Robb Reportthailand ISSUE 51

THAILAND PLUS

WHY VEGANISM IS HERE TO STAY

9 485001

ISSUE 48. 195 baht

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05-06/2019

The Food Issue

The world's hotspots where gastronomy meets travel, deliciously r obbr epor t .in.t h

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PINECREST, FL | $6,490,000 Keyes Company Cristian Cardenas — +1 305 510 1679 WEB ID: PCOE5

Well Connected.™ Finding your home is a personal process of discovery, and the accomplished global network of Luxury Portfolio International® member companies are ready to assist in the journey. Explore over 50,000 of the world’s finest properties marketed on luxuryportfolio.com each year. Enter the property Web ID for more detail.

LUXURYPORTFOLIO.COM

LONDON +44 20 3399 9040 CHICAGO +1 312 424 0400 SINGAPORE +65 6408 0507

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@luxuryportfolio

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LOS ANGELES, CA | $78,000,000 Seven years in the making, this 30,000+ estate’s provenance cannot be matched.

CORAL GABLES, FL | $23,990,000 7 beds, 8 full & 4half baths | 14, 889 sf | 45, 337 sf lot |145’ waterfront dock space.

GREENWICH, CT | $12,900,000 Extraordinary Belle Haven direct waterfront custom built home in Quarry Farm.

Hilton & Hyland J. Hyland/ R. Hilton — +1 310 278 3311

EWM International Isabel Castro — +1 786 266 6757

Halstead Real Estate Christopher B. Finlay — +1 203 869 8100

WEB ID: YBHE5

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HARWICH PORT, MA | $9,750,000 A true masterpiece, this estate rests majestically on 3.56 acres on picturesque Wychmere Harbor.

LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND PRICE UPON REQUEST

This 750 sqm mansion property nestles in the heart of grounds, with a view of the lake Geneva.

SALT LAKE CITY, UT | $2,500,000 Every room inside this breathtaking home will awe and inspire you.

Kinlin Grover Real Estate Sandra Tanco — +1 508 737 5775

CI EXCLUSIVE PROPERTIES Geneviève Iglesias — +41 (0) 22 319 8915

WEB ID: CKGW5

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CONSTANTIA, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA $2,130,133

JAVEA, SPAIN | $2,247,956 Tranquil and Private residency in the highly regarded area of La Alborada.

Elegance and Luxury Living. Located down a quiet tree-lined country lane in Constantia Upper.

Chas Everitt International Property Group Sally Gracie — +27 (0) 83 459 9523 WEB ID: TGFT5

Inmobiliaria Rimontgo +011 34 96 579 10 35 WEB ID: FIDC5

Windermere Real Estate – Utah Marvin Jensen — +801 403 4030 WEB ID: WUVA5

WOODMEAD, SANDTON, SOUTH AFRICA $1,296,131 Unique, ultra-luxurious and ultra-secure residence with midst breathtaking views & ambiance.

Jawitz Properties Ltd. Irene de Bliquy — +27 83 727 9073 WEB ID: NNCT5

©2019 Luxury Portfolio International.® Equal Housing Opportunity. Offering is subject to errors, omissions, change of price, or withdrawal without notice. All information considered reliable; however, it has been supplied by third parties and should not be relied on as accurate or complete. Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status or disabled status.

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ROUSE ROUSE YOUR YOUR PALATE PALATE WITH WITH CRAFTED CRAFTED FLAVOURS FLAVOURS Fly with Flythe with host. the host.

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Enjoy THAI’s Enjoy THAI’s extensive extensive network network with with uniquely uniquely smooth smooth service. service.

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CONTENTS

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10 Letter from the Editor 12 Objectified 26 Auction

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92 The Goods: Time 110 The Resource: Travel 130 Money

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136 Savour 144 Robb Reader 146 The Last Word

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Destination Gastronomy Individuals have long travelled the culinary routes that span miles and borders in search of exquisite flavours. There’s something about the pleasure derived when our taste buds meet the new and the unfamiliar. In this issue, we celebrate both.

Cover photo: Chris Buzelli

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Editorial Editor-in-Chief KARISHMA TULSIDAS (k.tulsidas@imv.com.sg) Editor MARK LEAN (m.lean@imv.com.sg) Editor-At-Large, Watches and Jewellery CELINE YAP (c.yap@imv.com.sg) Chief Sub-Editor JACQUELINE DANAM Junior Writer ALLISA NORAINI (a.noraini@imv.com.sg) Editorial Assistant TASH MAHNOKAREN Art Art Director NGUYEN THI YEN PHUONG Designer LE THU TRANG Designer THAO TRUONG Picture Editor KENNY NGUYEN Contributors Annie Tan, Andrew Leci, Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop, Wanida Siripaopradist, Jemima Sissons, Kate Donelly, Ukrit Vanagosoom Production Group Production Manager SHAHRUL HILAL RETHASHAH Prepress IMV Repro Printer Percetakan Zanders Sdn Bhd (205766A), No. 16, Jalan BK 1/11 Bandar Kinrara 47180 Puchong Selangor Darul Ehsan Malaysia

THAILAND

Advertising Sales and Marketing Director Regional Sales IMV PERLYN DE ROUVRAY (p.derouvray@imv.com.sg) Sales & Marketing Assistant TASH MAHNOKAREN (t.mahnokaren@imv.com.sg) PR & Event and Marketing Consultants R.S.V.P.-PR & Lifestyle Communications Agency, Singapore Finance Head of Finance WEI CHAN Administrator HUIYING SOH Digital Regional Head STEVEN KHU President MICHAEL VON SCHLIPPE Published by Indochine Media Pte Ltd 1 Syed Alwi Road, #02-02 Song Lin Building, Singapore 207628.

Robb Report Thailand® is a registered trademark of Robb Report Media, LLC. ©2018 Robb Report Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Published under licence from Robb Report Media, LLC 11175 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA.

Robb Report

Robb Report Global EVP, Managing Director DAVID ARNOLD Editor in Chief PAUL CROUGHTON Senior Vice President, Live Media CRISTINA CHEEVER Vice President, Brand & Communications ELYSE HECKMAN International Sales Director DANIEL BORCHERT Penske Media Corporation Chairman and CEO JAY PENSKE Chief Operating Officer GEORGE GROBAR Senior Vice President, Finance KEN DELALCAZAR Managing Director, International Markets DEBASHISH GHOSH Vice President, Global Partnerships & Licensing KEVIN LABONGE Senior Director, Asia GURJEET CHIMA Editorial & Brand Director, International LAURA ONGARO

Ad Sales Representatives PUBLICITAS London Emilie Errante, sales director emilie.errante@publicitas.com China Libby Chen, managing director libby.chen@publicitas.com Hong Kong Michele Li, general manager (sales) michele.li@publicitas.com OBERON MEDIA Italy Angelo Careddu Viale Giulio Richard 1/b 20143 Milano Tel: +39 02 874 5 3 acareddu@oberonmedia.com STUDIO-RIBOUD France Magali Riboud 130 rue de Courcelles, 75017 Paris, France Tel: +33 142 563 336, Fax: +33 142 563 331 mriboud@studio-riboud.com

Robb Report Thailand is published by Indochine Media Pte Ltd, registration number 201214107E, MCI (P) 051/10/2018. Indochine Media has taken every reasonable care to ensure the accuracy and objectivity of the information contained in this publication, but accepts no responsibility for the content of advertisements published, and no liability for mistake, misprint, omission, typographical error, loss or damage suffered as a result of relying wholly or in part on the content of advertising or editorial published herein. Indochine Media reserves the right to refuse any advertisement or advertorial for any reason. All artwork designed by Indochine Media or any part of this publication may not be reproduced in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by means – graphical, electronic or mechanical, photocopying, recording, taping, etc – without prior permission in writing from the Publishers.

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Robb Report

Ready To Eat These days our phones eat first. The human fascination to visually record our meals takes place at both Michelin-rated restaurants and tried-andtested street stalls.

In our Gastronomy issue we take things up several notches. We feature food as investments, a throwback to centuries before when spices like cinnamon, turmeric, cloves and ginger were as good as gold and had the innate power to create – or reduce – empires. We also speak to chefs who are as much local as they are international, matching cuisines famed across Asia (and the world) with exciting sensibilities. This succinctly encapsulates the spirit of the times in which we are living. It’s a time when local staples – be they Thai, Chinese or Singaporean – are given the haute cuisine treatment. It’s a time of changing food choices: the subtle but undeniable rise of veganism is turning the tables on convention. It’s also a time when the burgers one orders might not so impossibly be made from meat.

In a similarly adventurous vein, we feature the next global hotspots for your upcoming food adventures. In this issue, you will get a taste of what, where and how you will be eating next.

Like we said, exciting times are ahead. Don’t forget to bring your phone.

MARK LEAN

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BACK IN BLACK

Photo: Courtesy of Noah Schutz/Falcon Motorcycles

Ian Barry, founder of the Los Angeles–based Falcon Motorcycles, is crystal clear about his job description.

“I translate raw power into elegant forms,” says the custom bike builder, “and then get to experience what that feels like at full throttle.”

His 2011 Black Falcon, constructed from scratch save for the Vincent Black Shadow engine, is now available for purchase for US$800,000.

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Photo: Courtesy of Kristin Teig/Republique

SWEET SPOT Margarita Manzke and her husband, Walter, have become acclaimed in LA for their outstanding restaurant République.

While Walter handles the savoury side, Margarita has mastered the sweet, with people lining up for her baked goods.

Now she’s letting people in on some of her secrets, publishing her first cookbook, Baking at République, which includes her plum tart, featuring fresh fruit perched atop a buttery, rich almond cream.

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ALCHEMY ACHIEVED Towards the end of last year, Dyson introduced the Dyson Supersonic 23.75-carat gold hair dryer, which heralds the company’s first artisanskewed approach to its range of legendary appliances. Having invested £75 million in the research and development of the Dyson Supersonic, James Dyson had gone on to challenge his engineers on applying gold leaf to the hair dryer. Under a master guilder, the Dyson team became adept at perfecting the surface finish on this special-edition Dyson Supersonic, combining technological prowess with sureness of hand in order to apply each and every layer of gold leaf – measuring 1/775th the diametre of human hair, or approximately 333 atoms in thickness.

The gold leaf – sourced from Florence, Italy – confers a unique patina on the hair dyer’s loop, which becomes the most distinct part of this revolutionary home appliance. The end result is one which lives up to its promise for fast drying (at 110,000rpm), intelligent heat control (four heat and three airflow settings) and protecting hair against extreme heat damage via a glass bead thermistor and microprocessor which controls the double-stacked heating element and measures exit air temperature 20 times per second. www.dyson.co.th

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OUT TO SEA Watches linked to yachting are nothing new, but few come packed with all of the bells and whistles of the Ulysse Nardin Mega Yacht (US$310,000; limited to 30). This timepiece features a flying tourbillon shaped like an engine propeller, a 3D moon and tide display, and a patented power reserve indicated by a windlass and anchor that lasts 80 hours before needing to be rewound.

PAIGE REDDINGER

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CLIFFHANGER

Photo: FERNANDO ALDA

In the old Spanish fishing village of Calpe in Alicante, Fran Silvestre Arquitectos created a modernist stunner.

Overlooking the Mediterranean, the firm built House on the Cliff to give the sensation of floating on air, with the main floor jutting out from the mountainside.

The home is in pleasant juxtaposition to its natural surroundings. Its crisp, concrete form, covered in gleaming white lime stucco, contrasts starkly with the jagged rocks of its perch. JEREMY REPANICH

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MAGELLAN FLY-CRUISE SHIP Traverse the icy frontiers of the Antarctic Peninsula with the newly built state-of-the-art Magellan, a luxury fly-cruise ship that’s home to a glassenclosed observation lounge, a capacious dining room and a well-stocked bar. The ship can carry up to 69 passengers, who may select from seven categories of accommodation.

Magellan’s maiden voyage to Antarctica will be in November 2019. www.a2asafaris.com

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Photo: A2A Safaris

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KING OF THE HILL

Photo: Dominic Fraser

Representing the cream of Aston Martin’s crop, the new DBS Superleggera (an English car with an Italian flourish) is a serious challenger to Ferrari’s 812 Superfast (an Italian car with an English appellative). Featuring a sonorous 5.2-litre biturbo V12, this GT supercar churns out 715hp at 6,500rpm and 900Nm of torque between 1,800rpm and 5,000rpm. And yet you could pilot this on cross-Causeway jaunts without excessive fatigue dampening your mood.

It is, after all, based on the DB11, which is a grand tourer par excellence. Available through local dealer Wearnes Automotive, the DBS Superleggera is priced at S$1.25 million, excluding COE and options. www.astonmartin.com

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WALKING SAFARI WITH PAINTED WOLVES This one-of-a-kind safari tour is more than just a tracking expedition – participants will also be photographing the iconic painted wolves of Zimbabwe on foot. The experience includes stays in safari camps in Hwange National Park and Mana Pools, including Zimbabwe’s newest property, Nyamatusi Camp. Kicking off on 4 November 2019, the safari experience can accommodate up to only six people. www.a2asafaris.com

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Photo: African Bush Camps and A2A Safaris

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Off the Block

We keep you up-to-date on the hottest lots under the hammer.

Careless Whisper

by Jim Lambie AUCTIONED BY CHRISTIE’S IN LONDON

£175,000 The much-anticipated George Michael Evening Auction, featuring the art collection of the British singer and songwriter, amassed an impressive total of £9.2 million in March as part of a continuation of his philanthropic work. Michael’s private art collection represented his dialogue with artists of the Young British Art movement, including prominent figures such as Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and Sarah Lucas. Of particular note was Scottish contemporary visual artist Jim Lambie’s Careless Whisper, which sold for over 10 times its presale estimate and established a world auction record for the artist. www.christies.com

AUCTION

Robb Report

IWC Schaffhausen Big Pilot’s Watch Single Piece AUCTIONED BY SOTHEBY’S ONLINE

US$60,000 Determined to contribute to the charitable work of the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation and the Association Arrimage in France, IWC Schaffhausen auctioned a special timepiece with a one-of-akind engraving. The online auction, which was organised by Sotheby’s, featured a Big Pilot’s Watch Single Piece (Ref IW500923) with a unique engraving of an iconic quote from de Saint-Exupéry’s famous novel, The Little Prince. ‘It is only with the heart that one can see rightly’ were the words on its 18-carat 5N gold case, and just as enticingly, IWC brand ambassador Bradley Cooper wore it to this year’s Academy Awards ceremony. www.sothebys.com

A pair of Imperial famille rose ‘quails and chrysanthemums’ bowls AUCTIONED BY BONHAMS IN NEW YORK

US$1.04 million

Leading Bonhams’ sale of Fine Chinese Paintings and Works of Art, this exceptionally rare pair of bowls epitomises the very finest imperial porcelain of the Yongzheng reign, which was renowned for its elegance, artistry and innovative design. First acquired by the American heiress Virginia ‘Ella’ Hobart, the bowls are exquisitely enamelled with the rare design of quail and chrysanthemum blossoms, and bear Yongzheng six-character underglazeblue marks, plus those of the period (1723 to 1735). Even more unusually, they feature continuous decoration over the rim and onto the interior – as opposed to retaining a plain undecorated interior – in a technique known as guoqiangzhi. www.bonhams.com

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The Collection of Drue Heinz BIDDING COMMENCES ON 13 MAY THROUGH CHRISTIE’S IN NEW YORK

A keen supporter of the literary and visual arts, British-born American actress, philanthropist and socialite Drue Heinz acquired a remarkable collection of fine art during her lifetime. Picasso, Giacometti, Monet, Magritte and Matisse are just some of the names that feature in her collection, which she built during her three-decadelong marriage to HJ Heinz II, CEO of the HJ Heinz Company. Among the most tantalising lots is Amedeo Modigliani’s 1919 oil on canvas work, Lunia Czechowska (à la robe noire), which is estimated to fetch between US$12 million and US$18 million. www.christies.com

Queen of Sheba with Gold Lump by Rose Wylie AUCTIONED BY PHILLIPS IN LONDON

£175,000 Charging into spring with its 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale, the shining star of Phillips’ auction was British painter Rose Wylie’s Queen of Sheba with Gold Lump, which set a new auction record. Created in 2012, this striking oil on canvas work comes in two parts, referencing the legendary Queen of Sheba from the Hebrew Bible, as well as the 1921 eponymous blockbuster in early cinema. True to form, the canvas brims with unbridled energy and jubilant colour, reflecting Wylie’s fascination with film culture and her light-hearted spirit. www.phillips.com

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Robb Report

DISGUSTATION MENU Taste is always a matter of taste, but some things simply shouldn’t be put on a plate or anywhere near a mouth.

Andrew Leci turns stomachs.

A

nthony Bourdain famously once said that a McDonald’s Chicken McNugget was the grossest thing he had ever eaten. He was not a fan of fast food. He changed his mind, however, after sampling Iceland’s notorious hakarl (fermented shark) which Bourdain described as “the single worst, most disgusting and terrible tasting thing” he had ever entreated his digestive system to deal with. The antacid relief experienced by the McDonald’s public relations department would have been palpable.

Sourced from the Greenland shark, if eaten fresh, hakarl could kill you – it’s laced with urea and toxins and reeks of ammonia. Some bright spark, at some point, must have figured that the best way in which to make it edible would be to let it rot. Why not bury it in sand for a few weeks, they must have thought, and then hang it out to dry (like a former Trump employee) for even longer?

Hakarl is a staple in Iceland (illegal in the European Union) and may well have been part of the Vikings’ diet in their colonial heyday. It’s difficult to pillage on an empty stomach, and the dish, fermented and then cured, wouldn’t have had to concern itself with a sell-by date. Excellent, therefore, for marauding hoards’ packed lunches on overseas trips.

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Icelanders love it, while those experiencing it for the first time are rarely able to keep it down. One-time celebrity chef, Ainsley Harriott, said it was “like chewing a urine-infested mattress”.

