Jplus 2016 04 17 lores

Vol. 3 No. 22I April 17 - 23 , 2016

Newness, ‘nowness’ & coolness How The Goods Dept’s Anton Wirjono is changing the market for local makers

OH LA LA FRENCH CUISINE AT LYON

TEN BEAUTY MINUTES PEVITA PEARCE’S SECRETS

WANDERLUST BEIJING’S QUIRKY MUSEUMS

Editor's note

Check List

THE THINGS WE SAY NO TO There are a lot of makers–those at the tip of the spear on the front lines of the creative economy–who rightfully say that the government should do more to support their work.

Then there are others, such as The Goods Dept CEO Anton Wirjono, the subject of this issue’s cover story. Anton, simply put, is not going to wait.

“The thing that we say no to is of the same importance as the thing that we say yes to,” Anton said when contributing writer Banyubening Prieta caught up with him at The Goods Dept at Lotte Shopping Avenue in Kuningan, South Jakarta. “It

shapes what and who we are.”

One of The Goods Dept's latest projects has been the Art Dept, which runs the APA (Alternative Public Artspace).

So we’re happy to present staff writer Sebastian Partogi’s article (ArtPLUS, p12) on one of APA’s recent shows, where artists were invited to make posters for films that exist only in their imagination.

I love the idea of imaginary works.

There’s a long tradition of apocryphal books. Charles Dickens allegedly created shelves of psuedobiblia, with titles on the binding such as Socrates on Wedlockbut no contents–to line a book case that

doubled as a secret door in his home.

So I was pleased to see this exhibition, which, coincidentally, featured the work of one of our favorite local illustrators, Ruth Marbun, who we have previously featured in JPlus.

The News for You section of ArtPLUS (p12-13) features reports on four ongoing exhibitions in Jakarta. Coupled with The List (p3), there are a lot of good reasons to get out of the house and explore.

Enjoy the weekend!

If you don’t have your health Keeping you-and your kids-healthy WORDS Ika Krismantari

“Parents can’t die, single people can,” the famous US comedian Louis C.K. once joked.

Single and childless, I found the quote funny. However, as a married mother of two, everything changed. I can relate. It’s stressful, thinking that parents need to be immortal, while I know I can’t be.

Parents can’t even be sick. Who will take care of the children if we’re not fit?

I experienced several horrible months earlier this year with my both kids sick, alternately. My home turned into a germ factory with new viruses attacking every person living inside.

Things were exacerbated considering that my first-born just entered school. A pediatrician once told me that schools are the epicenter of any viral and bacterial outbreak, making kids prone to becoming sick.

That is exactly what happened. My firstborn got sick after her first week at school.

Of course, she brought that virus (or bacteria or whatever) back home and suddenly my youngest was sick, too. When things got better, my oldest brought home another disease and everything went on repeat mode.

I’m no wonder woman. At one point when I was too tired taking care of my sick children; I got ill, too. It’s the least desirable situation for any parent.

I was lucky though to have a superman husband who survived this catastrophe and took care of everyone.

Here I am only talking about regular childhood illnesses like influenza and sore

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WANDERLUST London's punk scene

Chris Razukas jplus@thejakartapost.com

mark my words

throats and not (knock on wood) serious diseases like cancer.

A close friend–the mother of a toddler– was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.

When I heard the news, my world crumbled.

I could not imagine myself in her position.

Her story is a reminder that we as parents cannot take our health for granted. We have to strive to maintain it for the sake of our loved ones.

Becoming a parent has redefined the meaning of health for me. Staying fit is no longer a personal issue when we become a mother or father. It is a responsibility to our children.

So as a responsible parent, I regularly exercise and maintain a healthy diet to keep fit.

FYI, I rarely exercised before marriage.

Parenthood changed me. Realizing that I have kids–and a spouse that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with–has taken my exercise regime into another level. I know that health is important for my little family.

My current exercise routine involves a 15 to 30 minute morning walk around the neighborhood. I used to run, but after reading that regular walking is also good for health, I choose the latter.

I walk because it gives me more flexibility.

As the mother of a four-month-old baby, my mornings are pretty hectic. I usually exercise when the baby sleeps. If not I have to carry her with me.

And again, since I am not wonder woman, running and carrying a baby are just too much for me. Walking also lets me to do other household chores, like buying groceries. I usually stop by at a veggie vendor in the next kampung to buy the day’s menu.

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I’m lucky to live in a kampung about 20 kilometers from the city center. I still can enjoy the fresh air and greenery during my walk.

People’s neighborliness–rare in this urban society–is also something that I cherish. The hard part is dealing with the same repeated questions from people I meet on the street. I have no choice but to turn myself into a robot that provides automated answers.

I also love my morning walk because it is free. The cheapskate in me just does not want to spend millions of rupiah for yoga classes or gym memberships. I’d rather save the money for my children’s future education. For me, walking is perfect. All I need is just a pair of good sneakers.

I’ve also implemented healthy eating habits for the family. We’ve reduced our fat intake and consumption of instant food.

We also try to eat home-cooked meals.

It’s healthy for the soul as well as the pocketbook.

In the end, it’s important to have support from your partner in enforcing this healthy lifestyle in the family. Luckily, my husband and I are in this together.

He quit smoking not long after we married. He has also started regularly exercising, even though he is not into sports.

Recently, my husband has taken to planting hydroponic veggies in our yard to ensure a supply of good quality food for our kitchen. We’re doing all this because we know that our health is important. So, why wait? Let’s be healthy for our kids.

Mark My Words shifts focus between fashion, food, parenting, technology and travel each week.

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ARTPLUS Rethinking movie posters

JPlus Team Editor Christian Razukas Art Director Budhi Hartono Graphic Designer Hengky Wijaya Marketing & Advertising Sales & Marketing Director Ady P. Pamungkas

ady.pamungkas@thejakartapost.com

Marketing Executive Faisal Ahmad

faisal@thejakartapost.com

@JPlusSunday

SundayJplus

thejakartapost.com

On the cover

Anton Wirjono Photographer Arief Suhardiman Location The Goods Dept, Lotte Shopping Avenue

oh, the places you'll go dine

EAT

SEE

Four-Hands Dinner with Kirk Westaway

Thai culinary delights

'Reborn' at the National Gallery

When: Until April 24 Where: Keraton at The Plaza, Central Jakarta Info: +02150680000

The Indonesia National Gallery is working with IKASSRI West Java to host an exhibition featuring the works of 24 artists from Indonesia, Malaysia, the US, Switzerland and The Netherlands, all but one of who are graduates of the Indonesia Fine Arts School (SSRI) Yogyakarta. The event, titled “Reborn” and curated by SSRI alumnus Suwarno Wisetrotomo, features paintings, sculptures, ceramics, graffiti and manual/digital hybrid creations that cover subjects such as environmental awareness, modern values and development.

When: Until April 24 Where: National Gallery, Central Jakarta Info: galerinasional.or.id

Noun Project/ Vijay Ragavan

Foodies looking for world-class Thai food can visit Keraton at The Plaza to try its “Taste of Thai” to sample the cuisine of the Land of Smiles. The Keraton and the Tourism Authority of Thailand have brought Supaporn Chanvijit, an award-winning chef from W Retreat Koh Samui, to join Keraton chef Gennaro Avagnale to present sumptuous meals such as grilled salmon and baby okra with Penang curry sauce and chicken with enoki mushroom galangal and coconut milk. Available during Sunday brunch and a la carte for lunch and dinner.

