Monocle Weekend
Edition: Sunday

This week we sample wood-fired Asian cuisine at a new opening on Singapore’s buzzing Neil Road, then bed down in a smart bolthole in Thessaloniki that is polishing up the hospitality industry’s reputation in Greece’s second city. Plus: Seoul’s new food hall and Upsilon Gallery’s Marcelo Zimmler on his Sunday rituals. Here to take us away, Tyler Brûlé shares some ideas at altitude and plans for the future.

It’s been one of those weeks that’s very much lived up to the title of this column – two trips across the Atlantic, a jam-packed three days in Paris, a conference in Istanbul and shortly onto the Gulf but not just yet. First, a moment to look back and also to soak up the scene at the eastern end of the Med.

1
Toronto. I have a somewhat strange relationship with my former hometown but I think you already know this. At times I find its pace of growth and sense of possibility exhilarating but then I also feel that it’s stuck – literally. The traffic doesn’t move, the subway system feels as though it’s about to buckle and many downtown streets are full of people who are a danger to themselves and others. Meanwhile, the local government continues to focus on petty legislation rather than delivering big ideas. I’m missing a sense of mission and plan, not just in Toronto but in Ontario and Canada generally. It feels more like a platform than a nation. A place where you can land, perch and promote yourself but are you part of anything bigger? Do people feel passionate about platforms? Would they stand up to fight for it or move on to another perch? I’m told a federal election might happen much sooner than planned. It must. As a G7 nation, Canada feels completely off the world stage. Perhaps that’s what happens when you’ve reduced yourself to being a platform that’s lost a sense of purpose.

2
Air France. If you fly in one Air France’s A350s and want the best seats in the business-class cabin – go for row one or nine, seats A or K. These are first class in size and allow for a very good night’s sleep.

3
50 is the new 30. In this case I’m talking about Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo’s new speed limit on the Périphérique. The pokey pace of 50 km/h might deter Parisians from driving to work but it only works if there are viable alternatives. The RER in from CDG isn’t one of them, unless you want to be constantly on watch for someone who might steal your luggage or stab a police officer. Moreover, this lofty anti-car measure punishes many who keep Paris’s economy ticking along and don’t have public transport options for their early shifts in hotels and hospitals.

4
A question. If I, or any other Monocle editor, samples an amazing restaurant do we have a responsibility to tell you about it? Or do we also have a responsibility to keep it semi-secret so that locals can still get a table and it’s not overrun by hordes of people with dietary requirements (as opposed to allergies) and other habits that kill the vibe?

5
Turkish Airlines – Paris to Istanbul. Sometimes a slight delay and a change of aircraft is a good thing. It’s even better when you’re seated alongside a colleague you’ve worked with for decades, the wine is good and the food even better. As three-hour flights go, it’s tricky to top a 777 with long-haul-style service, plenty of fiddly work topics to catch up on and clear skies over the Balkans. A 01.00 arrival ain’t great but a surprise buggy shuttle was the perfect welcome to Istanbul. Andrew already gave you the highlights from our Quality of Life Conference in yesterday’s Weekend Edition but there was one thing he missed: “Where next?” You’re reading it here first – Barcelona. Spring 2025.

Among the spate of new openings on Singapore’s Neil Road, Tribal stands out (writes Naomi Xu Elegant). The modern Asian grill employs simple wood-fired cooking methods to conjure up a medley of Japanese, Chinese and Southeast Asian flavours.

Its notable dishes include grilled octopus with green-papaya salad and sambal bajak, a spicy relish popular in Malaysia and Indonesia, and clay-pot rice with wild mushrooms, black garlic and aromatic herbs. The restaurant has a nose-to-tail philosophy and makes use of unusual cuts such as duck neck, which comes deep-fried and crispy, alongside a minty twist on Thai dipping sauce prik nam pla.

Indonesian architect Andra Matin designed the space with earth-toned brick and warm lighting reminiscent of distant bonfires, while Jakarta-based weaving studio BYO Living’s rattan macramé fixtures sway from the ceiling. A side door tucked into a corner of the restaurant leads to Slate, the nextdoor bar that serves creative cocktails – the perfect place for a post-dinner tipple.
tribal.sg

In 2016, Marcelo Zimmler founded New York’s Upsilon Gallery, which specialises in contemporary art and shining a light on overlooked work (writes Gabrielle Grangié). It recently opened a new outpost in London’s Mayfair and has just inaugurated an exhibition by Italian-American artist Osvaldo Mariscotti to coincide with Frieze London, which wraps up today. Zimmler tells us about his love of boxing, his penchant for an empanada and where he gets his art news.

Where will we find you this weekend?
If I’m in New York, I’ll be on Roosevelt Island, where I play tennis at the racquet club every Sunday morning. If I’m in London, it’ll be Regent’s Park. I love taking long, early-morning walks there.

Your ideal start to a Sunday? Gentle or a jolt?
I get enough excitement running the gallery during the week, so I enjoy a slow start.

What’s for breakfast?
Greek yoghurt, granola and fruit. And an espresso macchiato.

Walk the dog or downward dog?
I’m not much of a dog person. And it’s not yoga – it’s boxing for me.

