Whiteboard Journal » Focus

Underground Secret Dining

Athina Ibrahim — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 06:56:10 +0000

Text : Athina Ibrahim | Photos : Azanaya

In the past, food was a means of survival, as a fuel to energize your body. Moving forward to the current times, food with its boundless of choices has become if not part of a lifestyle, it is part of a culture, the common ‘understanding’ that transcends over all level of society.

Being a self-proclaimed food enthusiast, my common day of leisure and ‘free time’ revolve around the act of eating. My plans of trying a new restaurant/coffee shop/food stall are always the first to be realized over any of my travel plans. So having heard about the Underground Secret Dining about a year ago, the concept of dining in secrecy was unfamiliar, but anything with the theme of food I thought should not be passed with a rejection. With a direct invitation from a friend, an aspiring chef who has been involved in the past Underground Secret Dining project, I finally fed both my curiosity and my hungry stomach.

So how does this Underground Secret Dining work? First of all, Underground Secret Dining is a food cultural experience dissecting the pleasures of Indonesian cuisine. As the name imply, it is a secret event limited to the first 50 people who are quick in making their reservation. The secret is not in the event itself, especially with the recent exposures from the media, but more on where you will eat and what you will eat. And that is where excitement lies, the gastronomy delight will only be revealed on site. As if being assigned on a treasure hunt, the invitation by email includes hints and riddles on the specific cuisine and a final reveal of the location address one day before the event.

With high hopes in reaching an exotic location, I was surprised to find out that my first experience of Underground Secret Dining was held at a restaurant near my office – a place that happens to be one my office’s regular lunch joint – luckily I was quick to realize that the food served would be custom-made, without being disheartened, my friend and I arrived on site welcomed by an interesting choice of Ternate cuisine. Ternate; a city in the Maluku Island. (Moluccas)

As explained by the host of the event Lisa Virgiano, since the city of Ternate is part of the Spice Island (Moluccas) their food incorporates a lot of spices and is also the source of sago. With the menu including 7 types of Sambal (chilli-paste) as Sambal Jantung Pisang, Sambal Kenari, Sambal Terasi to name a few. And a chewy bread made completely of sago. Most of the meal left a warm sensation both in your throat and at the pit of your stomach, including the last serving of Air Guraka; coffee mixed with ginger topped with moist canary seeds that has been soaked overnight in warm water.

My interest was ultimately piqued by the crowd itself as I gather in a conversation of my friend and a guest who were discussing their recent culinary trip in Vietnam; they were in deep conversation over the delicious crisp of bread in Vietnam in

comparison to the ones available here. This seriousness over bread I thought defined what the whole event was about; it is simply passion, an amazing passion for food.

Having enjoyed the ambiance of the people, the food and the love for it, I invited my fellow food enthusiast friend for a second round of the gastronomy tour, which this time took more effort to reach the location. Passing by a lot of alleys and narrow street to finally arrive to an outdoors setting by the side of a Bali temple in Jakarta with the food being no other but a Balinese food platter from Singaraja.

The whole concept is a thrill and quite addictive, no one can deny that food is the perfect medium for anyone to bond over with. In the present times, food is no longer a tool to fill your empty stomach, it is an exploration of culture and a means of communication. With the diversity of Indonesia’s culture hides so many layers of food ’stories’ to be uncovered and devoured.

Library of Novelty

Athina Ibrahim — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 09:10:38 +0000

Whiteboard Journal’s personal adornment is delivering products that will cater to your basic needs. With this basic acknowledgment, we have materialized a more refined collection that comes in a variety of colors. The favorite Henley tee now comes in 4 new color ways and we now offer a new selection of Boston Bag in Olive and Navy color. With a firm grip and adequate spacing, the Boston Bag is suitable for both your business and traveling purposes. Whereas the Tote bag is a more casual accessory that is now available in 2 new colors: Olive and Brown. Finishing this collection is Whiteboard Journal’s collaboration with The Footwear Group where we proudly present the dessert boots featured in lambskin lining for extra comfort.

Our new collection can now be viewed at our online store.