Noun Project/Harry Clayton Cook

Where: Fairmont Jakarta Vue Restaurant When: April 26-27 Info: +02129703333

Noun Project/Iconsphere

We’ve written about Andrew Zarzosa before, specifically about the Miami-born chef’s take on zeppole at the Sapori Deli at the Fairmont Jakarta. In the latest in a series of tantalizing guest chef appearances in Jakarta, Zarzosa will team up with JAAN Singapore’s Kirk Westaway, who recently topped the Southeast Asian rankings for the prestigious San Pellegrino Young Chef competition. The pair will cook seven-course, “four-hand” dinners for two nights only at the Fairmont’s View Restaurant.

talk of the town ALEXANDER MCQUEEN OPENS 1ST JAKARTA STORE Plaza Indonesia, Central Jakarta Luxury British fashion house Alexander McQueen threw a soiree on April 13 to officially open its first standalone store in Jakarta.

The 200-square-meter venue, located on the first floor of Plaza Indonesia, features a pared back and minimalist aesthetic.

White lacquered shelving highlights the accessories on display. Feature walls, made using molded plaster panels, are formed by a cornucopia of wings, shells, cactus flowers, mushroom gills, seahorse tails and tangled leaves with tiny skulls and grimacing gargoyles nestling in their folds.

IN-FLIGHT DINING WITH FARAH QUINN Balai Kartini, South Jakarta

KLM Indonesia is teaming up with Farah Quinn to present the celebrity chef’s latest creations on its Jakarta-Kuala Lumpur and Singapore-Denpasar flights.

Quinn, named KLM brand ambassador on April 9 at the EU Travel Fair, developed the innovative in-flight dining options for passengers in World Business Class (WBC) and Economy.

Business class customers can enjoy Quinn’s take on green chili chicken with soy sauce, while those in economy class can try out her Javanese noodles with chicken.

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looking good

10 beauty minutes with Pevita Pearce the starlet spills her secrets on looking good WORDS Fedina S. Sundaryani

Why Maybelline?

I’ve used the brand since I was in high school and have been using Maybelline products ever since. The products are super trendy and innovative. The most important thing is that they’re affordable and easy to use. Maybelline is a brand that believes every woman has their own style of beauty and needs to be confident to be able to achieve their dreams in life. I also believe in the same values. For me make-up is very important in women’s lives, as it can really express who we are, make us feel beautiful and more confident in realizing our dreams. I realize that the

power of make-up and transformation can help us build that confidence.

What is the first Maybelline product you ever bought?

Do you still use that particular product?

My first Maybelline product was Hypercurl Volume Express Mascara. I love how the product made my lashes look beautifully curled-up but still natural. I always bring it everywhere. It is a must-have item in my make-up pouch.

Do you wear makeup every day?

I can say that I am truly a make-up girl. I cannot live without make-up. I like to put on natural make-up on a daily basis. My go-tos are Maybelline White Superfresh Liquid Powder, Magnum Barbie Mascara and red lipstick from Maybelline Vivid Matte Liquid Lipstick No. 11. I apply makeup by myself when I’m off-duty because I love playing and expressing myself with my makeup-having more control of it is also a great practice.

What are your current faves?

My favorites at the moment are Maybelline Vivid Matte Liquid Lipstick No. 11 and Magnum Barbie Mascara.

Your skin looks amazing in every single photo. How do you take care of it? What products do you like to use?

For me the key […] is to use the right products that suits your skin. Always wash your face, drink lots of water, exercise and get enough sleep. Any kind of makeup look will be amazing with a base of healthy skin.

Any tips to share with us?

It’s important to know your facial characteristics, your skin color, as well as which occasions you need to be all dolled up for in order to decide what works best for you.

Don’t be scared to play around with bold colors and defined brows, because they can transform your whole look.

I have been in the entertainment industry for 14 or 15 years now. I grew up with make-up, fashion and the glitz and glam of the camera. I learned many makeup tips and hacks by watching how makeup artists like Ryan Ogilvy did my makeup. I also experimented with makeup on my own and I always do makeup by myself on a daily basis.

Photo via maybelline

P

evita Pearce has long been known as a talented actress. The 23-year-old had her breakout role in John de Rantau’s 2006 epic Denias, Senandung di Atas Awan (Denias, a Hum Above the Clouds).

The starlet, who earned a nomination for best actress at the Indonesian Film Festival, the local version of the Oscars, for her role in Lost in Love (2008), is also self-proclaimed beauty fiend. Maybelline Indonesia certainly took notice of Pevita, who has over 6.3 million Instagram followers.

Pevita is the brand’s latest ambassador. JPlus interviewed the beautiful woman, who is of English and Banjarmasin heritage, to talk about her favorite beauty tips and products.

Ever since I bought the Casio Exilim EXTR60, I’ve been using it almost every day for my Instagram accounts. With the camera, my selfies always look good while staying true to the make-up colors I wear.

Naturally, I could not wait to try out the TR70, which hit stores in March.

The first new feature that caught my attention was the Instant Movie function for quick video clips that last up to 10 seconds. It would be perfect for fuss-free uploads onto Instagram, which allows for video posts that last between three and 15 seconds.

But my excitement soon turned into disappointment. I found that the Instant Movie videos looked blurry. I can film sharper footage with my iPhone 6.

I was more satisfied with the TR70’s other new video function, the

Make-Up On Movie, which made my skin look smoother and brighter on video. So much so that I did not mind the extra step of having to edit the clip on my iPhone to fit Instagram’s 15-second limit for moving picture posts.

Still, I found the clarity of the Make-Up On Movie images lacking, especially when compared with the exceptional quality of the camera’s MakeUp Mode pictures. I was very impressed with how that picture function captured the sheen and subtle tonalities of my skin and make-up, while subtly erasing the imperfections. My face looked like how it is in real life, but better. The Make-Up Mode in the older TR60–which already makes the face look naturally good–cannot compare.

There are many other things that I like about this new camera.

For one thing, its lens is a huge improvement from the TR60’s. There is a lot less facial distortion (the TR60 makes my face look too long or wide when I take a selfie from some angles).

What is more, the TR70’s lens makes my face look slimmer and more V-shaped.

The processing time of the TR70’s Make-Up Mode pictures is also a lot shorter, so I can take multiple shots in successive bursts.

When it comes to the design and ergonomics of the cameras, however, the TR60 trumps the other. Its plastic frame–that can be turned into a convenient handle–has a well-placed shutter button for quick clicks to capture precious moments. The rotating frame of the TR70 is made of a sturdier metal, but the shutter button is placed at an odd space at the bottom middle of the screen.

I’m still considering whether I should take the plunge and buy this pricey S$1,399 (US$1,040) selfie camera (which costs $100 more than the previous version), especially since I already own the TR60.

If I were to do so, it would be for only one reason: the fantastic quality of the Make-up Mode pictures. –ANN/Straits Times-Gladys Chung

TECH SPECS PRICE: $1,399 IMAGE SENSOR: 11.1-megapixel 1/1.7-inch LENS: 21mm f/2.8 DISPLAY: 3-inch rotatable touchscreen LCD with 921,600 dots WEIGHT: 149g (with battery and memory card)

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Photos via ANN/Straits times

Look even better in a selfie with Casio’s latest camera

well Being

SURGERY With Near-Zero PAIN

Photos via

SILOAM HOSPITALS TB SIMATUPANG USES LAPAROSCOPIC SURGERY FOR MANY CONDITIONS TO MINIMIZE PAIN AND ACCELERATE RECOVERY WORDS PRASIDDHA GUSTANTO

“M

any people find surgical procedures scary, with the pain and long recovery period associated with them.

