Category: General

I figured that I would make another (more recent) list of places to eat in Perth.

Most of the places listed are around Victoria Park and Northbridge. There’s also a pretty heavy emphasis on Asian food and everything listed is reasonably priced. This probably just indicates my personal tastes (in locales, foods, and prices). 😉

Anyhow, here’s the list! (organised by type of food):

• Thai: S&T Thai. Get the gai yang or num tok set. (Alternative: Siam Kitchen)
• Korean: Took Be Gi. Try the kimchee chagae and pear juice.
• Burgers: V Burger. Try the Classic V Burger with chips and aioli. Onion rings are good too, but pretty oily. (Alternative: Jus Burger)
• Lebanese: The Prophet. The mixed platter is fantastic. As are the complementary bread, pickles, and garlic sauce.
• Turkish: Turkish Kitchen. Freshly baked bread, made when you order.
• Chinese: Good One BBQ. Best for roast pork or chilli pepper prawns. (Alternatives: Tak Chee BBQ, Taurus)
• Yum Cha: Dim Sim Cafe. Try the Shanghai dumplings. (Alternatives: Yummy BBQ, Dragon Seafood)
• Vietnamese: Vin Hong. I always get pho tai or com tam with fresh lemon soda. (Alternative: Lido)
• Ramen: Dosukoi Japanese Noodle & Bubble Tea. Go the pork ramen with miso base. (Alternative: Nao Ramen)
• Cafe: Source Foods. Be impressed by the immaculately-presented muesli and range of freshly squeezed juices.
• Japanese: Fuji Sushi Station. Very good tuna sashimi. (Alternatives: Senoji, Sapporo, Hayashi)
• Indonesian: Sparrow. Have a bit of everything with a glass of ice tea – no sugar. (Alternative: Bintang Cafe)
• Pizza: Mancini’s Woodfired Pizza. I recommend the classic Margherita, the Bianca, or the Rustico. (Alternative: Palace Pizza)
• Asian Bakery: Regent Cakes. Get a scallion roll if they have them… battle mild disappointment if they don’t.

From the entire list, I’d have to say that S&T Thai Cafe is absolutely my favourite. It easily gets my vote for best new restaurant of 2009, and the most authentic Thai restaurant in Perth.

There are also a few places that I only really go to for a specific meal (which appears to be far above the rest of their offerings):

• Makan2: Roti pizza, ikan bilis, and teh ‘o ice.
• Izumi: Inari sushi (oddly, not so common) and beef curry.
• Tea Cafe: Hot lemon coke and one of the set menus… not sure which…
• Kublai: Only when in the mood for Mongolian BBQ (a very specific mood).
• Japanese Place at International Eating House on Albany Hwy: Teriyaki beef with lots of vegetables. (Their other food is also very good value).
• Pancho’s Mexican Villa: The shredded beef used in some dishes… that is all.
• Little Creatures: Roast pork with apple, and kangaroo on skewers (Kangababs?).
• Clancy’s Fish Pub: Fried Mice… yeah that’s pretty much it.
• Wagamama: Their apple, lime, and mint juice is very refreshing… such a shame about their food. 🙁

Finally, let’s have a moment of silence for Wasabi and Rice Bowl. Their beef bowl and buk kut teh were timeless – but unfortunately they were not. 🙁

Anyone out there have any other recommendations for eating out in Perth?

Update: Lebanese/Turkish correction.

I was reading this post on reddit about someone who witnessed a rather severe PTSD-induced (posttraumatic stress disorder) psychotic episode. Just being present while someone else (a Vietnam War veteran) was experiencing an episode was understandably very traumatic for the author.

I found this quote (from Jarhead) in the post’s comments:

A story: A man fires a rifle for many years, and he goes to war. And afterward he turns the rifle in at the armory, and he believes he’s finished with the rifle. But no matter what else he might do with his hands, love a woman, build a house, change his son’s diaper; his hands remember the rifle.

The impact of war is felt well beyond the term of the war. Not only in the scars left in the minds of former soldiers (and non-combatants), but also in the ongoing impact on family and friends. A broken cog deforms those around it, and these problems propagate throughout the machine of society.

I find it reprehensible that our political leaders are so willing to send others to war – especially when deciding factors more often concern economic gain (cold war, oil, gas) rather than objective safety and security. I feel absolutely sick to my gut hearing hollow justifications for the atrocity of war.

There’s a reason why the VVCS (Vietnam Veterans’ Family Counselling Service) has a free 24-hour Clinical Counsellor telephone service: almost 40 years later, the war casts a dark shadow over former soldiers and those close to them.

