Tag: borneo sporenburg

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Muse Restaurant Belgravia London + Six Course Tasting Menu

We Are Amused

SupperClub Middle East is the world’s premium culinary and lifestyle concierge as seen on Travel Markets, UA News 247, Business News, Gulf News etcetera. Established in UAE in 2020, three years later SupperClub expanded into Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia. Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, South Africa and Turkey all then came on board. In 2026, the company now has a strong presence in Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Malaysia, Singapore, USA and UK. Global expansion continues at pace.

How does it work? Members access the SupperClub app and view offers in their region of choice, place a booking request, the selected venue receives an email, and the members pay at the venue with discount automatically deducted. The WhatsApp concierge is on it like a Bentley bonnet. We’re constantly amazed at the millisecond response rate. It’s such a discreet and seamless service. This is really all about luxury positioning for us higher disposable income individuals. They’ve got it sorted.There are three tiers of membership: Gold, Diamond and Platinum. Booking credit varies while all have unlimited reservations and guests as well as that beloved dedicated WhatsApp concierge. Diamond and Platinum have 12 months access to offers; Gold has six months. Platinum includes a generous restaurant spend. Exclusive offers cover food and beverage; spa and health club access; fitness and wellness packages; and crafted coffee. SupperClub’s growth involves ultra high profile partnerships with Adnoc, Emirates Skywards, HSBC, MasterCard, Samsung and Virgin.

“We’re already in Singapore, we’re already in Thailand, we’re looking at Japan,” co founder Muna Mustafa tells us (her business partner is Mehreen Omar). “The expansion is ongoing! SupperClub is also marketed through the Visa Airport Companion app which just recently launched. So this is really exciting because for the first time with Visa, restaurants are going to get visibility direct to consumers on the app. This ability to communicate directly with guests is another boost of visibility for our restaurants and it’s all about location based marketing.” No codes; real benefits.

As a successful entrepreneur, Muna is willing to share lessons learned. Her key guidelines include leveraging industry insights and market experience. “Our understanding of the hospitality industry, consumers, sector insights and customer pain points was a huge advantage in a crowded marketplace.” She also advocates taking a hands on approach from day one and creating the first proof of concept. “We built a hollow minimum viable product to sell our concept and get business of the ground. Focus on progress not perfection.” Pivoting in response to market dynamics and having a strong hold on performance metrics are two more of Muna’s key guidelines.

Many of the restaurants available through SupperClub are Michelin starred. We discuss the merits of the French grading system with Muna. “I love it!” she confides. “My favourite thing is please tell me in what order I should eat the food so that I don’t have to think of that! It never gets old.” Exactly a century ago the first Michelin Star was awarded (Georges Blanc, Vonnas). But it wasn’t until 1974 that Michelin came to Britain. Meals are judged on five criteria: quality of ingredients; mastery of gastronomic techniques; harmony of flavours; personality and emotion conveyed by the chef in the food; and consistency across both the menu and various visits.

One Michelin star is for a very good restaurant in its own category and worth a stop. Two stars is for excellent cooking and worth a detour. Three stars is for exceptional cuisine and worth a special journey. Musing where to go for Saturday lunch doesn’t take long when we realise Muse is on the SupperClub menu. Tom Aikens’ intimate fine dining experience in an exquisite Belgravia mews was barely open before it snapped up a Michelin star. The Chef has form: at 26 he was the youngest ever British chef to be awarded two Michelin stars (Pied-à-Terre, Fitzrovia).

Interior designer Rebecca Körner’s lively hallmarks – abundance of colour, use of eclecticism and fluidity of shape – are evident in fuchsia walls, contemporary design in a period building, and lagoon shaped mirrors. The same hallmarks could be applied to the most marvellous six course tasting menu – pinkish reddish rhubarb, fusing the best of British and finest of French cuisine ideas, and the curves and curls of Tom’s culinary art. “Ever since childhood I’ve been drawn to the unknown,” says Tom, “the thrill of a surprise, the joy of a guessing game, the kind of moment that leaves you speechless. This menu is shaped by that same spirit. You’ll find hints, clues and personal anecdotes woven throughout, each one echoing a chapter from my life and career.”