Because of this, many people choose to postpone operations until their illnesses become so complicated that they may not be treatable anymore,” Siloam Hospitals TB Simatupang surgeon Roys A. Pangayoman said.

Fortunately, there is laparoscopy, a minimally invasive surgical technique used in the abdomen.

It features a special telescopic-rod lens system, typically connected to a video camera, to examine the insides of a patient’s body, thereby minimizing the incisions that have to be made.

The Siloam Hospitals Group has been using laparoscopic treatment for many different conditions.

To gain a better understanding of laparoscopic surgery, JPlus recently sat down and discussed the procedure with the surgeon. Here’s an excerpt from the interview: What is laparoscopic surgery?

Literally, the term laparoscopy comes from two words laparo, which means an opening in the abdominal area, and scopy, which means using a telescope to look inside. It is also known as minimally invasive surgical technique, or keyhole surgery. Typically, surgical procedures require large incisions, around 20 centimeters in length.

Meanwhile, a laparoscopic procedure requires an incision of only three to five millimeters.

What conditions can laparoscopic surgery treat?

Various illnesses related to the abdominal area, from an appendicitis, gallstones, an abdominal hernia, to various tumors and cancerous conditions afflicting women’s reproductive organs.

Another advantage is: Thanks to the flexibility of the camera, a laparoscopic surgical procedure is able to help surgeons examine parts of the body that might have some ailments that are adjacent to the ones being operated on without making extra incisions.

Why are the incisions so small?

First, we create a few small holes at a minimum of three different spots around the area that is going to be operated on. The number of holes, obviously, will differ according to the severity of the condition.

We will inflate a patient’s insides with gas before we proceed. This allows us to operate through the small holes. The inflation has a side effect, in a sense that it creates pressure on a patient’s thorax, which is why it is very important to check whether a patient’s lungs and heart are in good shape before we start the surgery. Then we will insert a camera and some scalpels into the holes and proceed with the operation. So instead of opening a patient’s body in order to see the internal organs, we are assisted by the camera.

What are the downsides?

The cost of laparoscopic surgery is higher than conventional procedures, because it involves instruments that are more sophisticated. Further, it takes doctors with specialized skills and precision to complete this surgical procedure, because they really have to estimate how far they need to insert the equipment inside a patient’s body in order to reach the target point. Further, the current imaging equipment available in Indonesia usually does not use the newest 3D-technology and thus lacks depth perception.

What are the advantages?

The small incisions bring a number of advantages.

First, the pain will be significantly reduced. Second, the risk of infection will be almost absent. Third, it is faster for patients to recover and return to their day-to-day activities.

For example, while a conventional appendicitis requires three days to recover from, the period can be shortened to just one day with a laparoscopic procedure. But obviously, we are talking about simple cases. In cases where the appendicitis has already burst, for example, of course the length of stay at the hospital will be longer.

What are the contraindications?

The surgeon has to make sure that the patient’s heart and lungs are in good shape–without any illnesses because the procedure requires us to inflate the upper thorax part of the body. Second, this procedure cannot be used on patients whose illnesses are already complicated. For example, cases where gangrene occurs, maybe in a patient with gallstones. In that case, the patient’s liver will be sticky with pus, making it difficult for the laparoscopic equipment to enter. In complicated cases, conventional surgery with large incisions will then be required.

This article is part of a series sponsored by Siloam Hospitals Group. For more information, visit siloamhospitals.com.

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cover Story

ONE CRAZY IDEA

Anton Wirjono from the Goods Dept talks about curation, quality and bringing out the best in local makers WORDS BANYUBENING PRIETA

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| PHOTOS ARIEF SUHARDIMAN

A

nton Wirjono is a purveyor of subculture.

He’s the CEO of the city’s hippest fashion retailer, The Goods Dept, and the co-founder of the acclaimed curated pop-up market Brightspot.

The 46-year-old is constantly inventing breakthrough platforms for local makers, as evinced during an interview at The Goods Dept Lotte Avenue, where music, fashion, goods, food and the arts were on display.

Anton runs four outlets of The Goods Dept and their associated Goods Cafes. All are located in the hippest malls in Jakarta, with plans in the works to open 30 more across Indonesia within two years.

Anton’s current project, however is cultivating Art Dept, an alternative space for the arts. As with his other projects, the aim is to make the exclusive inclusive.

“Art is for all,” Anton says of the endeavour, which is a family affair, along with his sister, Amalia Wirjono. “It is just a matter of how we push the boundaries.”

Pushing boundaries is Anton’s knack.

cover Story

POINTS OF ORIGIN Anton, born on April 14, 1970 in Kudus, Central Java, went to boarding school in Singapore before finishing high school and college in Northern California in the US. In 1994, Anton returned to Indonesia and decided to become a DJ. However, he says that the first time he took to the turntable, people asked him to stop after just three songs. The music he spun was too esoteric.

Undeterred, Anton created his own rave party with his brother Hogi Wirjono under the moniker of Future 10 at Parkiran Timur on Jl. Wahid Hasyim.

The rave regularly attracted crowds as large as 900 people each week. At a time when the Internet had just begun to emerge, Anton and Hogi were using marketing email blasts to create networks.

Fast forward a few years and brands like Nike, Adidas, Sony and Samsung were asking him to make gigs for them.

“The key was having the database of young Jakartans,” Anton says. “Soon after we had that, we made the community bigger by coaching new DJs and creating more gigs.”

Good business is not just about profitability, good business is always solving a problem THE PUSH Anton says that he’s motivated by building communities, although it’s been a struggle to stay in the creative business: His parents wanted him to get a straight job at a bank.

Anton, again, persevered, feeling that the nation’s creative economy was expanding–and that it would be possible for him to become as big as Spanish retailer Zara or Swedish-based H&M. “Good business is not just about profitability, good business is always solving a problem,” Anton says, picking up a leather wallet made by a local brand, Voyage, as we walk through the store.

Voyage is an example of a high quality product, he says. The brand’s leather goods line was conceived and produced by students of Prasetiya Mulya Business School as a final project six years ago.

Anton chose the brand for Brightspot Market, attracted to its savvy marketing as well as to how it maintained consistent outstanding stitching and sources of materials, which are the biggest challenges facing local brands, he adds.

On the origins of Brightspot, which started in 2009; Anton said that his goal was to help interesting local products compete with international brands at local shopping malls.

It’s not easy to make the cut, however. Over the last six years, Anton and his team have rejected about 1,000 submissions.

He says he has no regrets, though: Brightspot is here to offer local makers a competitive platform.

Go to one of the pop-ups and you’ll have a unique experience, encountering the

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cover Story best in local clothing, homeware, food and beverages.

Brightspot pop-ups attracted more than 45,000 visitors to 200 booths in 2015. Around 300 brands were on the waiting list.

At The Goods Dept, Anton locally sources about 80 percent of its product offerings, although it would be all local if he had a choice.

“A good design is a good design,” Anton says, nixing the idea of stock sub-standard goods just because they were “Made in Indonesia”.

“We always want to be ‘Roti Bakar Edy’ not ‘tenda gaul’, Anton says.

