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CRAFTING THE PERFECT BOWL

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Chef standing in a professional kitchen holding a bowl of ramen with both hands, wearing black gloves, a dark shirt, and a towel draped around his neck, with stainless‑steel counters and cooking equipment in the background.

An exclusive interview with Chef Atsushi Yamamoto, Konjiki Hototogisu

Take us back to 2006, what was it like running your cozy little ramen spot in Shibuya during those first few years?

    I started with a small shop of just 23 square meters and only 8 seats. It was located in a narrow alley where only about 30 locals passed by each day, and no cars could enter. During the first year, I had only about five customers on most days, and even on good days, it was less than 20. Since I was married, it was especially tough to make a living. I couldn’t afford to waste ingredients, so I would take home any leftover ingredients, which allowed me to get by each day. In Japan, ramen shops typically only serve ramen, and it was common for a customer to eat just one bowl and leave. A bowl of ramen was priced at about half of what it is today, so we had no room to buy ingredients for ourselves. Since there were many times when there were no customers in the shop, I used that time, as well as after closing, to constantly study ingredients and cooking techniques. I always thought about what kind of ramen would be appreciated by customers and made an effort to learn and improve.

    What first drew you into the kitchen? Was it passion, curiosity, or pure hunger to create something your own?

    When I was 24 years old, I witnessed a chef at a restaurant I visited for the first time receiving thanks from a regular customer who said, “Thank you for always serving delicious food. It was very tasty today as well.” Seeing that made me want to pursue a job where I could inspire and be appreciated by others, just like that chef. I still remember that moment vividly.

    From Tokyo to Dubai, how did adapting to the UAE dining scene challenge or change your cooking mindset?

    I am constantly thinking about how to create ramen that utilises local ingredients and how to make it unique to me. Additionally, I have always considered what is necessary for the local residents to appreciate my ramen. My philosophy is to continue improving the flavour until it receives positive feedback. If there has been a change within me, it is my perspective on the taste preferences of the people in Dubai. I have reaffirmed that people’s tastes differ significantly from country to country.

    If every bowl tells a story, what do you hope the final spoonful leaves your guest thinking?

    I hope that customers understand that the flavour of the ramen they enjoy is the result of many years of development. I strive to create flavours that allow them to experience the story of the maker when they eat it.

    What’s the one lesson you learnt by sleeping in your shop and tweaking recipes until midnight, what would you tell your younger self?

    The year I opened my shop in 2006 was a time when many well-regarded restaurants were opening. My shop received no customers at all, while many others that opened the same year quickly had long lines. I felt incredibly frustrated. However, I believed that if I worked hard, I could surely become the best. As a result of taking the time to improve my ramen, I am where I am today. I believe that hard work never betrays you.

    Finally, what I would like to tell my younger self is, “Thank you for always believing in yourself and continuing to work hard.” I am simply filled with gratitude. Moving forward, I will do my utmost to put smiles on my customers’ faces.

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    Hospitality

    SUN, HISTORY & FIVE-STAR LUXURY: WHY THE IXIAN GRAND & ALL SUITES IN RHODES SHOULD BE ON EVERY TRAVELLER’S RADAR THIS SUMMER

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    Summer is almost here, and a Greek escape to The Ixian Grand & All Suites in Rhodes deserves to be on the agenda this season. Greece’s largest Dodecanese Island has been luring travellers for centuries, with its UNESCO-listed medieval Old Town, layers of ancient history, and unmissable Aegean golden-hour glow. This five-star retreat is poised on the serene shores of Ixia Bay, just six kilometres from the charming Rhodes Town. ​

    At The Ixian Grand & All Suites, the all-inclusive experience captures the heart and soul of Mediterranean living, inviting a sense of calm where both mind and body can truly reset. Days drift by effortlessly – poolside lounging, beachfront cocktails, and the freedom to explore six exceptional restaurants and bars at a leisurely pace. Across six exceptional restaurants and bars, guests can journey from bold Japanese-Peruvian fusion at Muza Htista to the Mediterranean flavours of Vis-à-Vis, Alazonia, and Milonges – every meal a fresh, vibrant celebration of the island’s finest ingredients.

    This summer, Rhodes comes alive with a packed calendar of events – from the Rhodes Soul Festival (1-8 June) and Lindos Rock Festival (10-17 June), to the Rhodes Street Food Festival (3-12 July) where live music, global flavours and community spirit come together in the ancient town. ​

    Whether after romance, rest, or a reunion with friends, The Ixian Grand & All Suites is the ultimate setting for a summer escape worth remembering.

