By luck, I landed in Singapore just before the typhoon arrived, and checked into the legendary Raffles Hotel.

My first visit to Txispa began with a drive deep into a quiet valley in the Basque Country. Surrounded by mountains, it felt as though I had entered another world.

The last time I sat in this seat, I watched the same fountain show. Back then this place was called Wing Lei Palace, and Chef Tam Kwok Fung was in the kitchen.

On the top floor of Yuejie Yongjia Court, at 570 Yongjia Road in Shanghai, the elevator doors open with a soft ding on the fourth floor. Just inside, a low sofa sits beside a fireplace, while a wall of windows is cradled by the green embrace of plane trees. Their shadows sway across the wooden floor, and for a moment, you can't help but think: what a perfect afternoon.

The foie gras raspberry lollipop was my first impression of Amber. Rich, silken foie gras melted on the tongue like chocolate, while the sweetness of raspberry unfurled slowly in the finish, brightening the overall richness of the dish. The two melded together in the mouth and turned impossibly light.

Private members' clubs are having revivals. Once cigar-filled, men-only enclaves, they have become daily haunts for the creative class. The pandemic was the turning point. When lockdowns ended, people craved face-to-face connection again. Entrepreneurs and freelancers began treating these "third spaces" as offices — working there by day, staying on for talks and gatherings at night. No conversation about this kind of space can leave out Soho House. Founded in London in 1995, the brand set itself apart from old-school gentlemen's clubs from day one — no bankers or lawyers, only people from media, film, and design. Three decades on, it operates more than 40 houses worldwide, and membership itself works as a social calling card. It has largely defined what the modern members' club looks like: judged by circle, not pedigree; work by day, socialize by night. In 2019, Soho House opened in Sheung Wan — the brand's first outpost in East Asia, in a property founder Nick Jones spent a decade searching for. An entire 28-story office tower was converted into the club, the largest in the world at the time of opening.

For the first time, the Michelin Guide for Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang has been released as a combined edition.

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