May 11, 2010

Per Se in NYC by Mr. Thomas Keller

Having had the opportunity to dine in one of New York's finest restaurants and then get a personal tour of the kitchen, I had had HAD to document my experience!

Per Se, located in Time Warner building overlooking Central Park is THE finest fine dining restaurant in NYC! We had to wear formal attires and our lunch lastest 5 and a half hours!

The last time I ever ate like this was when Mr. Sergio Herman was in Singapore in 2008 at The Cliff restaurant on Sentosa and it was my husband's birthday dinner : ).
This time round, my husband, being in the F&B industry, had been in contact with Mr. Thomas Keller and had made reservations weeks in advance.

Per Se's kitchen is so perfect, so squeaky clean and SO organized! There was not even a grain of rice or a fly-away chopped onion to find on the floor!! All the veggies, meats and fish are all documented on their tupperwares, stating specifically who cleaned them, what date and time it was refrigerated, immaculate! The kitchen is like twice the size of the dining area and all the chefs were working away like busy bees getting dinner ready, unbelievable!
I know I sound so silly, I mean, what else would you expect woman??? 


Hers's some information on Thomas Keller:
Thomas Keller (born October 14, 1955) is an American chef, restaurateur, and cookbook writer. He and his landmark Napa Valley restaurant, The French Laundry in Yountville, California, have won multiple awards from the James Beard Foundation, notably the Best California Chef in 1996, and the Best Chef in America in 1997. The restaurant is a perennial winner in the annual Restaurant Magazine list of the Top 50 Restaurants of the World.
In 2005, he was awarded the three star rating in the inaugural Michelin Guide for New York for his restaurant Per Se, and in 2006, he was awarded three stars in the inaugural Michelin Guide to the Bay Area for The French Laundry. He is the only American chef to have been awarded simultaneous three star Michelin ratings for two different restaurants.

What I ate that day, to name a few, consisted of Minestrone Soup, Macaroni and Cheese, Coffee and Donuts, the true american menu. Here are some pics!

*The last pic is the 3 of us after that grand meal, (so full to the point of illness but filled with glee and contentment for having experienced gluttony), in a cab on our way home to just lay down and not eat for the next 12 hours at least!




May 7, 2010

Latest ICON Magazine Spread I Love!

This spread was done with Jeremy Tan, Mark Law and Marc Teng. They really are my favourite people to work with! Marc is one of the very few really creative hairstylists. He can do magic with hair, its amazing! As for Jeremy and Mark, I've had the priviledge of working with them for so so many years and have done so many beautiful spreads with them, its fantastic!
Here are some behind the scenes shots sneaked in with my iphone!
Model Alyona from Mannequin Agency is a dream to work with! Here she is enjoying our local favourite nasi lemak for lunch!


Simply Her Magazine May 2010 Issue

I love it when people read my blog and especially love it when magazines read my blog! In this  May issue of local magazine, Simply Her, all the beauty products that I've recommended are there! Thank you guys for the support! <3


Who Is Linda Mason?


Linda Mason is THE guru of fashion make-up! She has been THE make-up aritst for the biggest brands in fashion during the 70's, 80's and 90's having done Jean Paul Gaultier, Yojhi Yamamoto, Vivienne Westwood, Giorgio Armani, Thierry Mugler...(just to name a few!) fashion shows, Linda has also worked with countless Hollywood celebrities and Supermodels like Christy Turlington, Kate Moss, Cameron Diaz, Brooke Sheilds...and I found her by chance one day while searching for content to write on my blog!

Learning that she conducted Make-up classes in N.Y.C Soho, I flew to the States to meet with her and take her course in Make-up!

It was such a fun week! Linda taught me to take things easy and to let my artistic juices flow naturally. To use make-up as a form of self-expression and not to fear colors and textures. As I was not 'on the job' this time, I had a chance to experiment with all sorts of textures and was able to create looks my own way. It was a blast!


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I also had the opportunity to meet some really great people! Coco, she's 58 and still modelling and I swear looks 30!! Unbelievable! And actress Mimi, also in her 50's but with the spunk of a 20 year old and some of Linda's old friends who were supermodels in their time.

When I started my career, the supermodels ruled the fashion world, there was no such thing as Photoshop,(we swore by countless test polaroids) and yet all the international magazines were producing flawless pictures! Mind you, I can't say the same for our local magazines at that time, I have done some pretty scary stuff then! So meeting Linda and having the opportunity to learn from her was a truely special treat!

What blew me away about Linda is that she is a true artist. She has an art gallery next to her make-up studio with all her art work. They are stunning! To me, she especially did children portraiture best. The little girls and boys looked so adorable and she had captured their innocence in their eyes onto her canvas.
My very supportive husband , son and in- laws tagged along with me on this trip and I cannot thank them more for being there for me and letting me experience my course.


You know, New York is a really special place in this world, something about it, a kind of magic. It wakes you up, shakes you around abit and opens up your eyes. The people living in New York are sassy, street smart and super energetic. By getting around, one has to talk alot, mingle, get to know people. Its a survival of the fittest.
If there's anywhere in the world I recommend a person to go when they're single, troubled or just need to get out, I say go to New York! That big city wih its bright lights will not fail to disappoint : )!



For more information on Linda Mason and her work, go to www.lindamason.com



My Linda Mason Experience