    The Ixian Grand & All Suites is offering those who book directly via the hotel’s website for 7+ nights, Stay & Dine Experience which includes:

    • Two Free A la Carte dinners per stay

    • One Dine Out Experience at a local restaurant with Authentic Greek Cuisine per stay.

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    Hospitality

    J.P. MORGAN ANNOUNCES 2026 SUMMER READING LIST AND NEXTLIST SUMMER SERIES

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    J.P. Morgan today announced its 27th annual Summer Reading List, a curated collection of books selected to broaden perspectives and spark new ideas.

    “Nothing beats summer as a time for rest, reflection and renewal,” said Darin Oduyoye, Chief Communications Officer of J.P. Morgan Asset & Wealth Management. “This year’s list is an invitation to explore, find inspiration and discover memorable new adventures—powered by the written word.”

    The 2026 book selections span timely themes shaping leadership and society, including how breakthrough ideas happen, responsible AI, navigating global change, performance and longevity. The list also features visually stunning titles across art, culture, design and travel, transporting readers from lemon groves in Los Angeles to the hidden gardens of Beijing’s Forbidden City.

    NextList Summer Series returns for its second year

    J.P. Morgan also announced the return of the NextList Summer Series for the second year, an extension of the NextList launched in November that highlights what’s new and noteworthy across arts, culture and more. This year’s four selections feature experiences from every corner of the globe, including a Broadway show that’s a love letter to New York City, Scandinavia’s premier car and lifestyle event, a longevity-driven wellness escape spanning Mexico, Spain and the UAE, among other destinations.

    J.P. Morgan Client Advisors from around the globe submitted hundreds of nonfiction titles and experiences to curate both lists. Each contribution was evaluated and selected for its timeliness, quality and resonance with the firm’s global client base.

    The 2026 Summer Reading List selections are:

    How Great Ideas Happen: The Hidden Steps Behind Breakthrough Success
    By George Newman
    Cognitive scientist George Newman reframes creativity as discovery—not a lightning strike, but a skill you can practice. Drawing on research from psychology and innovation, he shows how the best creators work more like archaeologists: scanning widely, digging with intention and refining what they find. Vivid examples bring the method to life, from Jackson Pollock’s “drip” paintings shaped by patterns in nature to Korean filmmakers’ genre creation from remixing influences into something new. The result is a repeatable framework for finding better ideas at work and in life.

    The Infinity Machine: Demis Hassabis, DeepMind, and the Quest for Superintelligence
    By Sebastian Mallaby
    Follow Demis Hassabis’s unlikely path, from North London chess prodigy and teenage coder to leader of Google’s most ambitious AI efforts, in a deeply reported account with rare access. Drawing on hours of interviews with Hassabis, Mallaby captures frontier AI’s high-stakes reality—talent wars, soaring compute costs and the pull of discovery. Vivid scenes show breakthroughs in biology and cognition reshaping power in tech and beyond. The result is both a character-driven biography and a portrait of a field moving to the center of global attention.

    AI for Good: How Real People Are Using Artificial Intelligence to Fix Things That Matter
    By Josh Tyrangiel
    AI for Good offers a refreshing, real-world look at how artificial intelligence is already helping people solve everyday challenges. Drawing on stories from initiatives like Operation Warp Speed, Josh Tyrangiel shows AI at its best: a powerful tool that helps teams make sense of complex data and deliver results. From government services and healthcare to classrooms and community support, the book follows teachers, doctors and public servants using AI to enhance human judgment and improve outcomes. Clear-eyed about the hard work of change, AI for Good delivers an optimistic, actionable roadmap for putting AI to work—responsibly and with impact—right now.

    America: The Imagination of a Nation
    By Assouline and Joel Stein
    Framed as a sweeping tribute to the American experiment tied to the 250th anniversary of the United States, America: The Imagination of a Nation traces how the nation’s ideas became icons through dream, myth, frontier, culture, style and global influence. It spans founding touchstones like Benjamin Franklin and the Declaration of Independence and enduring symbols such as the flag and the Statue of Liberty. Along the way, it offers vivid vignettes—from the cowboy myth and Route 66 to Coca-Cola, Hollywood, Levi’s and the moon landing—showing how American identity has been invented, challenged and remade across generations.

