While many designer labels feel compelled to display the trademark moniker prominently on pieces as a testament to their own prestige or popularity, the designers behind Millions of Smiles, Michael Swan and Chris Leba, prefer to let their talent speak for itself.

Much like the cohesion the two designers exhibit when creating their collection, which has attracted high-profile clientele like Britney Spears and Drew Barrymore, the duo also transmits an unmistakable synergy in other aspects of their lives– not unlike Tribeca's new hotspot, Macao Trading Co-– which does a lovely balancing act of its own. With an unconventional menu, of which most items are available in two seemingly polar culinary genres, Chinese and Portuguese, Macao offers dishes such as Manila clams Portuguese prepared with chorizo and a Chinese counterpart dressed in black beans and chilies.

Even on a recent night in the belly of a recession, the restaurant is perfectly full. However, this comes as no surprise, as Macao is the handiwork of the Employees Only creators and Chanterelle’s David Waltuck. Joining psychoPEDIA for a taste-test of the new eatery, Swan and Leba, already seated with glasses of Tsingtao beers in hand, discuss the dishes and much more:

Do you know the story behind this place?
CL: You know how Hong Kong was a British colony, Macao used to be a Portuguese colony. So it had this great mixture of heritage. Macao is like the Las Vegas of Asia. I always hear these outrageous stories. It’s very similar to Vegas– call girls, gambling, shopping.

Appetizers arrive: Chinese-style shrimp served in crispy wrappers, Portuguese-style Manila clams and Portuguese-style fennel and artichoke salad with chickpeas.

CL: That was faster than McDonald’s. The service here is awesome.
MS: I wonder how Vegas is doing right now?

I think people still drink and gamble even when the economy is struggling. Dating is up…
CL: I guess people want company during hard times. So you’re in a good place. I think you’re ready. Are you on Nerve? You’re going on Nerve. Are you Jewish? Then you’re going on JDate too.

What do you think of these appetizers?
CL: The clams are really good. They’re interesting. I’ve never really tasted anything like this. What is that?
MS: Chorizo.
CL: It’s really good. The salad is fine but I didn’t love it.
MS: I don’t think they needed to fry the chickpeas. But the shrimp is really good.
CL: OK. So you’re in a good place. You’re ready.
MS: I think you’re ready. You just need to say that you’re going to get back out there.
CL: Just say yes to the universe. It’s liberating to say what you want. You have to make a hard stand and it’s going to go one way or another, instead of waiting around forever. Women are so funny like that, they just decide– and then that’s it.
MS: I was just reading that we find people who we look like. Like the spacing of our eyes, the shape of our face. It’s interesting. What happens in your mind while you’re growing up that clicks, I like this, I don’t like that. Then suddenly, you have a type. Do you have a type?

I don’t know. I don’t think so. Do you have types?
CL: Most say they don’t have a type. Women are more open. All my girlfriends looked different but I definitely have a type. Guys have a blueprint. And they’re looking for the woman that fits that. Confidence and passion are hot.
MS: And there’s a physical thing that needs to be there. I think especially for men, because physically, they have to be aroused.
CL: Yeah, you can’t fake it.

Entrees and sides arrive: Grilled lamb chops with red pepper jam, Portuguese-style grilled sirloin with bleu-cheese butter, a Chinese-style whole bass crisp fried with ginger & scallions, Swiss chard with currants & pine nuts, and Bacalao fried rice.

MS: I’ve been married for ten years now. Every relationship breaks down to this: you have to have the skills. It’s like playing tennis. You have to be good at it. Meaning for example, being supportive. It’s just very easy. When I was younger I had this habit, if my girlfriend said “black”, I’d say “white”. Now I’m like, “totally”. “I totally see what you’re saying”. Even if I don’t agree– I trade that with, I’m on your team. It’s a skill. But it takes years and years.

I like that. So what do you think of this course? This whole fish is pretty spectacular.
MS: The fish is delicious. I like the presentation. And the fried rice is amazing. There are pieces of fish in here.

And how about the lamb chops?
CL: Really good. The red pepper jam is interesting. But a couple of them were cooked a little more than I’d have liked.

What do you think of the vibe in here?
CL: I love those lights over the bar.
MS: We were looking at them before. I like the vibe but the décor is a little over the top.
CL: They could’ve scaled back on the props.
MS: But I love the darkness and the rustiness.
CL: The rice pudding– that is insane.

