The List: February
Happy Valentine's Day! I don't care much for V-Day but February is my favourite month of the year —for there's much to celebrate including the sun setting after 5pm!
February is a special month. It is the month I was born in. With only 28 days and a leap to 29 days every four years only adds to its mystical reputation.
Growing up in Malaysia, I was spared the fatigue of winter that is usually felt around this time of the year. For me, February is a month of celebrations. My dad’s birthday was a week after mine and Lunar New Year (more often than not) falls in February.
Interestingly, Lunar New Year is also known as Spring Festival for the Chinese. This is because the lunisolar calendar recognises this as the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox—the moment when the northern hemisphere begins to warm up.
Sight
The riot of sunshine that is mimosa brightening up grey days is a sure sign of spring. I love it when they bloom. They are first to flower—at a time when the rest of the trees are bare bones and skeletal. They explode with these pompom shaped flowers. Even if the sun isn’t shining, find a mimosa tree, stand under it and you can almost feel its rays. My favourite mimosa tree is a short walk away and now that it’s in bloom, you’ll find me rerouting for a flash of joy.
Hearing
I once met Duval Timothy at an intimate event. I was already a fan of his music, having heard him play live on Charlie Bones’s show when he was still at NTS. I made a beeline for him and told him how much I love his music and…he took down my email and shared some of his new work! It’s always worth telling artists and writers how much you like them (this is how Rea met and became friends with Hilton Als).
His new release is a collaboration with C.J.Mirra on the score for Akinola Davies Jr’s feature My Father’s Shadow (a visceral film I highly recommend). The music is typical of Duval’s compositions which are mainly minimal, intimate soundscapes. Have a listen, you’ll soon be a fan of his too.
Smell
It’s Birthday Month so I’m all for treating myself and having others treat me! Our showroom in Paris is on rue Vieille du Temple and set amongst some lovely boutiques. Right across us is Perfumer H, a British perfumer. I saw that they’d collaborated with Studio Nicholson, a brand that I am fond of (and whose sample sales I’ve happily queued in) on a scent called Soap.
The top notes are quite floral with orange flower and cyclamen but settles to a base of white musk and tonka. Thanks to BREXIT, I got this duty free and cheaper in France than it is back home. So now I smell clean and expensive without the price tag.
Taste
Lobster noodles would feature in my death row meal. The dish is straightforward and as with any simple dishes, quality ingredients make a huge difference. Handmade noodles are cooked in a spring onion and ginger sauce. Corn flour is used to lock in moisture in the lobsters and make a velveteen sauce that clings to the noodles and the meat. The pleasure of getting every little morsel of meat is deeply satisfying. It is definitely one of the foods that are NSFD and a conversation killer. Go with someone who loves you as they’ll forgive you for the lack of conversation. I only go to Mandarin Kitchen .
Touch
I made pandan chiffon cake! Chiffon cake has a reputation for being difficult to bake. The cake should be light, like its name. Egg whites are beaten to stiff peaks and folded into the egg yolks.
Perfumed with the fragrant, grassy flavour of pandan this is one of my favourite cakes. I can’t believe I managed to nail the texture (thank you Helen Goh for the perfect recipe)—pillowy, fluffy and light. I fear I may have peaked.
Happy Birthday month! ✨️. I love the perfume scent, right up my street, where can I smell this in real life in London? Also, noodles and Pandam cake looks delicious. Xx
Confirming that the cake was amazing ! Such a talent is my bestie 😍