Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Asia in San Diego!!!
This city is so absolutely beautiful and very southwest. I love it. The old Spanish style houses and architecture is breathtaking! Also, the food is delish! Though my personal fave is Thai food, the taco stands here are to die for. The markets almost every day of the week are a great time as well. The beach, the surf, the palm trees in every corner... it's good. If you don't live here, come visit!
Since I've been back in CAL I've been hard at work on material for the Elefante Imports virtual store. Trust me- I cannot wait to share all these fabulous gems with you!!! Soon soon soon! I've also been exploring the city and recently found a really great retail location which is much like a world market right here in San Diego. I'll keep you updated on where you can go and check out all the goods in person!
Pictures of adventures in the city and stories to come! Hope all is well where ever you are in the world! :)
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Pad Thai, Mahjong, and wine (holders)!
When in Bangkok I recommend the following:
A tuk tuk to the temples to take silly pictures and learn about Thai history. After, head to dinner at Cabbages & Condoms and chow down on some great Thai food where proceeds go towards providing sex education and promoting birth control. Instead of an after dinner mint- you get an after dinner condom!
The picture of the guy and doll are wearing only condom/birthcontrol clothing!
In 4.5 hours I'll be jet-setting back to the US of A! :) It's been a great trip, but I am definitely looking forward the moment I get home and can share all these great Asian finds with you online! The past handful of days I've been getting my Thai fix of eats(from Panang Curry to Tom Yum Goong- I recommend it all!), drinks (the fruit shakes here are to die for!), markets (the search never ends looking for the best jewerly and decor!), art (oooooh I met a guy with the most beautiful pottery!), fun (it's not quite Thai, but Mahjong is a fun game to play all over Asia) before I jump continents!
I could go on forever about how delicious the food is and I will definitely share some Thai recipes in the future, I'll make you a fruit shake if you're ever in San Diego, and I hope to be able to share the pottery with you in the future, but for now I want to talk about Mahjong.
Have you heard of it!? Remember a silly game on the computer with funky Chinese tiles which you had no clue how to play when you were younger!? Well (the real version- not on your pc) is a really fun (and easy to learn) game! Check out this super authentic looking game set I found on Ebay! I can't wait to teach and play mahjong with friends at home!
Here's a bit about it: It's of Chinese origin and some people actually believe that Confucius developed the game long long ago! This is a myth, but the meaning behind every tile is very Confucian. No one actually knows who invented the game, but regardless it's a hit in many countries. The game is played with 144 tiles which are divided in to families called: bamboos, characters, dots, winds, dragons, and flowers. You can play for points or money, but I recommend just for fun! The goal is to combine tiles to make a 'hand'. There are various hands and different levels of difficulty. The game is definitely part skill or strategy and part luck! We played for 4 hours today! Yikes! Though I'm still very much a beginner, I won a couple games!! Needless to say it's been a fabulous time!
Besides playing Mahjong, I found one addition to the store which I'm very excited about! Wine holders! I was able to find the VERY last day of my travels! About a year and a half ago, my friends(in the silly picture at the top) were visiting Thailand for the first time and I was very excited take them shopping! However, I still had a lot more traveling to do and not a lot of room in my backpack, so they did most of the spending! When you are tight on cash, there is nothing more fun then having your friends do all the shopping and you just going along for the ride, helping them scout out the best gifts to take home! I was going along for the ride on this shopping spree until my eyes landed on the coolest wine holder I've ever seen in Thailand... maybe even in South East Asia. They were so great we all (5 of us total) had to have at least one! We found a guy who had made (and by made I mean carved) these really great and unique wood elephants which was made to hold a bottle of wine.
Coming back to Thailand, I knew, after the tons of compliments these wine holders get, I had to have them in my store, I was unable to locate this guy again- until today!!! I had given up and that's when I looked up and BAM! There they were & the same great guy who makes them!
I was so happy! I promise you'll love these and your guests will too! The guy who makes them is from Chang Mai, Thailand, which is in the northern regions of Thailand.
His name is Somchai and he is a very nice Thai man. If he were in a more high traffic zone, I think these elephants would be all over Bangkok. However, he comes down on the weekend to sell all of his handicrafts in a relatively low traffic area, so they are indeed a hidden treasure! I was so happy to tell him about Elefante Imports and how excited I am to bring these back to the states for wine connoisseurs! I didn't have my camera on me (sigh) today, so I wasn't able to get a snapshot of him and his other great creations, but I definitely will next time! And a sneak peak of the Elephant wine holder soon!
Until then, I must upload some new jams to the ipod before this long journey back home!
I'm going going back back to Cali Cali! :)
A tuk tuk to the temples to take silly pictures and learn about Thai history. After, head to dinner at Cabbages & Condoms and chow down on some great Thai food where proceeds go towards providing sex education and promoting birth control. Instead of an after dinner mint- you get an after dinner condom!
The picture of the guy and doll are wearing only condom/birthcontrol clothing!
