Note from the editor, Diana Khoo:
Pictures of sun-kissed beaches and cocktails studded with tiny umbrellas have started to flood our collective feeds. As the mercury slowly inches up in the northern hemisphere, we in the tropics continue to romp in the sun as usual. The pool factor is always a pull factor and, in this issue, the creative team has put together a selection of beautiful things that evoke the great blue. It’s on page 54.
We are also boldly proclaiming Sri Lanka as the new Bali for Malaysian holidaymakers. It has several elements in its favour. Its surrounding ocean is pristine, the traffic smooth and, most of all, Kuala Lumpur is equidistant, a mere 3.5-hour flight, to both destinations. If you are in search of a summer holiday spot but with lots of design elements thrown into the equation, turn to page 62 for our trilogy of boutique hotels that score high for style. And, in case you are not aware, the teardrop-shaped island is also an amazing place at which to pick up new treasures for your home, with much-loved local Lankan brand names like Paradise Road and Barefoot ideally being your primary retail ports of call.
Entertaining this season should, likewise, be light yet tasty and Turkish food, with its fresh flavours, is never wrong. Renowned celebrity chef Ramazan Bingöl generously shares four easy recipes — this time, with an Aegean slant — from page 80 onwards. Pro tip: If you love eggplant, the İmambayıldı is rather divine, and not difficult to make.
Lest you think we’ve forgotten about the core subject and raison d’etre of Haven, rest assured we have not. This time, there are not three but a quartet of beautiful homes that we hope will prove inspiring. From the Nordic chic abode of a Kuala Lumpur family to a newly redone 40-year-old terraced link house owned by a medical doctor in Petaling Jaya and a tiny but perfectly-put-together flat in the heart of Rome, we hope you will find visual pleasure, decorating ideas and simple contentment flipping through our pages. Until the next issue.