The former refers to one of the city's most famous local street food business, while the latter refers to the fleeting fame enjoyed by the pop-up cafes launched by down-on-their-luck celebrities during the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.

Building the brand Intrigued by the quality of local brands, Anton established The Goods Dept in 2010, along with another sister, Cynthia Wirjono, in the retail division, and her husband, Chris Kerrigan, who runs the Goods Cafe.

Anton describes the fundamental problems plaguing local brands. “The three things that most of local brands do not have here: Scale, access to manufacturing and access to materials.”

Most local brands can’t scale up production due to high costs, big companies dominate manufacturers because they order in quantity and brands are afraid to pay more for materials when they scale up, he adds.

According to Anton, the government could do more to help local makers, adding that his meetings with government officials never had much results. “Not in our field at least. I expect them to give subsidies and a lot of capacity building, which will smoothen production and pass the minimum order requirement of manufacturers.”

The toughest part of the business, he adds, is managing people. The right cultural fit, e.g., a penchant for subculture, is the sine qua non. The Goods Dept currently has about 450 people on staff with plans to hire about a 1,000 more within a year.

“Why is [finding] human resources tough? We always try to find people who go against the grain but perform professionally, as well.”

Anton’s store are full of students, mostly wouldbe fashion designers, working part time. Local universities say that The Goods Dept is a good place to work, acknowledging its training program and ambiance, he says.

“It began with one crazy idea. Now count how many people who work with the brands here, plus the resellers, Anton says. “In the creative industry, I think the impact has been very big.”

Curating products is selective, he says. About a half dozen buyers work online and offline, inspecting how products are made and the stories and the people behind each brand.

He likens running retail store to curating music: You need to know what to pick, how to put the songs together and how to present them to people.

Believing in what you sell is also important, Anton says. “Wearing local brands gives me a solid reason and a sense of pride, especially when I go travelling.”

However, he admits that he’s yet to find quality local sneakers–something he attributes to a lack of technical know-how and access to manufacturers.

While The Goods Dept focuses on contemporary design, Anton says they’re also fans of traditional goods, such as those made by local batik brands Kana, Bluesville and Sejauh Mata Memandang.

“We love their quality and how they use new

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approaches in making old things new. It is inspiring.”

Preserving culture through innovation is important for Anton, who looks to Japan for inspiration. Retailers there fiercely guard the quality of the products they sellsomething that Anton has taken to heart.

The Goods Dept, for example, says no to most products submitted, although is always open door for those who want to return with a different pitch.

“Our customers are people who have a spirit for finding newness, ‘nowness’ and coolness,” he says of his main under-30 demographic. “But also people who want to celebrate iconic design. We want to be the first to provide it.”

LOOKING AHEAD On the future, Anton touts the idea behind The Art Dept, which he likens to a museum shop where people can buy affordable, wearable artwork. “My aim is always to provoke thoughts and creativity,” he says.

Everything comes down in building a community that shares similar tastes, ways of thinking and similar values, he adds.

“It is important to have a purposeful business and keep good standards of quality,” Anton says. “In the end, it is there to preserve culture.”

Random access memories What’s your to-go style pieces?

I always wear the same style every day, mostly local brands. I usually wear sneakers, an oxford shirt, denim or khaki pants and outerwear.

Fave shopping destinations?

I don’t like shopping. That’s why I made a shop with a cafe on its side, so people who don’t like shopping will be attracted, without feeling hustled.

Biggest business influence?

It all starts with music. I like electronic music, from house to echno. The biggest influence on my music is funk, jazz, disco–there’s no specific genre.

But I realized that biggest influence of all are the communities that exists out there.

in the spirit

Bartenders Photos via BLOOMBERG

at the table

IT’S NO LONGER ENOUGH FOR RESTAURANTS TO MERELY OFFER DECENT COCKTAILS Words Kara Newman, Bloomberg

D

on’t try to order a martini from Daniel’s cocktail cart. At New York’s famed temple to French cuisine, the custombuilt dark wood and marble-topped trolley is used to assemble a single drink—the Castellammarese Rye—right at your table.

The show is impossible to miss.

Gliding alongside the cheese cart and the dessert cart, the mobile cocktail station wheels up to its appointed table. There the bartender pours Punt e Mes vermouth spiked with apricot liqueur and coffee syrup from a curved, cut-glass decanter, then adds a second pour of Rittenhouse rye. Instead of a traditional stir, the drink is rotated within a vintage cocktail shaker that resembles an enormous bell. It’s then poured into a dainty blue-and-white demitasse cup (a reference to the Prohibition years, when cocktails often were hidden in plain sight in tea cups), a little scroll with the cocktail’s history is unfurled, and a refill is presented in a “creamer” pitcher on the side.

For high-end restaurants, this may be the future of cocktail service. Just as bars are trying to become speedier and more efficient (e.g., prebatching drinks to pull within seconds from draft lines for the thirsty hordes), many restaurants are redirecting the focus to service and slowing the cocktail experience to a more deliberate pace.

Genteel Bottle Service Back in 2012, at the height of Mad Meninspired bar-cart fever, Leo Robitschek debuted a particularly sleek, custom black-and-gold lacquered cart, since retired, at the NoMad Hotel. The bar director likened it to a more genteel take on bottle service. Daniel cites it as an inspiration.

“Tableside service is quite prominent in French-style service, whether it’s bread or carvings or flambés,” explains Karim Guedouar, Daniel’s service director.

The restaurant’s canard a la press (pressed duck) is already legendary: a press is wheeled into the dining room to extract the jus from the duck carcass. (If that seems like a lot of extra traffic, you’re right: the restaurant actually removed four tables from the dining room to accommodate the flow of all the carts.)

The goal is to deliver an experience, not just a drink. It’s also a way to direct attention to the bar, which often plays second fiddle to the wine list.

“We want to make sure our guests know there is truly a bar and lounge at Daniel,” Guedouar says. “The bar cart is the best way to do that.”

The showmanship also drives sales.

Approximately 10 to 15 tableside drinks are ordered each night at Daniel, or about 75 in a week, says Guedouar.

People see the show, and tend to order one for themselves.

That zest trickles into sales of other drinks made at the bar, too. “It’s contagious in the dining room.”

The Art of the Cart The carts often mirror the aesthetic of the dining room. Consider, for example, the masculine brass and polished whiskey wood trolley at Bourbon Steak in Los Angeles, and the rustic cart topped with a butcher’s block at Atlanta’s Gunshow, which has garnered attention for dispensing with the bar altogether, opting to make all of its drinks at the table.

Roving Bloody Mary carts also are a popular brunch option, spotted at Cecconi’s in West Hollywood, in which guests are encouraged to load up their eyeopeners with all sorts of edible accouterments.

Wolfgang Puck’s Cut in Las Vegas carts around Tequila Manhattans (yep, tequila instead of whiskey).

Carts are often a way to highlight a prized spirits selection or collection–including prized bottles not available at the regular bar. Del Frisco’s New York brings rare Cognacs and Armagnacs to the table, often making a show of serving them using a long-handled pipette, similar to the ones used to extract the liquid from the barrels in France. Meanwhile, Carbone Las Vegas rolls out a vintage rum cart tableside, a bid by chef Mario Carbone to share his personal passion for pairing vintage rums and cigars.

