It’s all HAPPENING

Updates from across the Asia Pacific, from cigar investment and inter-city dating, to Olympic openings, green lodgings and hidden nightspots

PUFF UP YOUR PORTFOLIO

At a time when many among us are rethinking investments in stocks and shares, Benson Tse of Hong Kong-based CIGARRO CLUB (which sells both vintage and limited-edition cigars) suggests a lucrative alternative: a commodity that can offer a 20% annual return on investment over a five-year period. According to Tse, bankers, entrepreneurs and other professionals have started to reap the rewards of investing in cigars. CONNECT asked Mr Tse to elaborate

HOW SHOULD THE NOVICE CIGAR INVESTOR BEGIN HIS COLLECTION?
Novice cigar investors should start with the most common five brands (Cohiba, Partagas, Remeo Y Julieta, Montecristo and Hoyo De Monterrey) as they’re the safest choice, and should spend no more than US$250 to begin with. The number of cigars purchased depends on production quantity (how limited the products are; for example if only 50 boxes have been produced, then purchasing one box is sufficient). The higher the market share you obtain (provided that the brand/item is of good value), the higher the investment potential. Some also invest in vintage cigars, especially if the line is going to be discontinued. Finally, if cigars are not stored properly, mould or even worms can affect their quality – invest in a humidor, it replicates the Cuban weather.

HOW MUCH DO YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CIGARS BEFORE INVESTING?
The more you know, the better you will be able to identify high potential/high return items. Cigar professionals can also give advice. It’s also a plus if investors enjoy cigars! As you try more brands, you can distinguish the difference between products, realising why ageing is so important as well as understanding the market better. After smoking a wide range of cigars, you start experimenting with different sizes and different years.

HOW MANY SERIOUS CIGAR INVESTORS WOULD YOU SAY CURRENTLY EXIST IN THE REGION?
In Hong Kong there are currently approximately 100 serious investors. This is set to grow. And foreseeing the potential of the Chinese cigar market, we are planning to extend our business to China and Macau in the near future.

Cigarro, 3/F Pacific House, 20 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong, tel: +852 2810 1883, www.cigarrohk.com

IT STARTED WITH A LUNCH

PHOTOS: IT’S JUST LIUNCH; ACCOR HOTELS

Too busy to meet that special someone? It’s Just Lunch has recently launched an “intercity dating” service

Born in Chicago in 1991, IT’S JUST LUNCH (IJL), which brands itself as a dating service for busy professionals, has been operating in Singapore for four years, recently adding Bangkok to its remit. Unlike most agencies, IJL requires clients to turn up for an initial “screening”. (With MD Anisa Hassan, this resembles a part-counselling, part recruiting session.) Then, for a fee (around US$1,300/year; just under US$800 in Bangkok), you receive 12 introductions and the lunching (or dining, or after-work drinking) begins in earnest.

Equally represented by local and expat singles, IJL hopes cross-cultural dating will soon be as commonplace as a weekend mini-break now that the dating pool has doubled with the new launch. As Anisa says: “We know that more and more professionals are open to the idea of meeting interesting people while they’re on business trips, provided that the setting is discreet and tasteful.”

So how does the service really measure up? With the blessing of the agency, a male guinea pig from CONNECT was sent on two IJL dates. This is what he had to say:

“My ?rst date was with an attractive British banker in her early 30s, eloquent, fulfilled in every way except in love. She told me that though she would never join a similar agency back home, she’d signed up with IJL after assessing potential partners from the office and friends-of-friends. My second was also good company, a Singaporean training consultant and “Quantum-Touch” practitioner, who joined the agency several years after a divorce. We spent most of the evening engaged in a surprisingly deep philosophical discussion.”

Although our reporter remains a bachelor, we’re sure that had he not been on a serious journalistic mission, this would not now be the case. www.itsjustlunchsingapore.com

FROM A GREAT HEIGHT

Watch the F1 Grand Prix from a 165-metre vantage point, in a Singapore Flyer capsule

For the best view of the Marina Bay circuit of the FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX (which runs from September 28), hop on board the Singapore Flyer. Premium Suite passes are priced from US$4,000, including a three-day trackside pass. Tel: +65 6333 3311,www.singapore. yer.com.sg

 

 

GREEN SLEEPS

Get some shut-eye without hurting the environment; these hotels have pulled their green fingers out

As part of its 10th anniversary celebrations, THE CARAVELLE HOTEL (www.caravellehotel.com) in Saigon has hired an environmental engineer to audit the energy it consumes and cut down how much paper is used. “Here, your towels plant trees” is the message that ACCOR (pictured above, www.accorhotels.com) will be placing in the bathrooms at their hotels around the globe. The chain aims to make an impact on the environment by encouraging visitors to re-use their towels to help save water, energy and chemicals, and will also donate money to the UN’s Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign, to fund three million trees by 2012. TAJ HOTELS, RESORTS AND PALACES’ (www.tajhotels.com) latest endeavour to boost sustainable tourism and integrate environment management in all business areas is Green Globe-certified EARTH (Environment Awareness & Renewal at Taj Hotels), a project focused on engineering and energy conservation solutions.

