Singapore 
Residents and occasional visitors to the microstate might recall our little bureau/boutique/café operation in a modernist townhouse in Chip Bee Gardens. As far-flung outposts go, it still ranks as the best set-up we’ve ever had – solid, low-rise architecture, tonnes of greenery and a functional upstairs-downstairs division between editorial functions, retail and coffees on the front terrace. While in Singapore last week, I did a little spin around to see how the neighbourhood has developed since we left and was looking forward to visiting nearby Thambi’s to pick up some mags and papers. I asked the driver to pull up around the corner and grab a coffee while I toured Holland Village. As I rounded the food hall, I momentarily thought that I’d lost my bearings. Where was the Thambi awning? Was it one street over? Had they relocated to the fancy new Sekisui House development? This was definitely where I had last left it a few years ago and yet it had vanished.

I did a quick search on my phone to see where they’d moved and was greeted by an alarming story from 2024 about the Thambi Magazine Store shuttering after 80 years in business. How could it be? Where were Singaporeans and expats going to buy their FT Weekend, Le Monde diplomatique and sunburnt copies of Die Zeit? I returned to the car a bit deflated. I guess there’s always Books Kinokuniya for magazines and a clutch of specialist shops but Thambi’s was a proper little institution. Japan’s new PM is advocating for support to preserve local bookshops. Could it be time for magazine stores in Singapore and elsewhere to be granted some form of cultural protection and support? I say yes. 

Hong Kong 
Repulse Bay is one of those little enclaves where I like to play the “could I live here?” game. If you’ve not been to the other side of Hong Kong Island, Repulse Bay is a well-heeled community of villas and high-rises, beachy cafés and leathery locals living the good life on the South China Sea. I ventured over last Saturday morning to check on developments at The Repulse Bay Arcade – a vaguely colonial-inspired, open-air shopping and dining project. Set in a larger complex run by the Kadoorie family (owners of The Peninsula Hotels), the arcade is going through an overhaul that is turning it into a new destination for brands that want Hong Kong’s deep pockets mixed with sunshine and tropical breezes. While Curry Up and Human Made have landed from Tokyo, the management has thankfully kept Bookazine as an essential part of the local mix. I was happy to see a full line-up of our titles on display and residents lined up to buy their WSJ and SCMP. Maybe Bookazine needs to open a branch in Singapore’s Holland Village? 

Tokyo 
Magazine House does exactly what it says on the label – they make magazines. Very, very good magazines. Perhaps the best collection of titles in the world: Popeye, Brutus, Casa Brutus, Premium, Hanako and many more. The Japanese publisher is celebrating its 80th anniversary and just wrapped an exhibition in Tokyo’s Ginza district that mixed an amazing display of covers, a huge selection of back issues for purchase and lots of additional merch to mark the occasion. Just as Condé Nast and Hearst can be credited with defining a certain aesthetic in their fashion titles and championing journalism in their golden years, Magazine House has played a similar role on this side of the Pacific. If there’s one media player that keeps me on my toes and never ceases to inspire, it’s the talented crew of editors at this Tokyo publishing powerhouse. Congratulations from your fans at Monocle!

Enjoying life in ‘The Faster Lane’? Click here to browse all of Tyler’s past columns. 

In the south of France, pre-dinner drinks typically mean pastis or a chilled glass of rosé (writes Annick Weber). But for those craving a proper Italian-style aperitivo this side of the bel paese, Ciccino might be just the ticket. Come early evening, the barmen at this new Marseille opening serve up negronis to wash down mortadella-topped marritozzi, gnocchi fritti and seafood bruschette.

Chef Sylvain Roucayrol of local hotspot Tuba Club and interior architect Delaney Inamine wanted to bring a slice of old-world Milan to the Mediterranean without the clichés of checkered-tablecloth trattorias. The result is a chic, intimate space that feels as though it’s always been there, complete with green velvet banquettes, dark, wood-panelled walls and a well-stocked central bar. If the antipasti whet your appetite, move on to the fresh pasta options, followed by a secondo.

