Indoor, outdoor, at the table, on the floor
The joy of Khmer dining can sometimes take time to reveal itself, but a Cuisine Wat Damnak experience is more than unlikely to be one of those times. Frenchman Joannes Riviere’s seasonal degustation menus are constantly changing to showcase the very best locally sourced ingredients, some of which he grows himself, and the names of which even the most sophisticated Khmer connoisseur may never have heard. The result is lip smacking fare like pork shank with star anise, fresh bamboo shoots and crispy trotter, and chocolate and holy basil ganache with rice praline. The lush bites are served up in equally lush Siem Reap surroundings, an utterly charmant indoor/outdoor garden villa with traditional wooden furny, floor mats and cushions, ceiling fans and a garden packed with home grown herbs. Simply delightful.
Wat Damnak Village. T: +855 63 965 491. W: cuisinewatdamnak.com
Backyard-sourced ingredients are the freshest
For more on the best bites in Cambodia, check out our Cambodia & Laos guide!
Just opened AMMO resto looks like a futuristic fete
If a restaurant is called AMMO, we naturally expect it to blow us away. Luckily, the new restaurant located in Admiralty’s Asia Society Hong Kong Center does indeed come out with a bang. While the restaurant name is an allusion to the centre’s heritage as a former explosives magazine compound for the British army, it also stands as an acronym for “Asia, Modern, Museum and Original”, its keywords as the culinary face of the East-meets-West Asia Society experience. Within its futuristic and super mod walls, which were conceptualised and designed by Joyce Wang and local celeb chef and restaurateur Tony Cheung, the restaurant offers an Asian-meets-Mediterranean menu by Chef Roland Schuller (of The Drawing Room), and an extensive wine and cocktail list at the bar. Feeling trigger happy? Go on and click through for photos.
Hello sweeties! Not only is the mercury rising, hemlines and moods are too, evenings are longer and there’s cheer in the balmy air. In honour of the upcoming summer season, we’ve launched a brand new 5 piece White Linen Boxset, exclusively available at www.luxecityguides.com
This fabulous little box homes five LUXE City Guides of your choosing, and is handcrafted in classic, fresh white linen, with a rich and chic coral interior sleeve and lining, plus an embossed gold logo.
Use it to kick start your holiday planning, or gift it to your fabulous pals who spend their summers in the beach clubs of Bali, bodegas of Barcelona, ruins of Rome or lively LA lounges. Who wants to stay home when the world is beckoning? From sunny city breaks to beach getaways, it’s time to dust off your bags, grab your LUXE City Guides and jet off to paradise. The staple of everyone’s summer wardrobe, cool white linen, is this season’s perfect accessory for the world’s chic-est guides. And remember darlings: If you can’t tone it, (fake) tan it! Who’s got time for pilates when you’re jetsetting right?
Now, one last thing. Whether it’s one guide or multiple boxes, we can gift wrap and ship anywhere in the world. And when you buy at www.luxecityguides.com we guarantee you will have only the best and the latest editions to all of our 36 titles, including our new series of family guides, LITTLE LUXE.
LUXE Link Roundup: Beef Club in Paris, Met Gala in NYC, and ‘Theatre of Nature’ in the Netherlands
BY The LUXE Editors Tweet
Paris' Beef Club Ballroom looks like our new favourite watering hole
Welcome back to our weekly LUXE Links, in which we source some of the week’s best reads from around the web and around the world. This week, behind the scenes at the Met Gala, a ‘Theatre of Nature’ in the Netherlands, and an extensive look at Paris’ The Beef Club. Get clickin’, chickens!
Burgers and cocktails at Paris’ Le Ballroom du Beef Club, from the owners of LUXE fave ECC. [HiP Paris]
More than 1,000 artists showcase at the 3-day Frieze Art Fair pop up on Randall’s Island, NYC. [Guardian UK]
A unique and ‘Modern Australian’ menu that wows at Cumulus Inc in Melbourne. [E-ting Food]
A behind the scenes with Olivier Theyskens and Caroline Trentini before this year’s Met Ball. [Into The Gloss]
Seven million square feet of flowers at the once-in-a-decade ‘Theatre of Nature’ in Venlo, southeast Netherlands. [New York Times]
Moscow's leading molecular maestro, Chef Anatoly Komm
Hailed as one of the 100 best contemporary chefs by Ferran Adria, and with a restaurant ranked number 60 on the 2012 world’s best restaurants list, Chef Anatoly Komm has an impressive resume. Considered the pioneer of haute cuisine in Russia, Chef Komm reinterprets traditional Russian food with a modern and molecular take at his award-winning Moscow restaurant Varvary. This month, he brought his menu to Hong Kong’s Landmark Mandarin Oriental, taking part in a series of unique pop-up showcases, and we sat down with the chef for a quick chat about his passions and inspirations.
