Lisbon
About three blocks from my apartment, a new district is on the rise and my goodness, it’s going up fast. I can’t help but think that the partial Chinese ownership of Fidelidade – the insurance and financial group developing the new district – might have something to do with the speed with which foundations have been dug and towers erected.  While it could do with some Beijing-style perimeter security overnight to deter the sprayers who deface the hoardings, the Entrecampos development looks like a promising addition to Lisbon’s cityscape despite its detractors. A new development can jar with its neighbours and this scheme, by any measure, is no small footprint – think a scaled-down version of Tokyo Midtown. But then again, it’s revitalising a long-derelict site with solid architecture, plenty of green space, a host of services and, in the process, creating a satellite city centre for the Portuguese capital. The best news? It promises to have the top gourmet food hall in the city.

London
On Monday we hosted one of our Minglers at Midori House. These in-house events are part business update, part inspiration and part extended aperitivo, bringing everyone from Monocle and its sister agency, Winkreative, up to speed on what’s happening across the world. We always hear from a sparky speaker and for this edition, Ruth Rogers of The River Café pulled up a chair and talked about everything from the basics of being a sharp entrepreneur to building a podcast business and knowing when to walk away from a deal. Most importantly, she reminded the assembled crowd about the power of hosting and getting the simple things right. Five days on, she has left me wondering what we should do for an encore in late October.

Paris
It felt as though half of Monocle was on one of the very early Eurostars on Tuesday morning and the station was rammed. Every time I take the service, I’m left thinking about all the missed opportunities to improve the offer, ease bottlenecks and deliver something simply better. I could go on but I’ll save that for another column. Meanwhile, the French capital was putting on a good show at 29C under sunny skies, with streets full of architects, decorators, journalists and brand owners all in town for Paris Design Week. As the sun dipped, we hosted cocktails for journalists and creatives at our café on Rue Bachaumont. Paris was electric, looking and feeling its best. After a summer break, it was a delight to be back.
 
San Francisco
On Wednesday I landed in San Francisco just after midday. As the plane’s wheels kissed the tarmac (nice landing, monsieur Air France 777 captain!), I was bracing myself for the queues and chaos of US immigration. How wrong I was! I made it from the aircraft door to the back seat of the car in seven minutes. Count ‘em! Seven! It helped that the immigration hall was empty but it wasn’t as though there were no international flights arriving. Do we have the current administration to thank for this efficiency? Or is SFO an example of a well-managed airport doing its own thing to be friendly and efficient? Either way, thank you.
 
Tokyo
The SFO to HND (Tokyo Haneda) flight on ANA got in at about 03.00. As I arrived on a Saturday morning, much of Tokyo was still awake and moving on to the next bar, lounge or club. It has taken a while but Tokyo’s nightlife felt like it was back in full swing, despite it being a long weekend in Japan. Was I tempted to have the car stop in Ginza and meet up with some of my POTN (people of the night) at a tiny bar for a song or two? Briefly. My sensible side got the better of me and whispered that five cities across three continents in 96 hours was enough for one week and that a proper sleep, in a real bed, might be the more sensible thing to do. I believe that I made the right decision but I’ll never know the delights that I might have missed. Thankfully, I’ve already got a trip planned for October when it’s that little bit cooler, when the leaves turn and when Tokyo’s retailers stock their autumn collections. Can’t wait.

Enjoying life in ‘The Faster Lane’? Click here to browse all of Tyler’s past columns.

For the 1998 Berlin Biennale, the KW Institute of Contemporary Art commissioned US artist Dan Graham to create a walk-in sculpture for its courtyard (writes Ilze Vitola). The result was a stunning glass pavilion, which doubled up as Café Bravo. Nearly three decades later, it was time for an upgrade. Who better to call on than Clemens Roesch, Eva Alken, Sören Zuppke and Vadim Otto Ursus, the names seating the city’s creatives at dining spots Otto, Trio and Pluto?

Bravo is the first of the team’s venues that lives entirely by day. On the menu, diners can find: sprouted oat müsli with hazelnuts and compote for breakfast, and open sandwiches with Heggelbach cheese, tomato and Wiener sausages with goulash sauce for lunch.

The food is defined by the quartet’s devotion to produce, which is sourced from a network of local growers. “At an art institution with an international crowd, we were more interested in the regionality of the ingredients than in anything that announces itself as local cuisine,” says Zuppke.
bravo-berlin.net

You can read Monocle’s definitive guide to Berlin on monocle.com.

Carole Tailleur is the co-founder of Bread & Roses (writes Chloé Nakao-Pélata). The bakery is purveyor of some of Paris’s finest Anglicised baked goods as well as traditional French viennoiserie. Here we chat to her about a trip to the ballet at the Palais Garnier, her British-inflected breakfast and why you should always have a good selection of vinegars in your pantry.

What do we find you doing this weekend?
A getaway to Fontainebleau, followed by a lovely walk in the forest.

