Blog : Chinese-Thai

Another Smith: Preserving Family Traditions through Contemporary Bamboo Architecture
kangsadank

Another Smith: Preserving Family Traditions through Contemporary Bamboo Architecture

/ Tak, Thailand /

/ Story: Natthawat Klaysuban / English version: Bob Pitakwong /

/ Photographs: Jinnawat Borihankijanan /

Another Smith is a restaurant buzzing with energy and a vibrant atmosphere perched on the edge of the Moei river in Mae Sot, a district in Tak Province. It’s an add-on to an existing family-owned eatery famous for its pleasant and flavorful Thai and Chinese meals. Its signature dishes include fish maw soup made of the perfectly cooked air bladder of bony fish.

Soft concave curves in the roofline symbolic of Chinese architecture bring the architect’s idea to life. The building façade of bamboo and translucent corrugated sheets provides more privacy, safety and less noise. Up front, a welcoming hall and waiting area gives access to restaurant spaces located in the left and right wings.

The old eatery has served as a popular meeting place among the locals as well as foreign visitors for the past 62 years. Now the young generation who inherit the business from their forefathers think it’s time a new destination restaurant and services were created to support local community needs and tourist activities in the area. Located a stone’s throw away from the old family restaurant, Another Smith boasts the beauty of modern Chinese architecture that merges into the unique character and identity of Thailand’s Western Region.

The restaurant interior showcases an intriguing combination of bamboo poles, concrete construction and ceramic tiles, creating a balanced relationship between different elements that make the building not only strong but also beautiful.

The restaurant’s name is a portmanteau coined from a combination of the English word another and the Thai word Smithikorn, which is the business owner’s family name. Put the two words together, and you get Another Smith, for short. The new restaurant now serves as an iconic landmark during the time when the Smithikorn family enters a new era and Mae Sot town becomes one of Thailand’s top destinations for good reason.

The café zone situated up front doubles as a welcoming hall and waiting area. There’s a coffee station bedecked with bamboo poles and ceramic tiles in shades of blue that are inspired by the Blue Cave, a popular tourist destination in Tak Province. Nearby, exterior folding doors provide an example of historic and modern architecture coming together as one.

In a way that’s appropriate to the present circumstances, related business activities and functions are added to details of the overall plan. In addition to the restaurant, the new building also has plenty of space for a café and a jewelry store that’s another strength of the family business.

The bar serving alcoholic beverages and refreshments is adjacent to the café zone and welcoming hall. It starts in the evening and stays open late. There’s a central courtyard with an open-air dining area nearby.

The new restaurant design is inspired by indigenous architecture that has developed in China over millennia. Especially worthy of note is the open-roofed entrance hall or central court that recounts family history and their journeys through time. The project itself is a collab between TasteSpace who are tasked with planning the interior and implementing branding concepts, and Thor.Kaichon who undertake the architectural design process.

Interior design boasts a colorful array of furniture. In this particular case, the colors red and white are used in the right proportion to fit in with bamboo structural members in shades of brownish yellow.

The planning phase of project management starts out with interior design and works its way from the inside to the outside. This ensures that the restaurant has optimal work environments and all functions are in the right places, a system whereby many parts work together to achieve the common goal.

Semi-outdoor rooms roofed over with bamboo panels make up a majority of restaurant spaces. They look out over a lush garden oasis with large healthy trees that contrast with the brownish yellow of bamboo building materials.

What makes it stand out from the crowd is the beautiful bamboo building with an atrium hemmed in by rooms and galleries reminiscent of Chinese homes in times gone by. Together they create a bright, breezy and more inviting atmosphere. Some observers liken it to a dried swim bladder of large fish that’s hard on the outside and airy on the inside.

By design, Another Smith is capable of opening for business all day. It’s divided into three zones, namely:

  • The Café, which is ready to serve customers from morning until midday. There’s a stylish coffee station located at the front that doubles as a welcoming hall and waiting area giving access to the restaurant nearby.
  • The Restaurant, which is open for lunches, dinners and nights of dining until the early hours of the morning. There’s an enclosed dining room in the right wing of the building. The left wing holds a dining hall with a garden view for those preferring to dine in the open air. There are rooms for private dinners and social occasions situated next door.
  • The Bar, which starts in the evening and stays open late. It sits tucked away in an area farther from the café and welcoming entrance located at the front. The room looks out over the central courtyard that’s aglow under the lights at nightfall, turning it into a fun place to hang out with friends.
An indoor dining room opens onto the central courtyard. It’s well-lit and well-ventilated by design. Equipped with bi-fold doors, the room can be divided into parts for private meetings and dinners when needed.

