Every week, Boss Hunting’s editors spend far too much time scouring the web: in search of the coolest gear, food & drink, and destinations worth trekking to across the globe.
In our latest edition of ‘Good Finds’, we’ve got Nintendo-looking electric motorbikes, an intimate revamp of a beloved omakase in Sydney, probably the world’s most beautiful stovetop coffee maker, and much more.
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The DAB 1a ‘Transparent Edition’
Given how much time Nick Kenyon, BH’s man in Saigon, spends zipping through traffic on two wheels; I’m not the least bit surprised his weekly recommendation has taken the form of an e-bike.
What is surprising however is how he’s elected to go with this DAB ‘Transparent Edition’: a limited production from Peugeot’s e-motorbike subsidiary, of which six have been produced at a price of €19,900 ($32,150) apiece.
That’s almost a 25% premium over what well-salaried cyclists will pay for the standard DAB 1a but I guess the translucent violet bodywork, akin to a Nintendo 64 controller, is worth every penny?
Mandarin Oriental Qianmen, Beijing
Geopolitics and tired clichés mean that, even in 2024, Mainland China is unlikely to be a bucket list holiday destination for many Australians. And that’s a shame really, since hotels like the newly unveiled Mandarin Oriental Qianmen — so close to The Forbidden City the two locales are practically kissing — show how much China’s global metropolises have to offer.
The Asian hospitality giant (whose hotels in Hong Kong and Bangkok are legendary) has conceived this as a sister property to its larger, more conventional offering at Wangfujing.
But if you want to experience rarefied hutong living, inside what local Beijingers refer to as the city’s ‘Central Axis’, I doubt you’ll find a better lens than the one Mandarin Oriental Qianmen can provide.
Serene and remarkably private, guests have a total of 42 courtyard-style lodgings to choose from. And if you manage to tear yourself from Yan Garden, the hotel’s traditional Cantonese restaurant by Michelin-starred-chef Xiao Fei, staff are happy to curate all sorts of thrilling cultural excursions.
The ultimate? An introduction to tai chi with a local master on, of all places, the Great Wall.
Samsung Frame TV x MoMA Artworks
One of the Samsung Frame’s oft sung advantages is its ability to function, when not in active use, as a static artpiece. However, until recently, the majority of what you’d be able to display on your Frame would be art that is already in the public domain — not necessarily the most inspiring of stuff.
That is until earlier this week: when MoMA announced its partnership with Korea’s favourite tech conglom. The former has granted Frame owners access to a total of 27 works for display at home, through the Samsung Art Store.
These include Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night or, for something markedly more modernist, Evening Star III.
Besuto Omakase, Sydney
Located previously in Sydney’s Quay Quarter complex, Besuto has recently upped digs and secured a new home inside Sydney Place: in the vicinity of other culinary hotspots such as Matkim and Malay Chinese Noodle Bar. As far as my own 10 cents go, I think the relocation hasn’t hurt this upscale Japanese dining concept one little bit.
On the contrary, Besuto’s new underground enter-through-the-bar setting helps prime diners for the house specialty: elemental, traditionally prepared sushi; broken up by the obligatory procession of Western-inspired small plates that involve such popular produce as Patagonia toothfish and Kagoshima beef.
Head Chef Michiaki Miyazaki and Sommelier David Jin encourage patrons to leave formalities at the door — an approach to service that works much better in Australia’s relaxed hospitality climate.
And not for nothing, at $250 and 15 courses, the Besuto experience offers a relative value against many of Sydney’s other trendy omakase vendors.
Atomic® Coffee Maker
Handcrafted and chrome-plated, this ‘Made In Italy’ masterpiece is the superior way to make a cup of stovetop espresso at home. And, versus the average Moka Pot, looks a damned sight prettier while doing so.
“Duck-looking steel makes my dopamine centres go ‘brrrr,'” as my colleague Garry would say.
