The August Edition: A Warm Hug from Oakland, Malaysia’s “Ugly” Fruit Gelato, and Why Seoul Is the World’s Best Club Destination
It's the last edition of the summer!
Welcome to the August edition of Golden Hour ✨ If you’re a new subscriber, thank you for being here.
After three weeks of on-and-off rain showers, Berlin is back to its sun-drenched, sweaty self. I’m currently marinating in the café at Michelberger Hotel as I write this. Several fans are blasted in fixed directions, none of them toward me. If the no-AC life is resonating with you, I hope you’re staying cool and hydrated!
I kick off every newsletter with a kitchen-sink roundup of things I’ve loved, learned, or stumbled upon since the last edition. Here are my latest favorites:
I spend a lot of time writing about food and drinks (and even more time taste-testing), so here’s one purely for the culture: I recently read “Why Seoul Is The World's Best Club Destination Right Now,” and I recommend it for anyone curious about Seoul’s layered and complex music scene beyond KPop (says the woman who screeched “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters in the shower yesterday). With over four million tourists under the age of 30 visiting South Korea, DJs in Itaewon’s clubs are increasingly experimenting with their sound to keep the energetic crowds moving. Even Kpop is shifting, with some tracks leaning heavier towards UK garage (listen to Blackpink’s “Jump” and you’ll hear it). I’m in my 30s and tired-after-10pm is where my energy’s at, but even I’m tempted to see what’s up the next time I’m in Seoul.
I love Hong Kong and I love ice cream, so T Magazine’s “In Hong Kong, Inventive Ice Cream Is Everywhere” piece was easy clickbait made for me. I attribute much of my penchant for snacking to growing up in Hong Kong, where egg tarts and pineapple buns are ubiquitous. You finish one, and the next one’s already in your hand. This summer, Hong Kong’s one-upping itself with quirky, bold ice cream flavors, like salted duck egg milk jam gelato at chef Vicky Cheng’s Liz & Tori (dedicated to his two daughters named… you guessed it, Elizabeth and Victoria). Vanilla too vanilla? These ice cream spots will fix that.
My Berlin gem of the month: Boii Boii. My recent deep dive into Berlin’s hottest Asian pop-up supper clubs led me to THAI NOODS, a Pad Thai bar that “just gave birth to boiiboiiberlin” per their Instagram profile. So, as a predictable person who loves cheeky taglines, I wound up at the pop-up-turned-restaurant on a random Wednesday. With its artsy purple branding, sartorially savvy crowd, and one unforgettable starter called TANG MO that I will be recreating in my kitchen (chilled watermoon, topped with cucumber-mustard greens granita, mint, caramelized cashew, and shaved smoked tofu), Boii Boii is a good time. Most importantly, the Pad Thai is delicious. A little steep for the portion size, but the meal as a whole hit the spot.
In the early days of dating my husband — when he still lived in Oakland and I was in San Francisco — we’d take turns crossing the Bay Bridge to see each other. Most weeknights ended with us holed up in some soul-hugging Chinatown restaurant in Oakland, chatting our little hearts out.
Oakland’s Chinatown is special. It dates back to the 1850s, making it one of the country’s oldest. Many Chinese immigrants made their way to California to help build the Central Pacific Railroad, but were forced to resettle in Oakland after the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Out of that displacement came a resilient, tight-knit community, and even now, that’s palpable. Of all the Chinatowns I’ve ever been to, this one has always struck me as a quietly indomitable one.
Beyond Chinatown, Oakland brims with incredible Asian-owned businesses — places that shaped some of my fondest Bay Area memories. If San Francisco is on your travel list in the near future, take a detour to Oakland. Cross that bridge — it’s delicious on the other side. And these are the spots I’ve returned to time and again:
BREAKFAST: Ruby King Bakery’s egg tarts and pineapple buns will whisk you to the streets of Hong Kong. Open since 2002 and still cash-only, it’ll take true willpower to leave with just one pastry. The egg tart is buttery, airy, and flaky, with custard that carries a gentle jiggle to it. Try the shredded coconut-filled cocktail bun too. Its name originates from Hong Kong bakers who once repurposed day-old buns by mixing their crumbs, sugar, and coconut into a new filling — as if they were making a breaded “cocktail.”
For caffeine guaranteed to buzz you awake, head to House of Phin. Phin-dripped and topped with silky egg cream, their Hanoi Egg Coffee is indulgent like dessert, but not overly sweet (the highest praise for anything with sugar in it, according to my parents).
LUNCH: Huangcheng Noodle House is the place for handmade Shanxi-style, knife-cut noodles — a culinary craft that mesmerizes me to this day. There’s almost always a line out the door, with strangers sharing long tables on busy days. The owner, Jimmy Huang, told Eater that his dad hails from Shanxi and his mom from Sichuan, so he likes bridging both Chinese cuisines in his dishes. With that, us lucky diners get a whole host of options: Some days I crave saucy tomato-and-egg noodles, and on other days, I need the nourishment of braised pork ribs in steaming broth. They serve both.
