Park & Cube | 2016 July

26th July 2016

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photography SHINI PARK assistance MR TRIPOD location CONRAD MALDIVES

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There is a special place in my mind, a cove, a nook, what have you – located in the general thereabouts of naughty-thoughtsburg and childish-schemesville. A little room that’s lined with premium faux-fur (‘stroke the furry wall, Albus’), and a make-it-yourself-burrito/burger/sundae/pho buffet in each of the four corners. And Henry Cavil as butler, in Olympic swimtrunks with ‘FAB’ written across the buttocks. We are not talking about the Maldives just yet, this space that I describe, is my ‘Happy Place’.

bracelet X JEWELLERY swimsuit ONIA. sunglasses DIOR

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Swimsuit – ASOS.

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Shirt & Bandeau – ASOS. Beach Pareo – Tallulah & Hope.

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straw hat H&M (SIMILAR) leather dress ASOS

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Ever since November 2015 however, my Happy Place has had a refurbishment. Now it is the exact replica of Conrad Maldives: white beaches with glassy water frothing at the hem, azure horizon that meets a cotton candy sky canvas, and all the amenities in a water villa. This is where I go in my mind, when my dude is particularly bewitched at the notion of explaining the supply and demand chain in the heaviest economist-lingo he can muster. I mentally snorkel out to the reefs and lather a wave underwater to a family of clown-fish while grunting the occasional Mmn, and ooh really‘s as he proceeds to pull out a complex-looking spreadsheet. Happy Place, Happy Place…

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Conrad Maldives
Rangali Island, Rangali 20077, Maldives
+960 668-0629

Park & Cube was a guest of Conrad Maldives, all views and opinion my own, as per usual.

Lifestyle & Food

An Izakaya staple

10th July 2016

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Serves 2 (v)

Scorched Cauliflower

by Scott Hallsworth

founder of Kurobuta at Harvey Nichols Knightsbridge

A light starter to whet any appetite, or when you say you‘re on a diet but still crave a hug from butter. Perfect with just-cooked rice in the morning (or chucked into a stir-fry with simple noodles).

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150g Cauliflower cut into bitesize pieces
20ml Dark soy
60g Butter
10ml Salted yuzu juice
Swig of Olive oil
Pinch of Sea salt
20ml Sake
Finely chopped chives, chillies

Crank your oven up to inferno (pizza ovens or even a covered BBQ is fine)
Toss the cauliflower chunks with the olive oil, sake and sea salt.
Pour onto a heavy-duty oven tray lined with a baking tray and scatter the butter chunks all over.
Roast until golden
Serve up – drizzle with soy and yuzu juice, top with chives.

* Squeeze a lemon over to accentuate the chives and chilli flavours.

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Serve as a side dish with a bowl of rice and sunny-side-up eggs

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Kurobuta

Harvey Nichols, 4th floor
109-125 Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7RJ

Now, while this dish may not drop any culinary panties when it comes to complexity, if cooked with the right dose of love (i.e garlic & chillies) it packs a punch – almost to the point it can rock a solo on your table, with a bowl of rice on base guitar. Also seen on the list of mouth-watering BBQ numbers at the newly opened Kurobuta at Harvey Nichols – inspired by Japanese Izakayas and their tapas-and-drinks gastropubs, one of my favourite time-out points when meetings bring us out to Knightsbridge. Order the Scorched Cauliflower and the Baby Shrimp Tempura with Kimchee mayo to start, followed by a Tuna Sashimi Pizza with Truffle Ponzu. Slosh it all down with an icy sweet lychee mocktail. Ask for a booth for a spectacular view over Sloane Street, or for an peek of the windows at the Mandarin Oriental across the road.

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Right: Robata Pork Ribs with Honey-Soy-Ginger Glaze

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Style

Fast Forward

6th July 2016

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direction SHINI PARK photo assistance SIMON SCHMIDT in collaboration with COACH

Vest – Coach 1941 PreFall16. Bag – Coach ‘Rogue’. Suede top – Gestuz. Skirt – Kenzo. Shoes – Kurt Geiger.