Daniel, however, may be the only restaurant to narrow their tableside cocktail down to a single drink. But once patrons have indulged, how to ensure that the cocktail orders will continue to flow during future visits? The answer: change up the drink every few months; the Castellammarese Rye will bid adieu in May. “Now that we have the cart,” Guedouar says, “we want to keep the ball rolling.”

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wanderlust

After the

revolution TOURING SITES FROM LONDON’S PUNK ROCK SCENE, 40 YEARS LATER WORDS JONATHAN ELDERFIELD, AP

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of Nancy Spungen, Sid Vicious’ girlfriend.

At 100 Oxford St., the 100 Club is marked with a sign and poster for upcoming shows. The Sex Pistols played here in May 1976 and the venue hosted a punk festival in the fall of 1976.

In January 2016, 1970s bands including 999, The Members, UK Subs and Discharge played here as part of a punk series.

In Chelsea, at 430 King’s Road, a giant “SEX” sign once hung outside a shop of the same name shared by McLaren, the Pistols’ manager, and designer Vivienne Westwood. Westwood still runs a boutique here called Worlds End. Next stop: Camden Market. Today this thriving collection of bars, restaurants, shops and stalls is overrun with shoppers perusing all types of food and fashion, from espresso to T-shirts bearing the Union Jack.

I was here to find the spot where The Clash posed for a photograph that became an iconic image adorning their first album. The photo was taken on a ramp that’s since been converted to steps.

I took a selfie standing there but couldn’t help feeling a pang of regret. My favorite band, often called “the only band that matters,” once stood here on the cusp of fame, but today the spot seems to embody the opposite of punk’s anti-materialistic message.

And I had become part of the iPhone-toting tribe intent on the next purchase and picture. Where was the Pistols’ “Anarchy in the UK”? Where were “All The Young Punks” from The Clash song?

Maybe they were up the road at the Roundhouse.

This fine music venue, originally a 19th century railway

Photos via AP

T

he Sex Pistols and The Clash led the British punk rock revolution in the steamy summer of 1976. London is marking 40 years since that summer with a series of events, gigs and exhibits this year.

As an early fan of punk, I set out on a personal pilgrimage to explore the neighborhoods and locations that were its petri dishes–from the Pistols’ rehearsal and living space to the scene of the Notting Hill riots witnessed by The Clash to the pubs and clubs that hosted their first shows.

In some places, I found the opposite of the angry energy that inspired anthems like the Pistols’ “Anarchy in the UK” and The Clash’s “London’s Burning.” But I also found some venues still going strong.

First stop: Portobello Road to see the mural of Clash frontman Joe Strummer, which was painted after this death. Sadly, when I visited, it was mostly covered by scaffolding.

I looked in vain for signs of Strummer’s antiestablishment vibe, but all I found was a bustling market selling knickknacks, clothing and antiques while passers-by peered at their iPhones.

From there I headed to Tavistock Road, the street that inspired Strummer’s “White Riot,” his call to arms after a West Indian carnival ended in riots in Notting Hill in the summer of ‘76. But I failed to find any sign of punk’s past on the quiet thoroughfare, so I settled in the Metropolitan Pub on Great Western Road for a hand-pulled pint.

The Rough Trade record shop opened in 1976 on Kensington Park Road. Today it’s on Talbot Road, filled with vinyl and CDs, its walls and ceiling adorned with posters featuring The Clash, Sex Pistols and others.

In Central London, I marveled at the fine instruments at NO.TOM, a small guitar shop on Denmark Street, near the Tottenham Court Road tube. The short street, once known as London’s Tin Pan Alley, was home to many music publishers and studios. Behind NO.TOM there’s a tiny 19th century cottage where the Sex Pistols once lived.

It’s covered with graffiti created by the Pistols’ John Lydon (Johnny Rotten), including a drawing of the Pistols’ manager Malcolm McLaren, and another

repair facility, has hosted performers since 1966.

The Clash played their fifth show here in September 1976. The Pistols, The Damned, The Ramones and Patti Smith all played here too. A Punk Weekender scheduled here for July 9 and 10 features music, prose and poetry as part of London’s 40-year anniversary celebration.

My final destination was London’s Islington neighborhood, home to the Hope and Anchor pub, 207 Upper St., and Screen on the Green, 83 Upper St. Hope and Anchor has a lovely ground-floor pub with a small theater space upstairs and music venue in the basement. The basement’s roster has included The Jam, The Ramones, The Police, The Stranglers, XTC, U2, The Cure, Joy Division and The Pogues.

Hope and Anchor also hosted pre-punk bands playing what was called pub rock, including a group led by Joe Strummer, the 101ers.

The pub’s Facebook page lists upcoming shows, and today’s audiences aren’t likely to be hit by flying sheets of spit (“gob” as the Brits call it) the way they were in the early punk era, with fans gobbing at performers and musicians spitting right back.

Screen on the Green, with a fabulous neon facade, hosts movies and live events. It’s one of the oldest cinemas in the UK. The Clash, Sex Pistols and Buzzcocks played together there on the night Aug. 29, 1976. It was the end of the long, hot summer when punk was born.

Photos via AP

wanderlust

From limos to junk QUIRKY MUSEUMS TELL BEIJING’S HISTORY Words LOUISE WATT, AP

S

tuffed into a tiny room off an alleyway are items that Wang Jinming readily admits were put out with the garbage: Paper string, a needle holder, a metal pancake maker built for thrusting into a fire.

“These objects all look quite old and shabby,” he said.

“But they record real history.”

Wang’s Beijing Old Items Exhibition in the heart of old Beijing is one of dozens of private museums that dot the capital’s backstreets and its suburbs. Their collections feature the grand and mundane–from items salvaged from the garbage to a limousine in which Mao Zedong once rode.

Entering these private museums is to peel off a largely forgotten layer of Beijing’s recent history.

While state-run museums seek mainly to legitimize the ruling Communist Party through its own highly selective interpretation of history, the capital’s private museums are born from their founders’ hobbies and obsessions, along with a sense of duty to keep alive a little bit of history others might dismiss as trivial.

“If you throw it on the street, people would say ‘What’s this?’ and maybe think it’s useless and throw it away,” said Wang, gesturing around the room packed with hundreds of household items and street objects dating from the

1900s to the 1970s. “But we think it’s culture.”

Wang delights in telling visitors to guess what the objects are in their hands. They might include a popsicle holder used by street vendors or a bucket-shaped iron heated by charcoal. All form part of the collection that Wang and two co-founders began in the 1980s after asking foreign visitors why they were so interested in buying old everyday items.

“They said, ‘To collect.’ Now if you go to someone’s home you probably can’t find such things,” Wang said.

Picking up a doughnut-shaped metal bell, Wang explained that before Beijing had many hospitals, itinerant doctors used to roam the streets. “When you heard this sound, the doctor was walking in the street, available, ringing the bell,” he said.

Liu Chen, 27, first visited the museum after reading about it on social media and has returned several times with friends. “Here many of the old objects displayed might have been the kind of things used by Wang himself when he was a kid, so you can feel his enthusiasm, which is the key thing that distinguishes it from other museums,” he said.

As China grows richer, wealthy citizens, banks and private businesses have invested in Chinese art and started museums to display their wealth or patriotism.

Others, such as Luo Wenyou, opened their collections after their pastimes evolved into callings.

In 1998, when he already owned about 70 old cars, Luo took part in an 800-kilometer rally from the northeastern city of Dalian to Beijing, his iconic Red Flag sedan the only Chinese car in the event.

