 pomegranate
- 2 shallots, diced
- Dried cranberries, handful
- Sunflower seeds, handful
- Pumpkin seeds, handful
- 2 tbsp Cashew butter (you can use any nut butter you have)
- Hot sauce (I had some Portuguese pimento)
- Coconut oil (extra virgin olive is fine too)
- Chipotle
- Henderson's Relish (or Worcestershire)
- Salt and pepper
Instructions:
Heat up a pan on medium-high heat with a tablespoon of the coconut oil and add the diced shallots and the chopped up kale (don't dry after washing, the water on the leaves will help cook it). Cover the pan for 2 minutes or so until the kale just becomes soft. Transfer to a serving bowl.
Add cashew butter, and all your favourite sauces (I like pimento for heat and chipotle and Henderson's for flavour). Then throw in the pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, craisins, grated beets, some pomegranate seeds and salt and pepper for taste, and mix it all up with 1 cup of cooked red quinoa.
The pomegranate seeds add a nice tart kick but I only used like a quarter of what's in the actual pomegranate and saved the rest for a snack on its own. The red colour from the beets and pomegranate seeds look kick ass with the kale but leaves your kitchen looking like a murder scene, so don't wear your vintage YSL for this one.
Add cashew butter, and all your favourite sauces (I like pimento for heat and chipotle and Henderson's for flavour). Then throw in the pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, craisins, grated beets, some pomegranate seeds and salt and pepper for taste, and mix it all up with 1 cup of cooked red quinoa.
The pomegranate seeds add a nice tart kick but I only used like a quarter of what's in the actual pomegranate and saved the rest for a snack on its own. The red colour from the beets and pomegranate seeds look kick ass with the kale but leaves your kitchen looking like a murder scene, so don't wear your vintage YSL for this one.
DISH #3
EGGPLANT AND MUSHROOM CURRY
Ok, so this dish only works if you have a stocked up spice cabinet. Although my fridge may not always be full, I always have a variety of curry powder, paprika, saffron, etc. as well as a tons of different sauces (every hot sauce you could name, soy, chipotle, Worcestershire, mustard, etc.) on hand. If you're like 2% of the single twenty-somethings out there who have insane amounts of exotic spices in their kitchen, then this recipe is for you.
Ingredients:
- 2 tsp Cumin seeds
- 2 tsp Saffron
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 1tsp Coriander powder
- 2 tbsp Curry powder
- 2 Japanese eggplants, cubed
- 2 Portobello mushrooms, cubed
- 1 Onion, chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Instructions:
On high heat, drizzle some olive oil on to a pan and sauté the garlic, jalapeno, and onions until golden and then add in the eggplant and mushrooms. Turn heat down to medium, mix in all the spices and add about 2 tbsp of water. Set it simmer for 15-20 minutes on medium-low.
Serve with the quinoa left over from Dish #2.
P.S. skip the jalapeno if you are sensitive to spiciness.
The aftermath.
Clean-up complete. Time to eat.
(Yes, that 2x2 countertop is my cooking space. If I can do it, you can do it)
Recently, splashlife interviewed me on how I got into music reporting and then creating a travel series for MTV as well as my involvement with joinFITE. I'm usually most comfortable being the one asking the questions but splashlife was incredibly awesome and I hope my answers offer some advice for all y'all looking into working in the media. Check out the piece, titled Sharlene Chiu: Entrepreneurship Enabler here.
This Monday, catch the premiere of Sharlene VS Portugal on MTV at 8:30pmET. Tons of badass bands like Buraka Som Sistema, The Glockenwise, and Orelha Negra help me put together a travel guide to their fine country that you can't find anywhere else. Plus, tons of goodies like this to get your taste buds going:
Go on over to the travel section on Sympatico.ca to read up on my latest Luxury for Less piece, spotlighting one of my favorite cities in the world, Montreal!