They don't call it Island of the Gods for no reason
Spectacular doesn’t even begin to describe Latitude Villa, a 5-bedroom private getaway in beachy Bali where your living room view is as deceptive as it is jaw-dropping, with no discernible break from front-yard infinity pool to out-there blue ocean. If you were raised on some exotic island and that scenery isn’t enough to sell you, villa facilities include an outdoor Jacuzzi, a home theatre, a snooker room, and a fully equipped kitchen with an in-house chef to cater to you. Right then, now that’s settled, you’d better start saving for the ultimate special occasion vacation.
1 Karang Kembar Estate, The Bukit, Bali. T: +62 0361 733 320. W: latitudebali.com
For even more of the best of Bali, check out our LUXE Bali guide, or download the app. And if you’re travelling with the tots, peep our brand new Little LUXE Bali guide and go glam with the fam!
Sawadee to our trendy Bangkok-bound friends, this one's for you: The recently-opened Sofitel So Bangkok and its element-themed rooms await. The 30-storey design diva, located next to Lumpini Park in the biz district, boasts jaw-dropping vistas and all mod cons, plus Park Society rooftop resto/bar and infinity pool. Each of the 238 rooms come equipped with iPads and free WiFi, and the spa is outfitted with hammam, pool, and sauna, while the downstairs entertainment centre turns into a night club after sunset. Gastronomes will be happy with a table at trad market-style Red Oven restaurant, and a visit to the ChocoLab, which is indeed as indulgent as it sounds. If you're after a pretty n' pampered stay in BKK, all you'll have to decide is: are you metal, earth, fire, or water?
An earth-themed room boasting aquatic ambiance
Go platinum in this mod, metal-themed room
A soak in the tub while enjoying that view? Wow-worthy water-themed room
Market fresh ingredients and live cooking stations at Red Oven
Stellar views and sultry ambiance at Park Society, rooftop resto & bar
Sofitel So Hotel. 2 North Sathorn Road, Bangkok. T: +66 2624 0000. W: sofitel.com
LUXE Link Roundup: Olympic art in London, cocktails in Beijing, and more cocktails in Paris
BY The LUXE Editors Tweet
First look at Anna Dello Russo for H&M
Welcome back to our weekly LUXE Links, in which we source some of the week’s best reads from around the web and around the world. This week, a first look at the Olympic Park art, a tantalising tour of Tel Aviv, and a new Parisian cocktail club to get in line for. Get clickin’, chickens!
Our fave cocktail creators at Experimental Cocktail Club open new Paris speakeasy Le Ballroom du Beef Club [Travel + Leisure]
The Savoy London’s bartender heads to The Fairmont Beijing to teach ‘Master Class’ (hint: cocktail mixing and drinking) [Beijing Boyce]
A preview of the 26 installations at the Olympic Park’s ‘Art in the Park’ programme in London this summer [Creative Review]
First look at more-is-more connoisseur Anna Dello Russo’s accessories line for H&M – purses out [Refinery 29]
The seven must-sees of Tel Aviv, the NYC of Israel, from boutique hotel to retail haven to hipster hangout [Cool Hunting]
Horsing around with a twilight amble on the beach
Dear globetrotting hearts, it’s that time of the month again! Our May travel column for Singapore Airlines’ silverkris.com website and their inflight mag is now viewable in its entirety online.
This month, our 24 hour spotlight highlights Bali romances with sandy beach frolics, galloping equestrians, spa treats, sunset cocktails, and much more to get you grooving to the island rhythms. Add a dash of spice to your courtship on one of the hottest island destis in Southeast Asia!
For our lucky lovelies, silverkris.com readers get an exclusive promo code to score 15% off LUXE guides and box sets. Get ready, jet set, go!
These movers and shakers will soon be headed from London's Guildhall to Singapore...
LUXE lovelies, have you seen the just-announced winners of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2012? Time to refresh that must-eat-before-you-die checklist… But wait, there’s more. Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the World’s 50 Best academy has just announced the exciting news that next year will see the launch of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards, sponsored by S. Pellegrino and Acqua Panna, to be held in Singapore at the end of February 2013. More details to come, but best get your chopsticks ready!
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