For any inquiries regarding our product, please contact us at store@whiteboardjournal.com or you can visit these selected stores to take a close look at our products.

Accupunto Store – Jakarta
Tribute Store – Jakarta
Orbis - Jakarta
Simplekonsepstore – Bali

Mess No More

Jeff — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 01:53:07 +0000

Text : Jefferson Edri | Photos : Bluelounge

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler“. This quote from Albert Einstein doesn’t sound any truer today when you look at the product designs available for us, from Apple to Braun to Muji, to our nation pride, Accupunto, you see more and more products’ design based on the simplicity of usage and the “Form follows function” thumb rule. Many of the best examples of product design are things that people don’t think get designed at all, take the post-it-note for example, the design simplicity and ease-of-use makes it one of the best product design ever.

As Dieter Rams once pointed out that “People react positively when things are clear and understandable“, this is because when you see an object, you make so many assumptions about that object in seconds, what it does, how well it’s going to work, how heavy it is, how much you think it should cost and all this assumptions will be the foundation to help you make decisions upon the object or in this case the product.

The Halfway Home

Goenawan Adi — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:06:36 +0000

Why do men travel anyway? In a more simple time, men travel outside their home to hunt for a better life, better food, better accommodation, better climate or maybe even a better mate. Now, men are pressured to travel and go outside their comfort zone to experience new life and culture. So, what’s up with men and travel? Well you decide.., but a Wiseman said that “He who does not travel does not know the value of men.”

Continuing our feature on Travel, in this edition of Focus we invited Krish Suharnoko, Jay Subyakto, Dave Lumenta and Nugroho Nurarifin, (all of them are the guest speaker from Roundtable session Vol.2) to submit their photos, which they captured through out their journey. We compiled more than 20 epic travel snapshot, along with each individual essential while traveling.

A ‘Dam Fine Day

Goenawan Adi — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:55:22 +0000

Text & Photos : Ffonz and Vivien

Imagine yourself stranded in Amsterdam city centre with a city guide in your hand giving you thousands of tips on where to go and what to do with impossibly limited time to do it all in. We at Whiteboard Journal like to make life easier for our readers so should you find yourself in this precarious situation, this swanky one-day guide to Amsterdam compiled by Vivien, a scientist who has a love for art, design and architecture as well as globe trekking around Europe for the past year along side FFonz, a lover of records, mundane historical facts and noodles should be the best way to spend an eventful day in Amsterdam.

The Shopping Hit List:
We assume our readers are a bit nutty and prefer shopping to having a bite to eat first thing they do after arriving in Amsterdam so we begin the day by targeting a few of the shops in Amsterdam that deserve mentioning. De Negen Straatjes (the nine streets), filled with lively cafes, outlandish second hand shops as well as your externally fresh boutiques, this trendy area will steer you away from the extremely touristy streets of Amsterdam where it now seems to be quite difficult to avoid. First shop stop is SPRMRKT, Rozengracht 191-193, is a supermarket-converted shop (hence the name) that sells clothing collections ranging from Acne to Raf with a touch of retro designer furniture pieces in the entrance. If you’re in the right place at the right time, you might be able to witness a photo shoot going on in this store, better yet; at Hartenstraat 36 you will find the SPRMRKT outlet store, here you can find clothing at a more affordable price than that seen at SPRMRKT. Still along the line of affordability and De 9 Straatjes, Episode, Berenstraat 1 and Zipper, Huidenstraat 7 are just 2 of the many second hand boutiques that personifies the Amsterdam retro trend.

If you want to step out of ‘high-end’ fashion and move onto urban-modern, head down to Waterlooplein where 290 sq meters, Houtkopersdwarsstraat 3 is evidently a concept store that has worked in all ‘290 sq metres’ of space with clothing, accessories, artwork by Futura and even fixed-gear bikes. With 290 sq metres of space to play with and ongoing events, you might be able to bystander magazine launches, art exhibitions or even the international launch of NIKEiD, you are never too far away from ‘the happenings’ in this city. Guaranteed.