    Crisis Engineering: Time-Tested Tools for Turning Chaos into Clarity
    By Marina Nitze, Matthew Weaver & Mikey Dickerson
    When systems fail and playbooks break down, Crisis Engineering offers a practical field guide to leading through high-stakes chaos. Crisis-response experts Marina Nitze, Matthew Weaver and Mikey Dickerson of Layer Aleph draw on decades of work across industry and government to lay out a hands-on framework for stabilizing situations and driving durable recovery. Using real-world stories—from the HealthCare.gov rescue to wildfire response and pandemic logistics—they show how crises unfold, why instinctive leadership moves can backfire and how to regain clarity fast. With tools like the “five signals of a crisis,” this book helps leaders stand up an effective crisis response when it matters most.

    The Coming Storm: Power, Conflict and Warnings from History
    By Odd Arne Westad
    Yale historian Odd Arne Westad uses the run-up to World War I as a warning for today’s geopolitics, arguing that familiar patterns—rising powers, anxious empires and misread signals—can turn local crises into global conflict. He revisits 1914 to highlight preventable errors like rigid alliances, rushed mobilization and ambiguity that left too little room for diplomacy. Westad then maps those dynamics onto modern flashpoints, showing how contested borders and great-power competition can escalate quickly. The book closes with practical policy ideas aimed at reducing the risk of catastrophic miscalculation.

    Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose
    By Jennifer Breheny Wallace
    Award-winning journalist Jennifer Wallace argues that “mattering”—feeling valued and having the chance to add value—is a core human need. Blending research with real stories, she shows what happens when that need goes unmet and how it can be rebuilt. Wallace introduces the “mattering core,” a practical framework focused on recognizing your impact, being relied on (but not too much), feeling prioritized and being truly known. With actionable takeaways, Mattering offers a blueprint for building cultures where people feel seen, supported and purposeful at home, work and in their communities.

    Coachable: How the Greatest Performers Reach Their Highest Potential
    By Ric Bucher
    After decades covering elite sports, NBA analyst Ric Bucher set out to answer what truly separates the best from the rest. In conversations with champions Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Diana Taurasi, Brandi Chastain and Stephen Curry, one theme kept surfacing: coachability as the quiet X factor behind sustained greatness. Built around Bucher’s “10 Truths of Coachability,” the book pairs practical takeaways with behind-the-scenes stories from legends and the coaches who shaped them, including Gregg Popovich, Steve Kerr and Coach K. Here’s a playbook for business leaders looking to improve performance, build culture and lead under pressure.

    The Stimulated Mind: Future-Proof Your Brain from Dementia and Stay Sharp at Any Age
    By Dr. Tommy Wood
    Neuroscientist and physician Dr. Tommy Wood—also a Formula 1 sports performance coach focused on lifelong brain health—challenges the idea that cognitive decline is inevitable. He introduces “headroom,” the mental capacity you can build and protect over time, and explains why everyday focus problems and rising dementia risk deserve the same attention we give heart health. Grounded in Wood’s research and real-world performance coaching, the book maps practical levers you can maneuver to keep the brain adaptable. The Stimulated Mind offers a clear, actionable playbook for staying sharp now and supporting long-term cognitive longevity for decades.

    Light and Thread
    By Han Kang
    Translated by Maya West, e. yaewon & Paige Aniyah Morris
    Nobel Prize–winning author Han Kang’s first English-language nonfiction is a luminous collection that includes her Nobel Lecture. Blending essays, poems, photographs and diary fragments, she explores how creative work and everyday life shape purpose and meaning. At its center is her north-facing courtyard garden, sustained by reflected sunlight as she moves mirrors through the day—an image of tending what matters when light feels scarce. Intimate and meditative, Light and Thread reflects on finding meaning, and light, after darkness.

    Irreplaceable: 60 of Humanity’s Most Treasured Places
    By the World Monuments Fund
    With contributions by Bénédicte de Montlaur, André Aciman, Andrew Solomon and Brinda Somaya
    From Angkor Wat and Babylon to Easter Island and the hidden gardens of Beijing’s Forbidden City, this lavishly illustrated volume highlights 60 landmark sites across centuries and continents. Produced by the World Monuments Fund, it pairs striking photography with sharp essays on what’s at stake as climate change, conflict, financial strain and overtourism threaten irreplaceable places. The result is a “museum without walls”—and a compelling call to protect the world’s shared cultural legacy.

    Keith Haring in 3D
    By Larry Warsh and Glenn Adamson
    With contributions from Dieter Buchhart, David Galloway, Francis M. Naumann, Lowery Stokes Sims and Robert Storr
    A fresh, immersive look at Keith Haring that highlights a less-discussed part of his legacy: the bold three-dimensional work he made far beyond the page and subway wall. From painted objects and everyday surfaces—cars, vases and even appliances—to collaborations spanning fashion, performance and music, the breadth of work shows how Haring turned the world into a canvas. Published alongside a major exhibition at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the book pairs curator and scholar essays with 350+ striking illustrations and archival photographs that capture Haring’s collaborative spirit and enduring cultural reach.