That’s not all. There’s also a special zone holding a jewelry store near the front entrance. It’s a business specialty in which the Smithikorn family has expert skill and knowledge.

Every square inch counts. Here, a vacant retail space provides room for a jewelry store that’s part of the family business. It’s situated at the front entrance by the welcoming hall and waiting area.

Bamboo is the material of choice for good reason. It’s desired as a building material and chic interior decorative items. There’s more. The giant woody grass that grows mainly in the Tropics has long been a building material that’s unique to the architecture of Thailand and China.

A façade of bamboo and translucent corrugated sheets protects an open-air dining area from the elements. It makes the restaurant space cooler without AC and keeps the sun and rain off the semi-outdoor room.

It’s also the building supply in which Thor.Kaichon has technical expertise. In this specific instance, only bamboo poles that have been properly treated are used. The appropriate treatment method ensures their longevity and strength in construction and other applications. Plus, they provide environmentally friendly options rooted in cultural heritage, even better when they are used in conjunction with concrete and reinforced by steel structural members and sheet metal. Together they go to work making the building strong and sure to withstand the years.

The restaurant interior is even more exciting, adorned with an intriguing combination of random tile patterns in shades of blue. The colors are inspired by the Blue Cave, a popular tourist destination in Tak Province. The designers experiment with new methods for dyeing bamboo to ensure it matches the restaurant’s ideas, themes and concepts. Where appropriate, blue and red are used in the right proportion that proves a perfect complement to bamboo structural members and paneling in yellow hues, resulting in a pleasant dining room atmosphere.

In the fewest possible words, Another Smith represents a step in the right direction for a business practice that focuses on adaptations to fit in with modern times. It’s a quality that has run in the family from the very beginning. Another Smith is the story of the diaspora of people from China who have come to call this part of Thailand home. Their business skill has sharpened over time.

Meanwhile, it gave rise to the assimilation of Chinese to Thai society in recent times. As the architects intended, it’s a proven way to create a good first impression and ensure a positive customer experience through good food and a beautiful architectural style. The bottom line: Mae Sot is full of pleasant surprises waiting to be discovered.

Project Concept & Branding: TasteSpace (https://www.facebook.com/tastespace.co)
Interior Designer: TasteSpace (https://www.facebook.com/tastespace.co)
Architects: Thor.Kaichon (https://www.facebook.com/thorkaichon)

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The Secrets of Jade
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The Secrets of Jade

Jade has been cherished over many centuries. There is something about it to hold dear. The green ornamental stone is considered a lucky charm by the Chinese people. It symbolizes purity, kindness and virtue of moral good.

/// THAILAND ///
Story: Samutcha Viraporn /// Photography: Soopakorn Srisakul

Design Nation Market, a retail business area that’s part of the Siam Discovery Center.
Jade beads mat on show now at “Design Nation”, second floor, Siam Paragon.

A part of people’s lives from time immemorial, jade has evolved into an artistic tradition. In China it has a specific connection with folk medicine and long-established cultural expressions.

Aficionados of jade shouldn’t miss a handicraft exhibition that’s taking place now at Siam Paragon. The focal point of the show is a beautifully handcrafted jade mat made of about 27,000 green stone beads. The exhibition known as “Design Nation” is happening until November 17.

The jade mat on display is designed by Panitsara Hongthanadecho and made by a team of highly skilled craftswomen from Myawaddi, Myanmar. The green stone is believed to have the power of giving delight and arousing admiration. It’s in demand for its spiritual and healing properties relating to traditional Chinese art and culture.

The 67-year-old designer is a Thai of Chinese descent, who grows sentimentally attached to everything jade. It’s easy to perceive the meaning of the green stone when she included a jade mat similar to the one on display among funeral objects for her mother recently.

She said that the green ornamental stone was believed to have positive energy. In ancient times, emperors and members of the Chinese nobility aspired to sleep in a bed filled with green stone beads threaded together to perfectly fit the bedstead, on which the mattress was placed.