Moving away from fashion, Droog Design, Staalstraat 7 is one of the leaders in Dutch Design that produce objects ranging from furniture and lighting to mops and birdhouses. This aesthetically appealing store is a little expensive but we find it more of an exhibition of impeccable design pieces that have provoked and influenced the ‘always changing’ trends in design. It is always pleasant to see how modern design tries to incorporate organic and recyclable materials into functionality and aesthetics.

When it’s music and records that you’re after, Fame Records, the Dutch equivalent of HMV or Virgin Megastore just off Dam Square (Kalverstraat 2-4) will be your best bet for CD, game, DVD and music book purchases with its impressive 3 storeys of goods and copious amounts of discounted goods.

Yet when it’s the more specialised record stores that you crave for, the two best shops to go down to are Record Palace on Weteringschans 33a which features an impressive two storeys of mostly second hand 7 and 12” vinyl ranging from Balinese Gamelan music to musician signed records hanging from the wall (a Lou Reed signed Velvet Underground and Nico LP to name but one). Furthermore Jan, the shop’s friendly and very knowledgeable proprietor would be glad to chat about records all day long.

Rush Hour, a much smaller and very much independent minded record shop around the corner from Dam Square opened in 1997 is one of the smarter looking record shops in Amsterdam with its minimalist interior, urban t-shirts and four listening booths to its credit.

Yet don’t let the size of the shop fool you though as Rush Hour acts also as an official distribution point for many leading independent labels as well as being a well-respected Dutch label themselves. Their website rushhour.nl features a truly impressive selection of records from the mainstream to the downright outlandish with the ability to serve mail orders to the four corners of the globe. And although they’re specialized in electronic music (techno, house, disco, hip-hop, dubstep, new jazz and broken beats) their supply of funk/soul, rock, latin, jazz, Brazilian and reggae LPs are not to be scoffed at.

Sziget Music Festival 2009

Ezra — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:02:54 +0000

Text & Photos : Ezra Natalia

Set on Óbudai-sziget (”Old-Buda Island) in the middle of the Danube River in Budapest, Hungary. Sziget is one of the largest music and cultural festivals in Europe, not to mention it is the cheapest one of most. Music is just one chunk of the spectacle, with 13 main stages and headliners such as The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, Klaxons, Lily Allen, Faith No More, Bloc Party, Snow Patrol, Editors, The Ting Tings, The Offspring and Placebo. Sziget has loads of other things on offer to festival goers, as well as the music, there is; theatre, dance, classical music, cabaret, performances, films, fine art, crafts, literary presentations, programmes for kids, sports and other free time activities. I mean, crazy, right? 500,000 people came to this island over August 10-17. The festival has a 5+2 day schedule again. The “zeroeth day” has a Rock Against Racism concert, featuring mostly Hungarian bands and unlike almost any other festival, they were allowed to set up their tents wherever they wanted. No rules. There are hundreds of artists from 41 different countries. All in all, this is set up to be a most varied and entertaining spectacle.

Wednesday, August 12. Since the festival covers a whopping 76 acres, it was clear the best way to begin was to have a quick walkabout. My first impression was that this was an incredibly diverse crowd and the variety of foods, activities and atmospheres was fantastic. People of all ages, shapes, flavors, styles, with no discernible fashion trend, except perhaps the preponderance of uncovered body, but that was just a very drunk few people. There was food to make everyone happy, from munchies, gyros, Chinese and pizza to enormous New York hot dogs. And, to top it off, there is Plenty of Beer for everybody. You name it and they have it. Now, bring on the music.

IAMX, the side project from Sneakers Pimp’ Chris Corner, started off the festival on the Main Stage. If you remember, Sneaker Pimps brought us really dirty, erotic music like “Spin Spin Sugar” and “Underground.” Well, Corner’s new band sounds

a lot like his former work, so fans should not be disappointed. Complete with crazy futuristic/military outfits, lots of synth and real aggressive head banging. Very cool dirty electro. I hadn’t heard them before and will most certainly be purchasing their music. I dig it.

After, it’s time for Snow Patrol to rock the stage. The crowd tripled in size and so did the energy. They were outstanding performers. Besides the fact that they played all of their hits, they also treated us to songs off their latest album, A Hundred Million Suns. Gary Lightbody introduced us to “The Lightning Strike,” and it was fantastic.

