Oceania Burger Special

Belly Bao

This instalment of our burger specific series will zero in on the combination of two of my favourite cuisines, i.e. burgers and Asian.
It was during my stint in China that I first developed a weak spot and appreciation for steamed buns or baozi (包子), which essentially is a complete meal conveniently stowed away in a white, warm, soft bun and which at least in mainland China is traditionally based on a pork base. 

The continuous process of creating a bao has always appealed to me, starting with the meticulously timed mixing of the yeast-leavened dough via the steaming process to the idiosyncratic smell the bamboo baskets imbue on the final product. 

Paired with vinegar, chili and garlic pastes, it constitutes a fantastic take away treat that I frequently helped myself to after letting a long day culminate with a visit to the local markets.

During travels to other Asian countries, I discovered local variants, e.g. the Malaysian halal ones filled with your choice of curry and quail eggs or the ones in Indonesia, which curiously enough at times also include chocolate, sweet mung bean paste or marmalade, or the Philippine meatball and flaked tuna filled variant, at times containing cheese, not dissimilar to what is proffered in Thailand. Needless to say, Japan has perfectioned its own version on the bao, adding its own twist.

Given my appreciation for the humble bao, I was intrigued when I learned about Belly Bao, i.e. an eatery specialised in fusing the DNA of original Taiwanese baos with the concept of burgers (resulting in the portmanteau “baogers”, i.e. a cheeseburger napping between toasted bao buns) to Sydney.

What might sound like novelty territory could not be further from it, as every single item off Belly Bao’s menu I have sampled proved to be on point and a culinary delight: Having originally emerged out of the context of Sydney’s mythical and much fabled about Good God Small Club, Belly Bao’s team has refined alchemy over the years and established itself as a veritable insider tip for both sophisticated and fussy foodies as well as aficionados of substantial savoury fair.

Located in Sydney’s suburb Newtown, Belly Bao’s expansive menu features a range of burgers, baos in their original form as well as noodles, fried chicken, desserts and much to my delight, amongst other offerings, Japanese whiskey and one of the better IPAs Australian’s craft beer scene has to offer – what better accompaniment could there be than an OZ-Japanese boilermaker.

The texturally fantastic baogers are soft, squishy and fluffy and as dangerously moreish as the soft shell crab filled baos and the soft bao / slow braised beef short rib baos. One is well advised to exert some moderation as those beauties go down too easily, 
Needless to say, ordering dessert was way too much, however, it proved hard to say no to what is being announced as “two cheesecake spring rolls served with vanilla ice-cream and house made berry sauce”, which tasted exactly as indulgent as what it sounds like – an exorbitantly decadent culmination of a great meal.

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image from company website

The Formative Years

Die Goldenen Zitronen 

When Die Goldenen Zitronen first incarnated in the mid-1980s, it proved to be difficult to find their simple melange of early punk rock, comedic lyrics and at times angry lyrics aimed at rejecting what the music industry stood for and its formulaic structures of rock anything less than charming.

Things got interesting in the early nineties when their album “Fuck You” saw them develop and refine their sonic emissions further, before 1994 saw a quantum leap in terms of their musical evolution with the release of “Das Bisschen Totschlag”: Musically they no longer based their endeavours on punk and persiflage but experimented with a wide array of styles, e.g. noise, hip hop, electro and a veritable nod to bands like Captain Beefheart and Gang of Four.

Their album “Economy Class” was a pivotal one as it shocked their die hard Hamburger Schule fans with its improvisational jazz, before they focussed on electronic instrumentation on their funky “Dead School Hamburg” album, which saw the advent of collaborations with Peaches and bands like Chicks on Speed.

What started in the specifically Teutonic sub-genre of “fun punk”, had become an extremely profound, imaginative and thought provoking political band with their music having evolved to being agnostic of any musical boundaries.

Die Goldenen Zitronen remain a band that channeled its frustrations with the status quo to fuel the expansion of their dissonant sound, which has always been ahead of the curve and whose often cynical output does feel timeless as it has aged gracefully, with the issues and conversations it tackled still being ongoing, e.g. the dismissal of right-wing brutality, racism against immigrants, the implications of consumerism and general fear of the unknown.

Over two decades after the releases of their albums, they still hold up and stick together surprisingly well, with coherence achieved through their unique energy, unpretentious charming amateurism, righteous anger, powerful messaging, satire and subtle bursts of anger.
 

Punk and Style

Citizen Wolf

As Nick Cave quipped during his brighter moments: “A gentleman never talks about his tailor” and given that his dishevelled Birthday Party days are long left behind, paired with the fact that he has perfectioned his style with bespoke Chriss Kerr designed suits and his trademark unbuttoned shirt look, he should know what he is talking about.

It has always puzzled me how punk and traditional tailoring seem to at odds in most people’s minds, especially since punk was a movement that could have not been designed as a more uniform one with its leather jackets, ripped jeans and boots combo. 

One might argue that it lacked sartorial flair and was more subversive and rebellious in nature than other youthful underground phenomena, however, one can argue that it was still about dressing up. Essentially, the DNA of the punk look as we know it could have not been more artificially designed as its rebel aesthetic was essentially incepted by the fashion creating duo that was Vivienne Westwood and Malcom McLaren, whose emblematic provocative distressed fetish inspired edge eventually created “punk” archetypes before they infiltrated haute couture and subverted the establishment.

