Author: Chris Singh

Oxford Street’s nightlife revival has received another boost, with ESCA Hospitality Group opening Loa, a new underground music room beneath its recently launched Japanese-Peruvian restaurant Amé. Hidden inside the heritage-listed building at 90 Oxford Street, the 100-capacity venue opened on Friday, 23 October, bringing live music and late-night dancing to one of Sydney’s most historically…

Apple has given its smallest tablet a substantial makeover, unveiling an all-new iPad mini with a larger OLED display, significantly improved performance and a remarkably thin design. The new iPad mini starts at $1,099 in Australia, with pre-orders already open ahead of its release on Friday, 6 November. Announced on 27 October, the latest iPad…

Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) brought the full production of his now infamous comeback show to Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, giving the Indonesian capital one of the largest concerts in the city’s history. And while the show’s spectacular visuals confirmed West’s lofty ambitions, glaring sound issues marred most of the night, holding…

I don’t think I’m alone in saying Fort Lauderdale has never been on my radar. You’ll hear locals trying to grab a sense of casual coolness by referring to it as just “Lauderdale”, but that doesn’t quite roll off the tongue as “Chi-Town” or “Philly”. Try as they might, it’s hard to piece apart a…

Sydney’s dining scene is getting a new taste of Peru this week, with Ibby Moubadder’s hospitality group ESCA opening Amé, an ambitious 115-seat Nikkei restaurant on Oxford Street in Darlinghurst. Opening Thursday, 22 October, the restaurant has been five years in the making and will be led by executive chef Erik Ortolani, whose work at…

Hong Kong’s celebrated yakitori restaurant Yardbird is coming back to Sydney for one night only, with chef and co-founder Matt Abergel bringing his acclaimed Japanese-style chicken skewers to Surry Hills on Wednesday, 25 November. The Michelin-starred restaurant has built a global following since opening in 2011, making this a particularly exciting opportunity for Sydney diners…

Tash Sultana and The Rubens are heading to Sydney for a series of free, intimate concerts this November, as Apple celebrates Aus Music Month with four special events at its flagship CBD store. Running every Thursday from 5 to 26 November, the program also features acclaimed producer Styalz Fuego and Sydney DJ Anna Lunoe, who…

I was so impressed with the original Narwal Flow that I gave it four and a half stars when I reviewed it late last year. It was the mopping that did it for me, offering a near-flawless performance in an area where others have lagged. After testing numerous robot vacuums across a broad range of…

A good number of our readers regularly find themselves travelling across America for conferences, industry events and music festivals, particularly along the West Coast. And while those trips tend to be built around work commitments or a particular event, keeping an eye on what’s happening in Las Vegas can turn an otherwise routine business trip…

This year’s Sculpture by the Sea feels particularly heavy as we approach the 1st anniversary of the Bondi Beach shooting. One of Sydney’s most beloved annual art exhibitions is back, with the world’s largest free outdoor exhibition officially opening along the Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk on Friday, 16 October. Celebrating 30 years since its…

Apple has officially unveiled HomeView, its latest attempt to become the centre of our increasingly connected homes. The new smart home display is available to pre-order in Australia from today, 14 October, priced at $449, with the first units arriving on Friday, 13 November. Now that John Ternus has taken the reins as Apple’s new…

The market for premium over-ear headphones has been eerily quiet over the past few years. Ever since Apple released its AirPods Max in 2020, there’s been a sense that the category has settled into a comfortable rhythm, with manufacturers seemingly less interested in making substantial leaps between generations. We’ve seen a stronger showing elsewhere. Sony…

West Hollywood has always been renowned for live music. As far as rock history goes, Sunset Strip has long dominated headlines thanks to its glitzy, chaotic past as a haunt for some of the most famous names in the game. Legendary venues like Whisky a Go Go, The Roxy Theatre and the Troubadour are still…

The shelf life of smartphones is changing profoundly. As flagship prices continue to climb and year-on-year improvements become increasingly difficult to distinguish, there’s a growing argument for looking backwards whenever a major manufacturer releases its latest phone. Oppo is a good example. The brand’s latest Australian flagship, the Find X9 Pro, is an impressive piece…