On the large video screens on both sides of the stage, we were treated to crazy, colorful animations as well. The swirling flowers from the cover of their newest album, they were animated, too, bursting into a million colors. It was all very trippy hippies and a really nice compliment to the music.

Follows by Nouvelle Vague, this time Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux are accompanied by Melanie Pain and Nadeah Miranda (lead singer of The LoveGods) as singers. Melanie surely brings the quirkiness yet sexy to each song, but Nadeah was mesmerizing stage presence with her frenzy yet naughty performance.

Headliner of the night, Lily Allen coming out from the backstage, walking around very slouchy, smoking ciggy after ciggy, while wine has had already prepared for her. She had the see-through top, the sexy black heels, her face painted with glitter, but why the cargo shorts? She start her performance really ok almost boring but then BOOM! I was totally caught off guard. She started smiling and jumping about and even told the crowd, after a nice rendition of “Smile” that we were, in fact, “the best crowd she had ever played for!” What? She busted into Britney Spear’s “Womanizer” and had the audience going nuts. She also played her new single, “22,” along with “Fuck You” (her ode to George W. Bush), and much more. So, here I was bored at beginning and actually ended up buying into it. Shit. Bravo, Lily.

White Desolation

Goenawan Adi — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:59:49 +0000

In developing a collection of products for Whiteboard Journal, one thing that always comes first in our mind is to create a product that have an essential value in our everyday life. Our products might not be in the cover of the latest trend magazine or even headlining the latest blogs feed, but it will certainly fulfill your basic needs.

A white oxford shirt is a must for every gentleman, finished in vintage washed treatment, the shirt is a save companion for your daily casuals and meetings. We are always on the hunt for the perfect basic tee, with nice fit and material. Here we produce a basic Henley tee in white and deep blue color. You don’t need to be fancy to get the right tote bag, for us the formula is simply, heavy canvas material, the right size and a good combination of colors.

The bag can hold anything you throw in it and fit nicely for your 15” Mbp, cell phone, wallet and sketchbook. Our final item from the collection is a set of handy sketchbook in large and medium size. This acid free paper sketchbook is available in white and yellow cover.

For any inquiries regarding our product, please contact us at store@whiteboardjournal.com or you can visit these selected stores to take a close look at our products.

Accupunto Store – Jakarta
Tribute Store – Jakarta
Simplekonsepstore – Bali

Point & Shoot

Taufan — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 06:33:49 +0000

Text : Taufan Irawan | Photos : Brand’s Website

So you have decided to invest in a new digital camera and you want something that is convenience and can fit in your pocket, yet you still want a device that can perform almost equally as a digital SLR camera?
That is a lot to ask for in a small device, but we didn’t say it’s impossible. We will give you some pointers and options on choosing the perfect compact digital camera.Before we get into more details, it is important to note that this type of camera isn’t as economical as you would think. Some of them will cost you the same amount of money as a semi pro digital SLR. So, if you don’t mind the size and weight of a digital SLR, it is still the best choice for versatility, image quality and price. But if you have the budget and a digital SLR is not an option or you need a sidekick for your regular digital SLR, you might find this feature very useful.

Most of the compact cameras that we recommend here have more versatility than any compact digital camera available in the market. These new generation of compact digital camera or what we like to call it as premium compact camera offers more than just a point and shoot camera.

You won’t see any nicer compacts than the selection we’re about to present, the quality built and the sleek design are superb. Most of these cameras have the same similarity of adopting a retro style compact camera as their basic silhouette. Hence, most of them featured in black matte material and reduces the amount of silver accents on the camera. Simple, elegant and sophisticated, maybe these three words best describe their physical form.

We have selected the best of 5 compact digital cameras from 5 different manufacturers. We believe these cameras catalyzed the comeback of this sector of the market, which was presumed “killed” by budget SLR. But in the past year we’ve seen the market has change its sentiment by welcoming these fine little machine with positive reviews. Take a look at our pick for the best compact digital camera available.