Panitsara could still recall promising her Mom a jade beads mat ten years back. She searched and found a big block of jade, bought it in an auction, and had it cut to size. She received about 27,000 stone cubes, each measuring 10 millimeters.

She had them machined continuously for two days to achieve perfectly polished round stone beads. After that, they were threaded together. And the final outcome is beautiful beyond words, thanks to a team of highly skilled craftswomen she hired from Myawaddi, Myanmar, which is located across the river from Mae Sod District in Tak. As promised, she included the jade mat among other funeral objects for her Mom after she passed.

That’s just one of many interesting items on show now at Design Nation, on the second floor of Siam Paragon. The event is rich in exhibits from several countries including the Philippines, Italy, and those created right here in Thailand.

A display booth by Artisanal Philippines. Here, Philippine-style cocoa drinks are made fresh the old fashioned way every day.
Design Nation exhibition at Siam Paragon
A soap crafted to resemble a marble by Vilacini, available at Design Nation Market

Whilst there, drop by the design market and attend workshops and seminars hosted by the Bangkok Art and Culture Center, Lido Connect, Siam Center, Siam Discovery Center, and Siam Paragon.

The show goes on until November 17. For more information, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/designnationbangkok/

 

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A Day Trip Through Yaowarat / Chinatown Bangkok
livingasean

A Day Trip Through Yaowarat / Chinatown Bangkok

The historic business hub of Bangkok is on CNN’s List of “Best Districts for Street Food” and “Top Ten Chinatowns in the World”. Whether it be fine dining or quick one-dish dinners, you can find some of the best meals in Yaowarat. Combine your favorite pastimes into one-day adventure. Living ASEAN recommends stopping by these places.

/// THAILAND ///

9:00 Coffee at Ama Hostel

Start your day at Ama Hostel Bangkok, a recently renovated Chinese style building located at 191 Soi Sapanhan off Chakkrawat Road in Samphanthawong area. The café in the forward section of the hostel offers coffee that smells so good. There’s nothing like the warm aroma of a steaming cup of coffee to wake you up to a beautiful day in old Chinatown. Nearby, push cart vendors serve delicious Kuichai meals and Kuay Jub noodes.

 

10:00 Shop at Sampeng Market and Yaowarat

A stone’s throw away from Ama Hostel stands Sampeng Market, a shopper’s paradise for goods at bargain prices, both retail and wholesale. The area is well known for many gift shops and stores selling fabrics, clothing and accessories, toys and seasonal decorating materials. Follow Chakkrawat Road and you come to Yaowarat Road.

 

12:00 Lunch at the Canton House

Enjoy the pleasure of authentic Chinese food at the Canton House. Established in 1908, the restaurant has since been renovated to give it unique appeal characterized by raw construction materials. The Canton House is located at 530 Yaowarat Road, Samphanthawong area. You will love the bite-sized Dim Sum in steamer baskets, steamed pork rib with black bean sauce, and fried Mantou (buns) with condensed milk. Thai and Western meals are also on the menu.

 

13:00 Wat Leng Noei Yi

The historic Wat Leng Noei Yi is rooted deeply in this community of Thai citizens of Chinese descent. Founded in 1871, the temple has been involved in every facet of life of the followers of Buddhism. It sees the busiest time during the period leading to Chinese New Year celebrations. Slowly burning joss sticks are used in paying tribute to the Lord Buddha. It’s good idea to avoid getting smoke in your eyes.

 

14:00 Jay Noi’s Kuichai Meal

About 250 meters to the right of Wat Leng Noei Yi stands a famous push-cart business selling fried Kuichai meals. Jay Noi’s Kuichai is renowned for being one of the most delicious vegetable meals in Yaowarat. Located on Charoen Krung Road, the humble push cart vendor sells Kuichai at 10 Baht apiece. The menu also includes fried Taro and Jicama (a globe shaped root vegetable). They are equally delightful.

 

15:00 Cakes at Wallflowers Café

Beat the heat in the afternoon with yummy mouthwatering cakes served with frothy Thai tea with cheese. Located at 31-33 Soi Nana, Pom Prab area, Wallflowers Café sits on the upper floor of a florist’s shop, which provides inspiration for many beautiful items on its menu. The café is owned and operated by an architect who has great interest in the art of coffee making.

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