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| Rooney. One of the many chic shops featured in Luxury for Less. |
As
Canadians, we’re lucky to have one of the most culturally rich and aesthetically
stunning cities in the world- Montreal. Lauded as Canada’s “little Paris”, you
cannot deny the European allure of Montreal, without the Euro currency. Once in
the bilingual city, and after you’ve indulged in La Banquise poutine and both St-Viateur and Fairmount bagels, grab a Bixi
bike and hit the 500-plus kilometers of bike lanes that cover the city. There
are over 400 Bixi stations around
Montreal where you can rent a bike for 24-hours for only $5. Check out bixi.com for a full map of all the
stations. With the best and most inexpensive way to explore Montreal in tow,
here are some must hits to live it up in the city of style:
SHOP
LOLA & EMILY
Located on Boulevard Saint Laurent, Lola
& Emily has been a stand-by shopping stop for chic labels like Sweden’s
Filippa K and Denmark’s Designer’s Remix since it’s inception in
2001. Decorated with antique furniture from India, Lola & Emily carries everything you need from jewelry, bags,
and shoes to make your outfit complete.
EDITORIAL
South of the Boulevard Saint Laurent shopping
strip, on Stanley, is a boutique that hits all the right stylish notes. Editorial’s MO is to mix high-end street wear labels with affordable fashion and
jewelry lines, creating an eclectic look that many celebrity stylists strive
for. Brands from all over the world include Vince,
One Teaspoon, and Brandy & Melville.
ROONEY
If there’s going to be one men’s clothing store to hit, it’s Rooney. In Old Montreal, near the Old
Port, Rooney specializes in emerging
designers that provide everyday classics from the perfect button-down to the
perfect pair of jeans with the utmost quality in manufacturing.
LITTLE SHOP
For rare finds and big designer names, it is worth the trek to the
vintage haven that is known as the Little
Shop. Prior to a few months ago, Little
Shop operated privately, specifically to set-designers for music videos and
huge films like The Curious Case of
Benjamin Button. Now, the public can search this tiny house that’s filled
to the brim with antique figurines, Victorian hats and lace, and of course the
labels… in one go, don’t be surprised to lay your hands on vintage Pierre
Cardin, Sonia Rykiel, Valentino and YSL. For prices as low as $25 a top, it’s
no wonder that many high-end shops get their supply here.
EAT
LAWRENCE
Further west of the heart of Boulevard Saint Laurent is a new restaurant
that prides itself on fresh farm to table ingredients. Lawrence has a new menu daily that will make it tortuous for you to
just select one item when ordering. The brunch is particularly spectacular-
watch out for the homemade lemon curd donuts.
LE COMPTOIR
Le Comptoir is a
small and vibrant restaurant with an extremely friendly and hip wait-staff. The
menu is written on a large wall-to-wall blackboard in French but don’t worry if
you don’t know what a Tarte de Homged is, your waiter will be more than happy
to translate. A dinner for 2 with drinks, including the stand-out charcuterie
board and at least 3 more items from its fresh daily menu, will come to less
than $50 each.
LE BREMNER
Off the cobblestone streets in Old Montreal, hidden below street level,
is TV chef sensation, Chuck Hughes, newest restaurant, Le Bremner. The beautifully decorated space with dark woods and
vintage lighting serves an incredible menu of seafood, including Chef Hughes’
obsession, oysters. The brilliantly concocted cocktails like the Pineapple
Mojito and Rhubarb Manhattan are also not to be missed.
DRINK
PHILEMON BAR
For a night out in Old Montreal, Philemon
Bar is a fun spot to lounge and people watch as the clientele varies from
the business-like to artsy types.
SPARROW
Music lovers can basically live at the Sparrow, a favorite of Arcade Fire’s Win Butler, as on any given
night, you will no doubt bump into one of the many talented musicians that live
in this fine city. The low-key and friendly vide makes the Sparrow a great spot to relax and catch-up with friends.
DO
BOTA BOTA
This unique spa is anchored right on the water of the St Lawrence River
in the Old Port.
Bota Bota’s
innovative floating spa offers the relaxing and energizing benefits of a water
circuit (two saunas with views of the river, a eucalyptus steam bath, and whirlpool
baths) as well as massage therapy, body treatments, facial treatments, and manicures
and pedicures. During the weekday, with a treatment booking, the water circuit
is free of charge, and on Tuesday’s it’s 2-for-1 pricing.