By now dessert has arrived. It all looks amazing and my cappuccino smells so good, I sip it by the spoonful. The rice pudding is insane. And although the name might throw you, the fried milk, which tastes like custard covered in a cinnamon-sugar shell is unusual and delicious. And obviously, you can never go wrong with chocolate torte.

On the way to the restroom Chris runs into their friend, John, at the bar. He joins us with a fabulous looking drink.

What are you drinking?
John: I’m not sure. The bartender asked me what I like to drink and I said something with scotch or whiskey and he gave me this. It’s so good– tastes like there is cardamom, bitters, orange. It’s a little spicy.

Later, co-owner Jason Kosmas, tells me a few of the secret ingredients: J&B Scotch, Mahjong, Carpano vermouth, five-spice bitters and Navan, a vanilla liqueur. Sweet and spicy? Uh, pretty tasty. Like pretty much everything here.

The Verdict:

Taste: 9/10
Looks: 8/10
Value: 9/10
Service: 10/10 Overall: 36/40

Macao Trading Co. , 311 Church Street, 212.431.8750

Posted by psychoPEDIA at 12:02 PM | Permalink

Dear PsychoDoc: I love sex just as much as the next guy, but my girlfriend seems to want it all the time. When I come home late from work, when she wakes up in the morning, when I’m playing Xbox – there’s just no escaping her! We’ve been together for five months and I still find her sexually attractive, but too much of a good thing is never good for anyone. I find myself becoming more and more detached from our sexual encounters. Sometimes I just lay there while she gets on top of me and does her thing! It’s weird, because she wasn’t like this when we first started dating. How can I tell her that she needs to slow down without hurting her feelings?
-Cordin ,26, Manchester-

Dear Oversexed and Exhausted: As men get older, they start to realize that women are, in fact, way hornier than men. So, as you get closer to 50, start to lose your hair and gradually slow down in the bedroom, you’ll find that your woman is turning into Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct. Although, if you look deeply into her eyes while she’s pouncing on you, underneath all the passion and sexual frustration, what you’ll see is someone looking for attention. And lots of it. You say you’re coming home late from work and she disturbs you while you’re playing Xbox, but have you ever thought that she may be throwing all this ass your way because that’s the only way she feels she can connect with you?

The solution is to do something that requires the two of you to get out of the house. Try and inject some romance, and an element of surprise into the relationship, like-– oh, we don’t know-– a weekend at a five-star resort in the Sonoran Desert? I guarantee that she’ll ease off on the sex a bit, because you’ll be ticking some of the boxes that have been left unchecked for so long.

Why do you think she wasn’t so fuck-happy when you first met? You were probably trying really hard to impress her by doing lots of cool stuff, so you were satisfying her emotionally and physically. But now you’ve gotten so complacent, that she’s using your penis as a substitute. I think your girl just wants to be reminded of why she fell for you in the first place.

PsychoDoc is written by Donald Crunk, the founder of the Styleslut creative collective. He is not a medically-trained doctor or shrink, but is a highly-trained professional in life. He can be reached at psychodoc@psychopedia.com.

Psychopedia recommends:
Canyon Ranch: Arizona
Two Bunch Palm: Palm Springs- try the healing water or the treament for couple.
Tantra Yoga Workshop in Ireland

Posted by psychoPEDIA at 01:22 PM | Permalink

King Creoste is awesome. End of story.

Twenty years ago, the singer-songwriter was working in a little record store in St Andrews, a university town in Scotland. From there, he grew his group of friends and associates into a record label and creative collective called Fence. Nowadays, he’s making a living from music and running Fence Records, but hasn’t lost the love for rural(ish) Scotland, living and working in Anstruther, a tiny village in Fife. Every year, Anstruther plays host to Homegame a festival celebrating the music he and some friends have created from nothing. PsychoPEDIA caught up with KC just before Homegame to chat about his roots in St Andrews.

In a university town like St Andrews, what’s the opinion on the students-- positive influence on the intellectual side of the town, or negative scourge on the nightlife?
When Prince William announced his plans to attend, the number of female applicants for his course from the United States alone numbered 400. Rates took a hike up 30%, putting an end to our local record shop lease. That aside, the town certainly buzzes when the students are back. And it’s good for local bands like ours; we've had countless pub gigs and students’ functions to play at over the years. Due to there being so many foreign students, in the early days of Fence, word of our musical exploits and our homemade CDs travelled the world at the end of each term.

