flâneur

VOL.03—Saturday Baos - by Brandon Lu - bluprint

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A meditation on simplicity

Saturdays are for the baos. Hello architects, I’ve been spending my Saturday mornings at the bakery. Recognizable by its bright orange awning, Good Mong Kok Bakery is a no-frills Cantonese mom & pop shop. Inside, bao-filled steamers stack high. Large pots of congee sit discretely along the back wall. Trays of egg tarts cool by the window, luring in even those with the strongest of wills. Like members of a conductorless orchestra, bakers take bilingual orders, swap out empty trays, and roll in crates of produce with ease. They only speak using terse gestures and one-liners, but over time,…

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