Are you ready? Tom gives the lowdown on each course. Forever Picking, “Snacks inspired by the seasons. This stems from my recollections of being in the garden with my mother and picking anything that was edible.” Custard, mullet and Montgomery cheese grand amuse bouches are sprinkled with edible flowers from Nurtured in Norfolk. Making and Breaking, “The comfort and satisfaction I get from bread comes from many memories along the way. To me, it means comfort, satisfaction, sharing, connection, love and of course the joy you receive from the actual making and eating of bread.” Leek, marmite and fermented butters accompany treacle flavoured bread. Just Down the Road: ricotta, blood orange, bitter leaves, “Many miles have been travelled and countless hours have been spent during my ongoing quest to find the very best of British producers to supply Muse with ingredients. We celebrate Old Hall Farm as one of them because it’s just down the road from where I grew up in Norfolk.” Three down three to go.

Never Ending Time: cuttlefish, turnip, shiso, “However simple a dish may look, the time it takes to prepare it can go unnoticed. I would always say savour, don’t devour. Many hours disappear in the preparing, cooking and perfecting of the cuttlefish.” The Love Affair: pigeon, bourguignon, wild garlic, “France is very close to my heart. I have spent years in the middle of France as well as the wine regions of the south and the Capital, slowly but surely developing my love affair with food and France. This continued working alongside a few great French chefs. This is my ode to France.” We swap this for an intriguing pescatarian option. Far Too Tempting: rhubarb, custard, ginger, “A love for sweet and sour stems from some of my favourite childhood treats including old fashioned fruit salad chew sweets, moon dust and sticks of rhubarb picked from my mother’s garden and dipped in sugar. This is nostalgic tastes from the past turned into something deliciously refreshing.” Six of the best. Make that six and a half: chocolate and honeycomb canapés end the lunch with aplomb.

Our inner oenophiles are more than satisfied: as SupperClub guests we’re treated to William Saintot Champagne. The well informed sommelier successfully tempts us with Ktima Gerovassiliou 2024, Greek rather than our usual French Viognier. She explains, “It’s rounder, less aromatic.” Our waitress has done her homework and discusses a mutual interest of architecture and travel. “Malaysia is a must,” she advocates, “you have to visit the scenic Tioman Island and the traditional stone buildings of Sarawak in northwest Borneo.”

Ding-a-ling. Greeted by name at the front door we were whisked up the stairs to sit at the bar opposite five chefs at work. This is intimate dining: six bar stools, two snugs and three two seater tables in a space five metres wide by four metres deep. The downstairs lounge and bar with its impressive lime green Brionvega Radiofonografo (an industrial style music system designed in 1965 by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni) have the same footprint. The top floor of this cute corner mews house contains the restaurant office. A Bibendum maquette takes pride of place on the first floor bar.

“I am a muse, not a mistress,” sings Marianne Faithfull, no mere bauble, in Sliding Through Life on Charm on her masterpiece album Kissin’ Time (2000). “I wonder why the schools don’t teach anything useful nowadays?” she ponders. “Like how to fall from grace and slide with elegance from a pedestal.” Tom Aikens doesn’t need to worry – he continues to slide through life on charm. And running a very good restaurant in its own category which is worth a stop. In our experienced view, Muse is worth a detour. Or even a special journey.

And now for another Borneo. We are delighted that the British Government’s Office for Place has chosen us as one of the main sources for its publication International Design Codes (2024). This guide for local authorities and property developers uses case studies to provide lessons for new schemes and districts. One of the case studies is square kilometres ahead of the rest: our Amsterdam favourite, Borneo Sporenburg.