“Our food celebrates the simplicity of Italian cuisine: tasty, rich and full of flavour,” says Rebecca Bueno, who heads the kitchen alongside Omar Riolfo. Their must-try dish is linguine with garlic, oil and peperoncino – an Italian staple, also known as “midnight pasta” because it’s exactly what you’ll want to eat after a cocktail or two.
110 Rue Paradis, Marseille 6e

For more great restaurant recommendations and tasty morsels, pick up a copy of ‘France: The Monocle Handbook’.

A Rosewood group veteran, Michael Bonsor has taken over as general manager of The Chancery Rosewood in London. Here, he chats to us about finding fresh produce in Mayfair, a trip to the National Portrait Gallery and the brands in his winter wardrobe.

Where will we find you this weekend?
At my home in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, with my husband and golden retriever, Coco.

Ideal start to a Sunday? Gentle or a jolt?
A gentle walk that becomes a jolt with Coco, who is not quite trained yet, five years later.

What’s for breakfast?
If I’m lucky, it’s poached eggs and fresh-out-of-the-oven sourdough.

A Sunday soundtrack?
John Mayer or Miles Davis for a calm start.

Sunday culture must?
National Portrait Gallery, even if it is just for 10 minutes. Culture is like espresso – concentrated is enough. 

News or no news?
I skim the headlines in The Times, which is enough to know that the world is still spinning. I relish reading the weekend supplements. 

What’s on the menu?
Something roasted with a side of seasonal, green vegetables from the local farm shop; whether that is the one on South Audley Street in Mayfair or Cowbridge, Wales.  

And to drink?
Always a glass of Pol Roger champagne.

What brands does your wardrobe currently consist of?
Johnstons of Elgin, Bottega Veneta, The Row and Connolly. I appreciate quality pieces that transcend both time and trends. 

Click here to read about the opening of The Chancery Rosewood.

Similar in its flavour profile to the popular paella, fideuà hails from Valencia and calls for a short pasta shape, called fideos, instead of rice. To infuse this dish with a roasted aroma, it’s recommended to cook it over an open fire – though a pan on the stove will also work. To top it off, this fideuà goes well with aioli and hazelnut-and-parsley salsa picada. 

Serves 4

Ingredients 
200g fideos
100ml olive oil
250g of rabbit or chicken, cut into pieces
2 small chorizo sausages, cut into pieces
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 green pepper, roughly chopped
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tbsps paprika paste
100ml white wine
400g freshly chopped tomatoes
800ml chicken stock
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Method

1.
Roast the fideos in a paella pan with half the oil over an open fire or on the stove for 5 minutes. Then remove fideos from the pan. 

2.
Add the remaining oil and fry the meat.

3.
Add the onion, garlic and green pepper. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add the paprika and paprika paste, fry briefly and deglaze with white wine. 

4.
Pour in the chopped tomatoes and warm chicken stock, bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the pasta is cooked and the liquid has been completely absorbed. 
ralphschelling.com

Stay at Ansitz Layshof, a new guesthouse in Merano’s Obermais neighbourhood, and you might well meet newfound friends while watching the owners’ three children playing football on the garden lawn behind the historic property (writes Ed Stocker). “It’s a family-like atmosphere as it always has been,” says Christa Klotzner, who runs the place with her husband, Andreas. “But now it’s for everyone.”

The traditional South Tyrolean house – a stone’s throw from the Dolomites and around the corner from The Monocle Shop – can trace its history back to 1254 and has been in Andreas’s family for more than 150 years. Until recently, though, it was a private farmhouse. With time, it became clear that the house needed work – and was too big for the family’s changing needs. “We had to decide whether we wanted to go somewhere else to live or refurbish it,” says Klotzner. The couple, who took over the farm in 2013, decided on the latter, embarking on an ambitious two-year project that converted part of the space into a guesthouse. 

They drafted in designer Harry Thaler, the man behind the Monocle Design Awards trophy, to work on the renovation. It’s his work in the first-floor communal area that stands out the most. A huge, sculptural copper chandelier hangs from the ceiling above a circular sage-green sofa – also Thaler’s work – juxtaposing wonderfully with old paintings and a grandfather clock. “When we saw how beautiful the restoration was, we knew that we wanted to share it with others,” says Klotzner. 
layshof.com

For more well-designed boltholes and tips from savvy hoteliers, pick up a copy of Monocle’s November issue, which is available online and on newsstands now.