trust this bird's words. tripadvisor. the latest reviews. the lowest prices. >> the thrill of living well is in the pursuit, the pursuit of the rarest experiences, the pursuit of the finest products, the pursuit of quality in everything you do. and in all of these pursuits, you need the best intelligence to make the best decisions. >> we know that she sells for a lot, but what makes her important? >> it isn't easy. it is difficult work. >> welcome to "bloomberg pursuits," where you find information that helps you to follow your inspiration. utility meets luxury in three new suvs. master the offbeat advocate of eating ramen. >> is totally cool to pick up

the ball and drink from it. >> and find out how one master craftsman turns wood and stone into state-of-the-art sound. >> this is a difficult time consuming and expensive process. >> but first a guide to making the most of london. london is one of the most dynamic cities in the world. for all its iconic sites, it is also full of hidden treasures. looming, thebrexit city is on the verge of a total reinvention. n, travelei eckstei editor for "bloomberg pursuits," and i will show you how to make the best of london. ♪ out of london's 37 million visitors each year, a whopping 9 million come here on business, making one of the biggest business travel markets in the world.

that means busy airports. dodge the crowds by flying into london city, a small under the radar hub in the middle of town. landing here means short immigration lines and zero traffic, shrinking your travel time by an hour or more. recently, business travelers had a tough choice, booking a bland hotel in the boring financial district, or staying further away in the heart of the action. not anymore. the city, london's financial hub, is suddenly cool, with two glamorous places to stay. the first is a hotel in private members club designed by the ultracool soho house group. insiders say it costs more than 200 million to convert this 1920's bank. walk through the front doors and it hits you. 252 rooms, nine restaurants. this is the place to see and be

seen, to impressed and the impressed. and be impressed. if you want to escape the hustle, head to the rooftop. this view of st. paul's cathedral is instagram gold for the work hard, play harder set and is only accessible to hotel guests and private members. if the party, work, repeat lifestyle is a bit too much, the antidote is one mile away. the new four seasons 10 trinity is the epitome of an urban oasis. indulging here means afternoon tea in the 1920's rotunda. or an after work massage in the glimmering spa. even hanging out in your room feels like a treat. you can order your favorite type of pillow from an ipad or soak in a gorgeous gilded bathtub.

londoners are punctual, so getting on their time zone is key. luckily for you great coffee shops are everywhere in london. these days they are more ubiquitous than a proper english breakfast. workshop, which roasts its own beans, is my personal favorite. coffee.eir silver it is like a poor over with a built-in refill, and you can feel free to bring your laptop. head over to the east end for a work lunch. it is worth the short walk. here, these are fresh from the farm in a fresh salad. order it with a mutton broth, a clear delicate version of a heavy classic. here is a little psa. don't be afraid to order a glass of wine. as overly conservative move. -- abstaining is seen as an overly conservative move. with so much entertaining, you want to squeeze in a workout.

in london it's hard to find good gems that allow member free -- membership free drop-in's, but rebel is one exception. everything from the meeting to the lighting to the mood will make you feel like a total rockstar. ♪ take that high to your most important meeting, a the deal closing dinner. this russian inspired spot in soho is a no parts -- is an ode to decadence. watching this juicy beef wellington get carved table side is the best kind of dinner theater. whenever you are ready to toast your success, there is a champagne button built into every booth. >> cheers. >> by now you have earned a day off. this is red church street, in the heart of shortage. stopped by modern society for indie jewelry and clothing, or

monologue for great hardware and desk accessories. that are in the corner for gettable travel sets, all in custom patterns. when it comes to british food, i can't leave without trying the real national dish, curry. fabulous. at madame d's, the menu focuses on the himalayas. the indian chef is making risks on these mimosas, and amazing lamb noodles spiced with red thai chilies, dishes you would be hard-pressed to find anywhere else. it is all proof that in this fast-paced city, things are always in a state of evolution. from this great destination we shift our focus to the journey. of the next, hannah elliott takes a drive in three of the best suvs money can buy. one of them sure to be right for

you. this is "bloomberg pursuits." ♪

>> ramin, the japanese staple, has gone global, with dedicated joints in cities around the world. it is a good time for a short course on the roles of ramen. >> this is>> my shop. we are going to talk about best ways to eat a bowl of roman. the most important thing is to eat ramen while it is not. any good ramen shop will serve you it while it is smoking hot and you need to eat it right away because the noodles are overcooking. pizza. lot like if you are a real new yorker you don't wait for the pizza to cool down, you risk burning your mouth. ramin is absolutely the same.

