Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2021 i Tatler Hong Kong

TATLER HONG KONG Asia’s first Beneteau Cup took place in Hong Kong in late May. The two-day race brought together roughly 100 sailors, 21 luxury yachts and one Tatler editor, who hopped on board a 46-foot-long sailboat to document the weekend’s events. tatlerhongkong.com TATLER INDONESIA The Hadiprana family have more than six decades of experience in the art, design, property and hospitality industry. Mother and daughter duo Puri and Sekaraya Hadiprana discuss how they are modernising the family-run business and how they have weathered the storm of the Covid-19 pandemic. tatlerindonesia.com TATLER MALAYSIA Tatler Malaysia profiles Marc Woo, the managing director of Google Malaysia. Woo, who was the first person hired by the tech giant in Malaysia, explains how the company has grown in the last decade and discusses its…

When Daniel Camargo stepped down as first soloist at the Dutch National Ballet in July 2019, he was leaping into the unknown. Embarking on a career as a freelance dancer after seven years performing for some of Europe’s most prestigious companies, Camargo would find himself far from home in 2021, ready to make his name known in Hong Kong. In March, Camargo accepted an invitation from the Hong Kong Ballet’s artistic director Septime Webre to dance the lead roles in Emeralds and Diamonds within the company’s rendition of Jewels in May, followed by the part of Romeo in its unique take on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in June. A first for Camargo, choreographer George Balanchine’s 1967 gemstone-inspired triptych is regarded as one of the most daunting and technical productions to…

At a time when doom and gloom seem de rigueur, brands and makers whose mission is simply to bring cheer are worth celebrating. The bright, confectionery-inspired designs of Melinda Zeman’s new jewellery brand Bouchier are each a tiny, mood-boosting ray of sunshine. Zeman, the entrepreneur and daughter-in-law of founder and chairman of the Lan Kwai Fong Group Allan Zeman, wants to spark joy one jewellery piece at a time through her colourful collection, which is inspired by her diverse upbringing. The mother-of-four, who is half-Chinese, half-Ghanaian, moved to Hong Kong from the UK at the age of five to be closer to her mother’s side of the family and picked up the local dialect right away. “I didn’t speak a word of Cantonese when I moved here and my grandmother…

From Koon Yick to Yu Kwen Yick to Tso Hin Kee, Hong Kong’s most popular chilli sauces have rich histories and appear on tables throughout the city: whether daubed on dumplings, swirled into soups, used in meat marinades or splashed on to rice or noodles, spice forms a backdrop to local food culture. Now, a new generation of producers is looking to the past for traditional techniques while forging into the future with inventive ingredients, complex flavours and slick branding. Here are some of the best new sauces on the scene. FLAGRANT HOT SAUCE Created by three friends who tested out their prototypes on friends and customers while working at Yardbird, Flagrant Hot Sauce uses yuzu kosho, a Japanese paste of yuzu zest and fermented chilies, as well as koji,…

Hong Kong has always been a fast-paced city but recent years have featured moments that shook us all. Stress and burnout are prevalent during these turbulent times, so I’d like to share some of the ways I tackle them, from checking out for a bit to keeping mind, body and spirit in balance. HEALING HANDS It may sound indulgent but I have had weekly massages for more than 15 years. After I suffered a slipped disc (which I am convinced was from work stress), they helped me recover. I am lucky to have therapist Jeff Lenz come to my home weekly to relieve my chronic back pain. For pampering, I go to the Grand Hyatt’s Plateau Spa for a lymphatic massage. I feel healthier and less bloated after one session.…

While many people dream of launching their own businesses, the journey to being a successful entrepreneur is paved with challenges and requires courage and determination. Women often face additional challenges in securing finance, finding the right employees and scaling a business, as well as the struggles of balancing work with caring and family commitments. To help empower female entrepreneurs, HSBC Jade has launched its #SupportEntreprenHER campaign to share insights to help women overcome some of the barriers they face when starting a business. Vivien Liu, founder of Studio Unit in Hong Kong, launched her photography business to break away from a nine-to-five office job and to gain the flexibility to set her own work schedule. She knows first-hand how challenging pursuing a dream can be. “Finding my footing as an…

