The Annals of Luxury: A Warm Reception for Cold Cash

Joy comes not through possession or ownership
but through a wise and loving heart – Buddha

Tell that to the new money, logo-crazed strivers of Ulan Bator.

The latest luxury shopping mecca just may be this booming if remote capital of Mongolia. Or so opines The Wall St. Journal Magazine.

Vuitton: It's everywhere you don't want to be, like downtown Ulan Bator

Louis Vuitton opened a store there in 2009. It shares the same Central Mall location with Burberry, Zegna, Hugo Boss and Emporio Armani. Dunhill and Ferragamo are expected to be there soon.

"How could it be that luxury retailers have come to Mongolia?" wonders author Maureen Orth. "The country has only 2.8 million people, almost half of them living in a capital built [in the 1940s by the Russians] for 500,000, including 700,000 destitute former nomads whose gers [huts] crowd the surrounding hills."

Paris of the Steppes it's not.

Ulan Bator by day...

...and by night.

Orth goes on to explain that democratic Mongolia – independent for 21 years now after seven centuries of Soviet rule – has entered into multi-billion dollar deals to exploit its vast deposits of gold, copper, coal and other natural resources. The burgeoning nation's $7 billion GDP is projected to increase 20% annually over the next decade.

But luxury retailers don't require a large number of customers, even in this heady fiscal environment.

"One to two thousand is all you need," says Vuitton CEO Yves Carcelle in the Journal report.

That is because Mongolians culturally like to display their wealth; they are willing to spend a lot on jewelry and other luxury goods to let their neighbors know how well they are doing. Of course, while the upper classes flaunt their prosperity, most working class Mongolians barely make ends meet by toiling in mines, herding livestock, driving taxis or selling imported goods from China.

And never mind that Ulan Bator was founded in 1639 as a Buddhist monastic center. That was then. Today's boom town is another story.

Read Orth's article here.

THE LUXURIST SUGGESTS

If you're planning to go Ulan Bator, better think twice. While your shopping excursion to Mongolia will earn you major bragging rights at any dinner party, be aware that the city is noted for it's extreme isolation. It's not close to anywhere and hard to get to. It's also the coldest capital city of any nation in the world.

This Just In: Bang and Olufsen's Massive 85" 3D HDTV

If you've done all of the research, agonized over your decision, and went ahead and spent $3,000 or $4,000 for a new, state-of-the art 55" 3D LED HDTV, prepare to be disappointed.

Those pesky folks at ultra high-end electronics manufacturer Bang & Olufsen have just introduced their super luxurious 85" 3D set, larger than anything else available for the home market.

The BeoVision 4:85 lists for $85,000. That's a $1,000 per diagonal inch. If you are waiting for a Groupon coupon, you cannot afford this baby.

What you get for the price of a well-equipped BMW is a mammoth TV that, according to the company's press release "incorporates state-of-the-art performance within audio, video, magical moving mechanics and intelligent home integration."

Huh?

Actually, there's a lot of advanced technology packed into this TV and its accompanying sound system. You will have to decide for yourself if it amounts to $85,000 worth.


To get one, you'll have to schedule a visit from a B&O custom install team who'll carry out an assessment of the structural strength of your floor and walls, as the plasma TV weighs nearly half a ton. It sits on a motorized stand that will raise, lower, turn and tilt the screen.

Following the visit you'll go over a multi-page checklist detailing the installation options. The set comes in your choice of colors — silver, black, red, blue, dark grey, or gold (with matching remote, of course) — since, as the editors of Sound & Vision magazine note, "if you're forking over this kind of cash, you want it to match your couch and curtains."

What you do not get for $85,000 are B&O's proprietary active shutter 3D glasses, which you must have in order to enjoy the full multi-dimensional experience. Those cost $149 each, and it's good to know that you can buy as many pairs as you want at any Bang & Olufsen store worldwide.

Sound & Vision's review is here. Bang & Olufsen's website is here.
 

Living to Eat: The World's 50 Best Restaurants

So you think you know restaurants?