In 4.5 hours I'll be jet-setting back to the US of A! :) It's been a great trip, but I am definitely looking forward the moment I get home and can share all these great Asian finds with you online! The past handful of days I've been getting my Thai fix of eats(from Panang Curry to Tom Yum Goong- I recommend it all!), drinks (the fruit shakes here are to die for!), markets (the search never ends looking for the best jewerly and decor!), art (oooooh I met a guy with the most beautiful pottery!), fun (it's not quite Thai, but Mahjong is a fun game to play all over Asia) before I jump continents!
I could go on forever about how delicious the food is and I will definitely share some Thai recipes in the future, I'll make you a fruit shake if you're ever in San Diego, and I hope to be able to share the pottery with you in the future, but for now I want to talk about Mahjong.
Have you heard of it!? Remember a silly game on the computer with funky Chinese tiles which you had no clue how to play when you were younger!? Well (the real version- not on your pc) is a really fun (and easy to learn) game! Check out this super authentic looking game set I found on Ebay! I can't wait to teach and play mahjong with friends at home!
Here's a bit about it: It's of Chinese origin and some people actually believe that Confucius developed the game long long ago! This is a myth, but the meaning behind every tile is very Confucian. No one actually knows who invented the game, but regardless it's a hit in many countries. The game is played with 144 tiles which are divided in to families called: bamboos, characters, dots, winds, dragons, and flowers. You can play for points or money, but I recommend just for fun! The goal is to combine tiles to make a 'hand'. There are various hands and different levels of difficulty. The game is definitely part skill or strategy and part luck! We played for 4 hours today! Yikes! Though I'm still very much a beginner, I won a couple games!! Needless to say it's been a fabulous time!
Besides playing Mahjong, I found one addition to the store which I'm very excited about! Wine holders! I was able to find the VERY last day of my travels! About a year and a half ago, my friends(in the silly picture at the top) were visiting Thailand for the first time and I was very excited take them shopping! However, I still had a lot more traveling to do and not a lot of room in my backpack, so they did most of the spending! When you are tight on cash, there is nothing more fun then having your friends do all the shopping and you just going along for the ride, helping them scout out the best gifts to take home! I was going along for the ride on this shopping spree until my eyes landed on the coolest wine holder I've ever seen in Thailand... maybe even in South East Asia. They were so great we all (5 of us total) had to have at least one! We found a guy who had made (and by made I mean carved) these really great and unique wood elephants which was made to hold a bottle of wine.
Coming back to Thailand, I knew, after the tons of compliments these wine holders get, I had to have them in my store, I was unable to locate this guy again- until today!!! I had given up and that's when I looked up and BAM! There they were & the same great guy who makes them!
I was so happy! I promise you'll love these and your guests will too! The guy who makes them is from Chang Mai, Thailand, which is in the northern regions of Thailand.
His name is Somchai and he is a very nice Thai man. If he were in a more high traffic zone, I think these elephants would be all over Bangkok. However, he comes down on the weekend to sell all of his handicrafts in a relatively low traffic area, so they are indeed a hidden treasure! I was so happy to tell him about Elefante Imports and how excited I am to bring these back to the states for wine connoisseurs! I didn't have my camera on me (sigh) today, so I wasn't able to get a snapshot of him and his other great creations, but I definitely will next time! And a sneak peak of the Elephant wine holder soon!
Until then, I must upload some new jams to the ipod before this long journey back home!
I'm going going back back to Cali Cali! :)
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
C'est Hanoi!
Hanoi, capital city of Vietnam, is what I call the "Paris of Vietnam". The French had, off and on again, occupied Vietnam and only recently left for good in the 1950's, inevitably Vietnam as a whole is quite infused with French culture making this capital city like no other in South East Asia. The architecture is very Parisian.
And there are cheese & baguettes being sold on every street corner, it couldn't remind more of Paris. 
J'adore Hanoi et Paris! Below are a few pictures from this beautiful bustling baguette filled city!
A night shot of a crazy busy intersection in Hanoi's Old Quarter district.
...and a man selling balloons in the middle of it all!
This a street sign that makes me laugh a little everyday...
Western culture is not only infused in the architecture and food in Vietnam. It's also influence the art and design here, which makes for very interesting and unique creations.
Remember Vietnamese lacquer and lacquerware which I had mentioned before? The quite extensive 75-115 day process, which is about 2000 years old, and involves harvesting resins from the Rhus Succedanea Trees. Artists then apply layers of lacquer to fix imperfections in the wood, then several layers including soil and rock and lacquer are applied, then sanded down, then art, eggshell, seashell, mother of pearl, and/or vibrant lacquer colors applied. Lastly, a clear coat of lacquer is applied to complete the stunning piece which is ultra strong and durable.
Well I recently picked up some of the most impressive lacquerware I've ever seen in Vietnam from a brilliant lady named Hue (picture below)!
Hue was born and raised in the village near Hanoi, which is famous for producing beautiful lacquer decor for generations and generations. Though they still continue to make traditional styles of lacquer they have also (due to the French influence) introduced new art forms, designs, and style to their collections. Hue and her family bring lacquer from their village to sell in Hanoi and I was able to hand select the best vases, wine holders, and other decor which represents a fusion of Eastern traditional art and Western design. I hope you'll love it. Here are a few sneak peaks!
Here are a some bamboo spun vases in red and orange!
and here are a couple of really cool square green vases with seashell decor!
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