Finalists for the 2016 International Woolmark Prize, South Korean designers Jinwoo Choi and Yeonjoo Koo are the husband-and-wife duo behind menswear label J Koo. The two met while studying menswear design at Central Saint Martins and are known for taking traditional British Savile Row tailoring and applying it to their classic-with-a-twist womenswear collections. Since its launch in 2010, J Koo has become one of the most popular brands to show at Seoul Fashion Week, and the designers collaborated with Adidas on its spring-summer 2020 collection and were selected to be among Fashion Asia’s 10 Asian Designers to Watch last year. Here, Choi tells us all about their journey. How did you first come to realise you wanted to work in fashion? My family has always been quite artistic; my father…

KAVITA KHOSA Purearth Hong Kong-based Kavita Khosa founded her ethical skincare line Purearth around the Sanskrit saying ‘vasudhaiva kutumbakam’. “It means the world is one family,” says Khosa, who also keeps palm oil out of her products due to its devastating effects on endangered orangutans in Borneo. “We share this beautiful planet with the animal kingdom. Using them as lab rats to test ingredients is cruel and must stop.” Beyond being cruelty-free, Purearth uses responsibly sourced ingredients, including many that are wild harvested in the Himalayas from Kashmir to Kumaon in northern India, where it pays fair trade prices and supports local communities though its charity, the Pure Purpose Foundation. “Our social impact initiatives include the Eco Pot Project, completing construction of almost 70 toilets in rural villages, as well…

How has the past year been for Boucheron? We’ve had to rethink pretty much everything. Since the beginning of 2020, we’ve adapted to a new way of doing business. Before the pandemic, luxury businesses were highly concentrated on tourism. What lessons have you learnt in the last year? Adapting to new circumstances has made us very agile and creative, and we invented new ways of doing business that will still be relevant even when the pandemic is over. We become stronger in difficult times and it’s very important to be able to see the positive side of things. Are we changing the way we buy jewellery? People haven’t had as many chances to wear jewellery, because we’ve all been staying in, but we’ll never throw away jewellery because it’ll always…

Cindy Chao’s reputation precedes her. Her designs—a unique collection of wearable art—have featured in prominent institutions the world over, from the Smithsonian in the US to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. The jewellery artist has achieved a long list of accolades over the years, including the Outstanding Exhibit award at Masterpiece London in 2018. And while she is no stranger to success, for Chao, having a piece of her work inducted into the collection of London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) is a dream come true and a privilege without compare. “It is indisputably one of my greatest honours,” she says. Among the world’s largest and most famous museums, the V&A is home to an extraordinary collection of decorative and applied arts, design and sculpture. With 145 galleries…

Tomohisa Yamashita has just been announced as the new face of Bulgari, which describes the Japanese actor and singer as a “gifted performer” who has “touched the hearts of countless people”. Yamashita has been photographed wearing earrings, rings and pendants from the brand’s distinctive B.Zero1 collection, as well as the Bulgari Aluminum Chronograph, which is a new reinterpretation of a watch that was first launched back in 1998.…

Last winter, after a year in which countless companies were forced to close, some of the world’s leading galleries announced that they were not only still open for business, they were expanding. Lévy Gorvy, White Cube and Lehmann Maupin were three of the big-name galleries to open pop-up spaces over Christmas in Palm Beach, the sleepy Florida town where many of America’s billionaires spend the colder months. These temporary outposts were the latest effort by gallerists to bring art directly to collectors, many of whom had fled their primary homes in New York for second homes in ski resorts or seaside towns during the pandemic. Earlier in the year, pop-ups also appeared in the Hamptons and Aspen. Now, the phenomenon has come to Asia. This summer, Lehmann Maupin is opening…

This May, as a guest at one of Michelle Ong’s First Initiative Foundation fundraisers, I had the pleasure of watching a live performance at City Hall by the celebrated pianist Niu Niu and the French cellist Laurent Perrin, the first time I’ve stepped into a crowded theatre in more than a year. It was obviously a scaled back affair, but even the act of finding my seat and waiting for the concert to begin was thrilling. Stumbling around on a humid night after the show in search of a taxi, along with hundreds of other guests, strangely felt like a delight. As Hong Kong’s cultural and performing arts slowly come back to life—with the success of virtual gallerists hosting “satellite” booths at Art Basel in Hong Kong, and dazzling new…