DINNER: Head up Telegraph Avenue and you’ll start to spot more Korean restaurants left and right. Pyeong Chang Tofu House is our go-to. It’s hushed on some days, with only the occasional noodle slurp breaking the silence, and filled with boisterous laughter on other days. I love coming here for tofu soup in the colder months, but during the summer, the Kong-guksu (chilled soy milk buckwheat noodles) and Kimchi Bibim-guksu (spicy mixed buckwheat noodles) are absolute refreshers.
DRINKS: Make your way back towards Downtown Oakland and end the night at Viridian, a cocktail bar co-founded by William Tsui, Raymond Gee, and Alison Kwan. I’ve written about San Francisco’s Moongate Lounge before, and the two share the same instantly recognizable pop-Asian aesthetic and moody lighting brought to you by Soon and Soon Studio. Viridian’s award list is stacked, but it still retains the intimacy of a neighborhood hangout. Every Lunar New Year, they run the Red Envelope pop-up, where they shake up unique, on-theme creations like “Red Bean Egg Cream” with Hennessy and “Mala Hot Pot” with Baijiu. My personal favorite is the “White Rabbit,” a sweet nod to a candy that defined my childhood. I believe my first words after the first sip were, Oh sh*t, can you believe they turned this into a drink?
This month, we’re temporarily stepping away from interior design to talk about the power of branding. Don’t worry, we’ll return to the beautiful hotels soon!
I’ve been just as charmed by the branding behind Kuala Lumpur-based dessert shop TUG Gelato as by its mission. TUG stands for The Unusual Greens, referring to what founder Hailey Yong and her team do best: combatting food waste by taking unusual, odd-shaped, or “ugly” fruits — the kind that most grocery shoppers pass over in the aisle — and turning them into gelato and other desserts. Because once it’s in our bellies, it’s all the same, isn’t it?
TUG Gelato’s visual identity and imagery is young, fresh, and a bit loud, speaking to Gen Z without tipping into obnoxious. Little mascot characters appear from one post to the next, with the “t” and “g” of TUG doubling up as eyes and the “u” as the button nose. The photography makes every scoop look dangerously delicious. In some ways, it reminds me of how Christina Tosi’s Milk Bar brand won hearts — by being bold, sensory-driven, and completely unafraid of a camera flash.
Through all that color and personality, the core message of “saving fruits one scoop at a time” and “imperfect ≠ inedible” stay salient. They’ve even lowered the price of their fruit-forward flavors, like Mango Sorbet and Avocado Pistachio, so more people will give them a try. In some of TUG Gelato’s social content, they also share practical tips on spotting fruits that are unsafe to eat, using cues like scent, texture, and blemish color.
Who says you can’t do good while eating ice cream?
This section doesn’t usually focus on travel, but it’s another chance to spotlight amazing Asian creators, so I hope you’ll read just a little bit more!
MUSIC: I love Sakamoto Days, an anime series about a retired hitman turned family man whose past won’t leave him alone, but the soundtrack has me hooked even more. It’s a blend of J-pop, indie, and alternative rock, featuring tracks like "Dandelion" by go!go!vanillas and "走れSAKAMOTO" by Vaundy. Some of these artists tour exclusively within Japan, so discovering them feels like unlocking some truly hidden gems.
TEXTILES: Keeping up with my personal goal to try something new and creative every month, I recently attended a workshop with six other women, hosted by she she retreats. Textile artist Chiaki Fujii flew all the way from Tokyo to be with us, bringing a soothing energy that cut through the bass-thumping vibe next door. She foraged a lush selection of plants, flowers, and avocado seeds for us, and guided us through “kusaki-zome” — the traditional, sustainable art of botanical dyeing. After boiling down the plants, adding various solutions, and soaking a handmade silk bag in the “soup,” with Chiaki’s help, I took home a bright orange bag. Chiaki’s beautiful work is a true love letter to the earth, and this bag has become my most prized possession from my time in this city.
CERAMICS: I follow a Berlin-based initiative called White Label Project, which labels itself as “a concept store, community and service platform for impact-led design brands and artists from all over the world.” Recently, they introduced Claymen, a series of playful, smile-inducing clay sculptures by New Delhi-based artist Aman Khanna. These sculptures are perfect for home decorating and gifting, and range in size from salt-and-pepper shakers to stools you can actually sit on. Once you start scrolling their Instagram or website, it’s near impossible to stop.
Thank you so much for reading my newsletter, and hope you enjoyed it! If there’s anything you loved or didn’t quite connect with, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Your feedback is truly appreciated and will help me make this a more enjoyable read for you!
Until next time, Laura x
She She retreats look incredible and I'm obsessed with that textile artist too!