A gentle rundown on food, entertaining, hotels and the way we live – from the desks of Monocle’s editors and bureaux chiefs.
| Sunday 23/02/25 |
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London Paris Zürich Milan Bangkok Tokyo Toronto |
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Keys to the city
If you haven’t already visited Monocle’s new Paris shop and café and explored its buzzy neighbourhood, we’ve got you covered with a roundup of our favourite drinking and dining spots in Montorgueil. We also meet an Austrian winemaker in the marshes of the Burgenland and talk seasonal produce from a greengrocer who has gone global. Plus: we bed down in Bali and try our hand at a Japanese-inspired crème caramel. First up is our editorial director, Tyler Brûlé.
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In safe hands By Tyler Brûlé
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Did you grow up in a community where the local newspaper was housed in a shop sandwiched between a dental practice and a dry cleaner? Perhaps the most recent edition was displayed in a vitrine alongside a rate card in case your mom wanted to buy an extra 30 copies of the issue featuring you in a Christmas musical, or one of your dogs dressed up for the pet parade? Weren’t those the days?
This was the time of the proper village newspaper with lots of classified ads for ski gear that was too small or out of fashion for teens, boats to buy for the upcoming summer season and appeals for more people to join the local volunteer fire brigade. In many corners of the world the local newspaper is long gone and has been replaced by various social-media groups, digital-bulletin boards and misguided government initiatives to stimulate local journalism via wasteful spending and general inclusivity box-ticking. Thankfully, a few still endure along my stretch of the lake in Zürich and it’s no wonder that they’re continuing to land in letterboxes with considerable frequency as they have figured out how to charge accordingly for hitting the right audience. The only trick that they’re missing is an English-language edition for all the expats who have settled down over the past decade and the many more who are inbound. More on this particular crowd in a moment.
I was reminded of the shopfront village newspaper earlier this week while working out of our Tokyo bureau. When we launched Monocle 18 years ago (it was our birthday this week by the way), we had the idea to make our outposts a combo of retail (back then it was mags and a few bags) and a news-gathering operation in which our editors were in touch with PRs, writers and readers at street level. The retail footprint has remained for the most part but the editors have moved to other cities and left the story-tip triage to our shop managers in Toronto, Merano and beyond.
Today, Tokyo is the last bureau-boutique combo in our network and I’m happy to report that it is expanding – indeed, you might have heard the lovely accent of Julia Kim reading the news headlines for us of late. Running the show since launch is our own woman in Tokyo, Fiona Wilson, and while she has plenty to keep her busy with multiple mags, books, newsletters and more, she is also the most in-demand concierge in our business. Hardly a day goes by that an eagle-eyed reader doesn’t spy her in the back of the office and ask if she might pop out to say hello and share some tips.
This week was no different and Fiona is always game to size up who she’s speaking to while assessing the number pages she’ll need to flick through in Monocle’s black book of Japan. Will the couple from Seattle keep a lid on a top tip or will they blast it all over Instagram? What about the sole traveller from Munich? Can he be trusted with the bar we like in Ginza? Will he behave? Better still, will he even get in? Fiona has a good read on our audience and will happily dispense a tip or two but, just for reference, she is not on hand to plan 10-day itineraries around Kyushu when there’s an expo to be written or a minister to be interviewed.
If you’ve been with us for most of the past 18 years then you’ll know that playing concierge is a big part of what all of us do at Monocle – editors, baristas, retail staff and more. Zürich customers will ask Rochdi behind the bar what he thinks of long weekends in Merano. Visitors to Merano will ask Linda if she can help secure a table in a remote-valley hut. And then there are the busy inboxes with every type of request you can imagine: What Paraboot should I buy this season? Where can I purchase the perfect coffee cups in Paris? Can you recommend a good nanny agency in Lisbon? This week I noticed the correspondence taking a slightly darker tone: “Where in the world would you relocate if Europe properly goes to shit?” At least, that was the general tone of the correspondence.
I’ve been thinking a lot about these queries since midweek and it raises another question: What are you willing to give up? Would you trade everyday freedoms for more surveillance and less interesting films at the cinema? Would you be ready to move to a place where you’ll be perfectly safe but always an outsider? And would you be prepared to leave your liberal values at the border in exchange for safer trains and cleaner streets? I can imagine that immigration advisors with a knack for the ins and outs of settling in Switzerland are enjoying a busy Q1. In the past two weeks I’ve had five people asking about how they might resettle in Zürich. In the UAE I met even more Londoners and New Yorkers all set to board an Emirates aircraft and set up in the Gulf. We will soon set to work on our annual quality-of-life edition – you shouldn’t be too surprised if security takes a leading role in this year’s metrics.
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Edo Tokyo Kirari  MONOCLE
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Meet the neighbours: Montorgueil, Paris
You’ll find Monocle’s new Paris shop and café in the city’s village-like Montorgueil neighbourhood. Swing by 16 Rue Bachaumont between 08.00 and 22.00 for perfectly brewed coffee from Ten Belles roastery, fresh croissants, Japanese sandos and a special wine list, as well as our latest publications, products and collaborations. As you might have seen in yesterday’s edition of The Monocle Weekend Edition, the buzzy 2nd arrondissement plays host to a number of chic retailers and cultural hotspots. But there are also restaurants and watering holes aplenty. Here are some of our favourites.