Having learned about vintage car associations and museums outside China, and inspired by shouts of “long live Red Flag” as he pulled up to Tiananmen Square, Luo decided he was honor-bound to preserve the legacy of China’s early motoring history.

“I had a karting track, a transport company and a garage. After the rally I sold them off cheaply in order to immediately start a vintage car association and later found the museum, to fill the gap,” said Luo. His museum opened in 2009 and he now boasts more than 200 vintage Chinese and foreign cars.

Some of Luo’s cars have stories from China’s recent history. They include a car Mao refused to ride in until the brand’s Romanized name on the hood was replaced with Chinese characters and a car found in an overgrown patch of grass that had been assigned to former president Liu Shaoqi. The latter vehicle still had broken windows from when Liu was pursued by Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution after falling out of favor with Mao. Private collections like Luo’s offer a welcome alternative to state museums that seek to draw the visitor into a narrative about the greatness of China and the necessity of the Communist Party’s leadership, said Philip Tinari, director of the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing.

“You don’t really find publicly supported pockets of weirdness,” Tinari said.

Ma Weidu opened China’s first private museum in 1996, filling it with antiques bought cheaply in the late 1970s and 80s from Beijing residents eager for cash to buy refrigerators, TVs and washing machines.

Ma’s Guanfu Museum now has three branches across China with two more opening this year. Ma himself has become a TV personality, hosting programs teaching antique hunters how to discern between real treasures and fakes.

Ever keen to attract more visitors, Ma, a cat lover, recently named 20 felines as assistant curators.

“A lot of people who come to the museum [...] are more interested in cats than culture,” said Ma. “But some may come here because of the cats and in doing so learn something about antiques.”

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T H E

B I G

Photos via APA, RUTH MARBUN

S E E I N G

P I C T U R E

IN REALM OF(CINEMATIC)IMAGINATION APA STAGES AN EXHIBITION OF THE FICTITIOUS AND THE IMAGINARY Words Sebastian Partogi

One of the side projects of The Goods Dept, which is helmed by Anton Wirjono, the subject of this issue’s cover story, is the APA, or Alternative Public Artspace, at his store in Plaza Indonesia.

APA, which offers a space for pop-up exhibitions for local artists, recently staged a show for 150 movie posters.

There was a twist, though: None of the movies ever existed. All were the inspired imaginings of the participating artists.

It sounds like something out of Jorge Luis Borges’ short story “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius”, where an ever-expanding conspiracy of intellectuals start crafting a real-life history for a fictitious nation.

At the APA, the posters were created using variety of approaches. Some were done in watercolors or crayons; others were crafted digitally.

There was even one Pontilist-style poster comprising tiny dots and evoking the Braille alphabet. It was the creation of visual artist Tita Salina, devised for a fictitious movie titled Film yang Tak Pernah Kulihat (The Film That I Have Never Seen).

Meanwhile, another participating artist, Rato Tanggela, who works at Kompas TV, created a poster using acrylic paint and chalk for Ngg..., a vocalization of fear in

Indonesian, like “Ahh!”, showing a small girl with a timid face standing alone.

“This poster was inspired by the girl street buskers I see around the Palmerah market in South Jakarta,” Rato said on the sidelines of the event. “Sometimes I have little chats with them. Some of these girls told me that there were preman [thugs] who intimidated

them by asking them to sing national anthems that they don’t know.”

Although the girls said that the thugs never hurt them, the much bigger men with fierce facial expression and intimidating voices were enough to terrify them, he added.

Visual artist (and former ArtPLUS subject) Ruth Marbun came up with poster for a fictitious film titled Umpteenth Wink, with an image of a bed at its centerpiece and a woman who is apparently sleeping.

“Dreams are her reality” reads the tagline.

“This film tells of a ‘professional sleeper’, who sells her dreams to everybody, since dreaming is all she can do,” she adds. “Then she falls in love with a caffeine addict, and this is when the story starts turning on itself.”

Ruth said that the visuals came first and the story later. “When Oom Leo [curator Narpati Awangga] sent a blast email to around 150 artists, including me, he just asked us to create a movie poster for an exhibition,” she says. “No other instructions were provided, so I was free to experiment.

I drew the picture of the bed first, then the woman sleeping, and then the story sort of wove itself inside my head.”

Oom Leo said that he set no guidelines for submissions to encourage diversity, taking inspiration from the posters devised in the African nation of Ghana in the 1980s, when there were no permanent cinemas, only “cinema trucks” that went from town to town.

“The [Ghanian] artists who designed the

bootleg movie posters completely had no idea about what the movies were like, so they just relied on keywords to create an illustration,” Leo said. “They also dramatized the posters in an exaggerated way to entice viewers. Therefore, the posters look hilarious to modern viewers.”

Another purpose of the exhibition, according to Leo, was to remind local audiences about the tradition of handpainted movie posters in Indonesia, with their distinctive fonts and richly detailed pictures depicting characters and scenes.

According to Cinema Poetica film critic Windu Yusuf, people continued making modest, hand-drawn fabric posters in Indonesia until the mid-2000s, when the practice became a victim of digital graphic design and printing.

The current crop of posters are strongly influenced by those created for foreign films, Windu says, citing as example the similarities between the posters for Rasa (Feel, 2009, directed by Charles Ghozali) and Closer (2004, Mike Nichols), as well as Setan Budeg (Deaf Ghost, 2009, Findo Purnowobo) and The Wig (2005, Won Shin-yeon) and Unborn (2009, David Goyer).

Some call it plagiarism, while others ask how many ways can a horror movie poster be designed: Genre films, by definition, work because they recycle tropes and offer viewers the familiar. Innovation is not the point.

According to Windu, there’s not a lot of research on the topic. “We can only look at vintage movie posters without really knowing the process by which they were made,” he said.

NEWS FOR YOU

Rendy Pramudya goes abstract

Artist Rendy Pramudya is known for paintings grounded in realism. However, for his latest exhibition, “Transvertere”, the artist is stepping out of his comfort zone with an entire gallery filled with abstract works. Hosted by ROH Projects on the 40th floor of the Equity Tower in the Sudirman Central Business District, the event is open until April 20 to the general public. rohprojects.net.

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'Home' influences with Anton Ismael

The RUCI Art Space in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, is currently hosting a photo installation featuring the works of Anton Ismael. Titled “Rumah” (“House” or “Home”), the exhibition covers the significance of a domicile in developing a person’s character.

By the way, RUCI is also holding weekly events to engage Jakarta’s diverse communities, such as talk shows, workshops and book releases. The exhibition runs until May 15, Tuesdays to Sundays, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Ade Darmawan is curating. ruciart.com

focus

This App Will Change the Way You Buy Art Photos viaBLOOMBERG

EVEN IF YOU’VE NEVER BOUGHT ART BEFORE

Words James Tarmy, Bloomberg

S

tanding in Pace MacGill, an art gallery in midtown Manhattan, the art market researcher-cumentrepreneur Magnus Resch opened an app on his iPhone and beamed.

“Take a picture of an artwork,” he said, handing over his phone, which displayed a salmon-red and white interface bearing the logo “Magnus.”

A button on the screen was dutifully pressed, and the artwork in question–a 1973 image by the photographer Hiro, which was presented without a label on the gallery’s wall–appeared, after a beat, on the phone, correctly identified.

But the app didn’t just display the artwork; it loaded, unprompted, the photograph’s title, attribution, dimensions, price (US$20,000), and, further down on the screen, a history of past work and exhibitions by the artist.