With the aim of achieving Green Globe certification by the end of next year, the WESTIN RESORT NUSA DUA in Bali is making every effort to be sustainable. For starters, the beachfront hotel is measuring how much water, energy, paper and cleaning products it uses per year to alleviate environmental performance.

OCT EAST’S (http://en.octeast.com) mantra, “environment protection is above everything else”, is reflected all over this ecological Shenzhen resort; three of the myriad examples being: concrete walls are aerated for thermal protection/heat insulation; air-conditioners have a thermal recycling function; and a rain-sewage mechanism allows treated sewage to be used for irrigation.

HIDING PLACES

Three tucked-away bar-restaurants across the region

Long Table, Bangkok

Unusually situated within an apartment building, this bar-restaurant takes its name from the table that extends the length of the venue, encouraging patrons to rub shoulders in a communal dining environment. Try the wok-seared venison loin, but leave room for the warm melting chocolate cake with vanilla sauce. Refreshments can be taken on the 25th floor balcony before or afterwards. 48 Column Bldg, Sukhumvit Soi 16, tel: +66 (0) 2 302 2557

Mimolette, Singapore

A new weekend hit among Singapore’s beautiful people, Mimolette is tucked within the Turf Club off Bukit Timah Road. The colonial venue and its tropical surrounds make for an exclusive setting.Hit the eatery by night (New American-meets-French fare), then wander over to the indoor-outdoor bar. Or linger by day over a home-style Sunday brunch – will it be the truffle omelette or old-fashioned corned beef hash? 55 Fairways Drive, tel: +65 6467 7748, www.mimolette.com.sg

Charlie’s Bar and The Mill Restaurant, Melbourne

Lurking in a converted warehouse, Charlie’s Bar is all exposed brick, dark wood, shag pile rugs and polished concrete. It’s a favourite with the after-work crowd who appreciate the good old-fashioned service, seven-page cocktail menu, extensive wine list and filling-the-hole tapas selection. Upstairs in the Mill, eat in the intimate inside area or alfresco in the laneway. 71 Hardware Lane, tel: +61 (0) 3 9600 1454, www.charliesbar.com.au

 

THE CIRCUS IS COMING TO TOWN


PICTURE: CIRQUE DU SOLEIL

Venetian Macao will welcome Cirque du Soleil’s ?rst Asian residency, ZAIA
Centred on a trip through the universe and everything revolving around an orb, the over-US$150 million production of ZAIA promises to be consistent with the quality of La Vegas’ O and KA – and the most dazzling Cirque performance ever to hit Asia. From July 26, 2008, tel: +853 2882 8818; www.cirquedusoleil.com

 

APRÈS-OLYMPICS

New hotels aplenty are opening in Beijing, from hip hangouts to signature-chain stays

With easy access to the Exhibition Center, the August 2007-opened flagship SOFITEL WANDA BEIJING (www..sofitel.com) reveals 10 conference rooms, a striking grand ballroom and a Lancôme spa. Just open this June, the WESTIN BEIJING CHAOYANG (www.starwoodhotels. com) is housed within a two-towered complex in the financial district, standing beside the Beijing Financial Street Conference Centre. Stand by for two July openings: housed in the Macau Center Complex, the HILTON BEIJING WANGFUJING (www.hilton.com) is heralded as a “lifestyle hotel” – expect classic but contemporary interiors with some of the largest rooms in the city; and, addding more superlatives, the PARK HYATT BEIJING (www.beijing.park. hyatt.com) occupies the top floors of a 66-storey tower, housing the city’s first penthouses and highest restaurant. Opening late August, 99-room THE OPPOSITE HOUSE (www.theoppositehouse.com) is an emerald-glass-encased boutique property – the first to be managed by Swire Hotels – with a fibre-optic-lit swimming pol and sleeker-than-average decor, described by its Japanese architect Kengo Kuma as an “urban forest”. One of four new China openings for the group, INTERCONTINENTAL BEIJING BEICHEN (www.ichotelsgroup.com) will be the closest luxury hotel to the National Stadium. The 16-storey property affords panoramic views of the “Bird’s Nest” arena and although only open for athletes during the games, the public is welcome from late September.