When the United Nations was formed after World War II, it was declared that:

WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, …

Those words carry a collective understanding of the impact of war on all of society, and yet war continues to this day – serving the interests of corporate greed and economic power. And it deeply disappoints me.

Many people pine for a previous golden age of cinema, but I reckon we’re right in the middle of a golden age of media – television and film included.

(You should go see Fantastic Mr. Fox… unless you are a young child – they didn’t seem to like it much…)

I think that we’re seeing an increase in quality due to digital technology being integrated into all stages of the production process. Special effects aside – computers give us the ability to quickly capture, test, mix, match, present, and evaluate ideas, imagery, and audio in ways that were previously too costly or simply not possible. Plus the finish and polish are amazing.

I also feel that better communications technology allows for the propagation of more ideas more rapidly, and this results in more confronting and more adventurous media.

Back to the main point, I’ve been very impressed with a number of mainstream films recently:

• Fantastic Mr. Fox: Awesome… like a Fox. Quick-paced with witty dialogue, expressive characters, and excellent comic timing. I love Wes Anderson and this felt like the latest pinnacle of his craft.
• Avatar: Spectacular, captivating, and exciting (especially considering the length of the film). By completely embracing of 3D as more than a gimmick, James Cameron establishes a new grammar for use of depth and focus in guiding the audience and evoking emotional responses.
• District 9: A natural expansion upon the ideas Neill Blomkamp established in Alive in Jo’burg. The special effects didn’t stand out, and this allowed the underlying story and theme to come through unobstructed.

I also saw Where the Wild Things Are. It was good, but not great. Although the production values were high and the presentation seamless and well-crafted. I feel that a common aspect of all films listed here is that their special effects are convincing or subtle enough that don’t distract from the main story.

Just a few more Jellychick sketches.

First up, a cute explanatory diagram:

I can picture that on babywear. 😉

A now for some intermediate sketches – when I was just playing around with how to combine the two animals:

The middle one really didn’t work out… it just looks like a jellyfish wearing a chicken head hat!

Here’s a picture I drew (… keep reading for an explanation why!):

Some of you will already know that a couple of years ago, I was at Good One BBQ when Greg ordered the Jellyfish Chicken Salad (see this post over at Chow Times for a picture). I was very interested in the combination of meats and I mused as to whether some sort of jellyfish/chicken hybrid could be bred specifically for this dish. This inevitably lead to a t-shirt design (which is incidentally available for purchase).

Fast forward to a few months ago in Thailand when my sister was buying up the country’s entire stock (note slight hyperbole here) of Bad Badtz Maru character merchandise. I figured that if an angry penguin could become such a big hit (he’s a little maligned compared to other Sanrio characters, but still popular enough) then Jellychick should have a chance at stardom!

My mum, my sister, and Titie Lalita were all skeptical that such an abomination could ever be cute – so I drew this quick conceptual representation on a napkin:

Looking at that adorable, poorly-drawn face… they became ever so slightly swayed towards believing that Jellychick could have a future in: novelty stationary, stuffed toys, sleeping bags, in-car air-fresheners, and all sorts of other random merchandise! Hopefully with this new image, I’ll have them convinced. 😉

Next step: I need to make some sample Jellychick product… maybe something that dangles from a mobile phone… any ideas?

Last year was a pretty interesting year for me – and I didn’t really realise how substantial it was until I looked back on it…

I quit my job

I resigned as Vice President (Australia) at Interzone Entertainment way back in March. I’m glad that I left, because I can’t imagine who I would be if I had stayed – simply because I would have had a very different year in 2009.

I started a non-profit

Minh and I started Let’s Make Games in order to support the local game development community. The organisation ran six social events, conducted a local industry survey, produced a report based on the survey, and setup a website with a blog and links to local game developers.

Here’s a picture showing how the blog header image and background changed over the year (going from “get something up” to “make it look professional”):

Thanks to Simon for the original logo – it’s held up very well! 🙂

I became an exhibiting artist (once more!)

I exhibited various artworks (photography, mixed media, digital prints) at two exhibitions: Snapshot and Summer. I always have plenty of ideas and motivation, but I probably wouldn’t have exhibited yet if Simon wasn’t so proactive in organising these events. Thanks Simon!