It’s just one of many strange foods that can be eaten around the world, proving, if proof was ever needed, that taste is a matter of taste and regional variations apply. It’s been a fun experience trawling around for foods that sound either outrageously exotic, disgusting or delicious, depending on what you’re used to and the idiosyncrasies of ethnic taste buds.

If rotten shark is not your thing, how about a fertilised, foetal duck egg – beak, feathers (depending on age) and all. Known as balut, it’s a delicacy in the Philippines (also popular in Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia).

The appearance is repellent; the taste, according to aficionados, is delicious, and texturally, it is… varied.

The Japanese are fond of shirako – the sperm sacs of the cod, angler fish or puffer

There’s a cheese in Sardinia (casu marzu) that has the distinction of being infested with maggots. And yes, the insect larvae are still alive.

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fish – and few would argue against their supposed nutritional value, while there’s a cheese in Sardinia (casu marzu) that has the distinction of being infested with maggots. And yes, the insect larvae are still alive.

Like hakarl, it’s also ‘rotten’, and the taste and the texture are dependent on ‘cheese flies’ being encouraged to land on the recently made pecorino, where they set up house and start families. In the course of the next two to three months, the maggots eat the cheese and then excrete it… back into the cheese itself. This process changes the texture and enhances the flavour, making it rich and creamy, and much more pungent than an ultraripe Gorgonzola or even a stale durian.

It may sound challenging (a euphemism perhaps for ‘revolting’) but as with many things in life, it’s all about custom – certainly not customers. The Italian cognoscenti maintain that it’s a delicious taste of tradition, but you won’t find it in a supermarket anywhere in the world, and it’s illegal to sell, even in Italy.

I will probably not be amending my bucket list to take in a trip to Canada to sample their famous jellied moose nose, and I’ll pass on the flattened, deepfried bull’s testicles (known as ‘Rocky Mountain Oysters’ or ‘cowboy caviar’ – take your toothpick) in the US. American psychologist, Dr Paul Ekman, theorised that there are six fundamental human emotions: anger, fear, happiness, sadness, surprise and disgust. I’m relatively sanguine in invoking the first five when placing a napkin on my lap and asking for the wine list, but you have to draw a line in the demi-glace somewhere.

Photo: Shutterstock

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Robb Report

Battle of the Bots In Asia, robots have had more success integrating into society compared to the western world. That said, various notable android milestones have been achieved on both sides of the globe. We let these facts and figures do the talking.

By ALLISA NORAINI

EAST WEST vs

GROUNDBREAKING CREATIONS The world’s first AI news anchor (China)

The da Vinci Surgical System is the first robotic surgery system approved by the FDA for general laparoscopic surgery (US)

MOST EXPENSIVE HUMANOID ROBOT

US$2.5 US$2 million million Asimo, created by Honda (Japan)

Valkyrie, created by NASA (US)

DENSITY OF ROBOT WORKERS South Korea (631 per 10,000 employees)

Germany (309 per 10,000 employees)

ROBOTIC TRAVEL EXPERIENCES

HENNA-NA HOTEL CLEANSEBOT The world’s first portable robotic hotel

The world’s first robot-operated hotel (which ended up firing more than half of its bots earlier this year) (Japan)

room cleaner (US)

ROBOTS YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T KNOW EXISTED Moley, world’s first robotic kitchen (UK)

World’s first robotic police officer (Dubai)

SMALLEST HUMANOID ROBOT

3.4 16.5 cm-tall

Robo-Q by Takara Tomy (Japan)

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I-Sobot by Hammacher Shlemmer (US)

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DESTINATION GASTRONOMY “How can I govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?”

Illustration: Esther Goh

- Charles de Gaulle -

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Will Travel To Eat

Food is the best part of any trip, but finding the perfect off-road place takes some skill. Here are six off-thebeaten-path destinations to think of.

Bring an appetite and be prepared to eat, drink and repeat.

By HANNAH CHOO

Tel Aviv, Israel

There’s no better way to experience Tel Aviv than through its beachfront boardwalks, gritty neighbourhoods and kaleidoscope of eateries. From its holein-the-wall food joints to everything in between, there’s always a melange of influences from North Africa, the Middle East and Mediterranean. Think bright, briny flavours, spices and spreads, and extra fresh produce that the city is blessed with.

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Tuck In Claro Ran Shmueli, one of Israel’s most beloved chefs, is the backbone behind Claro’s consistently high standard and warm feel. He remains true to his farmto-table commitment with market-fresh ingredients.

Grab a bar seat for the best views and watch Shmueli and his team prepare plates of fish confit bruschetta and handmade pasta. Be sure to save room for dessert – the raspberry coulis cheesecake is sublime.

Bana The great thing about Israeli cuisine is that you’ll hardly overdose on meat, but if you do, it’s Bana to

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boasts rustic creations such as lemony veal regalo, cashew cream bucatini and lightly smoked goose breast, served with mulberries.

Photos: Amit Geron, Ilya Melnikov

Far left above and left: Bana is the city’s best vegan spot.

Right: Imperial Craft is the first cocktail bar in the city.

Far left below: since Taizu’s opening in 2013, it’s become one of the best restaurants in town for its Asiaterranean cuisine.

the rescue, a bright and pleasant space nestled in the heart of White City. Its vegan offerings centre around a range of fresh vegetables, fruit and herbs, without the meat substitutes. It just started serving brunch, too. Thirsty? The ouzo, almond milk and mint cocktail will do the trick.

Taizu Local star Yuval Ben Neriah’s Taizu has been causing quite a stir. Inspired by his travels through Southeast Asia, he’s created an extensive seafood-heavy menu of small plates, featuring local twists on Asian street food. Enjoy veal cheek and pomegranate broth dumplings, and hummus koftas with unripe mango and fresh coconut, then proceed to the bar for a cocktail paired with the famous Ana Shapiro dessert.

Mapu Celebrated chef Nir Zook, known for his restaurants in Tel Aviv, is now ensconced at Prima City Hotel. Get a taste of his kosher skills at Mapu, where he’s obsessed with local ingredients and the fervour to make everything by hand. The menu

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Quick Eats When in Israel, you can’t escape the falafel, so settle only for the best. Falafel HaKosem is in a league of its own and equally good for a hearty shawarma and sabich. Be sure to try lechem bread, too.

The best would be at a traditional Shabbat dinner in someone’s home. Log onto www. eatwith.com and schedule a home-cooked meal with a local. Do also pay a visit to the open-air Carmel Market and Sarona Market, where you’ll find ridiculously good knafeh at Natzeret Sweets.

Drink Up Imperial Craft Cocktail Bar, tucked away inside the Imperial Hotel, is on top of its game when it comes to craft cocktails.

It offers a great range of tiki drinks and potent concoctions like the Old Fashioned Hipster. Beer lovers will appreciate Lone Tree Brewery, a micro-brewery known for its love of natural craft beers.

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Robb Report

Yerevan, Armenia

The capital of Armenia isn’t always at the top of everyone’s bucket list, but surely it deserves more credit. The city is filled with natural beauty, culture and plenty of places to keep you happy and full. The joy of Armenian food is how it cherry-picks the best flavours of Persia, Russia, Georgia and the Levant, and makes for its own. All for one and one for all.

Dolmama Now a classic Yerevan stopover, Dolmama rose to fame with its honest but elevated Armenian food.

Chef-owner Jirair Avanian has called it home since 1998, and focuses on eastern Armenian dishes such as mulberry khorovats (meat kebabs), ridiculously good dolma (ground meat and herbs wrapped in grape leaves) and khashlama (stewed meat). Reserve in advance to avoid disappointment.

Lavash Restaurant The more modern sister restaurant to Tavern Yerevan, Lavash hits all the right spots with warm service and a dependable mix of classics, fresh from the farm and cooked to order. Opt for cool walnut

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Photos: Aghayan Armen

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paste, arishta (Armenian spaghetti) and especially the Jingalov hats, a flatbread stuffed with chopped greens. And if it’s not too early, there’s a respectable list of spirits to choose from.

At Gayane’s At Gayane’s has been serving some of the best Armenian cuisine since 1997, and although its owner recently passed away, her legacy remains. Loved for its homemade food – the late Anthony Bourdain liked the trout wrapped and baked in lavash – the restaurant is equally famous for its relaxing and welcoming atmosphere. Good grub, live piano music and the feeling of eating in your own backyard? At Gayane’s is reason enough to have you back in Yerevan.

Anteb The restaurant isn’t fancy, putting in less effort into its decor and service than its food. But it’s always packed with satisfied customers feasting on western Armenian

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dishes similar to Turkish cuisine. Enjoy skender kebabs, mezes, fatayer (meat pie), lahmajoon (Armenian pizza) and for that cherry on top, baklava.

Quick Eats Yerevan is home to GUM Market, Armenia’s biggest fresh food market.

October brings in a seasonal array of produce, but if you’re there in the winter, you’ll find plenty of dried fruit, syrupcoated walnuts known as sujukh, cheese and basturma (spicy cured beef).

Drink Up The city has long been acknowledged as the cradle of winemaking. Swing

by Wine Republic for its enormous selection of local wines or In Vino, the first speciality wine shop, bar and club in Yerevan.

But if you’re into Armenian brandy, Ararat Museum should make for an interesting experience.

Dolmama is set within a 130-yearold building.

Facing page: Lavash presents classic Armenian cuisine in a modern way.

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Robb Report

Franschhoek, South Africa

Franschhoek, or French Corner, gets its name from its first white settlers – French Protestants who escaped Catholic persecution in the late 1600s. They were instrumental in nurturing a winemaking culture in South Africa, which led to Franschhoek being the most spectacular of all its wine centres. It’s also developed into a culinary mecca, bursting at its seams with world-class restaurants, great wines and fresh produce.

Tuck In Franschhoek Kitchen Nestled in the beautiful Cape Winelands is one of the valley’s leading restaurants. Part of Holden Manz Wine Estate, the chef shows off locally sourced seasonal produce in simple yet punchy dishes. You’ll find out as soon as you dig into the trout tartare and ribeye.

Pierneef à La Motte Named after the late South African artist Jacob Hendrik Pierneef and influenced by his love of the country’s diverse landscape, the menu boasts recipes that were once manuscripts of the Old Cape and have evolved over the last three centuries.

Modern heritage cuisine is what it is, and with Faber’s former chef Eric Bulpitt on board recently, all the better. Head over at lunch for the walnut and pear black pudding, roast quail and spiced pear tarte tatin. Do check out the Farm Shop as well for a mean Shiraz loaf of bread.

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latest venture that opened at Le Quartier Français. His idea is to introduce a fun and unpretentious dining experience backed by a motley crew of flavours. French bistro-style influences and his love of Asian flavours are evident, too, in his braised lamb and roti, goat cheese onion tart and kimchi pork belly.

Quick Eats Franschhoek Village Market is a thriving weekly fest of food, craft and apparel. It is one of the best markets in the Cape region and expands with even more traders every July during Bastille Festival. Watch out for Good Food & Co Deli, where it’s all free-range meats, handmade cheeses and freshly baked pies. Next, head down to Franschhoek’s

With Protégé, Scot Kirton hopes to up the hotel food game.

Facing page: enjoy a clear view of La Motte wine estate as you dine at Pierneef à La Motte.

Foliage Chris Erasmus, who cut his teeth at Pierneef à La Motte and Noma in Copenhagen, opened Foliage in 2014 to pursue his interest in foraged ingredients and old-school techniques like pickling and fermenting. His terroir-driven menu is peppered with edible plants, mushrooms and free-range game. Standouts include the barbecue Afrikaner beef hump as well as pork belly and pickled mango.

Protégé A minute’s walk from Foliage is somewhere a little more casual. Founded by Scot Kirton, the culinary king behind the likes of Foxcroft and the nearby La Colombe Petit, Protégé is his

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Heritage Square for ice cream. De Villiers Café churns the dreamiest flavours with only natural and fresh ingredients.

Drink Up &Beyond offers extraordinary experiences across Asia, Africa and South America, and one to take note of is its winelands helicopter tour. The tour includes a private tasting of Bouchard Finlayson’s award-winning wines and a chocolate-wine pairing at Waterford Estate.

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Tbilisi, Georgia

Georgia may have had a difficult past, but whatever deprivations it suffered, food is hardly one of them.

Said to be the world’s first fusion cuisine, its food is as diverse as the land itself, benefiting from the influences of Europe, the Middle East and Western Asia along the Silk Road trade routes. You’ll experience it best in Tbilisi, where post-Soviet chefs are bringing a humble magic to the city.

Robb Report

Tuck In Barbarestan This family-owned restaurant was inspired by Barbare Jorjadze, a 19th-century chef who celebrated the Silk Road influence of Georgia’s cuisine. Enjoy favourites like pumpkin patties on a Saturday night when retro Georgian music comes to life.

Funicular Relish modern classic Georgian dishes such as freshly baked Megrelian khachapuri

– a cheesy bread akin to pizza. Take the train up here just in time for sunset, when the panoramic view of Tbilisi will have you weak at the knees.

Lolita Located where some of Georgia’s most prominent artists used to reside, Lolita stands out as the archetype of modern Georgia. It is bright, lofty and stylish, and it straddles American and traditional Georgian styles.

Come during brunch and tuck into homemade sausages or a mean khachapuri, then return at night, when it transforms into a nightclub.

Kharcho The Art House, an extension of the Georgian Museum of Fine Arts, hosts over 3,500 contemporary pieces, travelling exhibitions and this cosy bistro.

People come here for the kharcho, a meat stew that

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Photo: Shutterstock

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originated in Samegrelo, west Georgia, and that is best with ghomi, a sloppy cornmeal dish topped with cheese. Other classics are available too, such as soupy meat dumplings called khinkali.

Quick Eats Georgia is popular for its puri (bread), traditionally baked in a deep circular terracotta oven. Head to Tbilisi’s oldest bakery under Sioni Church and watch master baker Sasha Jabidze who’s been making bread for over 60 years.

Also visit The Dezerter Bazaar, 2,000 sq m of flavour, aroma and chaos. It has everything a Georgian needs for the kitchen, from juicy pomegranates and churchkhela — sun-dried sausageshaped candy made with grape must, nuts and flour — to cheese and pitchers of wine.

Keep your eyes peeled for dambal’khacho, a hard and zesty blue cheese made from quark. If all fails, Shop Bagrati has every Georgian cheese imaginable.

Drink Up Check out g.Vino Wine Bar for Georgia’s best wines. Order Pheasant’s Tears, a label by John Wurdeman which maintains Georgia’s 8,000-yearold winemaking tradition of earthen amphorae placed in the ground to let the fluids ferment. The cool temperature contributes to the wine’s complexity. For cocktails, head to 41 Gradus, a stylish speakeasy in the centre of the old town.

The menu changes every two weeks, but its standard remains ever so high.

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Above: The Dezerter Bazaar is the biggest market in Tbilisi.

Left and far left: Barbarestan is housed in an old butcher shop complete with meat hooks and singing canaries.

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Mumbai, India

Mumbai is more than just traditional Indian cuisine.

It is a diverse metropolis teeming with top chefs, winning restaurants and world-class street food.

Tuck In Bastian Raised in the US but based in Mumbai, chef Kelvin Cheung made his name at the now-defunct Ellipsis before carrying on with Bastian, where modern Indian seafood is served with a ChineseAmerican and French twist. Dig into charred paneer, his version of Panda Express orange chicken and tourtiere. Sunday brunches are a madhouse, a time when you may spot a Bollywood celebrity or two.

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The Table Since its opening in 2011, The Table by restaurateurs Jay Yousuf and Gauri Devidayal has garnered a name as the city’s premier fine dining institution. San Franciscan chef Alex Sanchez brings the laid-back attitude of California and rigour of New York to fresh Indian produce, offering dishes like rock crab risotto and sweet potato agnolotti.

The Bombay Canteen Directed by celebrated chef Floyd Cardoz, you’ll find regional Indian dishes served with a twist. Order the eggs kejriwal toast (a cheesy toast on a bed of green chilli chutney) and red snapper ceviche, made with kokum sol kadhi and black rice murmura.

Shree Thaker Bhojanalay The Gujarati thali, a glorious platter of dishes characterised by variety and imposing quantity, is best here. Established in

Photo: Prabhhal Dayal

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variety of kebab composed of a flat minced meat patty and mashed chickpeas. The Bombay Food Truck is great for its masala omelet and vada pav. Wash it down with chai; tea stalls can be found on almost every street.

Drink Up

1945, Mumbai’s hidden gem remains elusive, but the friendly waiters and assortment of hot chutney, sweet dal and pickles make it worth the hike.

Quick Eats Kulfi, a traditional frozen dessert, is best savoured at New Kulfi Centre, where the selection is great and flavour, spot on. Another good one is the falooda (at Baba Falooda), a thick vermicelli drink of milk, pistachios, rose syrup and ice cream. Not a fan of sweets? Opt for something savoury like the shaami kebab at Noor Mohammadi Hotel. It’s a local

It’s all about seasonal produce and flavourful cooking at The Bombay Canteen.

Facing page: Bastian offers six variations of crab dishes.

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Mumbai’s nightlife scene is a diverse one, packed with breweries, tap rooms and cocktail lounges.

For a fancy cocktail, head to Miss T – the ice is made with reverse osmosis water – a Proof & Company lounge located behind The Taj Palace in Colaba. For a more special experience, drop by Madeira and Mime, where you must mime your order to the deaf and mute staff.

But if you’re down for a raucous night of live music and cheap beer, Toto’s Garage should do just right.

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Robb Report

Buenos Aires, Argentina

The Porteños, the people of Buenos Aires, have long been known for their insatiable appetite for steak.

But that’s quickly changing. You’ll now find young chefs ditching fancy tasting menus in favour of casual small plates.

Tuck In Anafe Having organised pop-ups across the city, chefs Mica Najmanovich and Nico Arcucci have settled on the eighth floor of a high-rise, complete with an outdoor terrace overlooking Dorrego Flea Market.

Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of their small plates — Eastern European, Italian and Middle Eastern reinterpretions — which burst with texture, freshness and flavour. Look forward to a menu that’s mostly meat-free and a brunch buffet on Sundays.

Proper The city’s love for meat and extra late dinners (9.30pm and even later on weekends) is indisputable.

