Author: Chris Singh

Chris Singh is an Editor-At-Large at the AU review, loves writing about travel and hospitality, and is partial to a perfectly textured octopus. You can reach him on Instagram: @chrisdsingh.

Flight Facilities and Sydney Symphony Orchestra to perform a special concert in Sydney’s The Domain

With the recent announcement that four-day, city-wide festival Red Bull Music Academy Weekender will be coming to Sydney, bringing 40 artists and 12 shows to multiple venues, anticipation has officially kicked off for the full line up which we should be seeing in June. While we wait, we do have an announcement of sorts on…

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R&B songstress Brandy announces debut Australian and New Zealand tour

It’s been a long time since a 15 year old Brandy stepped onto the scene with “I Wanna Be Down”, the lead single from her self-titled debut album. Since then the enduring R&B songstress has gone on to achieve massive success in both music and television (Moesha ran for six successful seasons), across an awarded…

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Review: Lotus The Galeries x Black Star Pastry x Valrhona Chocolate Mother’s Day Menu 2016 – CBD (Sydney)

Following a successful event menu for Lunar New Year by teaming up with Black Star Pastry (BSP), the kitchen at increasingly popular dumpling restaurant Lotus, The Galeries have linked with premium French manufacturer Valrhona to put together a set menu designed especially for this coming Mother’s Day. The very marriage of some of Sydney’s most…

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Review: Sushi with a Twist – Woollahra (Sydney)

Sushi with a Twist may be a bit too on-the-nose to be a catchy name for Woollahra’s newest sushi train, but it certainly lets you know what to expect once you enter that brightly lit space of life-sized illuminated soy sauce bottles. Left-field and experimental rolls are the forte here, but the owners and Chef…

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Mr Claws to take over the kitchen at Huxtable for a one day pop-up event (Melbourne)

Earlier this year, Fitzroy lost one of its most popular go-to restaurants with the closing of Huxtable, the beloved hatted restaurant from the same team behind burger franchise Huxtaburger. While, Huxtable sits in silence on Smith Street, the kitchen lights are being turned back on for a one day only pop up before the month’s…

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Leichhardt’s Capricco Osteria announces regional dinner series (Sydney)

Leichhardt’s popular modern Italian restaurant Capriccio Osteria will begin a new series of regional dinners from Tuesday 3rd May, scheduling five-course dining experiences for the first Tuesday of every month, from May until August. Co-owner Matteo Galletto and Chef Bryan Gerlini have designed the dinners towards food and wine pairings which highlight a specific region…

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Where to spend Mother’s Day 2016 in Sydney

In just over two weeks, on Sunday 8th May, Mother’s Day will be coming around to amplify the love and appreciation we all have for that leading lady, often resulting in extravagant long lunches or dinners at some of the best restaurants in town. As pretty much every restaurant in Sydney is offering up a…

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Grain Bar’s new menu pairs premium spirits with cured meats and caviar (Sydney)

Cured & Caviar is what the team over at Grain Bar are calling their new concept menu, which launched only a few weeks ago, highlighting a strong focus on fine, premium spirits (of which they have plenty, given it’s the bar at the lush Four Seasons) with house-cured meats and caviar. It’s the only pairing…

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Prince has died at the age of 57

As has been reported around the world this morning, legendary musician Prince – full name Prince Rogers Nelson – was found dead today at Paisley Park, his famous recording studio and estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota. Prior to the discovery the Carver County Sherriff’s Department was called to investigate a death at the estate, following which…

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Urban Purveyor Group welcome Fratelli Fresh to their portfolio

Renowned dining and retail group Fratelli Fresh has officially been scooped up by hospitality collective Urban Purveyor Group, adding an enormous amount to their already rich portfolio, which has already seen a rapid expansion in the previous months with a forthcoming Italian restaurant, a Mexican restaurant, a massive move for their acclaimed Ananas Bar &…

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Today is National Weed Day; here’s where you can celebrate in Sydney

20th April marks the official 420 Day, AKA National Weed Day, and seeing as really unhealthy, excellent food and marijuana has been forever linked there are unsurprisingly a few specials going around Sydney for today. We, of course, have Newtown’s brand new D’Munchies stoner cafe, as well as local favourites like Butter in Surry Hills,…

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Red Bull Music Academy set to bring their four day festival to Sydney in September

In a really overdue move, those on-point curators over at Red Bull Music Academy have decided to bring the world-renowned four-day city takeover known as Red Bull Music Academy Weekender to Sydney in September. The tightly selected festival program of music events, live performances, public artist lectures, club nights, and art exhibitions will be shaped…

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Guylian open a new express chocolate cafe at HSBC Building (Sydney)

Belgian chocolate brand Guylian have expanded their chocolate cafe reach in Sydney, now opening up a nice and central location in the heart of an evolving George St precinct, designing an express style cafe at the newly renovated HSBC Building opposite Event Cinemas. Opening today, Friday 15th April, the renowned chocolate brand hopes to bring…

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Morgan McGlone’s Dining Room launches at Harpoon Harry (Sydney)

You may have already heard that the mastermind behind Belles Hot Chicken, Morgan McGlone, is digging deeper into the culinary repertoire he sharpened over in Nashville and Charleston for his newfound residency in the kitchen’s of Surry Hills venue Hotel Harry. The boutique hotel’s restaurant, Harpoon Harry, has already seen a substantial change for their…

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Asia’s 50 best bars for 2016 have been named

Just a few weeks ago the authoritative publication Worlds50bestbars.com debuted their Asian-focused list, sifting through the many elaborate, speakeasy, rustic, and futuristic bars around Asia to come up with a comprehensive, ranked list. Working through the rich stock of bars was no easy feat, as explained by Asia’s 50 Best Bars Editor Hamish Smith who…