The Concept

The premise of Magnus, which was first reported by the New York Times, is simple, straightforward, and incredibly ambitious. The app aims to catalogue the existence and price of every artwork and to make that information publicly available. It’s the holy grail of the art market.

Accordingly, Magnus isn’t the art world’s first attempt. Artsy, Artnet, and others have set out to do the same thing with (mostly) disappointing results, in large part because it’s a herculean task by any measure–artworks are made and sold every day, often without any public exposure.

That’s why a database like Artnet focuses exclusively on publicly available auction sales, and that’s also why Resch’s app, which has logged about 8 million artworks, could be a game changer.

Unlike Artnet, Resch’s database also includes works on the primary market– about 12 percent of his total database. It’s that 12 percent sliver that makes Magnus so compelling.

“I’m providing true access to the art

market,” Resch said in a subsequent interview. “People who’ve thus far been left out of the market can become buyers: They see comparable prices.

We’re equipping non-experts with the knowledge of an expert.”

In other words, Resch’s app is for people outside the art world who walk into a gallery, see a photograph on sale for $20,000, and wonder (quite reasonably) why it costs $20,000 and not $5,000.

If that same person can walk into a gallery and use Magnus to access the artist’s exhibition history and price records, Resch reasons, the photograph’s $20,000 price might make more sense.

Maintaining the Database

Until now, images and prices have been updated by a core group of 200 beta users. That’s not sustainable, but Resch’s solution is to harness ingrained behavior– people taking photos of art in galleries and fairs–and use it as crowdsourcing.

“People already take out their phone to take pictures when they go to galleries,” Resch said. “Doing it with my app benefits everyone.”

Just as drivers spot speed traps on Waze and wine-lovers photograph bottles to discover price markups on Vivino (Magnus actually uses Vivino’s imagerecognition software), Resch is counting on gallery goers to stockpile his app with current information.

Here’s how it will work: An art lover can take a photo with Magnus and share it via Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail.

If that artwork is new to the Magnus database, the app will log and tag it, and the art viewer has the option of manually adding its price. If the artwork in question is already in the database–like the photo at the Pace MacGill gallery–relevant information will be served to the user.

Users can also scroll through a map of the city and click on various galleries to see their current shows.

NEWS FOR YOU It’s a lovely, streamlined idea, and possibly the first app to have a real impact on the art world. There are a few major hurdles to overcome before that happens, though, and all of them have to do with primary art prices.

Waiting, in artistic form

Gallery Pushback

The first issue is obvious to anyone who’s ever visited a gallery: Galleries don’t show prices.

“You just have to ask,” Resch countered. “And a lot of the time, a price list is just lying around the gallery.”

The second issue is pushback from galleries. There’s a variety of reasons they don’t show prices: Price tags cheapen a gallery’s museum-like aesthetic; sometimes only a few works in an exhibition are for sale; and there’s the uncomfortable fact that art can be priced differently for different people.

Resch, who wrote The Management of Art Galleries, which argued that galleries should streamline their business models, is familiar with the phenomenon and remains unfazed. “Galleries might not be happy about it, but what do they really have to hide?” he said.

Despite these potential pitfalls, Resch, predictably, is confident the app will be a success. “I was running around with it yesterday,” he said. “It’s amazing to see an artwork, point a phone at it, and get its price. It just makes me super happy.”

Platform3 and Nadi Gallery are hosting an exhibit featuring the works of 14 Indonesian artists.

The event, as its title, “Waiting for It to Happen”, implies, uses art to study the significance of periods when people are waiting for things to happen. Featured artists include Agus Suwage, Budi Adi Nugroho, Erika Ernawan and Yuli Prayitno.

Until April 26 at the Nadi Gallery in Puri Indah, West Jakarta.

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at your leisure

Photo via kapanlagi

OFF THE MENU

William Wongso takes it to the streets in Manila

T

he arrival of French cuisine in Jakarta dates to the 19th century, when the city was known as Batavia, and members of the colonial elite societies visited French tailors on Jl. Juanda, close to the site of what would later become the State Palace.

According to historians, the city’s legendary Hotel des Indes was built by a Frenchman, Antoine Surleon Chairlain, while Jakarta’s Hotel de Provence is said to be the first place in Southeast Asia to serve assorted European ice creams and sorbets.

Later came restaurants such as Chez Mario and Maison Veerstag on Jl. Veteran, although both were demolished by the 1950s.

More recently, veteran actress Rima Melati established the city’s first authentic Parisian bistro, Le Bistro on Jl. Wahid Hasyim.

It created a new wave of French restaurant openings, such as Margeux at the Shangri-La, Taman Sari at the Jakarta Hilton International, Riva Park Lane, Srivijaya at the Dharmawangsa and Cassis at Karet Kuningan.

Then there’s Lyon on the second floor of the Mandarin Oriental.

Here I am in the restaurant, looking at its iconic red and blue water glasses on a spotless white tablecloth, a tableaux that reflects the colors of the French flag.

Billing itself as a fine bistro instead as a fine-dining destination, Lyon is one of the finest restaurants in Jakarta for those seeking to indulge in French gourmet cuisine.

The dining room features a low ceiling that creates a comforting ambience. I walked along a velvety carpet before I was seated by a kind servers.

While its dinner and brunch menus are extraordinary, this day I was tempted to

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FINE FRENCH CUISINE AT LYON WORDS and photos Kevindra P. Soemantri

try Lyon’s business lunch menu, which includes four courses, from an amuse bouche to dessert.

The amuse bouche arrived and was captivating to look as it was to eat: A trio of seared foie gras, berry and melba bread (a more feminine version of the venerable crouton); silky and delicate corn pannacota served with minced salmon; and a Romesco lettuce minisalad.

The foie gras was rich, melting in your mouth–as did the pannacota, which instantly dissolved when touching the warmth of the tongue. Fresh salmon added richness and texture to the dish, a clever way to start your meal.

The next dish, a well-executed, simple salad of farm-made brie cheese, truffles, balsamic jelly and crunchy walnuts, shows that excellence need not be sophisticated.

The fresh and beautifully plated garden of fresh frisse and the earthy walnut offered a pristine natural texture, while the creamy Franco-Swiss brie cheese was seductively matched with ponds of truffle crème, with balsamic jelly balsamic for a hint of tangy fruitiness to create a very fine salad.

For a main course, a very humble and nostalgic Lamb Navarin arrived.

The peasant dish, which takes its name from the Battle of Navarino, yielded less than the decisive victory won by the Great Powers over the Ottoman Empire in 1827.

While the lamb was executed well, the pearl onion was slightly undercooked, lacking the usual zingy sensation for your nostrils.

Soon, though, a smile returned to my face when the roulade of free-range chicken arrived. Juicy and perfectly cooked, the chicken, served with a satiny smear of potato mousseline and a quenelle of grain mustard, elevated the course to a fine meal.

Finally, the dessert of Arabica parfait, chocolate cream and toasted banana arrived. While I’m no fan of bananas, the combination of earthy Arabica, silky, creamy chocolate and the honey-like sweetness of the banana made for a grand finale.

When I mentioned how much I enjoyed my meal to the server, she told me that chef Thierry, the kitchen captain of Mandarin Oriental, has moved on.

Thierry offered a Midas touch that brought Lyon to fame during his tenure from 2009 to 2015–a touch that can still be felt, despite his departure.