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Below from left: enjoy small plates in a casual setting at Anafe; the Feria de Mataderos, or Mataderos fair, brings the Argentine countryside to the city.

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Photos: Damian Liviciche, Shutterstock

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But when the locals want an early start and something green, they hit Proper, a garage-turned-restaurant wildly popular for its vegetable-forward dishes.

Run by Leo Lanussol and Augusto Mayer, the food is baked in a wood-fired oven and best eaten shared.

Arrive by 9pm and tuck into crusty sourdough, blistered Padrón peppers and juicy pork barbecue.

Don Julio This butcher-run parrilla is a Palermo classic and there’s plenty to like. Think free empanadas and sparkling wine while you wait to be seated, a stellar wine list, grilled provolone and prime cuts of grassfed Aberdeen Angus and Hereford cattle, aged for at least 21 days in a specialised meat locker before being seared to perfection. i Latina This classy haunt, set in a mansion in Villa Crespo, belongs to Bogotá native Santiago Macías and his two siblings. Channelling his inner Colombian and Caribbean roots, what you’ll experience is a seven-course tasting menu that will take you from Mexico to Patagonia. Look forward to hits like beef cheek with coffee and sugar cane reduction, and aji panca-covered sweetbread, paired with select wines from across Argentina. And to complete the night, a short walk will get you to Kinky, an excellent cocktail bar complete with great music.

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Dinners at i Latina include wine pairings featuring selections from the different regions of Argentina.

Quick Eats

Drink Up

Hit Chori for its modern take on the choripan, a classic Argentine sausage sandwich cooked on an open-flame parrilla. And don’t leave the city without a milanesa (Don Ignacio), a thinly breaded chicken (or veal) fried and smothered in tomato sauce and cheese. For the complete Buenos Aires experience, visit Feria de Mataderos, an authentic gaucho market with horseback riding, folklore dancing, pato (Argentina’s national sport) and some of the best empanadas around.

To drink at Floreria Atlantico, one will have to find a flower shop on Arroyo 872 and descend a flight of stairs. This speakeasy, one of the world’s best bars, has a constant crowd, so be prepared to wedge into the bar to get your drink. Another cool spot is Victoria Brown Bar. Cafe by day and bar by 8pm, it’s a great place to make the night of it.

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Robb Report

Out Of

A US$5,000 cheesecake and a sundae costing more than US$20,000?

Dionysus would approve.

By ALLISA NORAINI

U S$100

US$25,000

US$5,000

The world’s most expensive sundae is the brainchild of Stephen Bruce, owner of Serendipity 3 in New York. The Frrrozen Haute Chocolate is a blend of 28 cocoas, 14 of which are the world’s most costliest.

What else are you paying for? Five grams of edible 23-carat gold, a goblet lined with edible gold and a base finished with an 18-carat gold bracelet with one carat of diamonds. Oh, and you’ll get to keep the spoon too, which is made out of gold with white and chocolate-coloured diamonds.

Let them eat cake Good as gold Rafele Ristorante in Manhattan is responsible for the mother of all cheesecakes (and naturally, the most expensive of them all) – a decadent, shiny pile of organised mess made out of ricotta cheese sourced from water buffalos in south Italy, white truffle, a generous dose of 200-year-old Hennessy Paradis cognac, Madagascan vanilla and 24-carat gold leaf. The dessert is finished with a lip-smacking glaze of a special hazelnut chocolate spread.

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Manila Social Club in Miami conceived a Golden Cristal Ube doughnut, made from sweet purple yam sourced from the Philippines. It’s infused with Cristal champagne and airbrushed with a lustrous coat of 24-carat gold paint. But more is indeed more in this case; each doughnut is gloriously dusted with gold leaf before it goes on sale.

Illustrations: Shutterstock

Ice ka-ching

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This World US$56 for a box of five chips

US$2,000

No small potatoes

Try not to mistake these chips for Pringles. St Eriks brewery in Sweden came up with the world’s most decadent version in 2016 made out of rare and prized Nordic ingredients. Think matsutake mushrooms, truffled seaweed, India Pale Ale wort, crown dill, Leksand onion (which only grows in the Swedish town of Leksand) and Ammärnas-region almond potatoes, which are harvested in limited numbers.

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Slice of heaven

Sorry pizza purists, the world’s most extravagant pizza unfortunately isn’t an over-the-top rendition of your classic pepperoni. New York City’s Industry Kitchen uses 24-carat gold flakes in place of pizza sauce, and the entire pie is topped with white Stilton cheese imported from England, truffles, French foie gras and Ossetra caviar retrieved from the Caspian Sea that costs approximately US$12,000 per kilogram.

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Robb Report

Mr Worldwide How does a country earn its stripes to become a destination for foodies? For Alan Yau – most known for bringing Asian food to the UK – it’s all about creating a demand for your country’s cuisine and doing so strategically.

A

By CHARMAINE TAI

lan Yau can’t sit still. Throughout our 90-minute chat, he’s leaning backwards, sitting up, shuffling his feet and gesticulating as he speaks. He wants to be known as an entrepreneur because that way, people will remember him for his “cool, daring concepts”. But it’s difficult to tear Yau’s name away from his restaurants.

After all, he’s the man who popularised Asian food in the UK and branched out subsequently to China, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, the US and UAE. Today, we are at Madame Fan, his first Southeast Asian venture. The Hong Kong-born, UK-bred

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entrepreneur talks about the difficulties of running a restaurant and the power of food.

You have numerous successful businesses all around the world. What took you so long to open a restaurant in Southeast Asia? In terms of leasing and commercial structure, the average length of a lease in Asia is three years. Three years is an extremely difficult time to build and grow a brand. You need a much longer time – think of it as a gestation period to allow your restaurant to grow. By the end of the first year, you should have already broken even. In the second year, you need to make a profit and also think about your next location. Why? Because at the end of three years, if you’re successful, the landlords will double or triple your rent. And if you’re not successful, the landlords wouldn’t want you anyway because

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Photos: Wesley Loh, Owen Raggett, Hongde Photography

they want strong businesses to make their location even more attractive to drive the crowd.

Would it have been easier to set up notable restaurants in Asia as opposed to starting from scratch? Asia has always been a two-sided coin. In the days when I had Hakkasan, each unit had to achieve a US$20 million turnover. There aren’t many cities that can achieve that critical mass. You can probably do it in Dubai, London, New York, Las Vegas and possibly Miami.

But I’m not sure you can achieve that revenue in Asia.

Also, Hakkasan was born from a reaction to the status quo. Beyond the UK shores, Chinese food back then was already extremely popular as a cuisine.

At the same time, it was only available at the midmarket level. Everyone felt that Chinese food was at a saturation point and wondered if there was a glass ceiling. I felt that Chinese food could get to the level of Nobu.

You’ve shifted your focus slightly from the F&B industry to the tech industry with your app, Soft Chow. What’s so challenging about the food industry? Running a restaurant business is just like having a production line. Everything is very specific. And anything run by humans is more intense. If you have a list of restaurants in a city you frequent, in one year’s time, at least 50 per cent of the list wouldn’t be as good as you expect. And there are so many factors why. If the quality of produce changes or someone else does the cooking, the final taste of the dish will be affected.

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Madame Fan, Alan Yau’s Southeast Asian brainchild, serves refined Chinese fare in an exquisite environment.

Madame Fan has been open for over a year now. Is the restaurant how you envision it to be? I actually want Madame Fan to be much more daring, extroverted and wild. I want what people in Istanbul would call a ‘soft disco’, where there’s no dance floor, but the dynamic of the place is sexy and upbeat. You’ve yet to see such a concept in Singapore, especially in a Chinese restaurant. To be honest, I’m not sure if people here are ready for it.

How has the dining scene changed in the past few decades? People today have the means to travel regularly and expand their food ‘dictionary’ as they taste new flavours and dishes in different countries.

They go through what I call ‘palate enhancement’.

Seventy per cent of the restaurants in the world don’t serve good food. It’s okay because they serve the masses. But as people travel more in search of quality food, these restaurants have to change their strategy.

They need to start serving ‘proper’ food, otherwise they’ll be out of business.

The media has also successfully promoted the food sector and profession as something that’s sexy. Social media also perpetuates the process and proliferates that experience.

What would you say are the most popular cuisines in the world? It depends on the definition but I would say Japanese, Chinese, Italian, French and Spanish.

Italian cuisine is still number one in terms of popularity. The level of penetration around the world is incredible. You can buy pasta in every supermarket, regardless of country.

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Robb Report

Jumping on the Beanwagon Once a polarising trend, veganism is finding its space around the world as consumer appetites grow for eco-friendly alternatives that don’t compromise on taste.

By ANGELA LOW

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anana peels substit uti ng pulled pork.

Tofu made to mimic meat.

The thought of vegan food used to prompt puckered faces until Patrick Brown’s Redwood Citybased start-up Impossible Foods hit the ground running.

Officially halal- and koshercertified, this culinary tour de force landed on Singapore’s shores in March, leaving even the staunchest of sceptics openmouthed. This is no doubt a miracle, made attainable through years of R&D, but how did we go from cavemen hunting to sustainable dining?

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products (milk, eggs, honey, mayonnaise, etc) as well.

While many are opting to go vegan for health reasons, veganism these days is tied to the larger animal rights movement, with strict devotees eschewing all forms of animal exploitation and cruelty. This means no leather shoes, silk pyjamas, pearl necklaces, fur rugs, ivory-keyed pianos or animal-tested make-up.

Before the Industrial Revolution, the agricultural process was fairly straightforward. Only when technology ramped up food production did extreme cruelty rear its ugly head.

To squeeze the most profit out of selling food, agricultural factories decided to cut costs in production. So that plate of chicken rice you ordered for lunch?

Chances are, those succulent slices of cooked flesh came from a desolate, debeaked fowl that spent its life cooped up in an overcrowded prison.

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Additionally, we live in an era where extreme global poverty is declining.

Today, the majority of diners have the freedom and privilege to choose their meals, and thanks to the widespread accessibility of information, more of us are being educated on the realities of unethical eating, creating a new generation of conscious consumers.

“The idea of living consciously, where the physical state is just as important as the mental state, is of great priority in today’s society... and diet plays a big part in this. You are what you eat,” Liling Ong, the director of Cicheti, explains.

Eco-friendly effects

Not to mention, the obvious toll our slash-and-burn practices have taken on the health of the planet is hard to shrug off. Based on a 2018 study by researchers from the University of Oxford, a vegan diet trumps driving an electric car in lowering your carbon footprint.

When we’re depleting our natural resources at such breakneck speeds and accelerating the approach of the apocalypse, legions of humanitarian activists are bound to rise up and fight back. It’s no surprise sustainability is the buzzword of the moment.

An evolving idea

Greek mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras broached the idea of vegetarianism in 500 BCE. But it wasn’t until 1944 that the term, vegan, was introduced by an English carpenter named Donald Watson to describe people who abstained from animal by-

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“People are finding out that vegan food is not just a boring salad or simply eating vegetables,” says chef Isaac Tan of Bedrock Bar & Grill. “With social media influencers, Instagram has also helped to popularise this vegan culture and transform it from a diet to a lifestyle choice.” From Ariana Grande to Bill Gates, more celebrities are pushing this fringe campaign into the mainstream, contributing to the 76 million and counting Instagram posts with #vegan.

Between environmental and ethical convictions, and the allure of health and wellness, the number of vegans has skyrocketed globally. Supermarket chain Waitrose reported in 2018 that a third of Britons have stopped or reduced their meat intake, and as of 2017, six per cent of Americans identify as vegans (up from one per cent in 2014), says Global Data. Additionally, the number of vegan product launches quadrupled in Southeast Asia between 2012 and 2016, according to a briefing by FAIRR (Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return).

“Vegan food doesn’t need to be niche if it’s delicious.”

Robb Report

In some ways, it could be said that Singapore has played a large part in paving the way for veganism’s rise in Asia’s dining scene. How so? The year 2010 saw the entrance of Brownice, the island’s first vegan ice cream parlour, followed by VeganBurg, the world’s first vegan fast food restaurant, which has since set up a branch in San Francisco.

This year, Kebun entered the arena as the first vegan tea and coffee latte bar, while Marks & Spencer introduced an all-vegan range for its local consumers.

Even meat-loving outlets such as Deelish Brand’s Fatburger are receiving more queries for vegan alternatives.

Shannon Binnie, The Botanic’s vegan group executive chef, observes: “I’ve noticed that diners who have more conventional mindsets of meat-focused dishes are also surprised at how hearty, fulfilling and delicious plant-based dishes can be, without compromising on flavour.”

In Singapore, a rising number of vegan restaurants have popped up as well, but the market still seems to be in its infancy.

Mohamed Ibrahim, the CEO of Deelish Brands, agrees. “The vegan market is a very interesting space.

I believe it’s early days for this market and that there is a huge, unmet demand.”

True to form, only 40 restaurants in Singapore are fully vegan, says The Sustainability Project; others are either vegetarian or offer a mix of vegan, vegetarian and meat offerings.

Yet, the last five years have seen the largest growth in the local scene, with PETA naming Singapore the second most vegan-friendly city in Asia in 2016.

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Illustrations: Shutterstock

Finding its legs on the red dot

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Vegan Fine Dining Around the World Start your vegan experience at these international tables.

Crossroads Kitchen, California Often frequented by celebrities, Crossroads Kitchen is a PETA-approved vegan gem run by Tal Ronnen – a New York Times bestselling author and one of America’s top vegan chefs. A must-try is Artichoke Oysters, which is a plant-based display of beauty. www.crossroadskitchen.com

Gaa, Bangkok The brainchild of chef Garima Arora, the first Indian woman to earn a Michelin star, this vegan-friendly establishment serves artful, avant-garde Indian creations. The restaurant was also the highest new entry, at number 16, on the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2019 list. Highlights include Khakra with Starfruit and Potato, Banana Flower Doughnuts, and Unripe Jackfruit and Pickles. www.gaabkk.com

Can it succeed?

Nonetheless, the vegan trend might still face some resistance in a country whose cuisine “breaks all the rules in the vegan diet rule book”, says Ong, who struggles to be a full-time vegan here. “Singapore is also not an agriculturally diverse country. Most of our vegetable products are imported and this leads to the issue of accessibility at high costs.”

Within the local fine dining sphere, the uptake has been slow. Though more chefs are offering farm-to-table menus and vegetarian options, there’s yet to be a full vegan menu.

Binnie reasons that the fine dining audience is “more niche and, hence, limited”, but Mohamed counters: “Vegan food doesn’t need to be niche if it’s delicious. I’m not a vegan, but if there’s an amazing vegan food option in town, I’d be there.”

In the meantime, Ong believes there’s plenty of space for local restaurants to produce more innovative recipes, while remaining realistic about the ‘glass ceiling’ for the number of fully vegan restaurants Singapore is able to manage.

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Gentle Gourmet, Paris Not only are Gentle Gourmet’s offerings all plant-based, this upscale French establishment also innovates continually with fresh seasonal menus of culinary marvels.

Founded in 2009, patrons flock to get a taste of highlights such as the Eggplant Teriyaki stuffed with Piquillos Pepper and Homemade Vegan Feta. www.gentlegourmet.fr/en

Joie, Singapore Pronounced ‘joy’, this French-Japanese fine dining contender by Huang Yen Kun sits on the roof of Orchard Central, offering picturesque views that go swimmingly with its stunning plats du jour. While its menu is vegetarian, diners can also request for vegan options. www.joierestaurant.com.sg

Sally Voltaire & Systrar, Stockholm Within a department store lies this singular modern vegetarian restaurant that considers itself a ‘food spa’.

Simple yet lip-smacking fare such as Avocado Quinoa Salad dominates the menu, which includes vegan alternatives. www.sallyochsystrar.se

Super Natural Kitchen, Dubai The first restaurant in the UAE to offer a completely vegan menu that’s also raw and free of gluten, sugar and preservatives, Super Natural Kitchen is an east-meets-west haven for conscious diners with a picky palate. Its Raw Salted Caramel Cake and Portobello Burger are a feast for both the eyes and the stomach. www.snkitchen.com

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Robb Report

Roar of the Lion What would it take for Singapore to cement its status as a top dining destination?

By JOYCE HUANG

Marina Bay Sands is home to over 45 restaurants offering the best of local and international cuisines.

Facing page: Malcolm Lee’s Candlenut elevates the Peranakan dining experience in a refined space that highlights the cuisine’s heritage.

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hen it comes to naming top dining destinations around the world, most will naturally mention France, New York, Italy and Japan. What all these destinations have in common are centuries-old culinary heritage, abundance of local seasonal produce, and talented food purveyors and chefs.

This June, Singapore will play host to a pantheon of culinary greats as The World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards takes place at Marina Bay Sands. It’s the first time the annual gala awards ceremony is held in Asia. The line-up for the coming years is also set, with Singapore hosting Asia’s 50 Best Bars awards

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in 2019 and 2020, #50BestTalks (a thought leadership event) in 2020 and The World’s 50 Best Bars awards in 2021.

As the finest from the culinary world descends on this humble city state, is it safe to say that Singapore has cemented its status as a top dining destination, on par with the aforementioned countries and cities?

Growing Appetites, Growing Appreciation

On the decision to hold the awards in Singapore, William Drew, group editor of 50 Best explains: “After hosting the awards in the UK, North America, then Australia, then back in Europe, it was natural to look at moving the show to Asia.

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Singapore was always a premier prospect. The Lion City is accessible internationally, has great facilities and — most crucially — has a vibrant dining scene and super-strong food culture.”

Indeed, with its melting pot of cultures and consequently, a unique local heritage and cuisine, Singapore has long been a foodie destination for those in the know. Its central location within Southeast Asia positions it as a convergence of regional cuisine and a convenient pit stop for international travellers to sample its offerings.

Arguably though, Singapore’s recent rise as a top fine dining destination among global gourmands can be attributed to the establishment of Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa close to a decade ago. This introduced an influx of acclaimed chef restaurants to the local dining scene. Alongside, the growing prominence of home-grown fine dining restaurants like Iggy’s and Les Amis further helped put Singapore on the global culinary map’s radar.

