One of Napa Valley’s most well-known wineries is Inglenook, formerly Rubicon Estate, owned by Francis Ford Coppola. According to an article written by San Francisco Chronicle wine critic Jon Bonné, Napa Valley’s legendary winemaker Robert Mondavi visited the Coppolas at the estate and said, “You realize what this is? You have bought the most beautiful, the most important winery property in the Napa Valley.”
The Park Hyatt Hotel, Seoul is full of surprises–starting with the check-in area located on the 24 floor, at the top of the hotel. Adjacent to the reception area, guests in the lobby lounge can view the fashionable Gangnam District through the glass surrounding the indoor swimming pool. “The most spectacular views in any hotel are on the top floor,” said Janet Lim, marketing communications manager. “In most hotels, these views are only available to those who have access to the executive lounge or the expensive lounge bars, which normally dominate the upper floor of the hotel. Here the views are available to everyone.”
If you like the personal touch and prefer to avoid the hustle and bustle of big hotels, the Hotel S is a stylish choice. Located just a short walk from Nishi Azabu crossing and near the Roppongi District of Central Tokyo, the lodging doubles as a designer hotel and residence with serviced apartments that share restaurants, a library lounge, and meeting spaces with a relaxing ambience for their international trendsetting clientele. The rooms are available in a variety of unique themes and designs such as Luxury, Japanese Style Room–Zen, Hanging Garden, Patio Room, Hollywood Twin and Four Cube. They range in size from 17-45 square meters. The bilingual staff are personable and helpful.
Restaurant 121BC in the Soho neighborhood of Hong Kong’s central business district suggests through its interior layout and design, that sharing is fundamental to its dining experience. You will not only be sharing your food with friends, but will also be sharing your experience with fellow diners; whether you sit at the banquet table that runs the length of the room, at the bar, or along the row of stools that line the waist-to-ceiling-high window looking on to Peel Street.
Chef Ben Ford has had a three-decade-long career working alongside several of the biggest culinary names at some of the most established restaurants in the United States and has performed diplomatic missions for the U.S. Department of State. As a volunteer for the L.A. Mission, the renowned chef feeds 5,000 homeless on Christmas Eve each year. His restaurant, Ford’s Filling Station, located in the Delta Terminal at Los Angeles Airport and in the JW Marriott at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles, is based on the fundamentals of teaching, cooking and foraging, and was awarded the prestigious Cochon555 prize. All of this without relying on the Hollywood fame of his father Harrison Ford. Tokyo Journal Executive Editor Anthony Al-Jamie spoke to Ben Ford about his career and projects.
Tokyo beer enthusiasts and people who simply want to see and experience one of the most spectacular attractions in the world should not miss the World Beer Museum, located on the seventh floor of the Tokyo Solamachi commercial building, attached to Tokyo Skytree in Tokyo’s Sumida Ward.
My two children were born in Australia and grew up in Hong Kong. The elder went to university in England, where she has lived ever since. The younger graduated from university in the United States, where she lived for five years, before returning to Hong Kong to live. Between them, they have studied a range of languages other than their native English including French, Mandarin, Spanish and Cantonese. Both of them are global citizens, comfortable inhabiting different cultures, and living, studying and working in different countries around the world. They also fit the definition of the ‘third culture kid.’