Fashion and the art behind tailoring has always fascinated me and I have had the fortune of visiting designers during my travels to learn more about how their collections come about and the meticulous approach to design.

When it comes to wardrobe staples like shirts, there is nothing that beats a good fit, which can make more than merely a subtle difference and on my search for new gear, I came across a local business that goes by the name of Citizen Wolf.

What intrigued me from the get go was Citizen Wolf’s mission statement, i.e. their endeavours being centred around affordable carbon negative on-demand production for a sustainable fashion future and their intrinsic drive to break the fashion industry’s addiction to overproduction.

Ushering in a new era which has the promotion of a healthier relationship with the clothes we wear at its core,  Citizen Wolf has pro-actively re-engineered technology to create custom fit garments for any body shape, only producing them when an order is placed.

Now, how does it work?

A bit of research revealed that Citizen Wolf has created what they refer to as their trademark Magic Fit algorithm, which no matter if you need a tall-fit tee or a bit more room than standard sizing provides, will ensure that it fits your frame: 

First, you choose your style—from tank top to turtleneck; then your fabric—organic cotton, hemp blend, or RWS-certified Merino wool; then your favourite colour from a wide and diverse colour palette. 

Using biometric data distilled from close to two million data points, Citizen Wolf creates a mathematical model of your body, which serves as a basis to create custom-fit garments faster and more accurately than a human tailor could.

While I had my concerns at first, what materialized was exactly what I had hoped for in terms of sizing with the added benefit that the fabric is pre-shrunk and made to stay in the shape you purchased it. An added bonus is that they offer the free option for further alterations and tweaking.

By upcycling any offcut fabric waste into quirky totes and scarves, they break the mold of how things are done in the fashion industry in a sustainable and affordable manner and what could be more punk than that?

Murder City Devils @ The Crocodile- Live Stream

Live event streaming is something I'm still fairly new to indulging in (unless you count Wrestlemania and boxing matches on Pay-Per-View). Although there have been a few over the past year that interested me, I still hadn't really checked one out. Many artists have had differing productions from The Menzingers' intimate feeling in-studio live-stream, to Bad Religion's "Decades" live-stream series performed to an empty room at the famed Roxy in Hollywood, CA. The Murder City Devils' live-stream was much more a live-stream of their own concert. The band playing to a full crowd while the show is streamed to fans at home.

I logged on and got myself familiar with the interface. Viewers could make different rooms and chat either through video, mic, or just typing in some messages. You were also able to adjust the volume between the music and the viewers that had a mic plugged in. A nice feature to have if you're watching with some friends in a private room. You had an icon that you could move around the screen, I assume to make it feel like you're taking a place in the crowd. While a fun novelty, it got distracting having a bunch of circles in front of the band anytime the camera panned to close-ups of the stage. Eventually I left the room someone had entitled, "The Pit!"

The band took the stage at the new location for the iconics Seattle venue, The Crocodile, around 9:20 and went straight into "I Want A Lot Now." It was nice to sit back in the comfort of my own home with some food and enjoy the show. The band was as raucous as ever. Vocalist, Spencer Moody, belted, moaned, and groaned the lyrics through most of the set. At one point, a streamer took note of how "wasted" he appeared to be. Occasionally entertaining, but distracting at other times.

The most fun part of streaming the live-event was playing with my cat as the band trudged through In Name and Blood's opener, "Press Gang." The band spread out their catalog pretty evenly in the set. During a run of tracks from the band's 2014 album, The White Ghost Has Blood on its Hands Again, Moody crawled across the stage and approached fans to give them their own go at the mic, before closing the show with "Broken Glass," from the band's self-titled debut.

Overall, I enjoyed the show and found live-streaming entertaining enough. It was nice to catch a performance without having to pay parking, dealing with traffic, and having my own food to eat while I watched. Flymachine is still in its infancy. There was even a "beta" tag adorning it's logo on the screen. They offered a decent enough experience though. I imagine it could only be better if you're watching with a group of friends in a private virtual room together. I'm interested to see how concert streaming continues to develop.

The Formative Years

Die Fantastischen Vier 

I was first introduced to German hip hop through bands like Advanced Chemistry and Die Fantastischen Vier in the early nineties. Both began around the same time and the latter evolved artistically over time to become a reliable entity whose releases I have always made sure to check out when they were released. 

When they first hit the scene, Fanta Vier were a trailblazing, prominent force when it came to liberating hip hop in the old world from aping the superficial clichés known from the US. Instead they focused on taking the core elements and started infusing it with their idiosyncratic DNA and contextualising it for a contemporary Teutonic context, rapping in German.

Having started out as a goofy, fun outfit that fairly on secured mainstream accolades, Die Fantastischen Vier went on to combine commercial success and authenticity in a manner that is not often found on German terrain.

Albums like “Lauschgift” and “4:99” became masterpieces that were lightyears ahead of the efforts of the German compatriots and being pioneers, they managed to not only make rap socially acceptable but accomplished the feat to become an integral component of the Germanic cultural canon.

Lyrically, they conveyed an eloquently articulated, inspiring and spirited attitude to life, which was complemented by tight productions and a refreshing musical catchiness that continues to capture the zeitgeist – elements that remain the common denominator to this very day, thirty-two years after they first incarnated.

The fact that each of the four members has carved out individual careers and side projects for themselves contributes to constant growth as far as their identities are concerned, which in turn reinvigorates the band and contributes to the creation of something fresh and new when they convene to work on new material.