As the culinary world’s interest in Singapore as a top dining destination builds, what will it take for the young nation and the development of its culinary story to bring it on par with gastronomical giants like Spain or Japan?

Robb Report

What will it take for Singapore and the development of its culinary story to bring it on par with gastronomical giants like Spain or Japan?

Refining And Redefining Singaporean Cuisine

For Janice Wong, pastry chef-owner of 2am:dessertbar, what positions Singapore as a global dining destination is its colourful food culture. And this ranges from hawker stalls to Michelin-starred restaurants.

While it is hard to give Singapore cuisine a proper definition, the markers of Singapore food remain local dishes like chicken rice, laksa, chilli crab, wanton mee and kaya toast — all dishes with humble hawker or street food origins. It begs the question, would it need to refine its cuisine to play with the big boys, so to speak?

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Iggy’s is one Singapore’s pioneering fine dining establishments, and it continues to innovate on its cuisine with dishes like Vegetable Garden (above) and the coconut dessert (right).

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Photo: Marc Tan XXXXXX

Chef-owner of Corner House and the sole Singaporean chef ranked on The Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list, Jason Tan feels so.

“Most people refer to hawker food when they talk about Singaporean cuisine. (We need) to have more high-end restaurants serving our hawker food. I believe our unique Singaporean flavour is comparable to other cuisines in the world,” he says.

In this respect, Singapore already boasts passionate local chefs offering refined takes on local cuisine. At one Michelin-starred Candlenut, Malcolm Lee serves modern and elevated Peranakan dishes, highlighting unique herbs, spices and ingredients found in the region.

Describing his food as “a new expression of Singapore cuisine”, chef Han Li Guang of Labyrinth challenges preconceived notions of what local food is by giving familiar flavours contemporary spins. Also seeking to redefine Singaporean cuisine, chef Petrina Loh of Morsels is trying to scrub off all negative connotations of what fusion food is by incorporating global influences from her travels and cooking stints overseas, as well as local culinary sensibilities into her food.

For veteran chefs Eric Neo, president of the Singapore Chefs’ Association and executive chef at InterContinental Hotel Singapore, and Damian D’Silva, executive chef of Folklore, Singapore’s dining scene is already comparable to that of other dining destinations in the world. Many chefs, restaurateurs and food critics agree though that what the country’s dining scene can improve upon on is championing our local culinary heroes.

Local Talent

And there is no lack of local culinary talent to fete; just look to the team behind

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Resident Masters Singapore’s diversity means that there is not one singular dish that best represents our heritage. We ask homegrown, acclaimed chefs what they believe is the dish synonymous to Singapore.

“I can’t pinpoint a local dish that best represents Singapore. I need more than one. We have chilli crab, char kway teow, oyster omelette, chicken rice, nasi lemak and laksa. They’re also all my favourites.”

Eric Neo, president of Singapore Chefs’ Association and executive chef at InterContinental Hotel Singapore

“Laksa. It has a mix of components that best represents the multicultural city that we are.”

Damian D’Silva, executive chef of Folklore

“The dish that best represents Singapore is chilli crab, which is tangy, spicy and sweet. It’s wellloved by locals and tourists and continues to be a staple in Singapore’s food culture.”

Janice Wong, chefowner of 2am:dessertbar, 2am:lab and Janice Wong Singapore

“Chicken rice best represents Singapore, but the first dessert that I put on the menu of Corner House had kaya as its star ingredient. Here, a kaya parfait is sandwiched between two pieces of sable. It’s served with pineapple sorbet on the side.”

Jason Tan, chef-owner of Corner House

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Magic Square. An initiative by local restaurateur Ken Loon, Magic Square is a platform for young local chefs to explore, experiment and execute their ideas. Over the past year, three chefs aged 30 and under – Desmond Shen, Marcus Leow and Abel Su – have captivated diners with their inspired and delectable dishes. The next edition of Magic Square (the date of commencement has yet to be confirmed at press time) will see another three new chefs given the same platform to execute and hone their culinary philosophies.

And if Singapore wants to truly

DESTINATION GASTRONOMY Behold Group, whose portfolio of restaurants includes Odette (which clinched top spot at Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2019), Esora, Le Bon Funk and The Warehouse Hotel.

“Where Singapore lacks in strong local produce, we make up for it with incredible people. We’re seeing a rise of local culinary talents in service and back-of-house who have even gone on to forge meaningful careers abroad. Beyond the restaurant team, we have an amazing pool of leaders with a distinct perspective in architecture, interior design, music etc who enable us to really bring a concept to life

Robb Report

The ‘ah-ma-kase’ menu at Candlenut gives a refreshing twist to StraitsChinese cuisine.

“Where Singapore lacks in strong local produce, we make up for it with incredible people.” become a top dining destination, it needs to focus on developing talent not just within the kitchens of fine dining restaurants.

“The (Singapore) F&B landscape has truly evolved to rival that of world-class cities.

In the past five years, we’ve seen an influx of concepts telling a strong Singaporean story, either through their spaces, the talents who anchor their programming or their sourcing strategies,” shares Wee Teng Wen, managing partner of The Lo &

holistically. I think we are at the forefront of creating world-class experiences, dining being one of them,” Wee adds.

That said, hawker food and culture remain deeply ingrained in the culinary fabric and it would be remiss to exclude that in the Singapore culinary story. Take a look at the number of ‘hawkerpreneurs’ in Singapore, a younger generation keen to pursue a career in this field by starting their own stalls or taking over the reins within their family businesses.

Some examples include Gwern Khoo of A Noodle

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Get to the Heart Three of Singapore’s most celebrated restaurateurs suggest ingenious ways that local chefs can adopt to champion their homespun cuisine.

Farm to table “It would be great to see more local chefs at the frontier of Singaporean cuisine and shaping the conversation. We also need to continue to champion the local farmers and producers, and celebrate the wonderful local ingredients on offer.”

Janice Wong

Originality “Singapore can improve its dining scene by being original. We should be creating dishes that are truly our own and using fine ingredients but giving it our own flavours.”

Petrina Loh, chefowner of Morsels

Story, Li Ruifang of 545 Whampoa Prawn Noodles and Douglas Ng of The Fishball Story.

And it is exactly the ability of the country to offer top-notch fine dining experiences alongside tasty hawker fare that gives Singapore its draw as a dining destination. Perhaps there’s no need for it to try and refine its cuisine or compare itself to other global gastronomic giants. In time to come, Singapore may be a country that’s at the top of people’s list for food, but until then, perhaps it should let its food do the talking.

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Elevated local cuisine “I think we need a few Singaporean cuisinedriven restaurants.

Most people refer to hawker food when they talk about our cuisine.

We need a high-end restaurant serving dishes found in hawker centres. The unique flavours we have are comparable to other cuisines in the world.”

Jason Tan

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Robb Report

Dubai Calling In 2018, Dubai saw the opening of 1,109 restaurants. But is this flourishing foodie hub really worthy of all the hype?

By HAZEL VINCENT DE PAUL

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hef Gary Rhodes’ love affair with Dubai began in 2007 when he was asked to helm the-then Rhodes Mezzanine at Grosvenor House, which is now the stunning Rhodes W1. I caught up with the celebrity chef when he was in Singapore for an exclusive dinner at the Singapore Polo Club, where he spilled the beans about Dubai’s status in an already bustling global gastronomic scene.

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will determine Dubai’s continued success.

My favourite restaurants in Dubai are not my own. Zuma, which serves contemporary Japanese cuisine, is probably my favourite.

I also love Buddha-Bar for its fantastic music and great atmosphere, and Indya

by Vineet at Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort & Spa for its delicious small plates.

Dubai may have plenty of foreign chefs, but there’s room for local cuisine to shine. I have found delicious eateries in the older, less-explored pockets and walkways, and I’ve often wished I could take its food to another level. There are some places in Dubai doing that and drawing an

“Middle Eastern food has the potential to earn the same reverence given to French and Japanese cuisine.”

Photos: Lottie Davies, Neil Scott Corder

This and facing pages: Gary Rhodes brings his passion for British cuisine to Dubai via his Rhodes W1 restaurant at Grosvenor House Hotel.

When I first moved to Dubai in 2007, everything was a little more prim and proper with old-school, five-star treatment, and you could count exactly how many restaurants there were here. These days, the city has become an international hotspot thanks to its amazing job opportunities, which has changed the style of food and flavours that are on offer.

Dubai has caught up with other global culinary capitals with the advent of approximately 11,813 restaurants over the last two decades. Dubai still has some way to go before it can catch up to gastro hubs like New York, France or London, but its growth to date should be recognised.

Interest in Dubai’s dining scene is on the uptake but the cuisine is still misunderstood. People think that you’ll find only local Middle Eastern dishes here. But in truth, Dubai has a massive international scene that’s still growing.

There’s also been an influx of respected

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chefs like Nathan Outlaw, Pierre Gagnaire and Thomas Keller, so it shows there’s a market for that style of food, and this has created a whole new range of restaurants here.

The difference between Dubai and other food destinations is its audience. In places like London or New York, there is a stable audience that comes back repeatedly.

The audience is more fleeting in Dubai; some have lived here for 20 years, some are here for a few weeks or months. Once we have a stable audience, then you’ll be able to better read what it wants, and that

audience, so I don’t think local cuisine is being ignored.

Dubai, and Middle Eastern food as a whole, has the potential to earn the same reverence given to French and Japanese cuisine. Middle Eastern food varies by country; for example, hummus is done differently in Lebanon than it is in the UAE. So you’ll first need to educate people about the food. I’m already working with a few people for a new television series that does just this. I think that could be a small step in culinary education for many, as it will be for me. garyrhodes.co.uk

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Robb Report

Liquid Gold Customised wine labels have existed for a while, but what about the liquid itself? Lebua Hotels & Resorts’ Bangkok outpost kickstarts the trend with the creation of a special, bespoke Perrier-Jouët bubbly.

By HAZEL VINCENT DE PAUL

Located on the 64th floor, Flute may well be the world’s highest open-air champagne bar.

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L

ebua Hotels & Resorts CEO Deepak Ohri believes that the perfect holiday is one that offers guests exclusive experiences they can’t find anywhere else in the world. And exclusivity – coupled with the legendary Thai hospitality – is exactly what’s on offer at Lebua at State Tower in Bangkok. The hotel offers guests plenty of firsts, including the oneof-a-kind Flute bar, which was established in partnership with Perrier-Jouët.

Perrier-Jouët’s chef de cave Hervé Deschamps clinking glasses with guests at the launch of By & For Lebua Vintage 2011.

Creating a limited amount of bubbly isn’t something champagne houses are set up to do.

But now Lebua has taken its partnership with Perrier-Jouët a step further with the launch of Perrier-Jouët By & For Lebua Vintage 2011, a bespoke bubbly made for the hotel.

It is a partnership that made sense given Ohri’s inclination for all things exclusive.

However, credit for the idea, says Ohri, must be given to chef Ryuki Kawasaki of Mezzaluna who had indicated that guests wanted something lighter and more refreshing to pair with the fine European cuisine served daily there. This prompted Ohri to get in touch with Quentin Job, managing director of Pernod Ricard Thailand – Perrier-Jouët’s parent company – to get the ball rolling.

That was two years ago, says Job, and he didn’t think he’d be able to convince the maison to create something truly bespoke. But succeed he did, and in June 2018, Ohri and Job flew to Champagne to meet Perrier-Jouët’s chef de cave Hervé Deschamps, who asked Ohri a bunch of personal questions. “It was very important for me to understand

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At press time, 23 bottles of the bespoke champagne have been sold.

his personality so I could recognise what is the best champagne for him,” Deschamps says.

Bangkok’s blistering weather played a large role in determining its final flavour, says Job. “Champagne that’s drunk in cold climates might be different from something you would consume in hot weather, so we wanted to think very carefully about how to make that work,” he explains.

The final result had its sugar levels amended to suit the Thai capital’s

climate. Only 120 bottles were created for Lebua and Deschamps needed eight months to make the champagne.

But why hasn’t bespoke champagne become a bigger trend with brands across the globe, I ask? The answer is simple: it is one thing to stick a brand name on an existing bottle of champagne, but this isn’t one of those occasions, explains Job. “It isn’t just something you can do with a simple change,” he stresses. Deschamps chimes in: “It’s forbidden by law to add new aromas, new ingredients and it’s a very specific process in Champagne. You can only change the last touches of the wine.”

Furthermore, Job emphasises, creating a limited amount of bubbly isn’t something most champagne houses are set up to do, which is what makes this collaboration so special. “There’s no other place, bar or champagne capital in the world that has done this with Pernod Ricard to date,” he says. www.lebua.com

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Joie de Vivre

It’s the little things that count, especially when you’re turning your dream house into a dream home.

By CHARMAINE TAI

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Robb Report

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house is a house is a house.

But what can one do to add a spark that’ll transform a house into a home you look forward to returning to every day? We’ve picked up a thing or two from our partners of the Concourse Skyline Penthouse by Robb Report project and pieced them together. Follow these five steps and you’ll be able to achieve the same results.

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The Chef mode in De Dietrich’s oven allows you to prepare your most frequently cooked meals automatically.

Facing page: the Robb Report penthouse occupies levels 39 to 41 of Concourse Skyline.

Robb Report’s Guide To Living The Good Life Step 1: It’s a kitchen, not a showroom Sure, a pretty kitchen with high-tech appliances sounds enticing, but those appliances need to be used on a regular basis so that they remain in their optimum state.

Assess how often your family will dine in and entertain guests. While it’s important to think about how you’d like to use the kitchen in the future, you should also be realistic.

Once you know your needs, it’ll be easier to focus on the right kitchen appliances.

For those with larger families, the DOP7785A, a large capacity oven (73 litres) by De Dietrich with six shelf levels for cooking, is one to consider. Dishes that require the same cooking temperature can be prepared at the same time without causing flavours or aromas to be transferred from one dish to another. Food can also be kept warm at

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35 degrees in the oven prior to a party. But the best feature is the pyrolytic cleaning function. The oven heats up to 500 degrees, burning off any stubborn grease, sugars or other liquids into a gaseous state.

Those who prefer steaming their food can opt for the two-tiered DKV7340X steaming oven that also saves you the hassle by allowing you to cook different dishes at the same time. Like the DOP7785A oven, the flavours and aromas of each dish wouldn’t be passed on from one to another.

Once you’ve nailed down the basic appliances, you can also think about speciality appliances like a warming drawer or a combi microwave, which are great add-ons, but only if you’ll be using them regularly.

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Robb Report

Step 2: Women and men belong in the kitchen

Add some Italian glamour to your kitchen with DeLonghi’s range of stylish appliances.

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The best place to hang out is where the food and drinks are, which makes the kitchen a perfectly logical contender.

For those not intending to use the kitchen regularly, you can consider styling it to be a second social area, sans perfectly fluffed throw cushions.

The kitchen is becoming the new living room, where conversations tend to happen naturally after meals.

Achieve this through the addition of a kitchen island, stools and even pretty (yet functional) centrepieces such as the Icona Vintage and Distinta Flair ranges

by DeLonghi.

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DeLonghi’s Prima Donna Elite Experience completes your home breakfast experience.

Step 3: Enjoy the sound of coffee beans being grounded It sounds like a no brainer that we’d do anything to ensure a pleasant morning that puts us in the right frame of mind to take on the day come what may. And for most of us, starting on the right note begins with a fresh brew that perks us up almost instantantly, with or without a thick, creamy foam.

And sometimes, pressing a single button on the machine and letting it hum while you get ready for the day just won’t do. While you always know what you’re getting with one- or two-button machines, on certain mornings, you may want something a little different. Something that only your favourite barista can brew, except that he or she isn’t available at the snap of your fingers.

DeLonghi’s Prima Donna Elite Experience promises to be the ultimate, one-stop machine,

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and the coffee it brews is as impressive as the machine looks. Start by grinding fresh beans – allowing the scent to waft through the room – then selecting your preferred type of coffee.

The machine also allows users to set up personal profiles on the touchscreen and save drink preferences, making sure that everyone in the family is served the cup they’re used to having. Drying off after a hot shower? Use your mobile phone’s app to select the beverage you want; it’ll be ready just as you step out.

The machine isn’t just for coffee addicts.

It can also make tea, hot chocolate, cold coffee (with accompanying cold milk foam) and even espresso-based cocktails.

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Step 4: It’s high time to unwind, baby Lighting, wall colours and scented candles will help relax you after a long day. And so will soothing music played from a set of quality speakers. A pair of Gold Phantom Premier speakers from Devialet will easily fill the room with sound via 4,500 watts of power, but for smaller rooms, the Classic Phantom would easily do the trick. If the study room does double duty as a relaxation suite, then the Reactor series, offering 600 and 900 watts of power, would suffice.

And while it’s pretty much to each his own when it comes to choosing the right music to help you unwind, Martin Ku, Asia Pacific sales director of Devialet, enjoys putting on

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some Afro-Cuban jazz or folk music. It doesn’t always have to be a specific sound. Ambient music like that of the beach, rainforest or underwater can instantaneously transport you to your destination or activity of choice.

But as we know, while music can help us relax, it’s our eyes that first need to see a sea of calm.

As such, it wouldn’t hurt to do a Marie Kondo: declutter regularly and get rid of items that no longer spark joy in your life.

Robb Report

Devialet’s Phantom speakers look good on a shelf or on their own stand.

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Step 5: Not too much, not too little, just right

The Piero Lissonidesigned SAKé sofa by B&B Italia sets the tone for the mood of the room.

The living room is one of the toughest spaces for homeowners to decide on because it’s one of the first places they’ll see when they return home and it’s where they’ll host guests.

If you’re moving to a new home and taking some pieces of furniture with you, it’ll be prudent to note that not all of them will work due to the size difference of each room.

According to Leonie Evans, group visual merchandise manager of Space Furniture Asia Pacific, the first step is to find a sofa in the right size and configuration to make all the difference in your new home.

Apart from colour, the type of finish also affects the look and feel. “If you want a luxurious finish, you might select a richcoloured velvet sofa with a bronze frame.