At a time when large group gatherings were starting to seem like a thing of the past, the opening of Art Basel Hong Kong at the Convention and Exhibition Centre on May 19 was welcomed with open arms by Hong Kong’s art crowd. The ninth edition of the fair featured paintings, sculptures, drawings, installations, photography and digital works that reflected Asia’s rich history, as well as modern and contemporary pieces by artists from all corners of the world. Around town, the Asia Art Archive, Asia Society Hong Kong Center, Hong Kong Museum of Art and Tai Kwun Contemporary also all opened new exhibitions to coincide with the fair. A total of 104 leading galleries from 23 countries participated in Art Basel, including 10 Chancery Lane, Alisan Fine Arts, Blindspot Gallery…

There’s certainly nothing wrong with a great party for the sake of celebration, but give Hong Kong’s glitterati a cause to throw its support behind to truly see the city’s most fabulous faces come out in force. On May 27, a sea of glamorous and giving guests gathered at the Four Seasons Hotel and Maxim’s Palace City Hall for the First Initiative Foundation (FIF) and the French May Arts Festival charity evening Hope & Harmony. Founded by Michelle Ong in 2010, the foundation is dedicated to social and charitable initiatives that benefit education and creativity in art design and music, and the evening was a shining example of that. Guests were split into rooms, Harmony, Hope, Symphony, Melody and Rhythm, for a socially distanced dinner that honoured French and Chinese…

From a small furniture shop to a well-known lifestyle brand bridging East and West, Douglas Young’s Goods of Desire (GOD) captures the essence of Hong Kong and celebrates its creativity. Born in Hong Kong in the Sixties, Young moved to the UK aged 14 to attend boarding school and studied architecture at university before returning to his home city in 1991. In 1996, he and his business partner Benjamin Lau originally sold furniture in Ap Lei Chau until they began focusing on homewares, clothing and souvenirs. Today, GOD, which has six stores and three shop-in-shops, is known for its quintessentially Hong Kong collectibles that reflect the city’s grassroots culture. Here, Young discusses his love of cars, the novel he is working on and why he’ll always be a proud Hongkonger.…

“Home is not about the place; it’s a feeling. It could be a sound, or a person, but for me, it is the smell and taste—like freshly baked bread.” This analogy is an unsurprising one to anyone who is familiar with the work of Gregoire Michaud. Michaud is the founder of Bakehouse, a popular bakery with a cult following, recognisable by queues that often engulf its Soho and Wan Chai locations, and his personal expression of a 21-year love affair with Hong Kong and its unique culinary culture. “You have all these stories everywhere you look. It’s so diverse,” he says of the city’s dynamic food scene. While in many ways the opposite of that of his native Switzerland, Hong Kong cuisine still brings him the comforts of home, from…

It was a family bereavement that made Alvin Kwock reassess his path in life. After his mother was diagnosed with cancer in 2015, Kwock took a sabbatical to care for her and was surprised by how labyrinthine and ineffective the insurance claims process could be. “I realised the entire insurance and medical industry was outdated. The use of technology, the waiting times and the claim experience were all broken. That’s what inspired me to look into the insurance space,” he says. Instead of human medical care, Kwock ended up launching pet insurance provider OneDegree, which prides itself on its quick and simple claims process. Here, he explains how his company is changing the way the industry operates. My mum was Buddhist and after she passed away, I went to the…

BLUSH WINE We’re tickled pink—and red—by the spirited colour combo of the season. VERTICAL LIMIT Your designers are going down the straight and narrow path—literally—with the latest elongated bag styles. PEAK PERFORMANCE You may not summit a mountain in them, but these haute hiking sandals certainly meet the highest sartorial standards. CAMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE From bespangled bags to feathery footwear, the standout items this month have no intention of blending in. RAIN AND SHINE High-gloss fabrics have trickled down from the trusty raincoat to your favourite footwear. SHOCK FACTOR Not for the shade-shy, this month’s style cues come from the bold hue of electric blue. PENNY LANE The men’s staple gets tricked out for summer, refreshed and adorned with unusual buckles. COLD BREW The best pairing with summer’s milky whites?…

As isolated and anxious as the rest of the pandemic-stricken world, Ditte Reffstrup, at her home in Copenhagen, had the song You’re Not Alone by Olive on repeat. Music, she says, was the one constant in a year of disrupted plans. “It has always been something I turned to for comfort or for a change of mindset,” says Ditte, who has been the creative director of the Danish contemporary fashion label Ganni for more than a decade. So for her fall-winter 2021 collection, she staged a three-day online concert in February with performances by local artists Zsela, Deb Never and Coco O that included a version of that hypnotic tune on the setlist. “I just wanted to reach our community with that song, to help them recognise that we’re all…