Your Sunday soundtrack?
Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary”.

A Sunday culture must?
In New York, the Morgan Library & Museum. In London, the British Museum.

News or no news?
News, from The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times. I get most of my art-world news from Artsy and Artnet editorials and reports, as well as The Art Newspaper.

What’s on the menu?
Argentinian empanadas.

Your Sunday-evening routine?
Early dinner, peppermint tea and an episode of my favourite K-drama, It’s Okay to Not Be Okay.

Will you lay out an outfit for Monday?
Yes. Red or purple chinos and, depending on the temperature, a flowery Liberty shirt or a colourful turtleneck.

This week our Swiss chef prepares crunchy polenta sticks that are baked until crispy and golden brown. For extra flavour, add shavings of parmesan or truffle.

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 tsp salt
170g polenta
45g parmesan
2 tbsps butter
3 tbsps olive oil
1 sprig of thyme
Pinch of pepper
Pinch of coarse sea salt

Method

1
Line a square casserole dish with a sheet of baking paper. Add the teaspoon of salt to a litre of water and bring to a boil. Sprinkle in the polenta and simmer over a low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring, until the polenta has thickened and pulls away from the sides of the pan.

2
Finely grate the parmesan. Stir the butter and parmesan into the polenta and pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Smooth out and chill for approximately 90 minutes or until it is firm.

3
Brush a baking tray with a tablespoon of olive oil. Wash the thyme, shake dry and pick off the leaves. Turn the polenta sheet out onto a board, remove the baking paper and cut it into 1cm-wide strips. Place on the tray, brush with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with half of the thyme.

4
Bake the polenta sticks in a preheated oven at 240C for about 10 minutes until golden brown. Then turn the strips over and bake for a further 5-10 minutes.

5
Remove the polenta sticks and season lightly with pepper and salt, and the remaining thyme. Enjoy!

The scent of sandalwood perfumes the pristine interiors of Monasty in Thessaloniki, an olfactory nod to the site’s ancient origins as a Byzantine monastery (writes Claudia Jacob). Moments from the porticoed Aristotelous Square and the Agora Modiano (a historical food market), this discreet 100-key hotel opened as investment swelled in the upscale hotel sector of Greece’s second city.

With the use of Persian samite silk in its interiors, Monasty pays homage to Thessaloniki’s historic trading prowess and honours the precious material that once clad the city’s Byzantine emperors. Thessaloniki-based studio Not a Number Architects evokes the metropolis’s heritage, integrating terracotta bricks, earth-toned furniture and arched alcoves into the hotel’s design.

In the evenings, guests and residents gather at the rooftop bar-cum-pool area, Ennea, for an Aegean cucumber spritz and panoramic views of the sprawling Macedonian capital. The urban address feels luxurious without diluting the city’s multicultural spirit. “Monasty isn’t formal but it’s far from casual,” says its manager, Athanasios Pantazis. In a city as restless as Thessaloniki, this oasis of calm makes for a welcome respite.
monastyhotel.com

This summer, South Korean department store Shinsegae opened a vast food and retail space in Seoul’s Gangnam district (writes Naomi Xu Elegant). The House of Shinsegae hosts 12 restaurants, a wine shop and a branch of multibrand favourite Boontheshop. Both casual bites and fine dining are on offer; you’ll find artisanal pasta and ice cream but most of the restaurants specialise in local or Japanese fare. Head to Kikukawa, the first South Korean outpost of a fourth-generation Tokyo eel-rice specialist, or sample dishes dreamed up by Shinsegae’s Korean Cuisine Research Institute at Jaju Hansang.

During the renovation, which began in 2021 after the closure of the Shinsegae Duty Free shop, the brand commenced a redesign inspired by luxury hotels. The restaurants and an upper-level mezzanine converge around a central “lobby” of gleaming mirrored columns and tawny-coloured booths.

There isn’t a communal bench table in sight. Instead, customers can dine omakase-style at kitchen-counter seats or in private dining rooms. The lights dim at cocktail hour; the House of Shinsegae stays open late, encouraging customers to sit back and take their time. Our pick of the bunch? Yoon Haeundae Galbi for Korean beef ribs.
shinsegae.com

For more on new openings that you might have missed over the summer, pick up a copy of Monocle’sOctober issue, on newsstands now.

If a city never sleeps, it needs a lot of energy to keep it going (writes Rory Jones). Food and travel writer Yasmin Newman’s cookbook Eat NYC, published by Smith Street Books, serves up 55 classic New York recipes. The dishes assembled here are as diverse as the city, without skimping on the usual suspects.

Start your day with chewy bagels and end it with West Village-style happy-hour oysters, with a few slices of New York’s signature snack – pizza – along the way. Or mix things up with tacos, jerk chicken, pierogi and khachapuri (Georgian cheese bread). Every Eat NYC recipe is mouthwateringly photographed and accompanied by stories from across the five boroughs, giving texture and depth to this book-sized bite out of the Big Apple.
smithstreetbooks.com

For more on our selection of print titles, pick up a copy of Monocle’slatest issue, or better still,subscribetoday to never miss a thing. Have a super Sunday.