You've dined your way through the finest that New York and Napa have to offer. You know what soft openings are because you get invited to them. When a hot new place comes to town, you get a table at 8:00 pm. (This sentence, "We only have 6pm or 10pm," doesn't exist in your world.)

Maven that you are, you'll recognize many of your favorites on The San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants of 2011 list.

Or will you?

The annual awards have just been published in Britain's Restaurant magazine, a co-sponsor along with San Pellegrino.

Noma's squid legs with potatoes, mayonnaise, brown butter

Topping the list this year is Denmark's Noma for a second year in a row and succeeding El Bulli, the 2006-09 winner. Even if you haven't been there yet, you might have heard of it. It's been getting a lot of media attention lately, especially from the British press.

Chef Rene Redzepi uses only seasonal, locally foraged ingredients – nothing imported, including olive oil. Some of his creations: beef tartare with a tarragon emulsion and wood sorrel; fresh cheese with axel berry shoots and watercress; and radishes in edible soil.

Restaurant magazine says that dining at Noma is an "emotive, intense, liberating way of eating." (Affective writing like that just makes you want to drop everything and jump on the next flight to Copenhagen, doesn't it?)

You also might know The Fat Duck and The Ledbury in Britain, Pierre Gagnaire and Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athenee in France, and Le Bernardin, Per Se, Daniel, and Momofuku Ssam Bar in New York. (Although we cannot recall Momofuku, while popular, making anyone else's best restaurant pantheon).

From here, the road moves into unfamiliar territory, at least for a lot of Americans.

Not many will have heard of the modernists Mugaritz and El Celler de Can Roca, two of the five Spanish restaurants on the list. Or Le Quartier Francais in South Africa, Chez Dominique in Finland, or Amber in Hong Kong?

And then there's Biko in Mexico, Iggy's in Singapore, Astrid y Gaston in Peru, De Librije in Holland, or Steirereck in Austria.

Chocolate nougat at Vienna's Steirereck

They were chosen by an international academy of some 800 chefs, restaurateurs, food and restaurant journalists and gourmands representing 27 geographic regions around the globe. Sounds impressive, but, apart from Mark Bittman, Wolfgang Puck, and Charlie Palmer, it's unlikely you'll recognize many of the members. Doubtless you will be familiar with the group's sponsor, Electrolux, famous in Europe for making high-end, high-design stoves, refrigerators and appliances – and in the U.S. mainly for producing vacuum cleaners.

Some journalists have called into question the group's choices and methodology. The list is not universally accepted as definitive.

Still, it's not necessary to approve of every establishment on the World's 50 Best Restaurants to enjoy the thought of dining at every one of them.

If you decide to try it, just make sure you have an understanding spouse, an ample supply of Pepto Bismol and a few million frequent flyer miles.
 

My Aunt Ceil Went to the Royal Wedding, and All I Got Was This Lousy Limited Edition Royal Crown Derby Bone China Commemorative Plate

Marriage is a wonderful institution, the old joke goes. But who wants to live in an institution?

And then there's this week's marriage of Prince William to Catherine Middleton, a monolith that reduces even the most extravagant celebrity nuptial shindig to the status of a small town pancake breakfast.

When you think of Royal Wedding souvenirs, schlocky tea towels and $25 Tesco knockoffs of Catherine's engagement dress come to mind. Who buys these pitiable gegaws? Surely not the cultivated, stylish readers of The Luxury Life!

For you, we have identified a better class of commemorative folderol. Here are a few examples:



Floris Wedding Bouquet Eau de Parfum – The 281-year-old London parfumer says that they created this exclusive scent to celebrate the royal coupling, drawing inspiration from Floris wedding fragrances of the past "whilst introducing a modern twist." The Floris shop in New York closed a few years, ago; for about $135 you can order online at www.florislondon.com.

Bespoke Royal Wedding-Themed Party Cake – Vauxhaul in South London is home to the British secret service (MI6) headquarters and Cakehole, an artisanal bakery that uses free range eggs, local fruit and, British sugar and organic flour. They're known for scrumptious treats such as peanut fudge brownies, lemon drizzle cake, and carrot cake with lemon mascarpone cream cheese icing.

