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FT editor Roula Khalaf selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Josh Niland surfs and turfs at the Singapore Edition

Singaporeans were excited when The Edition opened its doors last year, in a very convenient location just off Orchard Road – a sleek white building with Zen rooms and public areas with indoor gardens. But the biggest buzz was for the hotel’s ground floor restaurant, Fysh, run by Josh Niland, the Australian chef and author and owner of Saint Peter, Sydney’s favourite spot for delicious and beautifully presented seafood adventures.

The space is huge, with a long bar at one end (ideal for solo travellers) and a couple of tropically chic outdoor seating areas. The menu is Australian-Asian surf ‘n’ turf – so tuna steaks and an interesting dhufish “schnitzel”, but also roast duck with a divine grilled plum and hazelnut sauce and a lovely wagyu beef. There are also several large sharing plates, including a 500g quarter of cod cooked in banana leaves, and a good old-fashioned dessert trolley. There’s an all-day menu on weekdays and a fun Sunday menu for groups, “Fysh Roast”, where the champagne flows freely.

Light lunches and shady supper clubs in Santa Monica

Even amid the pastel- and palm-covered craziness of Santa Monica’s Ocean Avenue, the Georgian Hotel is hard to miss: A landmark of the coastal city’s skyline, the eight-story Art Deco building was unveiled last year under bright, old-fashioned lights that spell out the hotel’s name and with a boldly revived turquoise facade. The owners, both Southern California natives with a love for old LA, have outfitted it with charming touches: art and vintage photography, tons of color and plants indoors, sexy glasses for your champagne. The two restaurants are literally and stylistically as different as night and day.

Up front, shaded by yellow umbrellas and a wide veranda, is Sirena, which is ideal for lunch but also romantic and lantern-lit for dinner: a spicy Tijuana Caesar or a beet and kale salad, a few oysters, a caprese and the chef’s insanely delicious jar of focaccia (the secret: it’s brined in sea salt just before baking). Then, after 6pm Wednesday through Saturday, the Georgian Room downstairs will take you back several decades (in a good way), from the dim lighting and deep leather banquettes to the iceberg lettuce, fried olives (they get their kick from a touch of ‘nduja) and oysters Rockefeller. One has views of the Santa Monica Pier and the ocean, the other has live music and more than a hint that something naughty might be happening. Both are great choices for your Saturday.

Lima comes to Athens at One & Only

So far, much has been said about One & Only Aesthesis, which opened earlier this summer on Asteras beach on the Athens Riviera. With its chic (and huge) beach bungalows and Guerlain spa and glamour room, it’s definitely for Euro hedonists. But its flagship restaurant, Manko, is also attracting the locals: true to expected One & Only fashion, Manko is an all-day offering that stays open into the evening, with both seating and a more casual beach club element.

The food is Peruvian, with plenty of exotic ceviches and tiraditos, as well as wok and grill dishes. Chef Juan David Ocampo, a veteran at Gastón Acurio, teaches Greeks to love their leche de tigre.. Come during the day for swimming and in the evening if you’re more into DJs and scenes.

In Porto: The magic of Nuno Mendes with a Danish touch

With its Vervoordt-Van Duysen-style color palette, coffered ceilings, and calming courtyard, Porto’s Largo wears the aesthetic leanings of its Danish owners and creators pretty clearly on display in its 16 suites and two rooms. But downstairs in the restaurant, Cozinha das Flores, things are as decidedly Portuguese as they come, thanks to none other than Nuno Mendes, who oversees the kitchens, menus, atmosphere, and even cocktails (and morning pastries at Flôr, the bar-café next door).

Cozinha das Flores draws on the culinary traditions of Porto and northern Portugal, serving escabeches and fish stews alongside tripe and, for starters, its turnip natas, a savoury twist on the sweet pastel de nata, garnished with caviar. Then there’s the stunning dining room: just 10 tables, an open kitchen in black marble and a ceramic mural painted by Pritzker Prize-winning architect (and Porto native) Alvaro Siza Vieira.