Aux Crus de Bourgogne
A traditional French restaurant with bottle-green banquettes that has been open since 1932.
auxcrusdebourgogne.com
Frenchie
Greg Marchand’s tasting menus and extensive wine list make this one of Paris’s most in-demand dining spots.
frenchie-ruedunil.com
La Halle aux Grains
You’ll find this café and restaurant from Michel and Sébastien Bras on the third floor of the Bourse de Commerce. Expect breathtaking views of the Église Saint-Eustache.
halleauxgrains.bras.fr
Pizzeria Popolare
Tuck into a slice of Naples at Big Mamma Group’s convivial pizzeria.
circolopopolare.com
Shabour
In this Michelin-starred Israeli restaurant, diners sit at a counter that encases the open kitchen.
restaurantshabour.com
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Sunday roast: Franco Fubini
Man for all seasons
Franco Fubini is the founder and CEO of Natoora, a high-end greengrocer with outposts in cities from London and Paris to Copenhagen and Miami. Its approach to seasonality is shaping the ways in which chefs and consumers cook and understand fresh produce. Fubini joins us from his base in New York to discuss his Sunday tea ritual, winter radicchio varieties and his jazz soundtrack.
Where do we find you this weekend?
One of the wonderful things about living in Red Hook [in Brooklyn] is that the water is a very short walk from our home. The views of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty aren’t bad, either. The neighbourhood at this time of year is incredibly quiet. Its cobblestone streets and warehouses transport you far away from the city.
What’s your ideal way to begin a Sunday – a gentle start or a jolt?
Sundays are gentle. I start the morning by making maté, an Argentinian and Uruguayan green tea that we drink out of a gourd. Next I warm a cool tube amplifier from the 1970s that my brother gave me years ago and put on a jazz record. Then I sit down in the sunlight to read the papers. There’s something about reading them in a physical format that takes me to a serene place, irrespective of the news.
What’s on your menu?
If I’ve been in London recently, I’ll have some wholegrain bread from our mill and bakery, Alma, with butter and jam or honey and salt – with the right bread, that’s a killer combination. Some days I’ll have yoghurt with granola and fresh fruit because I’m religiously seasonal. You’ll never see me eating berries in December.
A Sunday soundtrack?
Sketches of Spain by Miles Davis or Neil Young’s Harvest.
News or not?
I recently subscribed to the Financial Times and The New York Times so I can finally read the papers again.
What’s on the menu?
A beautiful salad with different radicchio varieties and winter radishes from Tamarack Hollow Farm in Vermont and Winter Moon Roots in Massachusetts. I dress this with some aged-wine vinegar, citrus juice – such as an Owari Satsuma from Galpin Farms in California – and Senia olive oil from my dear friend Daniele in Sicily.
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Sponsored by Edo Tokyo Kirari
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Recipe: Ralph Schelling
Roasted hojicha crème caramel
Swiss chef Ralph Schelling developed a penchant for this dessert at Coffeehouse Nishiya in Tokyo, which can be prepared in advance. His top tip? “You’ll recognise the right cooking point when the mass wobbles like a pudding,” he says. “If in doubt, it’s better to steam it for a little longer. You can’t overcook it.” Serve in ramekins or turn them out onto a dish.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
120g cane sugar
½ litre soy milk
2 tsps roasted hojicha tea
4 eggs
Method
1.
Pour 60g of the sugar and 60ml of water into a small pan and bring to a boil over a medium heat. Stir gently for about 5 minutes until it forms a dark caramel, then pour into your ramekins.
2.
In a separate saucepan, heat the soy milk and the hojicha to a simmer and then leave to infuse for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 160C.
3.
In a bowl, mix the eggs with the remaining sugar. Pour in the infused milk through a sieve. Stir well, sieve again if necessary, then pour the mixture atop the caramel in your ramekins.
4.
Place your ramekins in a deep baking tray and pour boiling water from a kettle into the tray until it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the custard is just set.
5.
Leave to cool, then chill overnight or for at least 4 hours.
6.
To serve, run the tip of a sharp knife around the top of each ramekin. Then place a dessert plate on top and invert. Holding tight, give the plate and ramekin a quick shake. Now the ramekin can be carefully removed.
ralphschelling.com
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Bottoms up: Claus Preisinger Puszta Libre, Austria
Chills and thrills
Claus Preisinger has produced wine by the wetlands of Lake Neusiedlersee in Austria’s Burgenland since 2000 (writes Rory Jones). Over the decades, he has transformed his father’s compact vineyard into a 19-hectare plot and become one of Austria’s most prominent natural-wine producers.
Presinger’s Puszta Libre is a twist on his traditional offering. The dark bottle hides the cloudiness of the wine within. Fermented over six months, this blend of zweigelt, St Laurent and pinot noir is light, punchy and playful. Across the top of the bottle are the words gekühlt servieren (“serve cold”). Do precisely as it says.
clauspreisinger.at
For more on Austria’s most exciting brands, see our survey in Monocle’s annual business special, ‘The Entrepreneurs’.
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Weekend plans?: Oshom, Bali
Bali is the gleaming jewel in Indonesian tourism’s crown but the island’s popularity has come at the cost of the serenity that it’s known for (writes Callum McDermott). But if you know where to look, you’ll still find pockets of the charm and blissful solitude that made it a global destination. Oshom is a new hotel that overlooks the black magnetic sands of Nyanyi Beach. This waterfront property is in the recently launched Nuanu Creative City, about an hour’s drive from Denpasar airport.
Across its 11 suites and eight treehouses, owner Daisy Angus hopes to create a space that fosters a sense of renewal. “When people come to Bali, they’re often seeking redirection,” she says. “I wanted to build an inclusive space where you can connect with yourself.”
At Oshom, you’ll find all of the amenities that you would expect from a top health retreat: you can luxuriate in the well-appointed rooms or swim a few lazy laps in the saltwater pool by the Indian Ocean. “The space is centred around balance,” says Angus. “It’s your holiday so you’re welcome to do everything or nothing at all.”
oshombali.com
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