Tell us about Chaumet’s new Joséphine collection. I think the new collection represents elegance and femininity, which is very quintessentially Chaumet. The style is also distinctive of its muse, Empress Joséphine—an exceptional woman of yesterday who continues to inspire women like myself in the present era. This collection embodies the many facets of Empress Joséphine. Do you relate to these qualities personally? I consider such qualities like confidence, femininity, elegance and exquisite style important to me as an actress. While it is not easy to achieve all of these qualities at once, I do my best to stay honest to my beliefs and I hope that over time I will be able to live up to these remarkable qualities as well. What are your thoughts on wearing a watch, such…

GETTING MORE If you like your fair share of shimmer, Vacheron Constantin’s Égérie self-winding diamond-pavé models are for you. Two additional novelties have been released: one in white gold, the other in pink gold. The case and dial are collectively peppered with more than 900 round-cut diamonds that total a mighty 4.10 carats. Collectors can choose from two interchangeable, navy-blue straps in either alligator leather or satin. Égérie self-winding diamond-pavé watch by Vacheron Constantin GREEN LIGHT Over the years, Tudor’s Black Bay Fifty-Eight has spawned numerous variations, including a French Navy-inspired model that hit shelves last year. The two outfits have shared a long-standing relationship, which was officially re-formed this May. For 2021, this watch gets a facelift with a stunning yellow-gold case and olive dial. However, what really makes…

Tell us about the history of the Reverso. Let’s take a step back in time and go back to 1931, when the Reverso was created. At that time, it was a challenge given to César de Trey, a Swiss businessman who was travelling in India. What was asked of César de Trey? The challenge was to protect a timepiece during polo games. César de Trey flew back to Switzerland and met with René-Alfred Chauvot, an engineer, and his friend Jacques-David LeCoultre, and together they thought about the swiveling case concept. On March 4, 1931, the patent for a swiveling case was registered. The Reverso was born and the rest is history. What made the Reverso special? The piece was a success right away and not only with men and polo…

The Lawn of the Upper House, Hong Kong: Mark Cho leans back in his chair, legs crossed, and lights a cigarillo. He’s wearing a sky blue, pinstriped shirt with a midnight blue, three-piece suit, which he’s accessorised with a gold pocket square and tie. “My wife bought me this lighter,” he says. Born and raised in London to a Malaysian father and Singaporean mother, Cho met his Japanese wife, Emi Saito, when he was studying at Claremont McKenna College in California before attending Brown University. Now 38, Cho shares two daughters with Saito, ages six and eight. “I keep them as far away from fancy stuff as possible,” he says, before admitting that he does enjoy buying his wife watches, despite her being “pretty low-key”. Cho, who has a reputation…

COAST Acclaimed chef Richie Lin is famous for fusing local ingredients with international flavours, as he did at his Michelin-starred Nordic restaurant Mume and as he is now doing at Coast, a Taiwanese-Thai restaurant at the Regent Hotel, Taipei. Coast was created in partnership with Ian Kittichai, the Thai celebrity chef who is behind Issaya Siamese Club in Bangkok. coast.tw VIVIR Roughly half an hour from Taipei by car lies Jiaoxi, one of the country’s most famous hot spring resorts. The latest luxury hotel to open in the town is Vivir, a 31-room property that’s clad in a dramatic, curvy bamboo shell, which will weather with time and—the architect hopes—become a shelter for birds and butterflies. Inside, guests have access to an in-house art gallery, a restaurant that has been…

DEE MORAN Originally from Ireland, Dee Moran is a stylist based in London. Her work has been featured in the pages of Ponystep, The Fall and Love magazine. She has also worked with celebrities including Gillian Anderson, Michaela Coel and Róisín Murphy. For this issue, Moran styled the fashion shoot (p.106) STEPHEN COLLINS Stephen Collins is an award-winning illustrator and cartoonist based in the UK. His work has appeared in publications around the world, including The Guardian, and he has published a children’s book called Baby’s First Bank Heist. This month, Collins illustrated the feature on the Do’s and Don’ts of watch collecting (p.158) DANIEL FRASER Daniel Fraser is a London-based photographer who spent part of his childhood in Amsterdam. His images have been featured in the pages of Porter,…