Lyon is still alive and continues to serve excellent cuisine, thanks to standards set

by Thierry that have obviously taken root in the kitchen he built.

The Mandarin Oriental’s new executive chef, Cyril Calmet, oversees the hotel’s dining establishments, including Cinnamon all-day dining, the award winning Mandarin Oriental Cake Shop, the MO Bar, the new Xin Hwa Chinese restaurant and Lyon.

Mandarin Oriental Jakarta Jl. M.H. Thamrin Menteng, Central Jakarta Lunch 11:30 a.m. -2p.m. (Mon - Fri) Dinner 6 p.m.-10:30 p.m.

Brunch 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (Sat) Telp: +62212993 8824 mo_jakarta

Petty Elliot makes bow at Singapore’s World Gourmet Summit Fine cuisine, great wines and unique dining have consistently made the World Gourmet Summit (WGS) in Singapore, one of the world’s most talked about food events since it started in 1996.

The WGS is celebrating this 20-year heritage with a stellar cast of world-class and Michelin-starred chefs from around the globe, as well as with a rich line up of gourmet-related events and exclusive menus.

On the guest list is Manado-born chef and author Petty Elliott.

Impressively, Petty’s appearance marks the first time an Indonesian chef will grace the kitchens of the Singaporean event for a cooking session at the exclusive 1 Altitude restaurant.

The distinguished chefs will gather together on April 16 and 17 for a culinary symposium to discuss trending topics in the world of cuisine–namely, whether or not local talents are receiving the recognition they deserve.

Photo via WGS

French delight

Back this year–and bigger and more delicious than ever–is the latest iteration of the World Street Food Congress, set to be held from April 20 to 24 in Manila, the Philippines.

This feasting festival will feature 25 top chefs and vendors from10 different countries around the world working together to preserve and promote the wonders of street food culture.

An estimated 15,000 people are expected to show up each evening at WSFC 2016 to try out the various dishes on sale, among which are hometown favorites such as ayam taliwang (spicy grilled chicken) by Baiq Hartini (of Jl. Panglima Polim IV fame) and the famed Bali BBQ Ribs by Warung Sunset in Kuta.

Important culinary world figures, including top Indonesian chef and food writer William Wongso, will also be sharing the latest on developments and opportunities for street food culture at the WSF Dialogue on the 20th and 21st.

tasteBUD

A taste of Capri A RECIPE FOR TORTA CAPRESE Words and photos Theodora Hurustiati

S

ay Capri Island in the Gulf of Naples and images might come to mind of its scenic coast, lined by the luxurious villas owned

by Hollywood stars and members of the international jet set. In my case though, as a chocolate fan, what comes to mind is torta caprese, or Capri Cake; the Italian (and in my opinion, better) answer to the better known brownie. What I love about the recipe is that the recipe is easy to remember and it’s a relatively easy tea-time treat to prepare. Since there’s no flour involved, this fudgy chocolate cake is also suitable for people with gluten intolerance. Like its American counterpart, torta caprese is a rich cake, so you might want to go jogging after a slice. Or two.

Serves 8 100g dark chocolate (70 percent cocoa) 100g caster sugar 100g butter, softened, with extra for brushing 2 eggs 100g almond flour 10g cocoa powder, with extra for coating Pinch of salt, optional Icing sugar, to taste

• Break chocolate in small pieces and transfer into a glass, ceramic or steel bowl. Place over a small pot of simmering water. This technique is called double boiling, or au bain marie, in French.

• Once chocolate melts, cool slightly for a few minutes at room temperature.

• Meanwhile, separate egg yolk and egg whites.

• Beat butter with sugar until pale and creamy.

Incorporate yolks into butter/sugar mixture and beat again. Pour in slightly cooled chocolate and amalgamate.

• Whisk egg whites until stiff and incorporate into batter, in several batches, folding delicately using spatula, from the bottom of the bowl moving upwards.

• Finally, mix almond flour, cocoa powder and salt, if using. Fold gently into batter with the same technique as the egg whites.

• Brush a 20-to-22-cm round cake tin with butter and coat with cocoa powder. Gently tap to remove excess.

• Transfer cake batter into tin and spread an even layer.

• Bake at 160°C (in convection oven, if possible) for 25 to 30 minutes until the surface is dry and slightly springy to the touch.

• Check center using a bamboo stick or a toothpick. It should be slightly humid but not wet.

• Leave to cool in tray. Transfer to serving plate and dust generously with icing sugar.

• Slice into portions and serve at room temperature as is or with vanilla ice cream.

Jakarta-born chef Theodora Hurustiati, a 13-year resident of Udine, Italy, was the runner-up in the TV cooking program La Scuola – Cucina di Classe (The School: Classy Cooking).

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trendDIAL

Betty Boop and Popeye x Jean Paul Gaultier

Vegan Friendly Jeffree Star Eyeshadow Palette

French couture house Jean Paul Gaultier is releasing limited editions of its Classique and Le Male scents that feature the iconic cartoon characters Betty Boop and Popeye. While the brand has long been known for a rebellious attitude toward design, this collaboration creates a sense of the fantastic and fun by modelling the characters for Le Male and Classique in Gaultier-inspired outfits. Bottles are also decorated with illustrations that represents traditional American tattoo styles.

Gaultier is betting that the popularity of the characters will extend beyond the brand’s regular customers and attract people to the exclusive offerings.

Available starting May 15.

Time to embrace Jeffree Star Cosmetics, as the animal cruelty-free brand is slated to release its inaugural eyeshadow palette.

The brand’s Velour Liquid Lipsticks are famous for their matte style and are often sold as “Kylie Lip Kits”, noting that they have their own followers across the globe. While the finer points on the eyeshadow release are under wraps for now, the brand revealed several crucial details. The palette will be called Beauty Killer and will feature 10 high-pigment shadows. Mark your calendars for May 25.

Loewe Leather Furniture Project at Salone del Mobile

Furniture designer Loewe is back with designs made from fragments of leather in multiple shapes and colors. From a large wardrobe to two Baillie Scott chairs decorated with floral drawings, landscapes and other figures; Loewe has prepared six pieces evoking early 20th-century British designs. The series, inspired by the painted furniture of the Omega Workshops and the designs of artists at the Bloomsbury Group, made its bow at the 2016 Salone del Mobile Furniture Fair in Milan, known as one of the most important events on the global calendar of design.

Beauty

Killers

Dolce & Gabbana Fridge Collection

Looking for an ultra-artistic fridge? Dolce & Gabbana just launched some in Milan.

Collaborating with Italian manufacturer Smeg, Dolce & Gabbana is offering a limited edition collection made by Sicilian artists under the direction of design mavens Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. With a run capped at 100 hand-painted pieces, the FAB28R-DG fridge series will sell for £30,000 (US$42,746) each. Visit smeguk.com for info.

Milan o t e in k s e l o M m o r F

Moleskine New Smart Writing Set

Moleskine is getting a modern makeover.

Shifting from paper to include the digital, the famous luxury notebook brand is offering a Smart Writing Set, comprising an electronic pen and paper notebook. Using the tools, writers or artists can view what they sketch on their smartphones, tablets or PCs with via the companion Moleskine Notes app. Up to 1,000 pages can be stored inside the pen for later transfer. You can also save files to Google Drive, Evernote or Adobe’s software suite and share on social media. From $199. +Banyubening Prieta

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JPlus April 17, 2016