Investing in wine: Should I invest in fine wine? April 1, 2015 The principal of investing in wine began hundreds of years ago. Collectors and enthusiasts purchased extra cases or bottles with the mind-set that they would sell some and consume the remainder for a reduced cost or even for free. Over the last 20 years wine has become more commoditised and therefore the fine wine investment [...]
Restaurant review: Second time lucky for Kensington’s Zaika? March 31, 2015 Zaika has a pleasingly convoluted history. Pay attention, now. It opened in 1999 under the auspices of chef Vineet Bhati and two years later won a Michelin star – the first time an Indian restaurant had received the accolade (two did that year). It held onto the star for four years, during which time it moved [...]
Mix it up: In praise of SushiSamba’s Kobe Cocktail and the inimitable Tom Yam March 31, 2015 For years I’ve been hearing the general buzz about Heron Tower’s bars and restaurants, but until recently I hadn’t taken the memorable ride in its near supersonic elevator to find out more. Prior to my elevation, I had conflated the building’s Japanese-Brazilian-Peruvian SushiSamba with its modern European Duck & Waffle into a mush of quacking [...]
Eggspect more this Easter: The gourmet eggs you won’t regret shelling out on March 31, 2015 PRESTAT LONDON GIN TRUFFLE EGG For a very British egg, look no further than the Queen’s chocolatier Prestat, whose egg nods to its 100-year-old London heritage. This milk chocolate and lemon oval is filled with white chocolate truffles flavoured with gin, lemon and juniper. £15 from prestat.co.uk. PAUL A YOUNG EGG-FILLED EGG [...]
Car review: The Range Rover Sport SVR is the toughest ever March 30, 2015 It’s hard to imagine this now, but for the first thirty years of its existence, Land Rover only sold the resolutely agricultural Series I, II and IIA. It wasn’t until 1970 that it introduced the Range Rover, and with it the concept of the luxury off-roader. Now we have the Range Rover Sport SVR, the [...]
Not convinced? March 30, 2015 CHECK OUT THESE ALTERNATIVES… BMW X5M PRICE: £73,583 0-62MPH: 4.2 secs TOP SPEED: 155mph CO2 G/KM: 258g/km MPG COMBINED: 25.4mpg THE VERDICT: DESIGN Three Stars PERFORMANCE Five Stars PRACTICALITY Four Stars VALUE FOR MONEY Five Stars MERCEDES-BENZ ML63 AMG PRICE: £86,920 0-62MPH: 4.8 secs TOP SPEED: 155mph CO2 G/KM: 276g/km MPG COMBINED: 23.5mpg THE VERDICT: DESIGN Four Stars PERFORMANCE [...]
Make this your bag March 30, 2015 Keep your laptop safe and sound in a gorgeous bespoke rucksack from luxury Italian brand Piquadro Time was, the laptop bag was an uglier, floppier version of the briefcase. Not any more. Italian luxury bag maker Piquadro tasked its master-craftsmen with coming up with a rucksack befitting of the machine you rely upon for work, [...]
Shady character March 30, 2015 Bringing you the best in outlandish women’s sunglasses for the season ahead There is something about getting a new pair of sunglasses that somehow surpasses the item itself. Perhaps it’s because they tend to coincide with summer, or a holiday, or simply because you happen to wear them on your face. They don’t only change [...]
The Shanghai’s the limit in this city that never stops March 29, 2015 Londoners are obsessed with christening skyscrapers. From the Walkie Talkie to the Cheesegrater, new buildings are barely granted planning permission before they are slapped with a nickname, reducing years of meticulous planning to a childish slogan. If the residents of Shanghai had a similar habit, they’d have little time to do anything else. The skyline [...]
48 hours in… Tallinn March 29, 2015 WHERE TO STAY Merchant’s House Hotel in the old town is a traditional Estonian-style inn with original features like stone archways and nice touches in the rooms including cow hide rugs and paintings of Estonian noblemen. merchantshousehotel.com WHERE TO GO The Estonian History Museum celebrates all things Estonian from the mid 19th century onwards, including [...]