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For a more relaxed airy feel, you may choose a light-coloured linen sofa,” says Evans. “And if you are active within your home, a glass side table and velvet armchair may not work for you. Instead, a textured fabric armchair and a powder-coated metal side table will look better.”

The living area is also where you may place decorative items collected through years of travelling. As such, Evans suggests setting aside space for a backdrop to hold such decorative pieces (and positive memories).

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Robb Report

The Goods RIDE ON It might not be leather weather here, but a jacket is always a good idea.

By PAIGE REDDINGER Photography By JOSHUA SCOTT Styling By CHARLES W

BUMGARDNER

Ralph Lauren leather biker jacket (ralphlauren. com); Eleventy Fresco cotton crew shirt (eleventy. it); Begg & Co cashmere scarf (beggandcompany. com); 3x1 limited-edition M3 Selvedge jeans (3x1denim. com); Officine Creative Emory cap-toe leather boots (officinecreative.store).

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Dior vintage-effect brown calfskin jacket (dior.com); Sunspel Cavendish cotton T-shirt (sunspel.com); PT Pantaloni Torino slim-fit cotton-and-linen pants (barneys.com); O’Keeffe Stafford suede sneakers (mrporter.com).

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Tom Ford leather blouson jacket (tomford.com); Corneliani polo (corneliani.com); Drake’s worstedwool trousers (drakes.com); Kirk Originals Burton sunglasses (barneys.com); Santoni suede boots (santonishoes.com).

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Under Cover

A mac or a trench coat? A handy guide on spring’s must-have, the mac jacket.

By ALEKS CVETKOVIC

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Clockwise from top left: the mac jacket in its many forms, from Grenfell, Cohérence, Mackintosh and Aquascutum.

For a more modern look, you could rely on mainstays like Brooks Brothers and Ralph Lauren, but we prefer Tokyo’s cult label Cohérence, which recreates mid-century rainwear worn by famous artists, musicians and creatives. The sharply tailored Corb II, for instance, is inspired

by French architect Le Corbusier, who preferred a jacket with a crisp silhouette.

Whatever your f avou re d label, remember the first rule of menswear: less is more. Skip the military look in favour of simplicity and you’ll weather this spring in style.

Photos: Coherence, Mr Porter, Aquascutum, Grenfell

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ou only need be caught in one shower for your mind to leap to the question: trench coat or mackintosh? But first, a note on their differences. The former, which was invented to shield Allied officers from grim weather in World War I, is double-breasted with an oversized revere collar and epaulets on the shoulders. The latter is simpler, singlebreasted, with a smaller collar, raglan sleeves and an A-line silhouette.

As with many things in menswear, the winds of change blow unpredictably between the two. The truth is neither is wrong, but this spring, attention does seem to be turning toward the mac.

The mac comes with its own set of sartorial decisions. Old English or new preppy? Rubberised cotton or waterproof gabardine? To start, familiarise yourself with the thoroughbred British heritage brands that earned the mac its early prestige.

Burberry and Aquascutum are the obvious go-tos, as is Mackintosh, the originator of the rubberised cotton raincoat (and the nickname ‘mac’). There’s also Grenfell, a lesser-known London brand that’s been weaving lightweight waterproof gabardine into reliable rainwear since 1923. The label’s Campbell mac is a timeless choice, both practical and elegant.

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Stone Age

By KARISHMA TULSIDAS

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Rarer than an emerald and possessing more fire than a diamond, the ruby is the star of Van Cleef & Arpels’ latest high jewellery anthology, Treasure of Rubies.

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e’re all aware of the four C’s when choosing a diamond. But what about the criteria when it comes to choosing coloured gems such as sapphires, emeralds and rubies? Well, the answer lies in their name. While cut, carat and clarity are important, colour is what separates the wheat from the chaff when it comes to determining a stone’s value.

That said, there is no perfect colour that one can strive for, despite common misconceptions that ‘cornflower blue’ is ideal for sapphires, and ‘pigeon’s blood’ is the best hue for rubies. Instead, experts suggest looking at the beauty and vividness of the colour as well as its even colour distribution.

We witnessed an eclectic range of red rubies at the global launch of Van Cleef & Arpels’ latest high jewellery collection, Treasure of Rubies. While the 60-piece collection was a feast for the eyes, it’s the fact that it was centred on the king of gems that was mind-boggling as it has become increasingly rare to mine rubies of a decent size. Unsurprisingly, it took the maison all of 10 years to source for the stones in the collection.

President of Van Cleef & Arpels, Asia Pacific, Nicolas Luchsinger, explains: “At Van Cleef & Arpels, we generally have two types of collections: a figurative collection and a stone collection. We also have what we call the Pierres de Caractère, which translates to English as ‘the stone with personality’. The Émeraude en

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majesté collection (an emerald-centric collection that the maison launched in 2016) was successful, so we decided to do something with rubies. But it’s somehow more difficult with rubies as it took us more time to get hold of the stones. Rubies are very complicated as there are very few in the market.”

The gemmologist department at Van Cleef & Arpels reveals that the rubies were sourced from Vietnam, Myanmar, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Madagascar and Mozambique, and “these origins convey to each creation different and wide hues”.

The spokesperson adds: “ For Van Cleef & Arpels, what matters is the appreciation of the colour of the ruby

It took the maison 10 years to source for all the stones in the collection.

Priya transformable necklace with a carved 25.23-carat ruby.

Facing page: Paisley Précieux necklace with a 3.18-carat type 2A diamond.

in all its hue and tones and this is what will define it as a Pierre de Caractère. The maison looks for vivid, pure and highly dense coloured gems.”

The Jardin de Rubis transformable necklace, for instance, nestles a pink-like 18.12-carat ruby that has a rose undertone.

Much darker but no less vivid is the 5.38-carat ruby that anchors the Kolam between the finger ring. The cushion-cut ruby features a large table (the central top part of a gemstone), which draws in the light and endows it with an almost opaquelike intensity.

The designers at Van Cleef & Arpels

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The Rubis flamboyant necklace is paired with a diamond ring, whereby the central diamond can be swapped out for the main ruby.

started the design journey from the stones, deriving their inspiration from the rubies they sourced.

Another starting point was the maison’s legacy, and the use of rubies in the maison’s heritage in particular proved to be a treasure trove of inspiration.

The Éventail Souverain bracelet, for instance, derived its stylistic codes from the Jarretière bracelet bought by Marlene Dietrich in 1937. Moreover, Jacques Arpels had once revealed to a journalist that rubies were his favourite stones.

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East and West Another distinctive influence on the collection is India and many of the pieces bear names such as Priya and Kolam. At first blush, you’d think that the collection merely pays homage to the country’s long history of jewellery making, but the connection is deeper than that.

Luchsinger explains: “India has been very important for Van Cleef & Arpels and I would say we have three major influences.

The first is when the maharajahs came to Paris to have their stones remounted in a

The Rubis Flamboyant transformable necklace with a 25.76-carat ruby; Duo de diamants detachable earrings with two pear-shaped type 2A diamonds of 21.26 and 20.37 carats respectively.

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The Kolam between the finger ring in white and pink gold with a 5.38-carat ruby, rubies and diamonds.

more classical way. We made special orders for the maharajah and that influenced our other pieces, which we sold to other clients.

Then the second wave was in the 1950s, 1960s, when the maharajahs lost their power because India became a democracy, and they needed money to sustain their lavish lifestyles. So they started to sell their stones. Lastly, Claude Arpels, one of the three brothers of the last generation to own the maison, had an Indian wife who brought an Indian influence to the design.”

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Nomenclature aside, the collection is replete with Indian influences. The Kolam ring, for instance, derives its swirling motif from the artistic technique of using coloured powders and rice to create decorative and colourful artworks for the house. Van Cleef & Arpels modernised it in the between-the finger-ring, whereby a cushion-cut ruby of 5.38 carats is flanked by motifs reminiscent of the art of Kolam.

The Priya necklace features a carved 25.23-carat ruby, inspired by the Mughal

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era. Luchsinger explains: “It is very rare to see carved stones in rubies. You see it mostly in emeralds. The tradition of these carved stones comes from Mughal India.

At that time, there were more emeralds than rubies coming to India. If you had an exceptional rough, you would wear it as a cabochon and it’d be less obvious to carve it. This one (in Priya) is not a Mughal stone, but a contemporary one.”

While the inspiration for this collection is rooted in Van Cleef & Arpels’ heritage, its execution is modern and showcases the mastery of the maison’s jewellery makers.

Many of the pieces are transformable, and while this act of versatility is great in theory – women can’t deny the appeal of three jewels for the price of one – it’s incredibly challenging to execute. The reality is that transformability needs to be easy to manipulate, and simultaneously, the stones need to be absolutely secure in their fastening so they don’t fall off.

Then, it needs to be seamless enough so that it is not visible to the naked eye.

Nowhere is this more apparent than within the collection’s highlight, the Rubis Flamboyant. A 25.76-carat cushion-cut ruby takes pride of place in this necklace, where it is surrounded by white and pink gold studded with diamonds and rubies.

The necklace is paired with a diamond ring, whereby the central diamond can be swapped out for the main ruby.

We are told that before the collection was launched, clients had snapped up some of the pieces based on the gouache drawings. By the third day of the launch in Bangkok, most of the jewels had been sold.

This is an accolade not just to the trust that clients have in Van Cleef & Arpels, but also the value they see in investing in such stones. www.vancleefarpels.com

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Robb Report

Spikes and Such

Clash de Cartier is fine jewellery at its most unconventional.

By CELINE YAP

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ith Clash de Cartier, French maison Cartier appears to have put aside the big book of jewellery-making rules and let its imagination run wild and free. Untethered from the usual conventions governing fine jewellery design, it has succeeded in creating an electrifying collection that’s neoclassical, singular, unisex, whimsical and just a tiny bit traditional. But traditional only in the sense that Cartier has always written its own rules in the world of jewellery crafting.

Clash de Cartier brings sexy back with an armada of studs, beads and clous carres, which are square-headed nails. But Clash de Cartier also celebrates a clash of attitudes. It’s soft yet structured, feminine yet intense, fixed yet moveable, dangerous yet fun, contemporary yet classical. It is also more than just a random collage of geometrically styled pieces.

Between those overt design motifs and the clean lines that conjoin them, Clash de Cartier intersperses an articulated mechanism that allows each stud and spike to move freely yet remain interconnected. They imbue the pieces with a softness not usually observed in metal jewellery.

Notice as well the flawless polishing and setting of each component. Bracelets, rings, earrings or necklace, each Clash de Cartier

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Cartier has always written its own rules in the world of jewellery. creation is not so much a single jewellery piece as it is an arrangement of numerous micro-components perfectly aligned to form a larger whole – a complex feat of craftsmanship.

Creation techniques were also newly developed specially for the collection. Those buff-top domed clous carres for instance are finished with a bright polish achieved over a series of different operations.

Using exclusively 4N pink gold in this collection, Cartier recommends stacking and layering the pieces in all versions. In fact, Clash de Cartier also wears alongside the other Cartier fine jewellery collections very nicely. Think a Clash de Cartier bracelet nestled among a Juste Un Clou and a Love bracelet, topped with a Trinity ring. www.cartier.com

Featuring red coral beads, pink gold studs and spikes, Clash de Cartier evokes the powerful design codes of the French maison.

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Designer Nicholas Varney cleans and inspects mounds of uncut ocean jasper.

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No Stone Unturned

The jewellery industry’s best-kept secret is a gem show in the Arizona desert where the world’s top designers rifle through buckets of rubies and bags of emeralds, searching for that career-defining stone.

By KAREEM RASHED Photography by ADAM AMENGUAL

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alking down the hallway of a dingy roadside motel in Tucson, the scent of patchouli and incense wafting through the air, I catch a glimpse inside a guestroom. There, a middleaged man is handing over a small white envelope, neatly folded to protect its contents, in exchange for a wad of cash. It isn’t drugs but something just as mesmerising: an exceptionally rare, eight-carat padparadscha sapphire. Welcome to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show.

Here, in this desert town, thousands of gemstone miners, dealers and designers from across the globe make the pilgrimage every January and February, like the pioneers before them, to sift through rocks and hunt for treasure. “It’s got that nefarious cowboy mentality that this whole area was once known for,” says New York designer Nicholas Varney, who has been attending the show for 25 years. Indeed, in the middle of our breakfast at Hotel Congress, where John Dillinger was captured in 1934, an unassuming blonde woman enters the restaurant wearing a pink pashmina scarf around her neck and a Glock 19 pistol on her hip. Is it protection for whatever dazzling gems she has

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hidden away? Or is she just a local, out for her morning joe?

The Tucson Gem and Mineral Show began in 1955 as a platform for local miners to sell their inventories. Over the past 60-plus years it has evolved into the world’s most prolific gem trade fair, which not only takes over the local convention centre but sprawls out across the sleepy city. While getting a booth at

A dealer presents cut gems, including spessartite and fire opal.

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a more formal trade fair is prohibitively expensive for most miners, Tucson is democratic: book a motel room, lay out your goods and you’re in business. As a result, it offers an unparalleled diversity of material and direct access to the people who dug these things out of the ground in Ethiopia, Thailand, Colombia, Madagascar and beyond. It’s like a shoppable Smithsonian with cut and polished gems, oil barrels of rough stones, fossils, meteorites, opals, pearls and on and on. Its reputation as a prolific source for hard-to-find stones has spread, and today it draws buyers from the likes of Cartier and Bvlgari, as well as free spirits looking to stock up on chakra-balancing crystals. Like Burning Man for rock hounds, everyone is united by the currency of gems.

“You can be looking at a US$1.4 million Vietnamese spinel next to a brontosaurus bone,” says Stephen Webster, a London-based designer who’s been coming to Tucson since 1983. It’s such unexpected discoveries that push

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Clockwise from top left: enormous minerals on view outside a motel; dealers facet stones on a lapidary wheel in front of Quality Inn; a large raw amber offered by Krystal Light Imports; Pakistani gem dealer M Nadeem Awan of Karachi Jewel & Gems in his motel room at Red Lion Inn & Suites; motel rooms are transformed into gem showrooms for two weeks.

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It’s an exercise in creativity, with inspiration and ideas striking in real time.

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Clockwise from left: designer Nicholas Varney likes comparing stones on the fly to find inspiration for new pieces; large amethyst geodes on display; Nirinjan Khalsa of Suncrystal Mining offers an array of coloured stones; Sylva Yepremian of Sylva & Cie examines dinosaur bone beads; Stephen Webster (right) inspecting stones with Brian Charles Cook of Nature’s Geometry.

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designers like Webster to take chances and colour outside the lines. Over the course of a few days trailing designers to see how they shop and sort through this vast array of stones, I spotted Coomi Bhasin, of Coomi, lusting after a 226-carat blue tourmaline, and Sylva Yepremian, of Sylva & Cie, scouring for gem-quality pieces of agatised dinosaur bone – vastly different materials that, in the right hands, will yield equally covetable jewels. It’s an exercise in creativity, with inspiration and ideas striking in real time.

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But those heady creations are worlds away from Tucson.

This is ground zero for jewellers.

More than carat weight or clarity, provenance or pedigree, Tucson is for hunting unexpected treasures like a rare colour-changing alexandrite. It’s the promise of that next big score that keeps luring the gem-crazed back to this Western town, throwing caution to the desert winds, and into another motel room.

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Sweet Surrender Appreciating the Richard Mille Bonbon collection is a matter of taste.

By CELINE YAP

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hen you’re shopping around for a luxury timepiece, here’s a question you might not expect to answer: what flavour would you like? Taking the term wrist candy in its most literal sense, Richard Mille’s scrumptious new Bonbon collection is less about haute horology and more about enjoying your watch for what it is.

The concept is relatively straightforward. Based on three very different models, the RM 07-03, RM 16-01 and RM37-01, the Bonbon collection reimagines the quintessential Richard Mille aesthetic with bright saccharine hues.

The watches are decorated with everything you might find in a traditional French confection. Fluffy marshmallows, pretty macarons, slices of glazed citrus fruits and more are studded so generously on the skeletonised movement that you’d expect Willy Wonka to emerge from the tasty pile.

But unlike actual candy which is available to most everybody, this delightful collection is highly exclusive. There are only 10 variations, each limited to 30 pieces.

Richard Mille’s artisans worked with over 3,000 candy bits made from solid sheets of titanium and painted them by hand to resemble the real thing.

It’s easy to think of the Bonbon collection as being purely decorative but every watch presented a different technical challenge. The Marshmallow dial for instance was made of six grand feu enamel plates

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You’d expect Willy Wonka to emerge from the tasty pile.

Made of sugar, spice and everything nice, Richard Mille’s Bonbon collection is really about having fun with your watch – and the brand definitely enjoyed making this collection.

created separately and assembled together. Plus, it was sanded rather than polished down so that the marshmallow retains its volume and looks naturally plump and pillowy.

It must however be said that Richard Mille’s true brilliance in the Bonbon collection isn’t so much the unique craftsmanship of the pieces, as it is the very act of bringing sweets and fruits into haute horlogerie.

Even though the technological feats are outstanding – think Carbon TPT and Quartz TPT in all-new shades – the Bonbon collection is imaginative, playful, distinctive and oh so appetising. The best part? No calories. Now that’s the kind of sweet treat you can’t say no to. www.richardmille.com

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Icy Performance Roger Dubuis and Pirelli get together for a tyre-themed timepiece with an eye for ice and snow.

By WEI-YU WANG

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oger Dubuis is a brand that describes itself as a serial innovator. So when one of its partners debuts something new, it is a call for another collaboration. This time, the inspiration comes from Pirelli. Its new patented studded tyre, specially designed for high performance in ice and snow, is receiving a timekeeping counterpart in the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Pirelli Ice Zero 2 (S$447,000, limited to eight pieces).

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In typical Excalibur fashion, the watch is an unashamed take on bold, sporty design complete with a skeletonised dial that showcases the double flying tourbillon. The cool, wintry look is accomplished through the selective omission of black PVD coating on the 47mm titanium case, showing off the polished edges. The homage is completed with the strap, which is set with steel nails arranged in the same pattern as the studs of the tyre that inspired this timepiece. www.rogerdubuis.com

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The Case for Carbon Move over gold and platinum: carbon is rising up the echelons to become a coveted material used both in case making and movement construction.