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Architects Architecture Art Design Developers People Restaurants Town Houses

Eastern Docklands Amsterdam + Aaron Betsky

Nether Regions

Way back in 2005 we visited a snow covered Amsterdam to report on the newly redeveloped Eastern Docklands for Ulster Architect. The following year historian Jaap Evert Abrahamse published Eastern Docklands District Amsterdam: Urbanism and Architecture. He summarises, “The transformation of the Eastern Harbour District in Amsterdam was completed in 2003. More than 8,000 dwellings have definitively taken over from hangars, transhipment installations, rails, contains and goods trains. All of the Netherlands’ top architects have built here, as well as a large number of renowned foreigners.” So a revisit is long overdue. Particularly on a breezily sunny day.

Just about every city with a river running through it seeks to capitalise on its docklands with varying degrees of success. Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, Cork, Dublin and Düsseldorf have all jumped on the bandwagon. Planning students of the late Nineties were treated to lectures and tours on the topic. The Netherlands, the country that gave us Van Dyke and Van Gogh and Van Rijn, now gives us fine art of another kind: housing.

Oostelijk Havengebied, the regenerated Eastern Docklands of Amsterdam, is built on four slim former island wharves. A €10 ride from Centraal Station, each island, or rather peninsula, is planned as a neighbourhood relying on an urban design strategy to provide a sense of local identity. Density averages 100 dwellings per hectare. If that all sounds like, well, first year undergrad palaver, go see the results. This is town planning progressing beyond glossy booklets and pushy press launches.

First, there’s KSNM Island. The initials stand for the Royal Dutch Steamship Company, the previous occupier of the site. It now accommodates 1,250 dwellings. Rows of harbour scale apartment blocks straddle the quaysides. Cars are confined to an arterial route which dissects the central strip of parkland. The plan is a result of collaboration between Amsterdam City Council planners and architect Jo Coenen.

Next comes Java Island, a former industrial area. It’s mixed use now: 1,350 dwellings and 500 square metres of commercial floorspace. Architect Sjoerd Soeter’s plan is like a photo negative of KSNM. Quayside roads encircle a cliff face of nine storey blocks that soars above pedestrian friendly courtyards.

Borneo Sporenburg is the third island. It’s really a pair of interconnected peninsulae linked by call girl red pedestrian bridges designed by Adriaan Geuze. A former railway shunting area, it has been engulfed by a sea of 2,500 three storey houses and apartments interrupted by three high rise blocks. Again, the public sector collaborated with private consultants, this time Rudy Uytenhaak and Adriaan Geuze and his firm West 8. The smaller units are designed by hip architects like Bjarne Mastenbrock, Christian Rapp, Dick van Gameren and Heren 5.

Hoop, Liefde en Fortun is one of the three high rise pieces of architectural eye candy. Designed by Rudy Uytenhaak, it’s a cascading ski slope of a building, clad on the north side with a gargantuan hole punched Norwegian marble screen produced in cooperation with the artist Willem Oorebeek. This multipurpose block is named after three windmills that once occupied the site: Hope, Love and fortune.

Anglo Swedish architect Ralph Erskine who died earlier this year could easily have had Borneo Sporenburg in mind when he wrote, “Architecture, like the shaft of an axe, must beautifully and precisely symbolise its own good reasons for its necessary existence. Insight and sincerity will tell you which reasons are good.”

Amsterdam has the funkiest street names of any European capital. You don’t have to spend the afternoon in a brown café either to appreciate them. Try Kattenburgerstraat, Regulierdwarstraat and Voorplein Spaarneziekenhuis for a start. Borneo Sporenburg continues the trippy tradition. Scheepstimmermanstraat is the name of the main drag. Lined with domestic temples to Mondrian modernity, it’s become something of a household name in planning circles.

