IT’S ABOUT TIME we rethink the word ambience. It’s telling that the French sometimes use the phrase je ne sais quoi to describe ambience – quite literally, “I don’t know what”. Food writers tend to separate it from the gastronomic experience – restaurants can have great food, but all the aesthetic appeal of a Parisian sewer. Conversely, a restaurant can look at home in the most prestigious arrodissement, but has all the culinary appeal of... a Parisian sewer.
The best restaurants try to balance both: fantastic food and an arresting ambience.
I argue, however, that in modern analyses of restaurants, we cannot treat ambience and food as separate. Yes, I understand that the very etymology of ambience – the French word ambiant, which means “surroundings”, does signify a sense of place excluded from the food a restaurant serves. But we cannot deny the symbiotic relationship between the two – the right food elevates ambience, and a well-defined je ne sais quoi can provide the most optimum platform for the restaurant’s cuisine to truly come alive.
Enter Noa Lounge. The bar and lounge by Barmuteary Spanish F&B Group is housed in the Mondrian Duxton, an address that’s quickly becoming synonymous with lifestyle and fun in downtown Singapore. Since its opening in July this year, the Mondrian has injected a distinct verve into the district – epicures have been especially impressed with the hotel’s lifestyle destinations such as the swanky bar and lounge Jungle Ballroom, Dario Cecchini’s (yes, of Netflix’s Chef’s Table fame) mod Italian eatery Bottega di Carna, the rooftop poolside bar Canyon Club and now, Noa Lounge.
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Esta historia es de la edición Issue 194 de August Man SG.
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The One That Started It All
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Return To Mont Blanc
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Manners Maketh Man
The Principle Of Style Is Character, And The Core Of Character Is Conduct.
Slow Travel In Switzerland
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A NEW DAWN IN SOLAR ENERGY
AUGUSTMAN SPEAKS TO MANDALA CLUB CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER LILLY GILBERT ABOUT THE MOVEMENT THAT COULD CHANGE HOW BUSINESSES IN KEONG SAIK ARE POWERED THE MANDALA SOLAR COLLECTIVE.
THE POWER OF THREE
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FLIGHT OF THE NARISAWA BEE
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DRINK THROUGH SPACE AND TIME
Preferably with a dram of The Macallan, in hand. The famed whisky maker celebrates 200 years of making perfection.
AND BUTCHER'S BLOCK MAKES IT THREE
SINGAPORE'S CHAPTER OF THE DOM PÉRIGNON SOCIETY HAS INDUCTED A THIRD MEMBER, RAFFLES SINGAPORE'S BUTCHER'S BLOCK, GIVING DISCERNING DINERS BETTER ACCESS TO THE EPICUREAN SAVOIR FAIRE THAT COMES WITH THE MARK OF THE SOCIETY.
AMERICAN SPIRIT
ROB SAMUELS, THE EIGHTH-GENERATION WHISKY-MAKER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR OF MAKER'S MARK, EXPLAINS WHY THE BRAND'S CELLAR AGED EXPRESSION IS A PEAK INTO THE FUTURE OF BOURBON.