MUSEE D’ART CONTEMPORAIN
Running at the Musée d’art
Contemporain from October 6 until January 3, 2012 is the triennial
exhibition, now in its second edition. It is the largest event devoted to
Québec contemporary art and features 40 artists. On Wednesday evenings after 6pm,
the Musée d’art Contemporain provides
free guided tours. Located in Montreal’s Quartier
de Spectacles, after hitting the Musée
d’art Contemporain, you can visit the Théâtre
du Nouveau-Monde, Le
Monument-National, and Place des Arts.
SNOW TOURS MONTREAL
For the more athletically inclined, during the winter months, Snow Tours Montréal guides visitors
through the city while enjoying activities like ice skating, snow tubing,
cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing. Winter clothing and boot rentals are
available and each tour includes a delicious Québécois lunch and a trip to the
farmer’s market.
STAY
ZERO1
Located in the Quartier de
Spectacles, the brand new ZERO1
has 128 rooms with a modern touch that combines top design with incredible
comfort. Rooms start at a stunning $140/night.
LE PLACE D’ARMES HOTELS AND SUITES
Right in the heart of Old Montreal is Le Place d’Armes Hôtel & Suites. You can conveniently walk
almost anywhere you need from this location- the Palais des Congrès convention
centre, Multimedia City and downtown Montreal is only a three to 10-minute
walk. The cosy contemporary rooms include free wi-fi so you can stay in the
loop.
Since receiving an advance copy of M83's new double-album (release date: October 18) Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, I haven't been able to stop listening it on the daily - from the first second of Intro, the morning commute becomes much more magical.
On this cold rainy Sunday, I've still got Hurry Up, We're Dreaming on play and since I'm home for a few weeks before I'm off travelling again, I'm getting back to my big Sunday cookouts. First up, Spicy Puffed Tofu with Creamy Enoki Mushrooms (recipe below).
Ingredients for Spicy Puffed Tofu:
- 1 package of puffed tofu (can be purchased at any Asian food mart)
- 4 cloves of Garlic
- Ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 tbsp chili sauce
- 1 tsp lime juice
- Half a bunch of basil
- Handful of bean sprouts
Ingredients for Creamy Enoki Mushrooms:
- 1 package of enoki mushrooms
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 2 cloves of garlic
- Ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp cashew butter
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp hot water
- 1 tbsp chili sauce
- Half a bunch of basil
Directions:
For the sauce for the puffed tofu, combine the hoisin sauce, chilli sauce, lime juice, and ground pepper to taste in one bowl. In another bowl, combine the cashew butter, soy sauce, chilli sauce, ground pepper to taste, hot water, and chopped basil for the sauce for the enoki mushrooms.
In a pan, sauté the garlic with the olive oil until golden and add the puffed tofu until crispy. Add this to the spicy sauce made earlier. Now, sauté the rest of the garlic with the coconut oil and the enoki mushrooms until the mushrooms become soft, and add to the creamy sauce.
To serve, scoop some of the spicy tofu first as the base, add the creamy enoki on top, and sprinkle as much chopped basil and bean sprouts as you like.
Enjoy! xx
The Little Shop
1002 Ogilvy, Montreal
For years, The Little Shop operated secretly only to costume-designers for films and music videos, and people in the know (I was told, ring the doorbell and say the name of the person who referred you for entry). Lucky for all of us though, for over a week now, The Little Shop has opened to the public. Prepare to spend a good couple of hours to peel away and scrounge for your new favourite vintage dress, hat, blazer, necklace, blouse... I could go on, and believe me, the amount of stuff The Little Shop holds ain't so little. You will be stunned by the plethora of rare French labels as well as big ticket labels like Sonia Rykiel, YSL, Givenchy, and Valentino (many high-end vintage shops buy from The Little Shop and sell at much higher prices). The owner (who prefers to remain anonymous) is truly the sweetest woman you will ever meet- upon entry, you will be welcomed with a huge enthusiasm and passion for vintage and of course, a lovely cup of tea. I walked away with 6 beautiful items for $120. Unreal. This is a dream for any vintage lover.
If you're going on a quickie trip to NYC, check out my Guide to Shopping and Eating in NYC for FASHION mag, where I break it to you neighbourhood by neighbourhood.
