Phnom Penh post

What can I do?!!! Vacation mode kicking in and this post will start with a food shot. Naku, I will not hear the end of it from Kawadjan. Pero naman, can you resist a spread of moist steamed bangus, juicy squid adobo and spicy tuna stir-fry? Heller! Goodbye diet.

My hosteses with the mostest, Dave and Mikee, were so gracious to make dinner for moi despite their hectic schedules. Of course, since this Phnom Penh trip was all about me looking for new artists for the Art Lounge, Mikee finally showed me his works which I've been bugging him to let me see.

One of his fantastically detailed watercolors. Basta, I'm cooking up something for him.

Since it's my first night in town they insisted I check out the night scene before I go to Manila. Eh kelan na naman kasi ako makakababa sa Phnom Penh! So off we went to paint the town red. That's Ms. Bubbles Cojuangco (I will do a separate post about her truly shushal blog next time) and Steve (thanks for the rounds of flaming B52!).

New friend Peejay from Manila and Dave getting cozy.

and moi. Take note of my clavicle and neck Kawadjan. Maghintay ka sa mas clear na picture.

It was brunch at Chow with Tevy the next day. She brought me around to see all the galleries.

Some of my faves:

At Xem Gallery, Charlotte Ducrot photography.

I also got an exclusive preview of a French Khmer artist's work which excited me so much. Amazing work!

Two of my fave Cambodian artists, Tevy Ouer and EM Riem.

At Reyum I was fascinated by this painting showing local scene but done in the French painting technique. The artist was Cambodian.

Metahouse gave me an edgy high! As in naloka ako! Ánd that's a lot coming from me given I'm very critical with the works I like. The artist name escapes me now but his work got my heart palpitating. Beautiful, no? And it wasn't even in the main exhibit area but was hidden at their storage area when I saw it. I met the lovely Lydia, who's the art manager and Nico, who owns Meta. We are going to have some very juicy collabs soon which I'm going to reveal once it's finalized.

The French Cultural Center had Vincent Brustet. I'm quite familiar with his work and I do love what he is doing. Maybe soon I can show him in the lounge.

EM Riem's wavy chair at FCC.

We were greeted with a lovely scene at Two Fish Gallery. The absent artist just left his work-in-progress. Naloka lang ako because the gallery walang tao. No one was minding it. We could have literaly picked that work and get away with it. They were showing some nudes.

The gallery is a lovely house, 70's bungalow style, and seems quite inhabited. Yun nga lang that time it was empty with people.

A break at The Shop, a go-to place for moi everytime I'm in Phnom Penh. Love the shakes and pastries there.

And since my good friend Louis Claparols is having a menswear show on October 27 at the Rockwell tents I took a picture of this ad for him as inspiration. It was posted inside the toilet of The Shop. Very Louis Claparols, isdatchu ba? I think, Ging, their hair is inspiration enough.

Talking about inspiration, my PP trip wouldn't be complete without moi passing by Japan Thrift Shop. Dave came with me to unearth treasures.

Moi checking the merchandise. So, did I find anything exciting? Oh nothing much cept some Gomme, Modern Amusement, Inscription, Muji, Emporio Armani etc., cheap brands, really.

It's Le Wok for dinner after the ukay exercise. It's a cozy place near the National Museum.

I had some salmon for my main, quite pleasant and yummy, but was blown away with an interesting entree called barracuda tartare. I'm thinking Loven would love this.

I just had to try on the Gomme top I got - Peter Pan collar, double button at the neckline and soft Japanese cotton jersey. Kailangan malabhan ko na to para magamit sa Manille.

And so I say my goodbye to Phnom Penh for now. See you in Manila! :)