As I sit beachside at Bintan Lagoon Resort's Nelayan restaurant, I stare out at a prime example of what a South-East Asian beach should be. For starters, there’s actual surf with the waves rolling in forming azure barrels almost to the shoreline. The sand is almost white and there is a distinct lack of trash, […]
Perched 85-metres above Karma Kandara's private beach and overlooking the Indian Ocean, I’m digging into a sumptuous breakfast at the resort’s Di Mare restaurant. I imagine that right here on the edge of Bali, I am one of a select few who rule this sun-brightened world unto themselves, wanting for nothing - except perhaps to never […]
While Australia has predominantly made its name as an exporter of rocks and crops, there has been a quiet export revolution going on over the last decade and it’s influencing the world’s palate - in particular South-East Asia’s. Chef David Thompson of nahm restaurant at Bangkok’s ultra-stylish Como Metropolitan may have been the regional trailblazer […]
You won't find a bar like this anywhere else in Jakarta," says Nautilus Bar manager, Marwan Ardiyansyah. Situated on the ground floor of the Four Seasons Hotel Jakarta's address at Capital Place, the bar oozes cool with its black upholstered booths and wall-spanning mural, depicting Indonesia's heady days at the centre of the global spice […]
I should have worn my Panama hat, my suspenders... ah applesauce doll I'm not dressed as dapper as I should be, ya' know? Robert Marchetti The Plantation Grill's interior looks like a high-end, prohibition era New York party hall. Slide into one of its private leather booths that crouch under darkly mirrored columns and you conjure […]
Standing in the palatial opulence of the Double Six Luxury Hotel Seminyak lobby, I'm struck by the way Balinese design firm H2C has played with the concepts of ground and sky; the light tiled floor with a recurring kupu kupu (butterfly) theme seems to float and drink in light, while black, jagged tiles reminiscent of […]
Take a seat in CasCades restaurant at Viceroy Bali and you’re immediately taken by the green expanse of Ubud's Valley of the Kings in front of you. A fresh breeze gently tumbles down the valley and rolls through the open restaurant space. Executive chef Nic Vanderbeeken’s vision for CasCades was to create an eclectic, health-conscious and […]
We’re all the product of our family – good or bad. Without getting into an extended debate on nature or nurture, family can shape our identity and how we see ourselves and the world around us.
“Splash, splash, slosh … slosh, slurp.’’ The first splash is me diving into my private pool in my private pool villa at Alila Villas Soori on Bali’s south coast.