For a limited time they offer a colorful salute to the royal couple made of Victoria sponge cake decorated in red, white and blue fondant, adorned with spotted teapots and sparkling jewels, then topped with House of Windsor roses. A nine-inch cake with 12 servings will set you back about $50 plus another $17 for Central London delivery. It's not available by mail. Order one from www.cakeholelondon.com about 48 hours in advance of your arrival, have it delivered to your hotel, and host your own celebration.

Royal Crown Derby Royal Wedding Commemorative Octagonal Plate – Royal Crown Derby produced this octagonal plate in a limited edition of 1500. It is "adorned at the edges in cobalt blue and overlaid in gold [with] acorns from the great oak tree, representing longevity along with the instantly recognizable Prince of Wales Plumes. At the center are displayed the ornately intertwined initials of Catherine and William." Their description, not ours. You'd know a Prince of Wales Plume when you see one, wouldn't you? About $225 at www.royalcrownderby.co.uk.

Ice London iPhone 4 Cover – The Union Jack crystal design is fashioned from (yawn) Swarovksi "elements." Also available for the iPhone 3G, if you are still among the unfortunate few who haven't yet upgraded. About $275 at www.ice.co.uk.

Halcyon Days Commemorative Limited Edition Bone China Box – Prince William and Catherine are shown on either side of Westminster Abbey on this 24ct gold-embellished box. On the side panels are the Prince’s coat of arms, with the couple’s initials, and Buckingham Palace. The box is further decorated with the national flowers of the United Kingdom: rose, daffodil, shamrock and thistle. Only 350 have been produced. About $750 from www.halcyondays.co.uk.

More on Royal Wedding souvenirs at British Vogue and The Telegraph.

Deal of the (19th) Century

It's not exactly news that antique furniture prices have been in the doldrums for a few years now.

We were visiting a week ago with a friend who runs an antique shop in Vermont, doing our best to feign interest as he complained that (1) prices had dropped to rock bottom levels and (2) that even so, no one was buying old pieces anymore.

This 1825 Biedermeier cherrywood chest may be out of favor, but it's still a beaut.

So we were not surprised a few days ago to read a Wall St. Journal article on the same subject.

"The market for period pieces, including 18th-century Louis, authentic English Regency and Irish Chippendale, is ripe for the picking," says the Journal. "Consider this: A pair of Louis XVI fauteuils that were $35,000 15 years ago just went for $10,000 at auction."

There are deals to be had on English Georgian and German Biedermeier furniture, as well.

If you believe that one good piece can carry an entire room, then now is the time to get serious. Prices of good antique furniture will rebound eventually. In three, five, or ten years, a $10,000 purchase today could be worth two or three times as much.

Read the complete Journal report here.
 

Deep Discounts on Wine Abound and Aren't Going Away

More than a year ago, The Luxury Life alerted readers to the remarkable wine discounts available through sites like winestilsoldout.com and cinderellawine.com.

Today's New York Times reports on the success of these and other wine bargain sites. The paper says that the flash wine market now comprises about $100 million per year, or about 25% of all wine sales.

Read more about how to get some great prices on very good wines in our original report and in the Times article.

Life's Little Luxuries: C'est Cheese!

National Grilled Cheese Month starts today.

With news of such staggering proportions, we're temped to shout, "Hold the panini presses!" But we will resist.

Au contraire, we take our melted cheese seriously, and so we reprint our blog post commemorating National Grilled Cheese Month of 2009:

We offer some fabulous grilled cheese recipes from Bobby Flay and others.

Here's Bobby's Grilled Brie and Goat Cheese with Bacon and Green Tomato.

Our favorite TV chef Tyler Florence serves up a great Grilled Cheese with Apple and Bacon.

Alton Brown demonstrates how to make his version in this short video.

From Bon Appetit magazine, here's a yummy Grilled Ham And Gouda Sandwich with Frisee and Caramelized Onions (shown here).

And just for fun you can't beat that childhood favorite, the Velveeta Grilled Cheese Sandwich.