    Squeeze Me: Lemon Recipes & Art
    By Ruthie Rogers and Ed Ruscha
    Celebrated chef Ruthie Rogers, founder of London’s River Café, teams up with iconic contemporary artist Ed Ruscha, who tends a lemon grove at his Los Angeles home, for a bright, collectible ode to the lemon. Across 50 inventive recipes, Rogers turns citrus into the main event, from risotto al limone and vibrant salads to a showstopping lemon tart. The result is a cookbook that’s as practical as it is joyful, designed for cooks who want big flavor without fuss. Ruscha’s original images, created for this project, elevate each page, making the everyday lemon feel like art.

    We Are the World (Cup): A Personal History of the World’s Greatest Sporting Event
    By Roger Bennett
    Roger Bennett—#1 New York Times bestselling author and the creator of Men in Blazers—delivers a joyous, deeply personal history of the World Cup from the late 1970s through 2022. Blending reporting with fandom, he shows how the tournament fuses geopolitics, pop culture and national identity into unforgettable “where-were-you” moments, from sudden upsets to single plays that redefine careers. Bennett also traces soccer’s rise in the United States, from a 1970s/1980s afterthought to a modern obsession, and how Men in Blazers helped fuel that surge. Big-hearted, funny and sharp, the book’s spirit captures how the World Cup feels like the world’s greatest shared story.

    NextList Summer Series

    Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

    NEW YORK, NY

    Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) bursts with laughter, escapism and charm. The story follows two wedding guests: Dougal, an endlessly optimistic Brit visiting New York City for the marriage of the father he’s never met, and Robin, the bride’s sharp, no-nonsense sister. As they journey across the city, their differing perspectives give way to something unexpected. Fresh, funny and full of heart, this original musical is both a love letter to New York and a celebration of the joy in human connection.

    The Aurora

    BÅSTAD, SWEDEN

    The Aurora is a groundbreaking automotive concours and lifestyle event, bringing together some of the world’s most exceptional cars in a celebration of culture, design and craftsmanship. Set in Båstad on Sweden’s west coast, often referred to as the Swedish Riviera, the event showcases over 500 cars across the weekend. At its heart is the Dual-Concours, where 68 cars compete across a Classic Car and Hypercar Concours, with entries from Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, the Middle East and Australia. Blending engines, luxury, elegance and high-energy excitement, The Aurora is a must-see summer experience.

    Calder. Rêver en équilibre

    FONDATION LOUIS VUITTON

    PARIS, FRANCE

    “Calder. Rêver en équilibre” at the Fondation Louis Vuitton marks both the centenary of Alexander Calder’s arrival in France and the 50th anniversary of his death. In collaboration with the Calder Foundation and major international lenders, the exhibition brings together nearly 300 works (mobiles, stabiles, wire pieces, paintings, drawings, jewelry), encompassing roughly 50 years of the artist’s work. From the Cirque Calder performances to monumental sculptures, this comprehensive retrospective illuminates Calder’s bold imagination and vibrant experimentalism. A can’t-miss exhibition that will leave visitors “dreaming in balance.”

    SHA

    ALBIR BAY, SPAIN

    COSTA MUJERES, MEXICO

    ALJURF, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

    SHA, a global leader in health optimization and longevity, offers its guests highly tailored experiences in properties on coastal Spain, in the Mexican Caribbean and soon in the United Arab Emirates. Its integrated, science-led method combines targeted nutrition, advanced diagnostics, preventive and precision medicine, and evidence-based therapies—designed to enhance sleep, reduce inflammation, optimize weight, and elevate cognitive and physical performance. SHA supports lasting lifestyle transformation, as well as regenerative medicine, cellular therapies, proactive diagnostics and executive health, defining it as The Home of True Health Optimization.

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    Hospitality

    CELEBRATE EID AL ADHA WITH A SPECIAL BUFFET AT PURANI DILLI

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    Celebrate the spirit of Eid with a specially curated dinner buffet at Purani Dilli, Bur Dubai, offering guests a festive dining experience inspired by rich Indian flavours and traditional favourites. Perfect for family gatherings and festive get-togethers, the Eid Al Adha Special Buffet promises a warm ambience, indulgent dishes, and a memorable celebration during the Eid holidays.

    Available for three nights only from 27th May to 29th May, the dinner buffet is priced at AED 95 per guest, making it an ideal choice for both residents and visitors looking to enjoy an authentic Eid feast in the heart of Bur Dubai.

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