Here I am in front of my “Rangers” piece from the Snapshot exhibition. This piece consisted of photos of my friends mounted inside ranger masks that I bought at a 100 yen store in Tokyo. I tried to match the expressions and personalities with the appropriate crazy names on the masks’ packaging (I was “Narcissistic Blue” and Simon was “Reliable Red”):

My other major piece for Snapshot was a wall of photos taken during my trip to Japan in 2008. The purpose of this work was to present an immediate concentrated impression of my visual experience of Japan. I was rather taken by all the different distinctive patterns in Japan – hence the prominent use of tightly cropped images:

For the Summer exhibition (currently running – go check it out!), I decided to go with something completely different. I guess that you could call them abstract graphic design. I wanted to know how far I could push one basic shape and a simple pattern, and I’m very happy with the results:

I’ve got a bunch of idea for exhibitions next year… I wonder if they will work out…

I got married and went on an awesome honeymoon

Heidi and I were married in a traditional ceremony in Thailand and we honeymooned in Korea: in Seoul and Jeju (also known as “Honeymoon Island”).

We didn’t have many photos of the morning ceremony, but here’s a still image from a video taken by Heidi’s brother, Tony – the monks are winding the string that will be used to bind us at the Lustral ceremony later in the day:

I’ve already posted a few of these, but here’s a photo from after the wedding banquet. I’m giving Heidi a high-five while our friends jump in the air (these aspects combine to form an awesome photo!):

Following are images of just two of our discoveries in Korea. The first shows me enjoying a traditional dry sauna (aw yeah):

And the second shows Heidi in front of some super-cool miniature arcade machines (they were so cute!):

I kept a very small notebook and drew a sketch once or twice a day during the trip. When we returned I mounted the sketches in a frame… I’ll have to post a photo of it sometime.

I got rid of a lot of stuff

Moving around a lot helped provide a catalyst for this, but an underlying desire for minimalist elegance and an uncluttered life was the real driving force. (That and pragmatic consideration of how often I am going to actually use things).

Here’s a photo of some of my games collection near its peak:

Probably not considered a “huge” collection, but it was big enough to feel like a burden (especially when considering all the hardware not pictured). They’re great games… but I don’t really play many games any more… and I hardly replay games.

I had a few disappointments

I intended to release a second Let’s Make Games report (for the period April 2009 to September 2009), but it turned out to be a lot more work than I expected (maybe I was being naive, but part of it was also the standard that I wanted to achieve). So I decided to roll it into a general 2009 report, which I’ll post a survey for this month.

I’ve undertaken a fair amount of independent game development, but it appears that I don’t have much to show for my efforts – aside from discarded or discontinued prototypes and a list of failed collaborations. I don’t feel a great amount of pressure to just get something out – I’d rather iterate on something until I feel that it’s ready for public release. That said, I feel that 2010 will be much more productive in terms of releases.

I learnt a few lessons

It’s very difficult to find the right people to work with (particularly when embarking on a risky venture with upfront costs and no cash-flow). You need to find others who are as passionate and willing (and able) to commit the required time and resources. Starting my own sustainable business is going to take a lot of time, effort, good fortune (in finding the right people), and plain hard work in making it all come together.

I’m looking forward to 2010!

Overall, 2009 marked a lot of transitions in my life: getting married; becoming closer to my family; working for myself rather than for someone else; giving up management for more artistic and technical work. I’ve got a better idea as to who I want to be and what I want to be doing – and I’m looking forward to getting a little closer to it in 2010. 😉

After yesterday’s apprehensive picture of Mao, I decided to post a picture of her in a (rare) happy state. Enjoy!

I’m now a little over my previous visual experimentation with black outlines and blurry colours (kinda like airbrush art). Moving onto layered, “sketchy”, translucent shapes (kinda like watercolour… without the bleeding).

Still working in vector though… I “get it” more than raster graphics.

Today’s word is apprehension, and today’s image features a cat:

I didn’t feel like another picture of a person, but I still wanted to capture an expression with some underlying emotion.

Mao (one of our cats) is always brooding – making her the perfect subject! Bruce (our other cat) is always happy… but I’ve already got some happy pictures. 😉

Just one more picture for my series of visual experiments. This time it’s me, looking all giddy and putting on a cheesy pose:

I reckon there’s both too much and too little detail in this one. I’d probably prefer things to be a bit simpler… with either more obvious depth or no depth at all.

Note: In case anyone is wondering, I made these images in Inkscape. It’s my favourite drawing program – plus, it’s free and open source! 😀

Update: Fixed portrait size so that it matches the other images.

Another quick visual experiment (following from my post yesterday):

I’m going for a 90s high-school Trapper Keeper look, but softer and less garish.

Update: Changed background colour.