Monocle Weekend
Edition: Sunday

It’s high time those halls were decked, so join us for some inspiration. This week: our guide to gift-buying in Milan, design maestro Sofie Hellsing on how to festoon your festive fir and Alexa Bruun Rasmussen, head of her namesake auction house, shares some Danish traditions. Plus: snapshots of Ukraine’s more eccentric side and, first in line from our Christmas market, Tyler Brûlé.

Because of its unassuming glass façade, you could easily bypass this tiny Reykjavík restaurant without realising what riches lie within. This subtlety is perhaps indicative of the fact that Hosiló doesn’t cater solely to tourists, unlike the Viking-themed restaurants that surround it.

In 2020, Númi Thorkell Thomasson, Atli Ottesen and Aðalsteinn Ragnar Benediktsson – who previously worked in some of the city’s best restaurants, including French-style bistro Snaps – decided to go it alone and set up shop inside this atmospheric building, complete with its church-like window. Hosiló’s compact menu changes weekly but reliably showcases Iceland’s best ingredients in delights such as baked arctic char and desserts featuring skyr and strawberries.
+354 793 6666

Milan is Italy’s most cosmopolitan city, so you’ll find gifts hailing from near and far. Start in the Navigli district at Tenoha, a Japanese concept store selling stationery, fashion and food from Nippon. Next to the Duomo is the stylish boutique of Argentine perfumer Fueguia 1833, which manufactures its scents in Milan, draws on South America for ideas and uses natural ingredients. Then venture to Brera and the charming shop of fashion designer Massimo Alba, where naturally dyed Italian-made cashmere jumpers catch the eye.

In nearby Corso Garibaldi, pop into the shop of Turin chocolatier Guido Gobino for bite-sized heaven; the gianduiotto and cremino dark sweets are a must. Move on to Isola and visit Pijama, maker of soft cases and bags in fetching prints to disguise digital devices. Unwind with an espresso or aperitivo at Goto, Giovanni Fiorin’s contemporary Italian bar, which serves the peerless wine of indigenous varietals from Piemonte to Puglia, along with well-aged prosciutto and parmigiano reggiano. Don’t leave without a house panettone from Modena.

Isolarii is a small, subscription-only magazine that deals in big ideas. Still, the premise is simple enough: every two months, co-founders Sebastian Clark and India Ennenga commission an interesting soul from the world of film, architecture or art to share a proposal on how to improve society, be it through the medium of poetry or by delving into the politics of colour.

Past issues include a collaboration between writer Robert Coover and graphic novelist Art Spiegelman; the work of Russian poet Galina Rymbu; and an edition on eating by a Turner prize-nominated Spanish duo, which they called Cooking Sections. The latter project convinced the Tate gallery in London to stop serving salmon, by documenting the fishy ethics of industrial farming.

Isolarii is Italian for “island texts” and a reference to a genre of small books from Renaissance-era Venice that were each dedicated to a single idea or perspective. The latest issue sees curator Hans Ulrich Obrist unpicking the late French thinker Édouard Glissant’s canny post-colonial cogitations on the idea of the archipelago. Go on, dive in.
isolarii.com

Alexa Bruun Rasmussen is the third generation of her family to work at Denmark’s Bruun Rasmussen auction house, which opened in 1948 (writes Grace Charlton). As the Copenhagen gallery’s branding director and an auctioneer, she is often negotiating telephone bids from around the world in Danish, English, German and French, and is an expert in antiques and silverware. Here, Bruun Rasmussen tells us about her favourite Danish Christmas traditions, creating “tablescapes” with silverware and what she doesn’t want to see on the dining table.

Where do we find you this weekend?
At the Trapholt, the museum of modern art, craft and design in Kolding, Denmark. There is a very interesting exhibition about the work of designer Verner Panton happening.

What’s your ideal beginning to a Sunday – a gentle start or a jolt?
A gentle start consisting of coffee, two soft-boiled eggs and time with family and friends.

Soundtrack of choice?
Classical music or anything Abba, depending on the time of day.

News or no news?
On weekdays I read the daily news on my phone but on weekends I prefer print.

Any larder essentials you can’t do without?
I can’t do without butter. I always slather a thick layer on bread.

A Sunday culture must?
Scrolling through all the new design, art and other objects at Bruun Rasmussen’s online auctions. And a long walk with my dog Lobo, a black labrador.

The ideal dinner venue?
At home, where we bake salmon with lots of fresh herbs and set a beautiful table combining tableware from the 18th to the 21st century.

Who’s joining?
Friends, often across three generations.

