The Hot 100 2014

Bread and butter

Chef Hamish Ingham serves a bread course on its own as part of his new menu at Sydney neighbourhood favourite Bar H. The bread is hot Chinese-style steamed buns, accompanied by what Ingham likes to call “pork butter”, a mixture of butter and lard, spiced with fennel pollen and a suggestion of chilli heat.

Mayfair debut

Two of London’s most celebrated restaurateurs, Jeremy King and Chris Corbin, are trying something new: The Beaumont Hotel, a 73-room luxury hotel in Mayfair scheduled to open later this year.

Smith and Carmody

Cameron Krone of Smith and Carmody, the Sydney design firm behind the looks of some of the city’s most appealing café spaces (Cornersmith, Gumption and Brickfields, among them), describes his work as being “sympathetic to the site” in an effort to “blur the line between what’s new and old”.

Face-sized chicken

Hot-Star Large Fried Chicken started out as a stall in Taipei’s Shilin Night Market, quickly spread throughout Asia and is now intent on colonising the west, starting with Melbourne and Sydney.

Doctor’s orders

In India, one expects best-practice Ayurvedic spas and meditation. Vana, Malsi Estate, a new luxury ashram in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand in the Himalayan foothills, takes its treatments to another level, matching spa menus to doctors’ orders – Ayurvedic, Tibetan and Chinese doctors, to be precise.

Candy land

Here’s an irresistible sweets store to pop on a NYC shopping map. CuRious Candy by New York designer Cynthia Rowley sells fairy floss spun daily in watermelon, blueberry, rose, liquorice and salted caramel, sprinkled with edible glitter.

Bottura in Istanbul

Massimo Bottura, the chef-patron of the three-star Osteria Francescana in Modena, will open his first restaurant outside his native Italy this month. Ristorante Italia, a contemporary fine-dining venue located inside Istanbul’s Eataly, a massive Italian food hall, will celebrate regional specialties and draws on 100 classic and historical recipes.

Ultra-sensory

Eco-resort group Six Senses is expanding into six new countries in the next three years. Highlight properties include the group’s first ski resort, at Saint-Gervais-les-Bains on Mont Blanc, and a circuit of five lodges in the mountain kingdom of Bhutan.

House of the rising suds

While there are cocktails, dumplings and décor to love at David Zhou’s new South Yarra bar Zhou Zhou, it’s the beer list that really gets us steamy. Nearly 30 Japanese craft beers – from pilsners to stouts and IPAs – are the main pull but there’s a strong showing from the rest of Asia, too, alongside Japanese cider and Australian rice lager.

Jelly wrestling

In a sweet nod to its topless-bar heritage, rebooted inner-western Sydney pub the Oxford Tavern offers a dessert called the Jelly-Wrestle. It consists of ice-cream, waffles, whipped cream, maraschino cherries, chocolate sauce, caramelised popcorn, sprinkles and, of course, jelly (three kinds, in fact).

Luggage check

Louis Vuitton has shrunk its classic monogrammed trunks – or malles – into pint-sized versions, complete with removable covers.

Living la vida luxe

Hotel Escondido turns the bare essentials into an art form. The latest Mexican refuge from Grupo Habita occupies an otherwise empty beach, almost 400 kilometres south of congested Acapulco. (What a difference that distance makes.) Each of the 16 palm-thatched casitas has a plunge pool and hammock in full view of the Pacific.

Let them eat meat

Fermented, salted, aged and sliced on the Berkel, but created from vegetables, not animal flesh? Brisbane’s Ben Williamson says heck yes. He’s been experimenting with vegan charcuterie for Gerard’s Bar, a tasty new adjunct to Fortitude Valley’s Gerard’s Bistro.

Shades of Mondrian

The Morgans Hotel Group, known in the US for stylish design, is opening its first European Mondrian hotel in a prime Thames-side site in June. The south wing of an imposing 1970s office block has been returned to its originally intended use as a grand hotel, redesigned by Tom Dixon, with a vast lobby bar and 359 guest rooms on 14 floors.

Kakadu plums

“The health benefits of Kakadu plums are off the chain,” says Orana chef Jock Zonfrillo. “It’s a natural immune-system booster, from antibacterial, antiviral qualities to anti-carcinogenic effect, and wild-harvested fruit contains 5000mg of vitamin C per 100gm of fruit, which is about 50 times more than oranges.”