Architect Sebastian Kaal from Dick van Gameren informs us, “West 8’s masterplan called for three storey terraced units. This usually results in a streetscape dominated by parked cars. Here the section has been reversed to create an internal street with garages. Patios have been slung on top of the garages so that even the north facing houses can enjoy the sun.”

Each plot is 30 to 50 percent void. Juliet balconies, car lifts, courtyards and roof gardens … they’re all here. Plots are a standard 16 metres deep, 4.2 to six metres wide and a maximum height of 9.5 metres. A delectable Dutch trend – that of impossibly high ground floor ceiling heights – is adhered to. Even the leggy Dutch moving around in their living quarters framed by double height windows look like The Borrowers.

Dick van Gameren has punctuated the corner of Scheepstimmermanstraat and Stuurmankade with nothing short of a translucent on white visual exclamation mark. Drawing on simple geometrical forms in a far from doctrinaire manner, coloured glass modules suspended mid air increase the cubic capacity of the apartments without encroaching on the footprint.

Innovative design is matched by avant garde materials. Take Kavel 37 on Scheepstimmermanstraat, designed by Heren 5. It lifts the Dutch townhouse to a whole new level, taking the concept of an Amsterdam vernacular and blowing it out of the water. “The rusted steel façade is in harmony with the surroundings of brick and the former harbour identity,” explains architect Jan Klomp. “Transparency and bringing the daylight inside is typical for Dutch canalside houses and also for Heren 5.” Glass floors in the upper apartment allow daylight to flow down to the ground floor and illuminate the entrance from above.

We spoke to Aaron Betsky, the recently appointed Director of the Netherlands Architecture Institute, about his views on Borneo Sporenburg. The former Architecture and Design Curator of San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art, Aaron is one of the big players in contemporary design discourse. His CV – architect, author, critic, curator and lecturer – has guaranteed him that position.

“As Director of the NAI, I oversee and coordinate the many different aspects of this active centre for architecture,” he says. “It’s the second largest architecture museum in the world and is the archive of all Dutch architecture post 1800.” Meanwhile, Aaron’s literary output includes: The Best Buildings by Young Architects in the Netherlands, Experimental Architecture in Los Angeles, Why Dutch Design is So Good, Zaha Hadid The Complete Buildings and Projects. The list goes on, 40 Amazon.co.uk hits to be precise.

Born in Montana USA, but raised in the Netherlands, Aaron reckons, “There’s no one correct way to approach docklands regeneration. Given the situation in the Eastern Docklands, this was a very inventive and productive planning strategy.” He believes, “West 8 have tried to make the new look familiar and the familiar new which is exactly what architecture should do. Many of the compositions, materials and proportions are based on traditional Amsterdam housing types, but they have opened up, recombined, slid apart and otherwise messed with them, to allow completely new constellations of living to appear.”

“The building at the end of island by Dick van Gameren,” Aaron confirms is his favourite. “I especially like the way the whole is decomposed into the open spaces of the River Ij. But it’s the variety, rather than one particular building, that is the great contribution of Borneo Sporenburg to the city of Amsterdam. The point is that all the buildings play with Dutch variations and discover new spaces within very tight economic and physical straitjackets.”

Is it perfect? Not quite. “I would have made the streets of Borneo Sporenburg less strong. As built, they tend to become wind tunnels that overemphasise the traditional 19th century slum layout that is the point West 8, I believe, were trying to make.” Finally, we ask Aaron if he would like to live in Borneo Sporenburg. “Absolutely!” he exclaims. “Especially if I could afford a house designed by Masterbroek or Van Gameren. What about Jan? “Oh yes, I’d like to live there. Along the watersides would be great.”

In 2023, Scheepstimmermanstraat continues to be the standout street in the Eastern Docklands. It is aging gracefully: the private amenity spaces of the 60 freehold adjoining sites are well used and planted. A couple descend from their canalside living quarters in the middle of the terrace into a speedboat for an afternoon’s riding the waves of the River Ij.