A glass of something you would recommend?
It would have to be my very own wine, the Alexa Chardonnay 2018 from Stellenbosch, which is a collaboration between me and Mathew Castle from Mats Vineyard. I would also recommend a chardonnay from the Francis Ford Coppola Winery.

What will we not find on your Sunday table?
Feet!

A Sunday evening routine?
At the moment, I’m watching The Good Doctor on Netflix. It’s inspiring.

What are your favourite festive traditions?
I really enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with friends and Christmas with family. I love the wonderful Christmas spirit. It’s great, especially for children and those of us who still feel young at heart. Oh, and the Danish traditions of dancing around the Christmas tree and playing “find the almond in the rice pudding”.

Our London-based recipe writer Aya Nishimura rustles up a toothsome chicken dish with Sichuan chilli, ginger and sesame seeds. Leave a little time for cooling after cooking or prepare in advance and refrigerate it for later. Add steamed rice or cold noodles to make a meal of it.

Serves 2 as a starter or side

Ingredients
For the chicken:
2 chicken legs (skin on)
1 spring onion
3 slices of ginger

For the sauce:
1 tsp ginger, finely grated
½ tsp garlic, finely grated
1½ tbsps light soy sauce
1½ tbsps black rice vinegar
60ml chicken stock 1 tsp Chinese chilli oil
1 tsp maple syrup or sugar
½ tsp toasted sesame oil
¼ tsp Sichuan peppers

To serve:
2 spring onions, finely sliced
15g coriander, leaves picked, stem finely chopped

Method
1
Place the chicken legs, spring onions and ginger in a medium pot, cover with water, bring to a boil and then turn down the heat. Simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the chicken to cool in the cooking water.

2
Meanwhile, tip the Sichuan peppers into a small dry pan and toast them for a couple of minutes. Then crush them finely using a pestle and mortar.

3
Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl, except the Sichuan peppers.

4
When the chicken is cool, remove it from the water and place on a chopping board. Keep the cooking stock for the sauce. Make incisions around the bones and lift them out without breaking meat. Try to keep the shape whole as much as possible. The bones should come out easily if it’s fully cooked.

5
Put the chicken skin side up on a chopping board and slice it into 1.5cm pieces, maintaining the original shape, then place on a serving plate. Pour the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle the Sichuan peppers, spring onion and coriander on top.
ayanishimura.com

“On returning from various trips to other cities, we felt that Stuttgart had a shortage of unique inner-city hotels,” says Emilia Bräutigam, who decided to change that in partnership with her mother, Petra Luise, and her property-developer father. A stone’s throw from the town hall with its towering clock tower, the hotel opened its doors in September in a 1960s office building refurbished by architects Blocher Partners and Wolf Architekten Ingenieure.

Petra Luise, charged with the interiors, didn’t want to simply rip everything out and recommission it. “We retained the original 1960s ribbed ceiling and some of the concrete walls,” says Bräutigam. “The unique style came about by mixing the old with the new. We’ve been going to auctions over the past few years and were able to buy classics such as our Knoll marble table in the breakfast area and the daybed in the lobby.” These pieces were combined with Bauhaus gems, vintage finds, custom furniture by Voglauer and lush fabrics and curtains from Jab.

Breakfast is best enjoyed at Fritz, where homemade cinnamon buns and colourful bowls await, while drinks are served at Rooftop Location Lennarts on the sixth floor, which acts as an extended year-round living room for guests, offering views of the Baden-Württemberg capital and surrounding hills. “Our vision is to increase the attractiveness of Stuttgart by offering a place for national and international guests as well as locals,” says Bräutigam.
emilu-hotel.com

From portraits of Ukraine’s female railway employees to a book about its Soviet mosaics, publishing house Osnovy irreverently celebrates the country’s eccentricities. “What we’re doing is important for a positive image of Ukraine,” says Dana Pavlychko, the company’s director.

Osnovy celebrates its 30th anniversary next year. When it was founded by Pavlychko’s mother and Bohdan Krawchenko in 1992, it focused on textbooks and classic literature. After it neared bankruptcy 12 years ago, Pavlychko transformed it into a more contemporary publisher that supports emerging talent. “We’ve worked with some of the best names in illustration, photography and art,” she says.

Head of a team of 21, Pavlychko is always thinking of how the company can grow. Three years ago she launched the Ukrainian Young Book Design Awards; in November she unveiled a new concept store in Kiev. “We want to show people that a book can be something to really celebrate,” she says.
osnovypublishing.com

For more seasonal tips, scoops, reports and recommendations pick up a copy of our Monocle Winter Newspaper Special, which is out tomorrow.