OTT suites

The rich are different from you and me – they can spend silly money on hotel rooms. Take the Royal Etihad Suite at Abu Dhabi’s Jumeirah at Etihad Towers, a four-bedroom, six-bathroom mini-palace that occupies the entire 60th floor, with 360-degree views of the Corniche, Arabian Gulf and the metropolis – yours for a cool $19,900 a night. Then there’s the three-storey Jewel Suite by Martin Katz at the New York Palace, which features a private lift, a two-storey-high “cascading crystal” chandelier and crystal jewel boxes holding glittering creations by the suite’s namesake jeweller. The price? $27,600.

The new butter

In konbu butter the building blocks of Western and Eastern deliciousness (fat and umami, respectively) meet in a dangerously versatile mixture; the version seen at Rockpool, whether melted over the potatoes dauphine as it is here, or on its superb chicken wings, is savoury sublimity itself.

An editor’s eye

Ever since curating became the sexy thing to do, a host of hip names have become virtual gallerists of their own style – among them Balenciaga’s Alexander Wang, whose eponymous line-up now includes a signature collection of edited black-on-black “objects” such as this travelling eye mask.

Africa’s booming beach scene

What a difference a decade or two makes. Back in the 1990s Mozambique was a basket-case African country emerging from 15 years of civil war. Now this Indian Ocean nation is the exotic beach destination of choice for switched-on sunlovers. New arrivals on the Lagoon Coast include the 22-stilted suites of White Pearl Ponta Mamoli, 100km south of the capital, Maputo. Meanwhile, African lodge supremos andBeyond have taken over Benguerra Island Lodge, a 31-guest coral reef resort in the Bazaruto Archipelago.

Late check-in

Two years on and the long-awaited Sydney lodgings from Singapore’s hippest hotelier still don’t have a name. In fact, much remains unclear about Loh Lik Peng’s Broadway début, but his track record suggests it’ll be worth waiting for. Prepare to raise glasses in February 2015.

Flax

Flax has broken out beyond the confines of the health food aisle and into the dining rooms of our nation’s top restaurants. We’ve spotted it on the tables of Attica, Brae, Café Paci and Moon Park (with sea urchin roe, left) and if its nutty (and yes, healthful) appeal gets any bigger, we’re looking forward to seeing a whole lot more.

Hail Ra

Oranges, lemons, limes and pomegranates beware: the Ra Chand juicer, that Mexican cult kitchen lust object, now has local distribution in Australia. All the juice, none of the washing up.

Best new address in Paris

The Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels group makes its long-awaited Paris début in August when The Peninsula opens its gilt-edged doors on Avenue Kléber.

Automatic India

Indiaphiles rejoice. Forget the interminable queues and weeks-long visa waits – the Indian Government is about to introduce visas on arrival for residents of some 180 countries, including Australia. Visitors will be able to register and pay online and then collect their visas after touchdown at one of 26 Indian airports. The scheme phases in from October, just in time for peak tourist season.

Life is swell

Kelly Wearstler describes it as “a soulful and spirited homage to iconic west coast style”, but we just love her surfboard’s complex puzzle design featuring a spectrum of rich nutty woods – walnut, cherry, koa, ash and Russian birch plywood, to name a few.

Korean food

Yep, it’s about time. Sydney is the epicentre (Moon Park leading the charge, with Kim and Danjee close behind) but you can taste the K-influence spreading out all over the country.

Cracker konbu

Layered, fermented and then cut by very sharp machines to make for an arresting pattern, grained konbu is now the umami-rich garnish of choice at the likes of Rockpool, Billy Kwong and Quay.

Vegie bending

Carrots, parsnip, and artichokes don’t immediately shout dessert but they’ve been popping up at the tail end of the meal with greater frequency recently, following hot on the heels of that noughties favourite, beetroot.

What Claus did next

As Claus Meyer was selling most of his share in Noma, the famed Copenhagen restaurant he co-founded, he was opening his new joint across the water. From the custom-designed chairs to the jazz club within, there’s nothing standard about The Standard, a dining destination (three restaurants, two bars) set in an Art Deco gem that was once a ferry terminal.

The new guns in the wild south

The Happy Motel team of young foodists Jordan Jeavons, Andy Nowell and designer James Brown (of Mash Graphics) have changed the model for impressive dining events in Adelaide by specialising in innovative and fun-filled pop-ups, from Adelaide Festival’s Barrio performance plaza to Alpha Box & Dice winery in McLaren Vale.

Class in Vegas

The luxe SLS hotel group is adding Sin City to its growing list of properties in America’s hotspots. The 5,500-square-metre casino, scheduled to open in September, is seeking to please food-conscious gamers with restaurants such as The Bazaar by José Andrés, Katsuya by Starck, Umami Burger and LA institution The Griddle Café.

