Want a purple afternoon tea? Head to Northern Thailand, quick. MELIA CHIANG MAI, run by GM Marc Selinger, celebrates its first birthday with the themed tea – see above. It is also offering roast dinner buffets, and spa journeys dedicated to coconuts. The tea is served 1st April through to 30th June, daily from 2pm – 5pm at Ruen Kaew Lounge. There are butterfly pea flowers with purple hummus, lavender mousse with mirror glaze and purple potato mont blanc cakes.
What was BUDDHA BAR HOTEL PARIS re-opens, 1st April, as MAISON DELANO, conceptualised by a Spanish outfit, Lázaro Rosa Violan Studio. Still run by Gerald.van Reck, the hotel – now part of Accor – benefits from having Dani Garcia in charge of food. Look out for his menus. In the signature La Chambre Bleue restaurant, Garcia’s starters give pride of place to oysters, Iberian acorn-fed ham, anchovies and sardines, fried squid, or lobster salpicón. Go on to paellas, octopus, txuleta, and chicken, as well as other Mediterranean references, such as baked sea bass. Garcia loves bluefin tuna – try his trio of tuna tartars, ventresca and morrillo, or tuna croquettes.
Meanwhile, Japan awaits Noma, again. In 2015 MANDARIN ORIENTAL TOKYO had not a single seat spare its Noma pop-up, arranged by the hotel’s then-GM Tony Costa. Eight years later, Japan hosts Noma again. It runs six days a week lunch and dinner. Now Nobu and his talented gang descend on ACE HOTEL KYOTO. Apparently all seats, all times, are long since sold out ( 5,000 tickets at €475 – plus €300 for wines).