In celebration of Art Basel’s much anticipated return to Hong Kong, Tatler and The Upper House hosted a private dinner for art connoisseurs on May 13. Guests including Vicky Lam, Marisa Yiu and Alan Chan assembled at the hotel’s Mediterranean restaurant, Salisterra, for greetings and aperitifs in the Green Room, then crossed the hall to enjoy an intimate dinner in the Sky Lounge. Guests previewed a special edition of the May issue, the cover of which featured a new painting by Canadian artist Marcel Dzama, who made the work especially for Tatler. Dzama, whose work was displayed at David Zwirner’s booth at the fair, incorporated elements of the city into the cover. Titled Year of the Ox, the painting features the Clock Tower in Tsim Sha Tsui. The timing was…

What were you doing before joining the dining industry? Josh: We were born and raised in Hong Kong and did one year of investment banking courses at the University of California, Los Angeles. However, it just wasn’t for us. Though we never went to culinary school, we changed career paths to pursue our passion, which was food and drink. How did you first discover your love for food? Caleb: Our parents love to say that when we were kids, our favourite toy to play with was a spatula. We have many fond memories from primary school, making pancakes together in the kitchen on Sundays. Tell us about your start as wine importers. Josh: For us, wine and food have always come hand in hand. We fell in love with wine…

1. Char siu and roast meat with ginger and spring onion sauce at Sun Kwai Heung, Chai Wan 2. Egg waffles at Master Low-Key Food Shop, Shau Kei Wan 3. Steamed fresh prawns, rice and garlic vegetables, cooked by my wife at home 4. Steamed seafood hot pot at King’s Dynasty, North Point 5. Wonton noodle soup at Mak Man Kee, Jordan 6. Pork chop curry at Sun King Yuen, Wan Chai 7. Peking duck at Mott 32, Central 8. Beef brisket with parsnip in soup at Kwan Kee Clear Soup Beef Brisket, Tai Po 9. Chicken hot pot and frog legs at Chuk Yuen, North Point 10. Roast chicken with fried garlic at Gi Kee, Happy Valley…

SIMON LEE GALLERY Valentina Liernur: Juro Que Until August 7 Argentinian artist Valentina Liernur explores how materials can be used to achieve new effects in paintings. She often works with denim and gabardine, and shifts between abstraction and figuration to play with oil paint’s mark-making quality on unconventional canvases. This exhibition is her debut show with the gallery and her first presentation in Asia. simonleegallery.com CRAFTS ON PEEL Creations Enlivened: Metal Until July 24 This exhibition is dedicated to metal. Contemporary artists and craftsmen from Hong Kong and Japan have worked with materials such as copper, brass, silver and galvanised iron to create pieces that combine traditional craft skills with contemporary aesthetics. On show are incense burners, doorknobs, sake cups, alembic copper stills and musical instruments, as well as a…

Having built a reputation for intricate designs that reflect both ancient cultures and modern symbolism, Austy Lee’s latest high jewellery collection continues to draw from a rich cultural tapestry. The new Ikhor collection is inspired by ichor—the mythical blood of gods and immortals in ancient Greece—and features deep hues. Each piece also draws influence from disparate cultures the world over. The Kondo-doro ring, for example, is an 18-karat white gold piece set with rubellite, fancy coloured and white diamonds that takes its name and shape from a historic Japanese lantern. Typically crafted from stone or bronze, the kondo-doro can be found outside Buddhist temples across Japan. Other pieces in the collection include the Stapelia Pulchella earrings, a pair of 18-karat white gold and red enamel earrings set with South Sea…

SOLE SEARCHING In response justice movements of the last few years, Christian Louboutin has partnered with his close friend and celebrity Idris Elba and Elba’s wife Sabrina to create a two-drop capsule. In one style, Louboutin’s elegant, classic heels are lined with the powerful statement “Walk a mile in my shoes”, in a call for greater empathy while in the other, the Mandela’s Gold flower is used as a motif as a symbol of hope and freedom. One hundred per cent of the proceeds will directly go to five non-profit organisations like Be Rose International Foundation and Purposeful Foundation that serve causes from emergency aid to mentorship for girls in developing countries. LESS IS MORE As Jonathan Anderson increasingly opts for ballooning silhouettes and high-octane hues for Loewe’s latest ready-to-wear…