Where did you go out for music and dancing in St. Andrews?
When I was still at school we could get into the union discos held over the summer holidays -- quite a buzz at age 15 or 16 -- and every few years or so the students’ committee had the savvy to book one of the touring bands. I saw the Beat International in there, but not, say, Chesney Hawkes! Every few years the pubs start putting on live bands again, but none are designed for this purpose, so there'd be no stage, or even enough room, and then folks owning the flats above would complain, so that would be that. When I moved back into the St. Andrews area after uni and a stint busking around Europe, there was nowhere to go in town to dance unless you braved the megabop in the union. Pubs a plenty, and again, sporadic live gigs mainly by student bands. When we started putting on Fence shows, it was an instant hit with students and locals alike, and we'd very little competition. Ideal.

Are there any really good restaurants you can recommend?
Ah, well I'm a vegetarian, and a fussy one at that (I don't eat fish, nor slimey veg like mushrooms and aubergines, and not overly fond of greens either), so my own tastes run as far as Italian, junk, Indian, Mexican, and at a push, Thai. There's a great Indian restaurant called The Balaka, and a good Italian place on South street called Zizzi. For veggie burgers and veggie chillis with chips etc, it's hard to beat Fife's original rock cafe Ziggy's, always impossible to get into on a weekend without a reservation.

What's the art scene like? Any particularly good galleries or homegrown artists you’re aware of?
Ah, this is trickier...they do have exhibitions in the Crawford's Art Centre. I went to one called "no noise samples" in which an artist had invented all sorts of crazy musical instruments out of household machinery (old style telephones, ironing boards, bits of bicycle, pots, hoovers, etc.) and each came with a set of headphones. They had a piece of music by the instrument on loop. Other than that I know of one other gallery on Market Street that at least one famous pop star has bought from, and then there's an incredibly busy picture framer by the cathedral wall kept on his toes by the local art club (who are always on the lookout for nude models, I might add).

There seems to be a lot of creativity focused into a fairly small area around Fife...do you think it directly inspired you? And why do you think so much good work comes out of the area?
It is a beautiful part of Scotland, as beautiful in its way as the mountainous west coast, and it is a corner far enough from the main corridors of Scotland to attract those needing inspiration and solitude in their work, hence the musicians and artists here. The poet John Burnside still lives in the East Neuk of Fife, Ian Banks once lived near St. Andrews, and author Ian Rankin hails from Fife. There must be something in the air! For me, though, it is home, and I'd find it nigh impossible to live anywhere else for any length of time. The people here have an easygoing, uncluttered attitude to life, and celebrate in the good simple things. If you have everything you need and want, why leave?

You said earlier that an being an outsider wasn’t easy in Scottish villages-– does the same apply in St. Andrews?
I think the real St. Andrews is a place no visitor would really want to go. Us locals refer to it as "The Bronx." The “real” St. Andrews as portrayed by tourist information and advertising is very much a romanticized version of the town, and so yes, very easy to experience firsthand. With regards to finding the real St. Adrian - the local - this changes month by month. Few shop workers and such can afford to live in this town, and certainly not in the centre. Students far outnumber locals in the winter, and likewise tourists far outnumber locals in the summer. St. Andrews is deserted in June. Running into one of the caddies would give you a different impression again. The town centre is very accessible to locals anyway, so you can't avoid folks like me!

What do you miss most now that you no longer live in St Andrews?
What I miss most about living in St. Andrews is the buzz of having the students and academics around, as annoying as they are when throwing flour and eggs at each other. And the fact that it is such a microcosm and therefore a law unto itself. It has a good cinema and cafes, amazing beaches and ruined architecture, and it's a wee bit of a sheltered fantasy place. The hardest thing about living there is staying on whilst your friends all leave for the real world eventually.

How does St Andrews compare to other university towns like Oxford or Cambridge? Do you think it's more or less affected by its student population?
I've only been to Oxford and Cambridge a couple of times, and usually to play shows -- drive in, find the venue, soundcheck, play gig, leave. Parking is a nightmare in all three, that's for sure. If you were looking for a school of wizardry, Oxford is most likely the place to find it.

Finally, anything or anyone else you think deserves a special mention in discussion of St Andrews?
I'd give a special shout out to Couch on Bell Street, and to the North Point Cafe on North Street. A visit to the Castle and the subterranean passage is a must, and to take yourself on a walk from the east sands, along the Scores, all the way to the end of the west sands.

~Chris Harding

Posted by psychoPEDIA at 10:45 PM | Permalink