By PAIGE REDDINGER

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y now, you know that carbon makes a watch look pretty cool. But the modern material is more than a sleek show-off for your wrist – it can build a better timepiece that’s both tough as nails and light as a feather.

It was only a matter of time before carbon made its way into the world of watches. Used in everything from Formula 1 cars to Tour de France bikes – anything that could benefit from incredible lightness and strength – the material made its first appearance in timepieces in the late ’90s, when brands like Audemars Piguet began using it as an alternative to steel, gold and platinum.

In 2013, Richard Mille developed Graph TPT, a carbon-based material that’s six times lighter and 200 times stronger than steel, kicking off a race in material innovation among the industry’s heaviest hitters. And this year, carbon is officially everywhere, from Roger Dubuis’ million-dollar Excalibur OneOff, which took inspiration from the body of a

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Lamborghini SC18 Alston hypercar, to Panerai’s Luna Rossa Challenger Submersible made with Carbotech, a composite that mimics the material used in racing yacht hulls.

More brands are now following Richard Mille’s example and playing inventor. In January, Ulysse Nardin introduced Carbonium, a lightweight and eco-friendly material made of the aeronautical-grade carbon fibres found in airplane wings and fuselages that it now offers for its Freak X and Skeleton X watches. Girard-Perregaux has also recently launched

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THE CARBON KINGS

Photo: Getty Images / iStockPhotos

Yes, But What Is It?

Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Automatic Tourbillon PRICE: US$130,200 CASE SIZE: 42mm

Roger Dubuis Excalibur One-Off PRICE: US$1,000,063 CASE SIZE: 47mm

Panerai Luna Rossa Challenger Submersible PRICE: US$20,500 CASE SIZE: 47mm

Ulysse Nardin Freak X PRICE: US$24,000 CASE SIZE: 43mm

Girard-Perregaux Laureato Absolute Carbon Glass PRICE: Not yet available CASE SIZE: 44mm

TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre Heuer 02T Tourbillon Nanograph PRICE: US$25,500 CASE SIZE: 45mm

Carbon can build a better timepiece that’s both tough as nails and light as a feather.

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a prototype for its Laureato Absolute Carbon Glass, which integrates coloured glass fibres into carbon to create a marbled material that the brand claims is 100 times stronger than steel and completely airtight.

But the biggest development comes via TAG Heuer’s new Carrera Calibre Heuer 02T Tourbillon Nanograph (facing page). Rendered in a blackout titanium case, the watch features a patented carbon-composite hairspring designed

A material made of tiny, but very strong, crystalline filaments, the first carbon fibres were produced by English physicist Joseph Swan in 1860 to create a pre-Edison lightbulb prototype. It wasn’t until a century later, however, when the UK government patented the technology, and then licensed it to Rolls-Royce for use in its Conway jet engines, that the material’s incredible strength was discovered. In the decades since, it has been used to reinforce tennis rackets and golf clubs, airplanes and autos, and drones and violins.

by Guy Sémon, CEO of LVMH’s Science Institute and a virtual Nikola Tesla of modern watchmaking. The hairspring is a technological game changer, nearly impervious to gravity and shock, making it more durable – and potentially more precise at telling time.

Though the invention is exclusive to TAG Heuer, its innovative application is no doubt a glimpse of what the future of carbon watchmaking will look like.

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Robb Report

Time Will Tell Highlights from the Louis Vuitton International High Watch Event 2019.

By UKRIT VANAGOSOOM

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ince the acquisition of La Fabrique du Temps in 2011, Louis Vuitton watchmaking is signalling great things ahead for the house’s premium timepiece creations and its sublime inhouse mechanisms.

According to Michel Navas, master watchmaker and the person behind the success of Louis Vuitton’s horology

Louis Vuitton watchmaking is signalling great things ahead.

This and facing pages: Calibre LV88, which powers the Tambour Spin Time Air, offers a 35-hour power reserve.

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“We have the potential of design, research, production and many talented individuals creating watches from passion and inspirations.” portfolio: “Many people may not realise this but we have the potential of design, research, production and many talented individuals creating watches from passion and inspirations. And most importantly, Louis Vuitton allows us to produce ideas freely.”

Highlights of the launch include the Voyager Répétition minutes Tourbillon,

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which is a combination of a tourbillon and a minute repeater mechanism inside the Voyager case.

The dial is produced from a sapphire which shows the watch mechanism clearly. The most striking feature is the V-shaped tourbillon mechanism at the four o’clock position.

Another highlight is the Tambour

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Spin Time Air, which is a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the spin time mechanism. It encompasses a distinct tambour style with a unique spin time mechanism. The term ‘air’ describes a set of mechanisms as if floating in the air by using sapphires instead of metal.

Louis Vuitton’s ability to deliver impressive results in all aspects especially its in-house mechanism, brings forth a bright future for the maison in all respects. www.louisvuitton.com

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This and facing pages: the Tambour Spin Time Air collection comprises seven watches, three for men and four for women.

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Saving the Oceans

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Robb Report

Robb Report Thailand dives into Seiko’s Save the Ocean campaign, an initiative focusing on turtles, underwater conservation and coral restoration.

By WANIDA SIRIPAOPRADIST

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Photo: Kip Evans

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ecognising the importance of the oceans, Seiko recently launched the Save the Ocean campaign in Thailand for the third year running. For 2019, the campaign centres on rehabilitating turtles, clearing trash in the oceans and studying the progress of coral that was restored two years previously. Special guests at the opening event included renowned ocean explorer Fabien Cousteau and A-list celebrity Ananda Everingham. The campaign is part of Seiko Thailand’s Save the Sea initiative held on Koh Racha, Phuket.

Established in 2016, Save the Ocean is aimed at protecting Thai oceans and is funded by proceeds from the Seiko Prospex Simbe Collection.

This year’s campaign is extra significant with the attendance of Seiko’s global brand ambassador and ocean explorer Cousteau. At the event, he revealed findings from his exciting underwater expedition, called Mission 31, to guests.

Cousteau, a French ocean explorer, has always held a passion for oceans. In 2014, he set up Mission 31, a research project that included a 31-day underwater mission for the intrepid conservationist.

In 2016, he founded the Fabien Cousteau Ocean

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Through its partnership with Fabien Cousteau, Seiko is doing its part to protect the oceans from the damaging effects of human activity and climate change.

Facing page: Seiko’s expertise in diver’s watches is celebrated in its Prospex collection.

The campaign is part of Seiko Thailand’s Save the Sea initiative held on Koh Racha, Phuket.

Learning Center (OLC) to further many ocean-related initiatives. OLC fosters a comprehensive range of activities, such as beach- and ocean-cleaning, diving missions, coral reef restoration, turtle rehabilitation, and even provides education resources so that students can learn more about the local ecosystem and the sea’s undeniable mysteries. www.seiko.co.th

4/24/19 11:47

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Patek Philippe has redesigned its chronograph of classic architecture for men with the Ref 5172G.

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SHADES OF BLUE Patek Philippe turns heads with its redesign of its chronograph of classic architecture for men.

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he first chronograph of classic architecture for men endowed with a movement entirely developed and manufactured by Patek Philippe, Ref 5170 that was presented in 1998 appeared successively in yellow, white and rose gold, and in platinum. This year at Baselworld, Patek Philippe showcased a redesigned version of this emblematic model coveted by collectors, endowing it with a new, fully polished white gold case with round guilloched pushers and three-tier lugs. One of the biggest changes is that the pushers are now pump-style instead of the elongated rectangular pushers of its predecessors.

Its subtle vintage touch is underscored by a cambered sapphire-crystal ‘box’ glass extending across the bezel. The dial is also sporting an allnew look with a blue background and contrasting white gold applied Arabic numerals highlighted with a luminescent coating, white-gold batonstyle hour and minute hands with pointed tips that are also luminescent, a sandblasted central chronograph hand and a white, transferprinted minute counter with its tachymeter

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scale – to which must be added the two railway-track scales encircling the small seconds and the chronograph’s 30-minute counter. All has been planned to ensure perfect legibility, whether in daylight or the dark.

Patek Philippe Ref 5172G is driven by the calibre CH 29-535 PS chronograph movement, the traditional hand-wound integrated chronograph with

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column wheel and horizontal clutch with six patented innovations. The latter includes optimised tooth profiles, improved adjustment of gear penetration and self-adjusting reset hammers. It also boasts several technical features inspired by the same concern for functionality and performance, such as the instantaneous 30-minute counter.

Robb Report

Its beauty and lavish finissage, including bridges with chamfered and polished edges and Geneva stripe decoration, may be admired through a sapphire crystal caseback.

The new Ref 5172G-001 in white gold is worn on a handstitched calfskin strap in navy blue with a white gold foldover clasp. It replaces the previous Ref 5170P001 in platinum.www.patek.com

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Photos: Jean-Daniel Meyer

The new white gold case features round guilloched pushers and three-tier lugs.

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All has been planned to ensure perfect legibility, whether in daylight or the dark.

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UX-CELLENT RIDE The smallest Lexus on sale today might be slight in stature, but is big on luxury features.

By DARYL LEE

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he trend of luxury carmakers releasing one of those crossover things is not a new one. Audi has one in the form of the Q2, BMW the X2, Mercedes-Benz the GLA and the Range Rover Evoque.

And now, Lexus has decided to jump into that incredibly crowded space with the UX. The last small car Lexus made was the CT and that was based off a Toyota Prius. This one, if you’re being particularly uncharitable and cynical, is a tarted-up Toyota C-HR, and the pair

share an identical wheelbase of 2,640mm.

Thankfully, even if the UX shares its underpinnings with a car at least 30 per cent cheaper, it certainly doesn’t feel like it, and more importantly, the cars look completely distinct. Where the C-HR is stubby, the UX is far more stretched out, possessing more pleasing proportions. It also has a very ofthe-moment light bar bisecting the rear, so there’s that.

The car supplied to me was the Luxury variant, which costs S$171,800 (a cheaper

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The UX comes in a range of millennialfriendly colours, including terracotta orange, electric blue and a sort of military green.

one is available, at S$161,800, with top-end hybrid variants costing up to S$181,800), and the naming is pretty apt.

A freestanding 10.3-inch screen dominates the centre of the dashboard, which is trimmed with a textured, synthetic material that Lexus says echoes traditional Japanese paper screen doors. It’s mesmerising to look at and touch, with the glossy accents catching the light and the matte areas absorbing it. The perforated leather seats are heated / ventilated and can be linked to the Climate Concierge system.

The UX has materials and equipment easily on par and barely distinguishable

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SPECIFICATIONS ENGINE 1,987cc, 16 valves, inline-four

POWER 170hp at 6,600rpm

TORQUE 204Nm at 4,400rpm

0-100KM/HR 9.2 seconds

TOP SPEED 190km/hr TRANSMISSION CVT

FUEL CONSUMPTION 5.8 litres/100km

VES BAND

(no rebate / surcharge)

PRICE from S$161,800

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with the most expensive vehicles Lexus has to offer. Which is fairly significant, I suppose, since the brand offers a car that costs nearly S$600,000.

The general vibe is that the UX is upmarket. It is also sporty and young, which are words you’d once never associate with Lexus. The centre stack’s aggressive cant towards the driver gives a hint to its youthful, sporty bent.

Full credit goes to Lexus for the meaty steering. Where small crossovers tend to vacillate between rubbery (the GLA) or jittery (the X2), the UX exhibits deft control when pushing on and while it can exhibit some low-speed patter, I found it within socially acceptable limits.

Yes, the UX would be perfect, if not for a few very Lexus-y quirks. Chief among them being the drivetrain. Its two-litre motor develops 171hp. However, that motor is naturally aspirated, which means a fairly reedy maximum torque of 205Nm at a comparatively peaky 4,800rpm.

But what really holds back the car’s performance is its CVT transmission.

Given how quick, direct and slush-free a modern automatic is, Lexus’ insistence on sticking with a CVT gearbox is baffling.

While Lexus says that the UX uses one that has a conventional first gear to aid directness in accelerating from a standstill then transferring over to the CVT after, the rubber-banding of revs nearly everywhere else makes it feel that the throttle pedal barely has an effect on the engine. Thankfully enough, that doesn’t really make its presence felt unless you’re driving the doors off the car.

It’s not enough to stop it from being one of the best cars in its segment, in many ways equalling or even bettering its rivals when it comes to refinement and equipment. www.lexus.com.sg

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AUDI’S GOLDEN-STATE STANDOUT Designed in Malibu and unveiled at Monterey Car Week, the Audi PB18 e-tron concept is only the beginning of the marque’s California connection.

By LAURA BURSTEIN

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rom sports-car culture to cutting-edge technology, California’s influence on automotive development is undeniable. For Audi, the longtime love affair with the state is embodied by the PB18 e-tron concept, an all-electric, race-inspired prototype. The approximately 670hp coupe, described

by Audi executives as “a cross between a supercar and a sportback”, is said to cover zero to 100km/hr in about two seconds, ranking it among the world’s fastest four-wheelers.

The PB18 is the first vehicle to come out of Audi’s new Malibu design studio,

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headed by Gael Buzyn. Unlike traditional creative hubs, the Malibu space is entirely computer driven. This concept car’s interior, for example, was done exclusively using virtual reality. “We created the PB18 without any clay; we just sent the data and had it milled in Germany,” says Buzyn.

“I’m confident we can now achieve the development of a car almost all digitally.”

Currently in temporary digs, the studio will eventually move to a permanent location in the heart of the beach community, with breaking ground expected later this year. “It had to be Malibu,” Buzyn underscores. “It’s the only place that has all the right aspects of the brand; it’s the perfect embodiment of California lifestyle. Every weekend is like a mix of the Nürburgring and a mini Monterey Car Week.”

Soon, Audi’s coastal enclave will not

only house a handful of designers, it will also be a place where potential buyers and other VIPs can connect more intimately with the brand. “We want to create bonds with exclusive customers and understand what kind of products would resonate well in this market,” Buzyn explains. “We really want to understand what they expect and how to go beyond those expectations.”

Meanwhile, the German marque continues its push into electrification with the new e-tron SUV (available now) and the forthcoming e-tron GT, expected to go on sale next year. As for a production version of the PB18, Buzyn won’t talk, but he is confident that performance cars won’t go away, especially in Southern California. “There’s a rebirth here of a passion for cars. People aren’t ready to give up driving.” www.audi.com

Photos: Audi

“We created the PB18 without any clay; we just sent the data and had it milled in Germany.”

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GORGEOUS AND GREEN

Oceanco’s Project Bravo is a hybrid yacht worthy of applause.

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By GERI WARD

Roy, managing director of Lateral Naval Architects, produce a “harmonious balance” among the yacht’s weight, power, technical areas and interior. On the exterior, Bravo’s low profile and slender shape give the hybrid engines an aerodynamic boost and a badass look, enabled in part by its single-tiered engine room.

Traditional engine rooms usually need two tiers, eating up cabin or deck space. This yacht’s single-level example allows more space for guests.

Oceanco has created some of the world’s most impressive bespoke yachts, including recent launches such as Alfa Nero, launched in 2007 and one of the most recognised yachts of its time.

“Our approach was to maintain a stunningly sleek profile without sacrificing any interior space.”

Venice-based Nuvolari Lenard, which designed Alfa Nero, was tasked with raising the bar on Project Bravo to craft another revolutionary aesthetic. “Our approach with Bravo was to maintain a stunningly sleek profile without sacrificing any interior space,” says Dan Lenard, a principal with the firm.

The edgy, sport-yacht lines can be seen in the dramatic open stern and a curved transom that slopes gently to the water. “This new exterior style concept is bound to create a new design stream,” says Lenard. We expect it to be increasingly copied.” oceancoyacht.com

Photo: Tom Van Oossanen

ceanco’s new 109m Project Bravo is a lean, green, sailing machine that’s destined to be a record breaker. While a growing number of vessels include hybrid engines, they are still rare on superyachts because of the sheer effort it takes to power boats of that size.

But Project Bravo is a sleek example of what can be done at the top of the gigayacht class. Launched in autumn, the custom boat is the first Oceanco to have the new LIFE (lengthened, innovative, fuel-efficient, eco-friendly) design, which combines progressive naval architecture with a clever hybrid-engine configuration. The design principles, says James

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In it for the Chase The X-80 Super RIB Project promises to be superfast and super spacious.

By REBECCA TAYLOR

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Photos: Federico Fiorentino

talian design firm Federico Fiorentino (federicofiorentino.it) has partnered with Sacs Bespoke Operations, the respected Milanese manufacturer of rigid inflatable boats (RIBs), to create the X-80 Super RIB Project. The superfast 24m luxury chase boat features an engine capacity of up to 5,000hp in twin- or tripleinboard configurations.

Fiorentino allows for the speed without cutting into the accommodation. The X-80 will feature a 25 sq m full-beam master suite amidships, a twin cabin forward and crew quarters. Every effort will be made to maximise the space available within the vessel’s length.

Outside, the X-80’s aerodynamic hull features a 60 sq m open deck with sunbed and living areas.

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Owing to a number of successful projects between the Sacs Bespoke Operations division and Federico Fiorentino designers, it made sense for the two companies to team up on the new X-80 for a demanding client. Previous collaborations have included naval architecture by Federico Fiorentino for Sacs’s Rebel line, as well as a Sacs custom tender.

The initial impetus for the X-80 came from a superyacht owner who wanted a closer connection to the water via a highspeed RIB. The Fiorentino team notes that “while the X-80 was initially conceived for an Italian client, he has since decided not to build”. Luckily for everyone else, hope for acquiring the craft remains afloat.

A-List Access: For serious purchase inquiries on the X-80 or to commission a bespoke RIB of your own, contact Federico Fiorentino himself at +39 34 8844 2874, f.fiorentino@federicofiorentino.it

Surprisingly, this RIB is spacious enough for a large, full-beam master stateroom.

