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Mint
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Mint
These Are the 50 Best Bars in Asia in 2025
(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong's Bar Leone, once again, has been crowned Asia's best bar. In fact, the top three of Asia's 50 Best Bars remained unchanged, with Seoul's Zest and Singapore's Jigger & Pony coming in second and third again. It was a momentous night for Bar Leone, the Italian-vibed spot that shook up the drinks world in 2024 when it debuted at the top of the list — barely over a year after opening. In the process, it dethroned Hong Kong's Coa, which held the coveted distinction for three consecutive years. On Tuesday night in Macau, the first time the 10-year-old awards were celebrated in the former Portuguese colony, Bar Leone solidified its reputation. Known for outstanding negronis and drinks like its olive oil sour, the bar was cofounded by Lorenzo Antinori, the Rome-born bartender who worked in London and Seoul before joining award-winning Argo in Hong Kong's Four Seasons. 'Our concept is so simple. We really tried to go back to the beauty of simplicity,' Antinori said in an interview. 'That is probably something that people were craving, and I think that's the reason why we got rewarded.' Antinori recently teamed up with Spain-based Simone Caporale to open a second venue nearby in Hong Kong this month. Montana harks back to the golden age of Cuba and Miami in the 1970s, and its menu features classics such as the daiquiri, El Presidente and the Montana cocktail, the inspiration for its name. The bar is Caporale's first bet in Asia. He was previously with London's Artesian at The Langham, the world's best bar from 2012 to 2015, and helped co-found Sips in Barcelona in 2021. The latter snagged first place on the World's 50 Best Bars in 2023, and ranked No. 3 last year. Though Hong Kong brought home the highest honors, Bangkok made a strong showing with seven spots in the top 50, including the debut of Dry Wave Cocktail Studio at No. 5, right behind neighboring Bar Us, which jumped up from No. 21 last year. There was also notable representation from India: New Delhi's Lair, also a new entry, came in at eighth place as the country's best bar, and was joined on the list by Soka (28), Boilermaker (30), ZLB23 (31) and Bar Spirit Forward (37). Seoul's Alice snagged the highest climber award, making the greatest rise from last year's ranking at 46th place to 13th. The list is determined by over 300 anonymous voters in the region, spanning four regions and covering 26 destinations across the continent. It is an offshoot of the World's 50 Best Restaurant list, overseen by UK-based William Reed Ltd. The Asian bars and lounges ranked 51 to 100 were announced earlier this month. The list, which included 14 new entries, had six bars from Singapore; four from Seoul, Shanghai, Taipei and Tokyo each; and three from Hong Kong. Here are the winners for 2025, with new additions marked by an asterisk. (Adds quote from Lorenzo Antinori in the fourth paragraph.) More stories like this are available on
Engadget
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Engadget
Cyberpunk 2077 heads up July's PS Plus Game Catalog additions
PlayStation Plus members can visit Night City on the house. Years after its botched release, the now-polished Cyberpunk 2077 is now in Sony's Game Catalog. Other July arrivals include the Half-Life-esque Abiotic Factor and the banana republic sim Tropico 6 . Had Cyberpunk 2077 launched in its current state, it may have been a 2020 Game of the Year candidate. Alas, that wasn't the case. It arrived as a buggy mess, including characters rocking the fashion-forward "penis outside the pants" look. But CD Project Red weathered the (self-inflicted) storm and pushed update after update to fix it. What you get today is a damn good game. Explore the dystopian sci-fi world of Night City as the mercenary V. Take on jobs, level up and upgrade your bodily augmentations. All dongs are now safely stashed inside the pants. PS Plus Premium and Extra members can play Cyberpunk 2077 today. Although the Game Catalog only includes the base game, you can save 30 percent on the Phantom Liberty expansion until July 23. That should help whet your appetite for the game's sequel, which recently entered pre-production. Deep Field Games / Playstack Meanwhile, Abiotic Factor is less like a modern-day Half-Life and more like an indie love letter to the first entry from 1998. Enter a network of underground research laboratories where strange paranormal stuff is happening. (Sound familiar?) Craft weapons from everyday objects, cook up some monsters and investigate the chaos. All the while, manage your bathroom breaks (as one does). Developer Deep Field Games leans into the humor, including the ability to customize your character's pocket protector. The game combines a late '90s throwback visual style with tight combat controls. You can play solo or with up to five friends. It's been in Steam Early Access for over a year where it's received "overwhelmingly positive" reviews. Abiotic Factor arrives in the PS Plus Game Catalog on July 22, its release date. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. Speaking of games with cheeky humor, you can soon step into the polished boots of El Presidente in Tropico 6 . Also on tap this month: Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden , Risk of Rain 2 and Planet Zoo . Meanwhile, Premium members get a couple of old-school classics in Twisted Metal 3 and 4 . They all arrive on July 15.
