<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"  As a child, Suttirat Anne Larlarb\u2014Slumdog Millionaire&amp;#039;s acclaimed Thai-American costume designer\u2014spent every summer in Bangkok communing with her foodie Buddhist grandma. This Zen workaholic still returns to the city to renew her un-Hollywood conviction that perfectionism and generosity can coexist. In Bangkok, even gas-station food astonishes and a $45 pedicure is a twohour affair, says the Manhattan-based Larlarb, who&amp;#039;s currently costuming Katie Holmes, Paul Dano, and Kevin Kline for 2010&amp;#039;s The Extra Man. Here&amp;#039;s her hit list. STAY: At the implausibly gracious Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok, in a nineteenth-century colonial building overlooking the Chao Phraya River. There, Larlarb feels &amp;quot;welcomed in the deepest sense, without that studied, ingratiating niceness of most luxury hotels&amp;quot;\u2014and at nearly half the price of its New York counterpart. If you&amp;#039;re flush, stay and write a novel in the Joseph Conrad Suite (mandarinoriental.com/bangkok). EAT: At the hole-in-the-wall Teng Chai Huad (1770\u20131772 Sukhumvit Rd.) for rare, &amp;quot;sublime&amp;quot; giem ee noodles; at the Siam Paragon mall&amp;#039;s gourmet food hall for on-the-run succulence (www.siamparagon.co.th); at You &amp;amp;amp; Mee for the $11 late-night khao tom congee buffet with umpteen toppings, from ginger tofu to saut\u00E9ed morning-glory leaves (Grand Hyatt Erawan, 494 Rajdamri Rd .); beside the lotus pond at the peerless Celadon for opulence (sukhothaihotel.com). SHOP: For idiosyncratic, minimalist clothing at Greyhound in the Siam Paragon (www.greyhound.co.th) and insider favorite Headquarter (Room 320, Siam Center), two reasons why Larlarb calls Bangkok an &amp;quot;undiscovered hotbed&amp;quot; of fashion; for collectible vintage fabrics at Maya Ethnic Craft (gaysorn.com); for a panoply of finds, such as antique silverware and inadvertently hip instructional posters, among the 15,000 stalls at the &amp;quot;sprawling, heaving, unpredictable&amp;quot; (and often sweltering) Chatuchak open-air weekend market. COVET: The intimately scaled Jim Thompson House ( jimthompsonhouse.com), lovingly reconstructed from six centuries-old Thai dwellings by the American who revived Bangkok&amp;#039;s silk industry then mysteriously disappeared in 1967. It&amp;#039;s now a museum and Larlarb&amp;#039;s all-teak &amp;quot;dream home.&amp;quot; "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/culture/travel-food/a9802/spiritual-home-bangkok-308836/?click=smart&kw=ist&src=smart&mag=ELM&link=-SMT-ELM>