to slurp. don't fight the noodles. take a little less than you think you want to eat. pull them out from the pile because otherwise you will never be able to slurp. easy on the toppings if you are a first timer. when you order your first bowl of ramen, get it simple. tasted, see if you really like ramen, then you can jump on the toppings and specials of the day. don't forget to hydrate. i have been around shops in tokyo where later my whole face is swollen with salt. it is the nature of the beast, so drink up. ramen comes with a terrible spoon, chinese in oregon. it is great to be able to dip it into the bowl, but is totally ok to pick up the ball and drink from it. remember there are no real rules at the end of the day.

you are letting your hair down. you want to have fun. get noisy, get messy, but most importantly enjoy yourself. >> choosing the best suv is a complex task. you have to consider size, power, and of course value. hannah elliott weighs all of the elements in this review of three suvs. hannah: with suvs growing in popularity it only made sense to get some on this show. in this review we are going to compare three of the best rated luxury suvs on the market. ♪ this isn't going to be easy. on an audiur hands q5, a porsche, and bmw x five. i spent the day in the hamptons with each of them to get in-depth look. audi's the q5, it is midsize suv and starts at about $41,000, which is way more affordable than the other two cars we are looking at.

this is kind of like the iphone of luxury suvs. it is designed well, but also affordable. this is a four-cylinder all-wheel-drive, seven seat automatic with paddle shifters, to 52 horsepower, and there is no lag. immediate power, immediate response. the minute you step on the gas, you are there. ♪ q5 has by far the most futuristic interior of the three cars. it is minimal. it is clean. the sunroof spans the entire width of the ceiling. it is really cool. there is plenty of room for five adults, lots of headroom. this is the smallest car of the ones we are testing. the trunk is 29 cubic feet, in the middle of our range. a family on a trip might have trouble fitting everything in. their other cars that are more powerful that look more distinct, but it is also really affordable, and audi is the sweet spot.

so how did it add up? the immediate response made me feel in control. the horsepower was a little weaker at 252, and the 22 miles per gallon means this is in the middle of the road. looks wise it was a bit conservative. it is the smallest of the three, but with a sleek interior. the pricing is the best at $41,000. now this is the bmw x5 hybrid. per means it gets 56 miles gallon combined between the electric motor and conventional engine. this car starts at $62,000, right in the middle of our group. the electric motor and the engine switch off depending on what drive mode, how fast you were going, all of. what you won't find out from the website is how big this car feels when you sit in it. it is a nice balance. the interior is not as futuristic, it is not as clean

and modern feeling, but it is also a little less full of buttons and levers and gauges. this does feel like it is the grooviest of the three. -- roomiest of the three. the most visibility for short. the trunk still comes up with nearly 36 cubic feet, which is massive. ♪ recap, the handling was exceptional. 308 horsepower is in the middle of the range. it was sporty without being overaggressive. the roomiest, but with a tone down interior. at $62,000 it is midrange for our selection. ♪ now the third car in our group is the porsche gts. this is a higher tune version of porsche's and it starts at $97,000.

that is by far the most expensive of any car in our group. it is also the most powerful. porsche was among the first luxury carmakers to introduce an suv. it really sets the standard for a lot of things. the engine is a 3.6 liter turbocharged engine, 440 horsepower. almost double the horsepower of the audi. you definitely feel the torque when you push the gas pedal. the thing that you notice are the buttons and levers and knobs. if you are someone that likes cockpit stuff to play with, you will love this car. this trunk was the smallest at 24 cubic feet, but after you put the seats down, you will get by. it drives fast, it feels really luxurious inside, it is really striking to look at. it just cost a lot of money. okay, this car was the most powerful. 4 pounds ofwer, 43 torque.

unfortunately only 19 miles per gallon combined. this is a true sports car in suv for. the interior loaded with gadgets. the downside is priced. $97,000 means this car will dig deep into your wallet. the luxury suv segment is a competitive field. there are a lot of really competent players, and these three are all excellent vehicles. however after three days of driving i felt the bmw checked the most boxes in terms of performance, agility, style, and value. was it the fastest and most powerful? no, but it was the most versatile while moderately priced. the fact that is a hybrid with a 56 miles per gallon rating pushes it over the edge. this car has a great value and anyone would be happy to have it. >> coming up, the best in high-end audio equipment. headphones that feel as gorgeous as they sound. are incredibly

squishy and marshmallowy. >> and speakers crafted from engine materials for the ultimate in modern audio quality. >> none of this stuff is convenient, small, or cheap, but it represents the best sound that has ever been made. pursuits.""bloomberg ♪

>> taking the headphones for you can be tough. you have to think about what they cost, what they look like, how they fit on your head. obviously you care about the sound. there are tons of brands that make them. a care of wireless headphones that checks the most boxes for me are the sennheiser hd one overear. the sound quality is wonderful.