Selling pizza to the Italians

Italy’s most famous export is undergoing a renaissance. No longer satisfied with pizza’s reputation as a cheap, ubiquitous fast food, the nation’s best pizzaioli are redoubling efforts to source fine ingredients and are returning to hand-kneading. In Campania, Franco Pepe, of Pepe in Grani in Caiazzo, and Ciro Salvo, of 50 Kalò in Naples, are the movement’s southern ambassadors, while Simone Padoan of I Tigli near Verona is leading the charge from the north.

Instagrammable

When 1888 Hotel in Sydney’s Pyrmont opened last year, it dubbed itself “the world’s first Instagram hotel”, with a dedicated “selfie space”, image competitions and a “picture perfect” package. Major hotel chains are joining the social media soirée, offering free nights for popular Instagram users who post images of their hotel. Taking the visual holiday experience even further, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has launched a “Pin. Pack. Go.” program, allowing guests to create Pinterest boards to help an online concierge tailor their next holiday itinerary.

Mercury rising

The Mercury building will be home to Hobart’s hottest new restaurant in years when David Moyle, formerly chef at The Stackings, and Ben Lindell, open a new restaurant and bar. The building will also house Betsy, a café, also by Moyle and Lindell, and the excellent Pigeon Whole Bakers. It’s all go for June.

Sherry cocktails

Sherry’s extended comeback is thanks to barkeeps who have embraced it as a cocktail component and revived the Sherry Flip and the Sherry Cobbler and given rise to the likes of the King of Spain (rye, fino and vermouth) from the Gresham Bar in Brisbane.

Brisbane’s moment

Inner-city Spring Hill is earmarked for the state’s first Art Series hotel. Due to open in December next year, it will showcase signature artworks in a similar fashion to sister properties The Olsen and The Cullen in Melbourne. The heritage Inchcolm Hotel in Spring Hill is morphing, too, and will reopen in July as Brisbane’s first boutique MGallery. At South Bank, a second Emporium Hotel, with cocktail bar-equipped sky deck and spectacular pool, is in the works as part of the $590 million Southpoint development. Feeling sporty? The Gambaro family’s plush 68-room Gambaro Hotel, a footy toss from Suncorp Stadium, kicks off this month.

Bulli for you

Meet elBulli 2005-2011. The last cookbook to be discussed so often in terms of its price ($750) and weight (18 kilos) ahead of its actual content was Nathan Myrhvold’s Modernist Cuisine. Ferran Adrià deems the years in question the restaurant’s most creative era, and whether your interest is technical or merely ruminative, the level of detail here will stop you in your tracks.

The rebirth of cooling

A lifesaver for many a diner who overestimated their chilli tolerance, the “cooling plate” at Melbourne’s Chin Chin contains the soothing likes of cucumber, apple, iceberg, ginger and palm sugar. But, yes, they also do a chilli plate.

Comme des Concepts

More is more for the New York incarnation of London’s Dover Street Market. This version of the DSM concept store created by Comme des Garçons’ visionary designer Rei Kawakubo and her CEO husband, Adrian Joffe, has more floors, more art, more brands and, for shoppers weary of Midtown’s staid grub, more delicious food in an expanded Rose Bakery.

Best bed for a night in LA’s Koreatown

Chef, food-truck mogul, restaurateur, hotelier and Kogi founder Roy Choi continues to make waves in Los Angeles. He has joined forces with the Sydell Group (owners of NoMad in New York) to help open The Line, a hip new hotel in buzzing Koreatown.

Soft serves

Follow Andrew Bowden, pastry chef at Sydney restaurant Hartsyard, on Instagram for the latest updates on his increasingly outré variations on the theme of soft-serve (roti, banana cake, shortbread among them).

A grenache that rocks

The hottest collaboration in Australian wine is A Sense of Compression, a 2013 grenache made by Adelaide Hills grape-treader (and former punk bass guitarist) Taras Ochota and Maynard James Keenan, frontman for hardcore rock band Tool. Released at the Adelaide Festival, the wine is incredibly rare (919 bottles) and costs $100 a pop.

Burma by boat

Its borders were thrown open barely a year ago and already the madding crowds are thronging to Burma. Head down south, however, and you’ll find a remote region of more than 800 islands whose white sands and crystal waters welcome fewer than 2,000 visitors a year. The smart set are slowly discovering its charms thanks to savvy charter outfits such as Burma Boating, which offers five-night itineraries aboard a classic two-masted yacht. Abercrombie & Kent also has a 12-night Burma trip that includes nine nights cruising the Mergui.