Hands and Heart Cafe: Fucky Cafes: BKK

If you are a coffee connoisseur and you are in Bangkok then visit Hand and Heart. Located just a short walk from Thong Lo BTS, it is conveniently located next to The Face Bangkok Bar.  I dropped into this cafe on an early Friday afternoon and it was a great place to chill, have a small bite to eat together with a great cup of coffee

This is no ordinary cafe. It is small, sleek and serves coffee the way coffee should be served; hand ground on the spot.

There are no machines here - just pure drip done the way it should be done. I tried the beans from Kenya. The server recommended this bean since it was light in favour and I am not a fan of strong coffee. The taste was light and fruity and very gentle on the palate.




  

Crown Bakery & Cafe

A great place for breakfast or brunch is the Crown Bakery & Cafe. Breakfast portions are good and the coffee and tea is excellent. Wonderful place to chill and watch the cars zoom by on Bukit Timah Road accompanied by music in French! Located a short walk from Coronation Plaza.

Great decor

Pastries galore

Breakfast 

40 Hands cafe - Tiong Bahru

Spent a very chilled Sunday morning at 40 Hands cafe - smack in the middle of the pre-war conserved flats area in Tiong Bahru. It serves a mix of traditional western dishes and a few local ones as well (like their pork and bao). 

This area now has a very Indie feel to it, something that is growing in Singapore perhaps born out of a need to escape the generic? It reminds me of funky areas that are popping up everywhere in Asia. 

40 Hands is located at Blk 78 on Yong Siak Street. After a brunch check out a bookstore across the street! 

Drifter - leather bags and more

Just a short walk from Zhong Shan train station in Taipei lies a network of cafes and boutique style shops. 

Drifter was one such shop. Xu Qi creates a wide range of leather products. This was my perfect excuse to buy a new leather bag for work. 

Check out his work if you are ever in Taipei! And my favourite part is his motto - 记得 - 要开心 ... remember, be happy!

Fugui restaurant - Yingge

A good meal is like a good wine. It's even more appreciated when one is tired and in need of a quiet place to eat and ponder on life. 

Fugui restaurant fits the bill as a place to enjoy a nice meal. Located in Yingge on the outskirts of Taipei, it sits at the far end of the cultural street nestled amongst a multitude of ceramic shops. 

For less than 40 Singapore dollars, two people can dine on a sumptuous meal. Strange to say, but the Singapore dish Bak Kut Teh was the best I've had. 

Definitely a nice place to chill whilst enjoying a great meal. 

 

Every picture tells a story

Every picture tells a story. The older gentleman is talking to a sales person in the Apple Store in Shinsaibashi, Osaka, Japan. 

It was not the content that caught my attention nor the people involved. It was the fact that the entire conversation was in Japanese. I've lived in Asia long enough to know that the level of language used was not novice. 

Of course there are so many levels to this story. Perhaps the gentleman is a professor of Japanese or perhaps he has simply lived in Japan long enough to pick up the language.

Whatever his level of language is or however he learnt it is irrelevant. My point is people from all backgrounds and walks of life have crossed cultural barriers and done unique things. Learning an Asian language is not a new thing. People have been doing it for years, investing huge amounts of personal time to achieve what this picture depicts. 

Finally I think it is a sign of the times where I can now use my Chinese at Uni Qlo with the sales guy from Beijing. He was rather shocked when I caused him to switch to his native tongue. That's how bad my Japanese is!

Nara - Todai-ji Temple

After visiting many shrines and temples, the Daibutsuden Hall in Todai-ji temple, Nara, was perhaps the most impressive I've ever seen. 

Located in Nara which is roughly 45 minutes train ride out of Osaka,  it is the world's largest wooden building. Inside lies an impressive array of Buddhist deities. When we visited, school students were also visiting taking part in what appeared to be a ritual for end of year studies. 

Nara is also famous for many deer that wander all over the parks and surrounding temples. They are regarded as heavenly animals who protect the city and the country.