While hip hop has been on a wavy trajectory in the past few years, plagued by sameness and algo-baiting TikTok trends, Australian fans have been relatively starved for good international rap concerts over the past twelve months. Even from a local perspective, we’ve only seen the likes of Hilltop Hoods, Kerser and Miss Kaninna doing…

Las Vegas is about to get much closer to Sydney. If you’re already mapping out where music might take you in 2027, Qantas’ new direct flight could be very useful. We first heard about the route back in February, but with the inaugural flight now less than three months away, it’s worth putting back on…

Eurail is officially disappearing after more than 60 years, with the famous European rail travel brand adopting the Interrail name globally from 10th September 2026. It’s a significant change for Australian travellers planning European adventures. Until now, Eurail passes have been sold to travellers from outside Europe, while Interrail has traditionally been the equivalent for…

  World-dominating rockers Foo Fighters have announced a special intimate Melbourne show at Crown LIVE this November, giving just 1,250 fans the rare chance to see one of the world’s biggest rock bands in a venue significantly smaller than the stadiums they usually command. The Foo Fighters Crown LIVE show will take place on Monday…

When a song strikes deep, time seems to disappear with everything else. I’ve long thought music has a way of reaching parts of us that our conscious mind can’t always make sense of. There are feelings buried somewhere beneath the language we use every day, emotions we may recognise without ever being able to properly…

There’s something inherently awkward about travelling overseas when you have a tonne of work to get done. Finding somewhere comfortable to open your laptop can be difficult enough, especially when you’re constantly moving between hotels and airports. The last thing you want is to be carrying more equipment than you actually need. I’ve always travelled…

It was Ian Schrager who defined the importance of common spaces in the modern hotel industry. He’s the reason every hotel wants to be “boutique” – even if they have more than 100 rooms – and why so many hotel marketing terms have been added to the eye-glossing dictionary of hospitality buzzwords. And while his…

I’ve been reviewing quite a few vacuum cleaners lately, and one of the more interesting things about testing different models from the same manufacturer is seeing how subtle differences can affect the overall experience. A new design or cleaning attachment might seem insignificant on paper, but these small refinements can make a real difference to…

I’ve reviewed so many Tineco vacuum cleaners over the past few years that I’m starting to feel like something of an unofficial expert on the brand. It’s an interesting position to be in, given that I don’t often get the opportunity to test several variations of what is essentially the same appliance. And yet, that’s…

Father’s Day has a habit of sneaking up on us. And while Dad might insist that he doesn’t need anything, turning up empty-handed this Sunday probably isn’t the strongest way to test that theory. Gifts still matter, especially when it comes to parents. Fortunately, buying for dads has become a bit more interesting than defaulting…

Like all people of good taste, I am obsessed with New York City. The sense of community, the hospitality, the dynamism, the energy and the breathlessness of it all. All of it. It may smell of humanity’s worst indulgences – I’m not blind to the decay of a hyper-capitalist, hyper-pressurised rat race – but once…

New York City’s famous Top of the Rock represents its limitless ambitions in many ways that Manhattan’s other observation decks cannot. And I can qualify that by looking at how warm and energising the feeling of nostalgia is. Whether it’s your first time up to the iconic deck, or your fifth, you’ll know that feeling….

I feel like it’s been awhile since we’ve really seen a dining series of this size and scale. Given the popularity of annual events like Good Food Month, it’s a surprise we’ve had to wait this long for a new program of food and drink events to dance around Australia’s capital cities and elevate the…

When you look at any of the world’s sprawling “big cities”, whether that be Tokyo, New York City or Chicago, you’ll find that their accommodation options aren’t all clustered around the central business district. Sure, the grand dames and big chains tend to favour a central location, but you can find interesting, premium accommodation in…

One of the best things about travelling with a proper camera has nothing to do with photography. It has everything to do with how the mind works. Specifically, it’s how attention works. Attention is a prerequisite for presence, which in turn is the essential ingredient for wellness. Attention is important. The very idea of it…

Robot Vacuum manufacturers are trying to make things jump (and mop without slushing dirt around). Phone manufacturers are constantly tweaking their cameras and trying to make life (even) easier for content creators. The ones building wet and dry vacuums? What keeps them up at night is profile. How can they produce a vacuum cleaner that…