middle notes are clean and bright and scratchy sounds or whispers have a very satisfying texture. the materials are excellent. all of the soft parts are sheathed in this creamy dark leather. the cup pads are squishy and marshmallowy. they feel great on the side of your head and they don't have that super firm grip that some headphones have. bluetooth is totally seamless. it takes one touch to link it with your phone. once you're listening to music the volume button is the pause button and skip ahead button. you can feel it easily without looking. it remains charged for up to 22 hours. the bluetooth range is remarkable. i what entire city block away from my phone, and i had no disruption and any of the noise. it will skip a little bit, that is how you know you are at the end of your range. a whole city blocks worth of bluetooth range is worth it. fair warning -- all of this quality comes at a price. if you're looking for a good pair of wireless headphones it

will run you between $120 and $500. re right at the tippy top of the range. for the build quality, the easy technology, the great sound, and i think the overall handsomeness, these are with the investment. >> to close out, a regular series we call "made." to truly appreciate an object of luxury, you need to go back to the beginning and see how it came to the. -- came to be. ♪ >> my name is jonathan weiss. i'm the founder and ceo of oswald's middle audio, known as oma, and we are in our dumbo brooklyn showroom surrounded by all of our products. ♪

we are really an outlier in the high-end audio world. we make everything from the signal source in terms of analog -- that is record players, which we make out of solid slate. we make our own line of two amplifiers. and we are the only company that makes conical four moded loudspeakers for home use. we make everything so that we have total control over the sound. to ourthe first phases products is cording the slate. this is a very special slate because it is actually very soft, which from an acoustic standpoint, is really desirable. it dissipate vibrations and resonances extremely well, much better than harder slate. when they are worrying the slate, -- quarrying the slate, they will use hand tools to

cleave off sheets which break off, which then are placed on a truck or taken with a gondola into the main fabrication part of the quarry, where a huge diamond saw with water is used to cut, cleave off the regular pieces of slate. -- irregular pieces of slight. the last stage is honing and putting a fine edge, a bevel, so that it doesn't chip. we use cast metal in a lot of different products. old foundries, they have a furnace. the metal is put into this vat and it becomes molten, just like out of the movie "terminator." is poured into a sand mold, it goes in, hardens. you have a rough casting, which then goes to the various finishing processes. ♪

then it has to be welded, edge treatment. after that is accomplished, then it goes to be powder coated. where it literally is baked and cured into this superhard durable finish, much better than paint. all of our loudspeakers have steel stands or infrastructure, and all of those elements are powder coated. ♪ mill is essentially our laboratory. it is our reference. it is where we can put elements new and old together, listen to them, evaluate them, and decide what direction we want to take with new products, new technologies. there are things that were never surpassed in terms of sound quality. the industry moved in ways that are not about ultimate sound quality, but about size,

convenience, and cost. none of this stuff is convenient, small, or cheap, but it does represent the best sound that is really ever been made. ♪ all of our loudspeakers are made out of pennsylvania hardwoods. chd these are all woods whi martin guitar, they use the same would that we do. i know they are totally great woods. at that point it comes into our woodworking shop, where it gets cut down further into boards of varying thickness and width, which will be joined together to create loud speaker enclosures, amplifier enclosures, horns, meticulous hand on joinery which allows the wood to expand and contract. it is like a living thing.

this is a very difficult time consuming and expensive process. we are the only company in the world that does this. nobody else makes loudspeakers using solid wood joinery construction, not today. but then i know of ever. -- not that i know of ever. ♪ at a certain point, the parts come from the wood shop, metalworking shop, powder coater. they come to our central facility where we do the final assembly. most of our recruitment is very big, and it is very big because it has to be. a can't be miniaturized. it is physics. is very old-school, not mass production. that we useonents are simply of the highest grade possible. aerospace level stuff.

ourlast phase is really installation of the equipment in our client's homes or wherever they are going. if you have an amazing system, and you put elvis on, it is frightening. it is like he is right there. with the system is doing is, it's taking the energy that came out of elvis, literally -- soundwaves are energy -- so it is taking the energy and it is reproducing it so perfectly that you have this uncanny feeling that somebody is there that has been dead a long time. that is what amazing sound quality is. ♪ >> you can find more as many films from our made series as well as many more pursuits stories and videos at bloomberg.com/pursuits. ♪ >> thanks for watching "pursuits." this is bloomberg.

♪

got you outnumbered. the dinosaurs' extinction... don't listen to them. not appropriate. now i'm mashing these potatoes with my stick of butter... why don't you sit over here. find your awesome with the xfinity stream app. included with xfinity tv. more to stream to every screen.

♪ announcer: from our studios in new york city, this is "charlie rose." charlie: jake sullivan is here. he served as deputy chief of step to secretary of state hillary clinton and national security adviser to vice president joe biden. he was a policy advisor to hillary clinton's 2016 campaign and has been one of her closest aides for over a decade. many believe he would have been the national security adviser if clinton had won the election. visiting professor at yale law school and was an advisor on the iran nuclear negotiations. i am pleased to have him at this table.