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All – Coach 1941 PreFall16

HOW IS IT ALREADY JULY? It’s like someone forgot to un-press the 2x Fast Forward toggle on Sims and not only have I slept through the night really quickly but I’ve reached level 10 in Charisma skills by talking to myself in the mirror for 13 Sim-hours in a puddle of my own piss, and then gotten to third base with the cleaning lady. (Sidenote: if you’ve never played Sims this may possibly be the most awkward paragraph you’d read on the internet ever.) Moral of the story is, where is time going? (and, for the love of God, press pause if you’re going AFK)

Weren’t we nursing fashion month blisters just the other day? And I don’t know about you, but my Spring Clean is still on snooze, it has been since March. Perhaps the one good thing about being more than halfway done with a year-that-I-still-looks-like-20156 is the Pre-Fall collections, and as always – Coach 1941 do not disappoint. The glove-tanned Rogue is my new beau, and khaki because I suspect that good weather in the UK have most definitely progressed with #Brexit.

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above: jacket VARSITY JACKET dress PATCHWORK bag GLOVETANNED ROGUE. left: dress SILK T-SHIRT DRESS; ALL BY COACH

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All – Coach 1941 PreFall16

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Excursion

Lose yourself

4th July 2016

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It all starts with this line: ‘You just said [insert dream food] and my eyes went all blurry’. That’s all it takes for the office to collectively groan/sign/wail a little as knees buckle and pens to fall out of melty hand grip. It doesn’t take much, but garlicy pasta, sweet potato fries and ice-cream take the trophy in prompting the most creative noises and about eleven, maybe twelve minutes of temporary vision + hearing loss that does not help with general productivity. The news, therefore, that Häagen Dazs (SIGH) to officially supply ice-cream (AUuhhh) to Wimbledon, and create a limited-edition Strawberries & Cream Stick Bar (YAaaAS) possibly made the neighbours wonder what it is we do in this office, really.

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one of the addiction of Wimbledon is getting lost in the vacuum of suspense

But noise tells everything, doesn’t it? And the lack thereof. Contrary to what I’d expected, Wimbledon is much less about the scores or the off-chance that you’ll spot Andy Murray scoffing down a banana in an information booth, or Federer adjusting his headband at the men’s (both of these need to be a Snapchat filter). The real joy is getting lost in the deafening silence between a forehand hit and a slice, or the split-second of hush before the board updates the scores. It’s the collective, gentle gasp, and a thunder of hoot-less clapping after a match-set that makes Wimbledon so addictive. Every single spectator leans in, decisively tracking the yellow ball as it tours the court with every hit, completely lost in the moment. Add a Häagen Dazs ice-cream* to this equation and you’ll need to lay down from mirth overdose at some point.

*If Wimbledon is not one of your summer plans, the limited-edition Strawberries & Cream Stick Bar is also available exclusively at Selfridges during the Championships fortnight (London Oxford Street, Manchester Trafford Park and Birmingham Bullring) – just make sure to go by the Wimbledon finals weekend.

Top – 3.1 Phillip Lim. Skirt – Cedric Charlier. Shoes – Stella McCartney. Watch – Rosefield.

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In collaboration with Häagen Dazs

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Style

KISS Principle

1st July 2016

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creative & photography SHINI PARK created for CALVIN KLEIN

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poncho STYLENANDA swimwear CALVIN KLEIN

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I know I’ve been charged with the crime of ‘over-doing’ things in the wardrobe department – evident if not by silence in the comment section then at least by the rapid-scan eye flick of my PA that is uploaded into the smile that follows. . The empty smile, the flight-attendant-who’s-had-to-clean-enough-baby-spit-up smile. Yes, judge, I plead insanity (with a side of vanity*). But when it comes to swimwear, all I know is: KISS. Keep It Simple, Stupid. If we’ve socially accepted the pairing of exposed physical imperfections + tea-cosy-sized fabric for the sake of going into tempered water, then my swimsuits and I are going to do my best to slink into people’s blind spots. And to KISS, one must Calvin Klein, so forgive me if while I show some favs. Yes, one of my boob is bigger than the other.