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Johnnie Walker reveal the John Walker & Sons Private Collection 2016 Edition

The world’s best selling Scotch Whisky brand, Johnnie Walker, have recently announced that have released the new ultra premium John Walker & Sons Private Collection 2016 Edition by Master Blender Jim Beveridge, making available just 8,888 individually numbered decanters for the third entry in a series that seeks to highlight the brand’s innovative spirit as…

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The Airbnb of dinner parties, WelcomeOver, has launched in Australia

Today, it has been announced that what could be described as the Airbnb of dinner parties, WelcomeOver, has officially launched in Australia, bringing the country it’s very first community-driven dinner hosting service. Similar and successful services already exist around the world, and WelcomeOver seeks to mirror the unique technology, creating a platform to give everyone…

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Where to spend ANZAC Day 2016 in Sydney

Our national day of remembrance is upon us once again, and as Sydney prepares to commemorate the ANZACs with its annual ceremony on 25th April 2016, we’ve looked to some of the city’s most loved hotels and pubs to put together this list of seven essential events celebrating the memory of our fallen soldiers. Martin Place…

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On the Shelf: Oreo Thins – Tiramisu, Vanilla, and Lemon

The name gives you everything you need to know where the new Oreo Thins are concerned. The instantly recognisable brand of chocolate biscuits have been downsized, I’m not quite sure why, but they have. The thins were first introduced last year in the U.S and China, the brand continuing to experiment with ratios and flavours…

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Hotel Review: Superior King Room at The Swanson Hotel Grand Mercure (Melbourne)

While it’s fairly simple to get around in Melbourne, you want to get the location of your hotel exactly right, especially if you are down for a series of events. In this particular case, I was down in Melbourne for a music festival (Soulfest) at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl and to check out the new…

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TV Review: Fear the Walking Dead Season 2 Episode 2 “We All Fall Down” (USA, 2016)

It’s hard to tell when Fear the Walking Dead will start living up to its potential. The tone is there, and the scenes with the infected are deliciously dark and effective, presenting with the kind of horror The Walking Dead took four years to perfect, but these are only small flickers in what is an…

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Nike adds five new releases to Nike Free collection

The Nike Free collection has been around and growing for over a decade now, and it’s latest evolution has been realised with five new releases from the iconic sneaker brand, each possessing progressive geometric auxetic midsole designs to enable athlete’s natural motion and develop strength for both running and training. The new releases come as…

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SoCal Neutral Bay will bring back Taco Roulette for Cinco De Mayo (Sydney)

Essential Neutral Bay haunt SoCal will be turning up the heat for Cinco De Mayo on Thursday 5th May as they celebrate all things Mexican with Tequila and tacos aplenty. On the festive day the popular small bar will be bringing back their now legendary Taco Roulette, which features a plate of four tacos for…

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Hamish Ingham and Rebecca Lines of Bar H to open Banksii at Barangaroo (Sydney)

Chalk up another highly anticipated opening for the growing Barangaroo precinct as the team behind acclaimed Surry Hills restaurant Bar H have announced plans to open a Vermouth bar and bistro along the water-side area come September. Chef Hamish Ingham and Sommelier Rebecca Lines will be heading up the new restaurant, which will serve up…

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Where to find the best $1 eats in Sydney

On the one hand you have cheap eats, and on the other hand you have really cheap eats; we’re talking one slightly rusted gold coin cheap. Sydney is surprisingly full of them – $1 eats that actually don’t make you feel like you are desperately scooping up rejected leftovers. Surry Hills’ institution The Soda Factory…

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Gelato Messina have opened an experimental degustation bar in Darlinghurst (Sydney)

Australia’s most consistently anticipated dessert overlords Gelato Messina will be re-opening the modest space next door to their original Darlinghurst store as an experimental Gelato lab, called Messina Creative Department which features an eight-seater table for seven-course degustations. Taking bookings from next Wednesday 20th April, the lab will be dabbling in both savoury and dessert…

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Young Henrys have made DZ Deathrays their official “Beer Executives”

From the mosh pit to the brewery, award-winning Brisbane rockers DZ Deathrays have traded in some ripped jeans for beer-stained suits as they have been named the top beer executives for Young Henrys, and to celebrate they’ll be pouring up a brand new brew tomorrow (Sat 16th April) at Brisbane festival Blurst of Times. The…

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Krispy Kreme update range with classic American flavours including “Big Apple Pie” and “Campire S’Mores”

Ubiquitous doughnut purveyors Krispy Kreme are mixing up their new range of American Classic flavours with their love of 1950’s tunes, even drawing inspiration from vintage jukeboxes with the creation of a new type of limited-edition box, one which comes with a built-in Bluetooth speaker. Serenading your doughnuts is acceptable. Spotify have provided the brand…

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Major artist-led event “FOOD Fight – The Battle for Food Security” heading to Liverpool’s Biggie Park (Sydney)

The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA), Liverpool City Council and Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre have organised a major artist-led project in Liverpool, dubbed FOOD FIGHT – The Battle for Food Security, culminating in a major public event on Saturday, 30 April (5-8pm) at Bigge Park, Liverpool. The project, which aims to raise awareness about…

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Tella Balls Dessert Bar add Golden Gaytimes and Coco Pops inspired doughnuts alongside churro bowls (Sydney)

Now that the Tella Balls Dessert Bar is up and running at Dulwich Hill, eagerly pumping out nutella doughnuts and all types of nutella-inspired desserts to rabid customers, the Chefs have decided to introduce two limited edition versions of their actually world famous desserts. Playing around with childhood favourites, the team have designed The Golden…

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