Axios
21-03-2025
- Business
- Axios
Stephen Starr's vintage-glam reinvention of The Occidental is here
Washington is packed with historic venues, but glitzy dining rooms where tuxedoed waitstaff unveil "pheasant under glass" and flambé bananas foster tableside felt extinct — until today, The Occidental 's grand debut. The big picture: Restaurateur Stephen Starr has been on a two-year opening spree in D.C. — El Presidente, Pastis, and new VIP magnet Osteria Mozza — but he's often dished to us about the one that excites him most: This glamorous reinvention of The Willard hotel's 1906 power spot (long faded) overlooking the White House. "I think the time is right for it," Starr tells Axios. "It's a grown-up place. It feels intimate." And while the menu is studded with spendy luxuries like caviar service and ribeyes, "The food isn't challenging — you can just eat here," no tweezers or deconstructions involved. Dig in: While few may remember the time when glazed Virginia ham steaks with pineapple were popular, the menu is full of lesser-seen throwbacks like that, lobster Newburg or steak Diane — plus some revived Occidental classics like oysters beurre blanc or lamb chops with mint jelly. Cocktails lean nostalgic too, whether memories drift back to icy cold martinis — here shaken until glacial with manzanilla olive brine and sea salt — or cosmos mixed with Grand Marnier. Between the lines: Starr noticed a post-pandemic hunger for nostalgia. Even his oldest Philadelphia restaurants, whose sales once waned, "started doing crazy business. People wanted to feel comfortable and go to places they remembered." The Occidental, Starr says, "is for everyone, Democrats and Republicans," towing the statesman line of many restaurateurs opening in D.C. (Mozza has welcomed all stripes – the Obamas, Jeff Bezos, and as of Monday night per restaurant sources, the Bidens). The vibe: 19th-century dazzle. Designer Ken Fulk, behind the vintage-glam looks of Carbone Miami and ZZ's Club, channels The Occidental's glory eras in the multi-tiered space. That includes an Art Deco-style bar boasting a black-and-white marble floor and grand piano. A clubby main dining room outfitted with crystal chandeliers, potted palms and jewel-toned booths for both privacy and people watching. And a modish whiskey lounge tucked away upstairs. One element that isn't throwback: the bill. A tony vibe and prime downtown location come with prices to match, with most apps in the high teens to low $30s and entrees in the high $30s to low $70s. The intrigue: Most Starr restaurants serve a signature dish (e.g., Le Dip's burger, St. Anselm's axehandle ribeye). The owner's bet here is on the salt-crusted prime rib served au jus with creamy horseradish. Or pheasant presented under a smoking cloche with braised thigh, seared breast, and foie gras. That said, smaller indulgences may win. We have our bets on the buttery, brick-size "giant hash browns" anointing every table during a pre-opening service. Also, pretty slices of Champagne cake or coconut chiffon, served on custom china, that you can chase with grasshopper mochas — the 1960s answer to espresso martinis.