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WRITING INSTRUMENTS

THE WRITE INVESTMENT The pen isn’t just mightier than the sword, it’s also proving to be mightier than digital technology.

By HAZEL VINCENT DE PAUL

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he luxury pen i n du s t r y has ex p er ienced a renaissance in the last two decades as the pool of collectors grows beyond the older generation. In an interview with the BBC, Ivan Briggs, the director of fine pens and comics at PBA Galleries in San Francisco, said: “Younger collectors have entered the fold, perhaps seeking a more tactile, individual and authentic connection to the physical act of writing than is afforded by electronic devices.”

Photo: Olff Appold

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Manufacturers have taken advantage of global supply and demand by creating limited-edition models that offer collectors a sliver of exclusivity.

The pen has also morphed from a useful writing instrument into a luxe, investment-worthy asset, as pen manufacturers turn their creations into modern, collectible works of art. Additionally, manufacturers have taken advantage of global supply and demand by creating limited-edition models that offer collectors a sliver of exclusivity. Case in point: Montblanc.

This year, the brand added two stunning creations to its High Artistry Limited Edition series.

The first is the Montblanc High Artistry Conquest of Antarctica Homage to Roald Amundsen Limited Edition. Inspired by the adventures of the Norwegian explorer, the pen uses the finest materials and metiers d’arts to celebrate the first man known to have reached both the North and South poles and his strong bond with the Inuit tribe.

Three models make up the collection, using blue sapphires and Paraíba tourmalines to reflect Antarctica’s deep blue skies, precious gemstones such as amethysts, emeralds, peridots and more to showcase the colours of the aurora borealis, as well as diamonds, light blue sapphires and aquamarines to depict Amundsen’s impression of Antarctica when he first set eyes on it. The explorer’s sailing route to the South Pole is engraved on two of the models, while all three pay tribute to the Inuit tribe through the use of traditional face tattoo designs and bear talisman recreations.

China also served as Montblanc’s muse in the High Artistry Homage to Emperor Kangxi Limited Edition collection. Said to be one of the country’s greatest emperors, Kangxi’s many achievements are celebrated in the six pens that comprise the collection.

From the dragon that was a constant feature on his clothing to his love for painted landscapes and literature and his success in reviving China’s

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Pens, like these from Montblanc’s limited-edition High Artistry collection, elevate the humble instrument to an art form that stretches the imagination.

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porcelain industry, each accomplishment is recreated across the six pens using rubies, white and yellow diamonds, rh o d i u m and even a rare grisaille enamel technique. A handembroidered book with the imperial seal and a portrait of Kangxi on the inside was also fashioned to complement two of the pens in the collection.

Price points for both collections start from €35,000 and go all the way up to €1.9 million.

So is the luxury pen here to stay? We say that for as long as brands continue to push their ingenuity to the limit, there will always be room for this humble writing tool to thrive and remain in demand. www.montblanc.com

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A New Classic British luxury too stuffy? Not so.

Rosewood London is all about decorum and punchy design-aware lines.

By MARK LEAN

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Photos: Durston Saylor

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efore Rosewood London opened in 2013, High Holborn was known more for lawyers and law students than for five-star luxury. Now taking centre stage in a 1914 Edwardian, Grade IIlisted building with original belle epoque flourishes is the 262-room and 44-suite property that retains its imposing entrance and carriageway leading to a pretty cobblestone courtyard.

The turn-of-the-century vibe carries through to the interiors that carry a refined British aesthetic minus the overbearing pomp. Rooms are all about dark panelled wood finishing, light grey upholstery, duotoned striped carpets and luxurious marble bathrooms.

However, suites channel a grander residential personality and include butler service.

While London might be one of the world’s buzziest dining destinations, Holborn Dining Room holds its own as a casual yet stylish bistro-type restaurant with its own gin bar. Its clientele comprises off-duty lawyers,

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The adjacent Gin Bar boasts London’s most extensive collection of gin, running the gamut of over 500 gins and 20 tonics.

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corporate types and hotel guests, all of whom add to a lively atmosphere. The Martin Brudnizki-designed restaurant features crimson seats with tweed detailing along with a friendly and efficient service style. Its menu consists of reimagined British classics like Cornish crab toast with Bloody Mary jelly and curried mutton pie with a tangy mango salsa. The British elements continue at The Pie Room, which is testament to executive head chef Calum Franklin’s pastry expertise.

The adjacent Gin Bar boasts London’s most extensive collection of gin, running the gamut of over 500 gins and 20 tonics.

A must-try: the in-house tonic made with a top-secret recipe. After a couple of precisely made gin and tonics, you’ll be thankful your room is just an elevator ride away. www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/london

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Relaxed yet stylish, the copper-topped Gin Bar specialises in gin cocktails as well as classic cocktails, spirits, wines and craft beers.

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History Lesson

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By MARK LEAN

Photography by Seth Powers

Heritage is a buzzy world in Singapore. With Six Senses Duxton, tradition locks hands with modern.

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Each Opium Room has beautiful lacquerware, a four-poster bed and a walk-in shower.

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ined in a row of eight triplelevel shophouses in Tanjong Pagar, a location peppered with coffee and sake bars, is the understatedly opulent Six Senses Duxton. Low-key glamour is the order of the day here. Acclaimed British interior designer Anouska Hempel has as her design signature configured a retrocolonial vision with her first Singaporean hotel project. Bold gold and yellow tones dominate the lobby, subdued with black, making the space cosy and spectacular.

All 49 rooms contain individual personalities. Take for instance, the Opium Room with its imposing black platform four-

Robb Report

poster bed – perfect for a romantic getaway.

As a counterpoint, the gorgeous Pearl Suites have a dominance of white and mother-ofpearl fixtures.

In design and spirit, Six Senses Duxton is part of the cultural fabric of its location where the modern is matched with the ancient. There is a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner on-site. Guests are offered consultations as well as a Tibetan sound bowl welcome upon check-in.

On the ground floor is Yellow Pot, a Chinese restaurant and bar that is one of Singapore’s better places to have a business lunch. The reason: chef Sebastian Goh’s healthful interpretation of Chinese food. Try

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the semi-sweet chilled organic vine-ripened tomatoes as well as the sesame-coated braised duck spring roll to start. Followed by the slightly richer roasted meats and the spicy hot and sour soup with wood ear mushrooms, nutritious bean curd and Sichuan chilli oil.

The restaurant’s bar, helmed by Kamil Foltan whose previous experience includes designing drinks at London’s Zetter Townhouse, dives into Chinatown’s medicinal wares. With his Escape to Kaifeng, Foltan mixes house-made chrysanthemum cordial with Tanqueray London dry gin. It makes for a refreshing tipple that takes off the heat from Singapore’s sultry evenings. www.sixsenses.com

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In design and spirit, Six Senses Duxton is part of the cultural fabric of its location where the modern is matched with the ancient.

There is a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner onsite. Guests are offered consultations as well as a Tibetan sound bowl welcome upon check-in.

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The antiquarianthemed bar serves Escape To Kaifeng, the hotel’s signature cocktail of Tanqueray gin and chrysanthemum cordial, crowned with a yellow chrysanthemum.

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Best of Two Worlds Shangri-La Hotel, Chiang Mai sets the scene for a relaxing getaway with its tropical garden vibe.

Photo: VRX Studios

By MARK LEAN

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hiang Mai with a population of 150,000 is compact and hospitable.

At the heart of this charming town is the buzzy night market, a languorous stretch of bright lights and stalls peddling snacks, handicrafts and T-shirt appropriations of last season’s Supreme collection.

Amble 15 minutes down the main stretch to Shangri-La Hotel, Chiang Mai. The 277-key property’s tropical garden setting has charmed many a guest. They come for the seclusion as well as for the family-friendly ambience. There is a mini kids’ amusement park by the pool with water slides to keep the young ones occupied as their parents catch up on their holiday reading. Other efforts designed to attract Shangri-La’s youngest guest demographic include tippy tents, giant teddy bears, cartoon pattern bed sheets and elephant soft toys.

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While Chiang Mai is becoming renowned for its growing number of vegan cafes and coffee bars, the hotel’s China Kitchen – the city’s only Szechuan restaurant – might be the best place to host a business lunch or a celebration.

Its star attraction, the six-seat chef ’s table fronting the lively open kitchen, is perfect for sealing a deal or two. To counterpoint the clean eaters amongst us, the restaurant also offers a daily dim sum buffet that’s big on value and taste.

At Chi, the hotel’s spa, with its collection of spa villas, located near the herb garden, is the tropical paradise in which to sample the signature Lanna blend treatment. The massage combines Thai and other regional techniques to refresh and restore one’s body and mind to perfect equilibrium. www.shangri-la.com

The 277-key property’s tropical garden setting has charmed many a guest.

All 277 rooms and suites have a northern Thai design with modern comforts.

Photos: VRX Studios

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Discover the pages of Robb Report come to life at Concourse Skyline Penthouse, where refinement, elegance and exclusivity reside in artistic harmony. Set against the backdrop of the incredible panorama of the Singapore skyline, the by-invite-only Penthouse will open its doors this April. www.robbreport.com.sg

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All in the details From Michelin-starred restaurants to stylish suites, The Ritz-Carlton, Macau pulls out all the stops for global explorers.

By MARK LEAN

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mbedded in the Galaxy Macau complex of hotels and casinos, this trailblazer of a property highlights hospitality elements that The Ritz-Carlton excels at: precise and personable service that considers even the smallest details, often to guests’ surprise – and delight.

First, there are the suites, ranging from 85sqm to 137sqm. These are equipped with the latest in-room technology and opulent furnishings. Other thoughtful details include jars filled with traditional Macanese boiled fruit-flavoured sweets that offer guests tastes of the location’s multicultural heritage.

Each suite is a clever exercise in giltedge finishing given just the right dose of restraint. Gleaming marble, polished wood and shimmering mirrors evoke

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Lai Heen showcases visionary interpretations of haute Chinese cooking in a refined atmosphere.

Facing page: the Premier Suite.

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From right: chef’s special braised pork belly with preserved vegetable; chargrilled Iberian pork; baked crispy fried rice with seafood in baby pumpkin, all available at Lai Heen.

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the timeless romance of grand travels.

The luxury bed linen is by Rivolta with a Nespresso coffee machine in every suite, along with a Tivoli sound system for high-fidelity stereo sounds. Macau’s Portuguese and Chinese design influences come into the frame, as seen in the various emblematic design tropes in both public spaces and suites. The result: a perfectly configured design microcosm of old and new worlds for the well-heeled 21stcentury global explorer.

Foodies will take delight in dining at one of Macau’s top Michelin-starred Chinese restaurants, the one-Michelinstarred Lai Heen located on level 51 of the hotel, as listed in the Michelin Guide Hong Kong and Macau 2018. The restaurant’s head chef Bill, formerly of The RitzCarlton, Hong Kong’s Tin Lung Heen, captivates with his delicious renditions of classic dishes such as chargrilled barbecued Iberico pork, succulent steamed crab claw with egg white in lobster bisque, and specially braised pork belly with preserved vegetable.

Diners savour the tastes and the flavours of chef Bill’s creations in a setting reminiscent of old Macau – a marriage of Chinese and Portuguese aesthetics which pay homage to its history as a bustling trading port. One imagines that the inspiration behind Lai Heen’s design – the ancient seafaring traders from other continents who plied these shores – didn’t have a chance to taste Iberico pork prepared Chinese-style nor were they ever able to recover from the vicissitudes of travelling in such a perfect environment. www.ritzcarlton.com

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Sleek and Chic

Bangkok boasts a staggering list of luxury hotels catering to all tastes and aesthetics. Here’s what to expect at one of its grand dames.

By MARK LEAN

Photo: Xxxxxx

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he Sukhothai, Bangkok’s rooms are known for being precise renditions of classic Thai interiors with sophisticated modern accents.

The former is composed of opulent golden wood furnishings, one of the hotel’s best-known features. At the recently launched Club Wing, it’s more a case of the latter. The hotel’s latest rooms and suites brandish a decidedly more masculine personality with a predominance of grey and black tones, wooden flooring and ample use of mirrors in living spaces and bathrooms.

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The hotel’s latest rooms and suites brandish a decidedly more masculine personality.

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Photo: Sven Ellsworth

The residentialstyle club wing exudes style and glamour.

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The result? Sleek and contemporary accommodation. Rooms and suites feature 400-thread count bedding; Bottega Veneta bathroom amenities; Harman Kardon audio systems; Nespresso machines; personal safes large enough to store laptop computers; and Saro lotus tea, which was blended exclusively for the hotel.

Club Wing guests enjoy access to the club lounge, a sprawling space in which to relax with a cup of tea and biscuits in the afternoon; enjoy sunset cocktails and views over the peaceful Sathorn neighbourhood or conduct a meeting in the lounge’s conference room.

The hotel’s gym has also benefited from a total reinvention. Kitted out with the latest weights as well as cardio machines, the bright and shiny gym will surely appeal to fitness-minded guests who stick to their workout regimes even when on holiday. www.sukhothai.com

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From top: Club Balcony Room; Club Room; Club Premier Suite.

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4/25/19 3:26 PM

A PERFECT GIFT FOR YOUR LOVED ONE

Give the gift of good taste with Luxury Guide, a limited-edition coffee-table book with a cover exclusively designed by a contemporary artist, photographer and philosopher.

Luxury Guide is the definitive guide to luxury’s brightest in cars, watches, jewellery, fashion, travel and so much more. Featuring colourful brand histories, trend forecasts and insightful interviews combined with stunning photography, it is the perfect accoutrement for the stylish home.

Purchase Luxury Guide at news stands and leading bookstores, or call +65 6225 1236 (Singapore), +603 6211 4288 (Malaysia) or +662 712 3101 (Thailand) to order your copy.

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Designing Destinations Scott Lee, president and principal of SB Architects, on why he’s putting the money on Asia, hotel branded residences and wellness as a philosophy.

By MARK LEAN

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he San Francisco-headquartered firm SB Architects has a reach that spans hospitality, mixed use and residential projects. In Southeast Asia, the company is working on projects like a spectacular dual-tower development in Vietnam. Internationally, its impressive client list includes Park Hyatt, Rosewood, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Edition Hotels, Four Seasons and The Ritz-Carlton. Over evening cocktails, Scott Lee, the firm’s president and principal, talks creative strategies, the secrets to effective teamwork and hospitality trends to note.

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What are the elements you put in place before starting a project? We immerse ourselves in the region and we discover the essence of a place. It’s an interesting time for hospitality design. It’s becoming a slow evolution that we should be inspired by the past, juxtaposing the new with the old. For instance, in historical buildings it’s about restoring the building to gel with the period in which it was built rather than do something contemporary.

Researching and trying to understand a place is essential; their design drivers, whether it’s the topography, the geology,

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“We immerse ourselves in the region and we discover the essence of a place.” the culture, the built environment, the flora and fauna – these are the things we look towards for inspiration.

Golden Pebble Winery in Dalian (above left) and Mission Hills Haikou.

Can you tell us a bit about your work in Asia?

We have various projects in Vietnam.

We have two 40-storey towers in Ho Chi Minh City. We have a handful of spa and

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hospitality projects in Phu Quoc and Ho Chi Minh City. We have had a presence in China for the past 15 years. We worked on developments like Mission Hills Haikou, Jade Shores in Qingdao and Golden Pebble Winery in Dalian. Recently, we are looking more towards Southeast Asia.

What are the current trends for hotel-branded residences? We have approximately 100 on-going hospitality projects. I would say around 90 of them have branded residences associated with them. The ratio between hotel rooms and residences is

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changing. It started with 100 hotel rooms and 10 residences. We are working on projects now where the ratio has flipped.

It’s now 10 hotel rooms and 100 residences.

In fact, we are now doing a project in Park City, Utah, where it’s a 100 per cent forsale product. The next trend we’re seeing is that there are standalone residences without any hotel element. I think for the discerning owner who’s looking for a second, third or fourth home, they feel more comfortable buying (for example) a Four Seasons-branded residence. This is because they know the level of quality that such a brand brings to a development.

We are seeing this in both urban and resort settings.

“The discerning owner who’s looking for a second, third or fourth home feels more comfortable buying (for example)a Four Seasonsbranded residence.”

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As all developments are different, how do you select the right types of people to work on them? Our job, prior to any architectural work, is to assemble a group of people to make the project happen. For example, in the upcoming Six Senses project in Florence, we understand what the brand wants and how the hotel will operate.

Our notion of this project is to restore the villa to its original lustre, adding pieces to it by contrast, which are very modern.

We would bring on the most appropriate landscape architect and interior designer to complete the team. We compose the team based on their experience, so it’s a symbiotic process with people doing what they are best at.

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MONEY

Jade Shores in Qingdao and Scott Lee.

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What trends in hospitality are you noticing?

Wellness is not just a spa anymore. It’s a resort within a resort. At one of our projects, Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, the spa is a place where you can spend the entire day. Wellness is expanding beyond the boundaries of the spa and going into areas such as sleep, diet, nutrition and the farm-totable movement. We are placing a big bet that wellness is here to stay. It’s not a passing trend.

Wellness and fitness is the new currency.

These days, it’s not about what car you drive or what brand your watch is. It’s about how well you are. www.sb-architects.com

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Sustainable Eating How do you feed a growing population without harming the planet? Fret not, science is coming to the rescue.

By SONIA KOLESNIKOV-JESSOP

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W

ith the world population projected to rise to 9.8 billion by 2050, various studies show food production will need to increase by 25 to 70 per cent between now and 2050. Science and innovative technologies are now coming to the fore to help alleviate the demand on Earth’s resources and reduce the environmental impact of intensive agricultural practices. Here are four technology solutions that are transforming kitchens and culinary experiences around the world.

The golden era for plant-based meat

According to Allied Market Research, the meat substitutes market was worth US$4.17 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach US$7.55 billion by 2025, with the highest annual growth seen in the Asia-Pacific region at 9.4 per cent. The demand for plant-based products goes beyond animal welfare and taps into concerns for food security and a growing awareness of the need for sustainably sourced foods.

Last year, the University of Michigan’s Center for Sustainable Systems compared the impact of traditionally produced burgers with those made by Beyond Meat, a plant-based patty.