What’s on the breakfast table?
Black filter coffee, a tartine de pain de petit épeautre (spelt bread) slathered in butter and strawberry jam. It’s a Bread & Roses speciality.

Where do you go for your caffeine fix?
My guilty pleasure is an Earl Grey Imperial with a raisin scone and whipped cream. Where? Either at Bread & Roses or at Bettys Harrogate Café in Yorkshire. Unfortunately, that’s not every day.

A Sunday soundtrack?
“I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” by Daryl Hall & John Oates; “In the Air” by Orsay; “Prélude et Allegro” by Fritz Kreisler, performed by Ida Haendel.

Sunday culture must?
The Palais Garnier and the Palais de Chaillot have some of the best dance performances.

What are you reading? Magazines or books?
Mostly books. I’m currently rereading works that I’ve loved, such as One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez.

What’s on the menu?
Tomato salad with lots of fresh herbs, chicken with vinegar à la Alain Chapel, braised new carrots, Sainte-Maure goat’s cheese and a fraisier (strawberry cake) made with Gariguette strawberries.

And to drink?
A Château Monbousquet white.

A pantry essential?
Vinegar. I have all kinds – red wine, white wine, sherry, cider, balsamic.

Which brands does your wardrobe currently consist of?
I love beautiful fabrics, particularly wool. I have a collection of jumpers, dresses, tank tops, stoles and other pieces knitted by hand by my mother – they are works of art. I also remain loyal to French luxury house Courrèges, which I have always worn.

Next on the travel itinerary?
I don’t know Rome, which is unforgivable. I have promised myself that it will be my next trip.

This orange cake is soft from the addition of olive oil, fragrant with zest and finished with a palm-sugar glaze that gives it a warm, toffee-like sweetness. “It is not a grand cake but the sort made for quiet moments around the table, to be enjoyed with yoghurt, berries or on its own,” says our Malaysian recipe writer Ranie Saidi.

Serves 6 to 8 

Equipment
24x9cm silicone bundt-cake mould 
 
Ingredients 

For the cake
4 large eggs 
250ml light olive oil 
250g palm or brown sugar 
500g self-raising flour 
Juice of 3 oranges 
2 tbsps grated orange zest 
1 tbsp vanilla extract 

For the glaze
80g-100g palm sugar 
60ml semi-skimmed milk
1 tbsp grated orange zest  
 
Method 

1.
Preheat the oven to 200C. Lightly oil the silicone mould. 

2.
Blend the eggs, olive oil and sugar in a food processor or stand mixer for 3 to 5 minutes, until pale and fluffy. 

3.
Sift the flour into a large bowl, then gently mix in the blended egg mixture until just combined. Stir in the orange juice, 2 tablespoons of orange zest and vanilla. Mix well. 

4.
Spoon the batter into the mould and tap gently to release any air bubbles. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. If needed, bake for another 5 to 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes. 

5.
For the glaze, gently heat the sugar and milk in a saucepan on a low heat, stirring until dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining orange zest. 

6.
Turn the cake out onto a big plate, drizzle with icing and leave to cool to room temperature. Serve with yoghurt, berries or on its own. 

Banyalbufar edges down the side of a steep cliff (writes Andrew Tuck). Invading Moors first settled in the area in the 10th century – hence the Arabic-flavoured name – and the town seems to be kept from sliding into the sea by the sturdy stone terraces that those first residents erected. For many years, the town has been pulling in knowing residents. Many of its demure homes have been bought by architects, fashion folk and Danish bankers. 

Now, however, there is a new arrival in town, which is more at ease with showing some leg, making a sunny splash and throwing open the windows. Gran Hotel Margalida is the latest offering from Spanish hospitality group Annua Signature Hotels, which already has one inn on the island, as well as two in Menorca and another in Lanzarote. This 29-key project is a step up for the business: a bid to deliver something that feels as though it could be on the Côte d’Azur.

The Med-to-the-max vibe is underlined by the interiors from Virginia Nieto that are as sunny as a brimming bowl of lemon-infused helado. Everything from the bathroom tiles to the parasols is gloriously yellow. There are enough nods to Mallorca to make the hotel feel rooted in place but it’s not just an exercise in craft. It’s slicker than that. The building itself is a little tricky to navigate at first, as the topography has resulted in a long, narrow hotel with numerous levels. 

It will be interesting to see how the hotel charms local residents. Will they come to use the oyster bar? As for Monocle, we would go back just for the view. And the team. And the pool. After checking out, as we wound back through the Tramuntana mountains along a squiggly mountain road, it really felt as though we were leaving a haven, a place where reality could be left locked in your suitcase for a couple of days. And that’s a good thing to find. 
annuahotels.com

Monocle’s annual summer newspaper, ‘Med, Mountains & More’ is on newsstands now. Inside, you’ll find sun, sea and serious ideas.

In the northern reaches of the Margaret River, just shy of the shark-tooth-shaped cape that separates the Indian Ocean from Geographe Bay, Blind Corner’s grapes benefit from the cool maritime climate afforded by being buffeted by bodies of water (w