RED HOT SUMMER A lip seasons, but especially in the summer to complement a bare, sun-kissed face. Burberry Kisses’ The Red No 106, as seen above on model Fran Summers, delivers an intense red hue with a long-lasting satin finish. For an eco-conscious alternative, vegan and cruelty-free brand Hourglass Cosmetics has introduced a new shade in its Confession Lipstick collection, Red.0. The formula is a creamy, brilliant red that is free from carmine, the beauty industry’s go-to red pigment, produced from crushed female insects. Really. FACE PAINT When fragrance brand Byredo launched its line of genderless make-up, it took a sharp turn from its signature monochrome look with ultra-saturated colour sticks in bold shades, like juicy orange and sparkling azure. Byredo founder Ben Gorham says, “The idea is to create…

STATE OF WONDER Known for its exquisite diamonds, Graff’s newest high jewellery collection, Tribal, shines a spotlight on the jeweller’s white and yellow diamonds, plus one emerald-set suite. Separated into three chapters that are inspired by the sky, sun and stars, this collection is defined by stunning sculptural design. Tatler’s favourite is the white-gold and platinum New Dawn necklace, which features 39-carats’ worth of diamonds that are arranged outwards like a stunning explosion. SAVE THE DATE Engagement rings have always been about the diamond, and thanks to De Beers’ famous 1947 slogan, “A Diamond is Forever”, if it’s one thing this jeweller is known for, it’s white diamonds. De Beers, thanks to its 130 years of expertise, boasts an enormous variety of engagement rings that’ll reflect your own distinct personality,…

Tell us about your new collection. It’s called Sagesse, which means “wisdom” in French. Philosophical sayings have shaped my approach to life, so my intention was to reinterpret these timeless concepts with the hallmarks of my Almasika jewellery. It includes sculpturally rounded shapes and symbolic significance, which is essential to my creations. How should Sagesse be worn? This collection suits an effortlessly elegant silhouette. It’s very much in line with the Parisian style that I grew up with. Tell us about your first piece of jewellery. Jewellery has always been a part of my life. My mother gave me my first piece of jewellery when I was born. It was a pair of earrings, which I wish I had kept. Jewellery becomes a part of you. It grows with you…

You launched the first Legacy Machine in 2011. At the time, did you predict this watch would still be an icon for the brand ten years on? I had absolutely no idea. When I created LM1, I had no plans to create LM2 or any of the other models that came later. It was supposed to be a onetime experiment. How can we create an innovative timepiece that’ll also become a classic? Like most life-changing decisions, the Legacy Machine was based on a gut feeling. It wasn’t really thought through. Which is your favourite Legacy Machine? I have two: the LM Perpetual because of Stephen McDonnell’s genius movement; and the LM FlyingT because it was my first love letter at MB&F. What was the biggest challenge when designing the first…

Editor's Pick Annie Darling Watches & Jewellery Director of Tatler Asia Montblanc is frequently inspired by hulking glaciers and glittering lakes. For the burly 1858 Geosphere Limited Edition 1858, however, the watchmaker has abandoned its usual alpine inspiration in favour of the dusty desert. Limited to (yes, you guessed it) 1,858 pieces, this watch boasts a sandy-beige fumé dial and case back illustration of the Gobi Desert’s Flaming Cliffs, which pays tribute to Montblanc ambassador Reinhold Messner’s solo trek across northern China and southern Mongolia in 2004. In just five weeks, the mountaineer travelled more than 1,900 km. 1858 Geosphere Limited Edition 1858 by Montblanc…

On the final day of filming of Wong Kar-wai’s Ashes of Time, cinematographer Christopher Doyle was nowhere to be found. After four months shooting the 1994 action-drama in northern China, Wong’s longtime collaborator got so drunk the night before that the crew almost shot the climactic scene without him. In it, Hong Kong actor Leslie Cheung was to leave a fictional city and set a building on fire as his farewell. “At two o’clock in the morning, my line producer called me up and said, ‘Big problem: Chris is lying in his bathtub’,” Wong recalled in a 2008 interview at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City. “He was key camera, and he just fell asleep.” Wong started trying to shoot the scene, but then Doyle woke…

What separates a wine that checks all the boxes for quality—rich fruit, great balance, concentration—from one that goes further and makes your soul quiver in ecstasy? Considering the sheer number of otherwise sensible people who regularly fork out princely sums to enjoy a most treasured bottle, there has to be a certain something that makes some wines more special than others. Cynical readers might point to the valorising effect of a hefty price tag. Indeed, research suggests being told a wine is more expensive genuinely makes the drinker believe it tastes better. The mind is an extraordinary interpreter of reality, which is why blind tasting is critical for professionals. However, for my own palate, the single, irreplaceable feature of a truly great wine is something I call “the crack”. The…