Slow food proponents have set up a groundbreaking farm-to-table resort in the midst of the Central American wilderness. We journey to Belcampo in Belize to tuck into fish tea and talk about life in a hammock.

I’m halfway through my breakfast of cinnamon-smoked bacon with organic poached eggs on boiled chaya (tree spinach) and spicy salsa when a movement catches my eye. I look up and there it is, something I have wanted to see all my life: a hummingbird. The tiny metallic green and brown body hovers seemingly motionless as its wings beat the air in a blur. It flits off, just as quickly as it arrived.

As thrilled as I am to have seen one, it soon becomes the first of many noteworthy sightings. By the end of my meal, I have clocked up seven bird species, including a family of heavy-beaked toucans resplendent in yellow, orange and green. Add these to the lizards – one with long, cartoon-like legs and another with a dinosaur-era crest – that I spotted this morning, plus the howler monkeys that shrieked and barked through the night, and there is no doubt about it, I’m in the jungle here.

Find the full article in the March issue of The Peak.

Probably the only difference between getting in an Audi S7 and a commercial flight is that you can keep your electronic devices on at all times.

We’re not going to compare car to aeroplane travel because, really, what’s the point? But there are exceptions. Perhaps the pinnacle of that exception is the luxury of driving a Bentley Continental GT or being chauffeured in a Rolls-Royce Phantom cross country. But if you want something a little more practical and less ostentatious, aim for the Audi S7 Sportback.

Without any shadow of doubt, this is one pretty automotive package. And dare we say it? Almost sweet enough for us to lay down the four hundred large ones main dealer Premium Automobiles is requesting for it. The ride is smooth, the cabin quiet, the numbers impressive and there’s a whole lot of gadgetry to keep you properly soothed and entertained.

Fortunately, unlike an attractive facade with all show and no go, the S7 is a serious contender when it comes to power values. Underneath all that flash is a four-litre, twin-turbo V8 engine that delivers a splendid 420bhp, just 10bhp shy of what Audi’s V8-engined R8 supercar puts out. If that gets you worrying about fuel efficiency – you didn’t buy a Lamborghini, after all – fret not because the engine will deactivate four cylinders when it detects city driving, effectively turning the V8 into a V4.

Audi’s talent for ironing out design kinks in four-door saloons is amply demonstrated in the S7. We’re fans of the gentle swoop that gracefully melds the roofline onto the boot edge, without making a mess of its aquiline proportions. Audi calls it the “Sportback”, we call it genius – a design element that will bring round fans of the traditional sedan shape.

So, the next time you’re pottering around the departure lounge, pondering your next few hours inside an airplane, consider a drive and how, unlike a flight, you can keep your mobile phone on.

Home-grown cafe chain TCC goes upscale with the launch of two fine dining restaurants.

While chefs and restaurateurs with fine dining roots are expanding into the fast food mass market, one casual dining brand is not sitting pretty while its turf is being encroached upon. Coffee chain The Connoisseur Concerto, or TCC, has gone upscale with the opening of Chateau TCC in a colonial black-and-white house along Scotts Road. It’s thrown a double punch to boot, launching Ki-sho, a Japanese restaurant that spans two storeys, and Buona Terra, an intimate, 24-seat Italian fine diner on the ground floor. The establishments are headed by Kyoto-trained Kazuhiro Hamamoto, formerly from Waku Ghin, and ex-Garibaldi chef Denis Lucchi.

For his part, Lucchi is set on offering authentic northern Italian cuisine over modern interpretations. “Too many people have messed up Italian food,” he insists.

Consequently, diners who prefer lighter flavours will find some of his creations, such as the crispy asparagus dumpling with robiola three milk cheese sauce, heavy on the palate. More interestingly textured are the oxtail tortelli with milk potato cream and pan-seared turbot and roasted capsicum salad, as evidenced by the ingredients alone. The dishes find impeccable support in the wine pairings of sommelier Gabriele Rizzari, who has more than 150 Italian labels at his disposal.

The Japanese side is designed for entertainment, with a lounge and two private dining rooms upstairs, and a sake salon downstairs that stocks more than 50 labels. Chef Hamamoto fronts the 10-seater sushi bar, serving omakase menus that cover staples such as sashimi, and grilled Wagyu and scallops, which stand out for their tangy jelly complements.

Let’s hope he continues to experiment as the tranquil but central location of the chateau, plus the free parking in front, makes dining there delightfully convenient.

29 Scotts Road