The study found the plant-based burgers had 90 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions and required 46 per cent less energy, 99.5 per cent less water and 93 per cent less land.

Singaporeans already have the opportunity to taste many of the new products coming to the market. Since August, Grand Hyatt Singapore has been organising pop-up events with plantbased products, Just Eggs (made with mung beans) and Omnipork (made of soy, peas and

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Singaporeans already have the opportunity to taste many of the new products coming to the market.

Veego is the brainchild of Life3 Biotech, which won two Food Innovation Product awards from the Singapore Food Manufacturers’ Association.

Facing page: Foodini can print intricate dishes in 3D.

mushrooms). And let’s not forget Impossible Burger, which impressed foodies with a similar look and feel to that of a regular beef patty.

Life3 Biotech, a Singaporean food technology startup, has been working on Veego, a plant-based meat that tastes like chicken and can be sliced, as well as Seago, which has a texture similar to crustaceans like prawns. It has already been tested by a few chefs and Ricky Lin, founder and CEOof Life3 Biotech, says the products will be made available by the end of the year in selected restaurants.

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SAVOUR

Lab-grown delights

The next frontier for meat replacements lies in cell-based technology, also referred to as cultured meat, and several companies are already working on developing slaughterfree meat from cells.

In Singapore, Shiok Meats is focusing on cell-based crustacean meats and recently unveiled its first product, Shiok Shrimp Dumpling. Shiok Meats co-founder and CEO, Dr Sandhya Sriram, is hopeful the dumplings will be available in a few restaurants in Singapore and Hong Kong by the end of 2020.

Currently the cost of producing eight dim sum is S$5,000, but the company is aiming to reduce the price to S$50 per kilogram for its partner restaurants, admitting that initially the cell-based seafood products will be premium-priced products on tasting menus. “Eventually, we expect the prices to be reduced as mass production increases and research costs go down,” she says.

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Robb Report

Old becomes new

Radical ideas, such as Shiok Meats’ cell-based crustacean meats (above left) and upcycling food waste at Conrad Centennial Singapore (above right), may go a long way towards conserving Earth’s resources.

But it’s not just about finding alternatives for unsustainable food industries. While young apprentices have always been taught not to waste food in order to protect their restaurants’ bottom line, some chefs are going one step further and embracing food upcycling. At Goji Kitchen + Bar at Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park, chefs look for opportunities to make new dishes from items that would otherwise be sent to landfill: leftover croissants from breakfast are baked with vanilla and cream to create Bread and Butter Pudding, while the outer skins from pineapples are fermented to create vinegar that is later used in a signature pineapple and passion fruit gin cocktail.

Overall, food waste at the restaurant was slashed by 27.4 tonnes between September and December 2018, says Michael Hogan, the hotel’s executive chef. The campaign also managed to offset 68.4 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

This movement is also taking place at Conrad Centennial Singapore. Orange peels are being turned into a preserve that is incorporated into its Pan-seared Wild Alaskan King Salmon dish.

“The upcycling initiative drives the message that this dish uses all sustainable ingredients,” says executive chef Manda Madav.

Photo: Sharas Clickz

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SAVOUR

From machine to plate

Adopting technology doesn’t just counter manpower constraints and rising costs, it also offers new opportunities to young, passionate chefs ready to test their creativity, says Noel Ng, chef de cuisine, research and development at Fairmont Singapore & Swissôtel The Stamford.

The Stamford has been using 3D food printers to create chocolates and pastries, and Ng feels that the technology offers the flexibility to create geometric configurations and complicated chocolate sculptures that cannot be created by hand.

“Personally, it has encouraged me to push myself even further, to stretch my imagination,” he says, adding that the ability

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to create “fascinating and customisable masterpieces will inevitably elevate the dining experience”, opening up a whole new world of opportunity, especially for independent restaurateurs.

Lynette Kucsma, co-founder of Natural Machines, which manufactures Foodini 3D printers, says the technology is in its early days and is “going to keep on getting better and better”, forecasting that in 10 to 15 years, 3D food printers will become as ubiquitous as microwave ovens.

Anyone who says printed food isn’t edible obviously hasn’t tried creations such as this corn cob made by Foodini.

“Technology is not here to replace the role of restaurateurs.”

Future goals

Other exciting technologies that are set to revolutionise the dining scene include waterjet cutters that allow uniform and precise cutting at an incredible speed and help eliminate cross contamination – a significant risk with conventional knives – as well as enclosed climatecontrolled cabinets that enable chefs and restaurants to grow microgreens in their kitchens, providing them with consistent, quality supplies.

However, Ng says, the human touch is still a vital component of any kitchen. “In spite of living in a revolutionary world of technology, we must be reminded that technology is not here to replace the role of restaurateurs. Technology should be smartly adopted to meet growing customers’ needs and enhance the experience, but never to replace the human touch.”

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Precious Commodities Scarcity and bidding wars have pushed prices for a single kilogram of the world’s rarest ingredients beyond that of an Hermès bag or Rolex watch. Are restaurateurs getting their return on investment?

By ANNIE TAN

F

ine dining trends may be constantly evolving, but one trend remains evergreen – the search for the scarcest, and most exclusive ingredients.

Top restaurateurs do not balk at shelling out top dollar to indulge dinners. Do the end results justify the stratospheric costs and do they translate into profits? Here is a look at four coveted commodities with outrageous prices.

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Robb Report

Black Ivory Coffee A kilogram costs more than a MacBook After an Asian elephant in Thailand’s Golden Triangle consumes and excretes Thai Arabica coffee beans, their price increases a hundredfold. A single kilogram costs S$2,439. Elephants are herbivores and break food down via a fermentation process that removes the bitterness of coffee. Thirty-three kilograms of coffee cherries make just one kilogram of beans with notes of dark chocolate, malt, spice, earth and grass. Produced exclusively by Canadian entrepreneur Blake Dinkin, this coffee is served at five-star hotels in Thailand, Maldives and Macau. It was also served at The Club on level 55 of Marina Bay Sands some years back. However, probably owing to its shock factor, it never took off in Singapore and was subsequently taken off the menu.

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White Alba Truffles A kilogram costs more than a Chanel 2.55 Bag

Photos: Bailey Cooper / Getty Images, Shutterstock

A single kilogram of these ‘white diamonds of the kitchen’ sets restaurateurs back by S$6,000. Though during years of bad harvests, it can even come up to S$12,000. This fungus grows beneath oak trees in the forests of northern Italy from early October to December.

Truffle hunters work with specially trained dogs to find mere grams of these gems, known for their intense earthy and musky aroma, and garlicky flavour profile. Once harvested, they lose about five per cent of their weight each day and need to reach a restaurant table within 36 hours.

Unusually large bulbs fetch stratospheric prices. In 2016, the owner of China’s Da Dong Roast Duck shelled out RMB772,000 for an enormous one-kilogram specimen for personal consumption.

MONEY

Bluefin Tuna A kilogram of January’s largest catch costs as much as an Hermès Kelly bag In January, ‘tuna king’ Kiyoshi Kimura paid ¥333.6 million for a 278kg bluefin tuna caught near Japan’s Aomori prefecture. For this investment to break even, each slice of otoro (fatty tuna belly) would have to fetch at least ¥24,700. Once shunned by gourmands, bluefin tuna used to be ground up for cat food. However, between 1970 and 1990, it sharply rose in popularity, jacking up prices by 10,000 per cent. This price hike shows no sign of abating, especially since bluefin is now critically endangered from overfishing.

But this is not the only reason Kimura paid millions for his prized fish – it is considered a great honour and status symbol in Tokyo to win the bid for the first bluefin of the New Year, and generates widespread international publicity for the restaurant.

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Almas Caviar A kilogram costs more than a gold Rolex The world’s priciest caviar is so expensive that it was recorded in Guinness World Records. One kilogram of Almas caviar fetches £20,000. These golden yellow eggs come from the Iranian beluga, endangered centuryold albino sturgeons that once belonged to the shahs of Iran. Not many people – food critics included – can tell you from first-hand experience what this delicacy tastes like. It is said to have a nutty, creamy taste. The eponymous Almas Caviar Bar at The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong is the only place in Asia that retails it – 250g costs HK$56,000 and is presented in a 23-carat gold tin. With a worldwide limited supply of 100 tins per year, and a one-month advance order required, one can imagine that it is not the hotel’s main revenue machine, though it adds weight to its prestigious branding.

Many top restaurants usually use black summer truffles as they are more than 10 times cheaper than Alba truffles.

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Robb Report

Château LafauriePeyraguey brings luxury to the vines of Sauternes.

Lovers of French wine have even more reason to extend their sojourn in the countryside.

By JEMIMA SISSONS

T

he vineyard hotel is hardly a new phenomenon. You can find it near and far – Napa, Yarra, Douro and beyond – which makes it all the more curious that France, that glorious beacon of fine winemaking from the Rhône Valley to Champagne, has managed to stay out of the game for so long. Perhaps

the French, not entirely famous for their hospitality, simply figured if you had a place to crash, you’d almost certainly outstay your welcome. Lucky for us, however, the country’s best wine regions are finally coming around, opening up their doors and even fluffing a few pillows for the luxury traveller who wishes to linger longer.

Champagne

Sauternes

Provence

Set amid the vine-flecked undulations of Épernay, the new Royal Champagne (royalchampagne.com) is a cork’s pop away from the region’s top vineyards, Dom Pérignon included. Opened last year, the hotel’s cup runneth over with wine-country extras. Its Michelin-starred Le Royal pairs pheasant and foie gras with the area’s best pours; its master sommelier arranges visits to private wineries, including impossibleto-get-into Billecart Salmon and Bollinger; and its owners even produce their own label, Leclerc Briant, which it stocks in the on-site cellar alongside bottles of Romanée Conti and Lafite-Rothschild.

South-east of Bordeaux in Sauternes, a new stay among the vines has been born at Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey (chateau-lafauriepeyraguey. com), a 17th-century estate that French cristallerie Maison Lalique has recently converted into an opulent hotel. There, among chandeliers and bespoke mirrors, guests have access to a deep cellar filled with an impressive collection of regional vintages that go back as far as 1893. The hotel’s humble mission is to introduce its visitors to Sauternes’s Premier Grand Cru Classés, including Château LafauriePeyraguey’s own, encased, of course, in an engraved Lalique bottle.

Though the Côte d’Azur is flush with luxury resorts, Provence’s rose vineyards have long been barren of worthy places to stay. The arrival of Villa La Coste (villalacoste.com) at the Château La Coste winery in Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade finally gives us a reason to skip the commute from Marseille. A vast improvement on the simple hostelries nearby, the 28-suite retreat offers access to the chateau’s 243 hectares of vines and well-received wines, plus a Francis Mallmann restaurant. A 15-minute drive away, Château de Fonscolombe (fonscolombe. fr) has also opened on the grounds of the 300-year-old Domaine de Fonscolombe.

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Brain Escape

By KATE DONNELLY The future of wellness has descended on the hills of Alicante, Spain. Sha Wellness Clinic (shawellnessclinic.com), a luxury resort frequented by top athletes and high-powered executives, has launched a pair of non-invasive treatments to condition the brain. Dr Bruno Ribeiro is the neuroscientist behind the programme, which aims to treat everything from anxiety to sleeplessness by accelerating the ‘cellular activity’ in that old dome of yours.

The first treatment, Brain Photobiomodulation, leans on new technology from NASA, with a soft, state-of-the-art helmet that sends varying infrared-light wavelengths to dormant parts of the brain to improve memory and concentration as well as physical endurance and coordination. The second, Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (used by Harvard Medical School) – developed to tackle chronic pain, sleep disorders and even addiction – uses a wireless Bluetooth helmet to apply soft currents to the affected quadrants of the brain to adjust the positive or negative neural activity. Think of it as a sports massage for your noggin.

Photos: Sha Wellness Clinic, Château Lafaurie- Peyraguey

Sip and Stay

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DESIGN MAVERICK

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Through The Roof

The next time you’re in Manhattan, look out for the beanstalk sprouting up on Billionaires’ Row.

Photo: HayesDavidson

A

By ALLISA NORAINI

new kid has joined Manhattan’s Billionaires’ Row and he’s skinny. In fact, he’s the skinniest of them all. Rising 435m above the ground, 111 West 57th Street features the world’s most slender frame with a height-to-width ratio of 24:1, making it the slimmest building in the world. The visually arresting skyscraper is under the stewardship of ShoP Architects, which took design cues from the restored Steinway building that the tower rises from.

Featuring a terracotta facade finished with bronze filigree detailing, the 86-storey tower has a tapered peak, creating an illusion that the building disappears into the sky. Upon completion, 111 West 57th Street will be home to 46 condominium units, ranging from threebedroom apartments to penthouses, that offer spectacular vistas of the Manhattan skyline and Central Park. The units’ interior design is spearheaded by New York-based design firm Studio Sofield, the mastermind behind the property’s grandiose, top-of-the-line fittings, which range from grey onyx showers to walls and floors clad in veined white onyx. To top it all, a custom, antique free-standing tub by William Holland awaits in the master bath. www.111w57.com

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The Art of Preservation Recently appointed deputy minister Chai Nakornchai speaks to Robb Report about the eternal balancing act of preserving old and respected Thai traditions, melding with modern concepts and ideas.

By TUPTIM MALAKUL NA AYUTHAYA

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he Thai Cultural Ministry plays an important role in preserving traditions while accepting modern changes in keeping with the world’s digital expansion. Here, deputy minister Chai Nakornchai talks about the importance of encouraging the growth of creativity among the country’s youth.

In our efforts to preserve tradition, we sometimes overlook and pay less attention. This is a required concerted effort by all; parenting, the educational system, the public at large should draw and consolidate to keep traditions alive. Today too much emphasis is placed on academic excellence to compete in the workplace. So tradition and customs are left on the shelf to return to at a later date. When traditions are abandoned, only to be revived by the next generation, cultural norms can be lost and forgotten, with a much harder

“Performance art is a way to instill tradition and customs and bring interest to the youth of today.”

Photo: Smith Chetanachan

task to accomplish. Performance art is a way to instill tradition and customs and bring interest to the youth of today.

As a member of ASEAN, we send many of our performers to partake in concerts showcasing the immense talent Thailand possesses. We have excellent facilities for those wishing to learn our artistry in music and dance. It is with pride that in November 2018 UNESCO listed

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A Khon masked dance drama performance.

Facing page: deputy minister Chai Nakornchai.

Thai Khon masked dance drama as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity. This in essence serves to preserve and improve Thai art at its finest. The Department of Cultural Promotion and the Ministry of Culture also sponsored The Thai Youth Orchestra, all 65 of its members, to participate in the Youth Music Festival in 2017 in Vienna, Austria and subsequently won a prize for an outstanding symphony orchestra.

Because of their victory the department will encourage the orchestra to perform in other music competitions.

To encourage growth and creativity among the youth, western contemporary art such as the Biennial Contemporary Art or the annual Bangkok’s International Festival of Dance and Music brings an enriching choice in which art should flourish and allow creativity to expand, while keeping traditions alive, trendy and fashionable.

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THE LAST WORD

Robb Report

Say a Little Prayer A spiritual resto rant and an invocation to the gods of food and restaurants. Deliver us from the evils of mediocrity, but please don’t deliver our food. It will be cold when it arrives.

O

h lord, lead us not into restaurants where the 18-page menu is littered with words we’re not meant to understand. We know the chef is only trying to prove that the provenance of his creation is logic-defyingly esoteric and alchemical in its scientific artistry. Let us turn our noses up at such dissembling as we would at the whiff of an unripe brie.

Save us from descriptions of dishes that run to a paragraph and contain phrases such as ‘citrus-scented foam’, ‘acorn jus’ and ‘artisanal’. Keep us, please, from too many adjectives and verbs when describing, for example, steak and chips. And we entreat you, lords of the supposed manoirs; don’t even bother using the word ‘fresh’ anywhere on the menu. If it’s not fresh, what in Satan’s place of domicile is it doing in a restaurant and being charged money for in the first place?

Deliver us from use of the word ‘homemade’ as well, while you’re at it. Unless the chef actually lives in the kitchen and has his phone bills sent there. If we want homemade food, we wouldn’t take the trouble to leave home to go to a restaurant.

Give us the strength to avoid places in which the interior designer has his own house of couture and would roll his eyes if our appearance didn’t perfectly complement the restaurant’s aesthetic splendour. Let

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us rest on chairs that are comfortable and accommodating, and that do not make us feel as though we’ve just been wheeled in from death row after our last supper. Give us this day our daily bread basket, but it doesn’t have to be ‘sundried tomato-infused ciabatta’ or ‘virgin-harvested olive-impregnated sourdough’.

Bread is a sundry and when it’s presented as a masterpiece, eternal damnation may be but a discarded crumb away.

Lead us not into temptation by encouraging us to choose a restaurant based on five stellar/super(b) TripAdvisor reviews written by contributors with strange names whose body of work extends to no more than a single, illiterately written piece. And let us not be intimidated by servers who feel it beneath them to explain how on earth an acorn can produce a ‘jus’.

Instead, lord, give us consistency, so that we may approach an eating establishment with confidence. Let not our favourite dish be prepared in mysterious ways, and bestow upon us faith that the quality of the meal we partook of on our last visit will be replicated.

Let us pray that the wait staff will appreciate that friendliness is as important as efficiency, even when our cup runneth over with a vintage claret. Guide us through the vagaries of meaningless food trends and give us the knowledge to differentiate between pretention and actual substance. Let us bow our heads as we eat, and recognise the heavenly kingdom of a good meal, and the power and the glory of a blessed restaurant experience.

Amenu.

Photo: Luncheon of The Boating Party by Renoir

By ANDREW LECI

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HOW LONG IS FOREVER?

HYT BOUTIQUE S I A M PA R A G O N S H O P P I N G C E N T E R , 2 N D F L O O R 9 9 1 R A M A 1 R O A D , P AT U M W A N , L U M P I N I 1 0330 BANG KOK T: + 6 6 - 2 6 1 0 - 9 9 2 3

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QC RR trang don.indd 1

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