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.
How we take care of the air in our homes has shot up in terms of priority this year. We’re used to sucking up all the dirt and potentially hazardous particles from our surfaces with a high-powered vacuum cleaner, but prior to 2020, it wasn’t as widespread to consider how we go about maintaining the…
A camera just over 5-inches long has no business being this good, and yet the DJI Pocket 2 is perhaps the best pro-quality camera made with such a small, flexible profile. It’s part of DJI’s renewed focus on becoming the highest quality provider of action cameras, and they nail just about everything they could while…
After the masterstroke that was the Find X2 series, Oppo is in a very good spot within the smartphone market. Chinese peer Huawei is still battling away with its advanced hardware but Google shut-out, which definitely helps, plus the brand has now expanded their ecosystem in Australia, which includes Oppo Watch and Oppo Enco Earphones….
Christmas themed hip hop songs have been a part of hip hop culture since the early 80’s, and from The Treacherous Three and Kurtis Blow to Kanye West and Run the Jewels, there are actually some really good ones out there. To soundtrack your Christmas family get together we’ve gone through and counted down what…
Not a fan of stuffing turkeys and layering trifles on Christmas day? Not many people are. Christmas is always an exciting time of the year, but it’s also just damn busy. And ‘busy’ is where online meal delivery services like to play the hardest. Not all of them are made equal though, and it seems…
Given that, years later, the Sony WF-1000XM3 truly wireless earbuds are still the best out. Yes, still. It’s an interesting prospect to get a pair of budget buds from the company. Can they be as successful on the other end of the price range? That’s a loud and clear yes, although there are obviously cost-cutting…
A chunky 9,600mAh battery, a built-in power bank, and a punch 30-watts of power with an optional Bass Boost feature – what’s not to love about the BlueAnt X3? Well, it’s design doesn’t help the portable boombox stand out on a crowded market, although it offers enough to muscle around with the likes of JBL’s…
There’s a lot to love about the Google Pixel 5. Quite a lot actually. In the face of the relentless trend of high-end phone brands splitting their newest flagship into multiple iterations to appeal to different budgets, the indelible company has decided to be different. Yet again. For their new flagship, Google have bowed out…
Aman is a name that often – okay, always – sends shivers down the spines of hotel enthusiasts. I’m one of those, and if it wasn’t for COVID-19 I would this year have had a big, green, proud, enthusiastic tick next to the “stay at Aman Tokyo, finally” underlined a million times on my mental…
The Playbar and Playbase are no longer the top-of-the-line offers for Sonos’ multi-room prowess. The pinnacle of transforming your TVs sound with Dolby Atmos and high-fidelity audio is now the Sonos Arc. And what a soundbar it is. Sonos took their time getting into the Dolby Atmos game while competitors would breeze past time. It’s…
With the popularity of their home delivery service during the more intense moments of this year’s ongoing pandemic, Din Tai Fung continue to look beyond their many Australian venues with two limited edition frozen hampers available for online orders and delivery. Designing many of their menu highlights so that they can be prepared and served…
When we talk about spontaneous travel, we’re usually referring to sojourns taking place in far-flung destinations – falling asleep in Berlin and waking up in Amsterdam; booking a literal-last-minute flight to Osaka after reading about some super specific yakisoba served at a hidden hole-in-the-wall in Dotonburi…that kind of thing. What we’re not often referring to…
In an unprecedented move for two of the country’s biggest travel operators, Qantas Frequent Flyers are now able to earn, and use, points on premium train trips with Journey Beyond Rail Expeditions. That means interstate trips on historic trains The Ghan, Indian Pacific, and the Great Southern are now more accessible than ever before. This…
Anyone familiar with Italian manufacturer Smeg should already recognise the distinctive, eye-catching design of the new Lavazza Australia capsule coffee machine. Specifically, that’s the Modo Mio, a collaboration between the two brands, bringing Smeg’s popular minimalist design to a kitchen essential. And given a coffee machine is often the first thing we reach for in…
To celebrate new immersive art exhibition Rain Room re-opening in St Kilda, the infinite creativity on display at Black Star Pastry has produced what is easily one of the most jaw-droppingly gorgeous cakes to date. And that is saying a lot, seeing as this is the spot famous for the delightful Strawberry Watermelon Cake. The…
I’m loving that Arlo seem to be putting a lot into their new Essential series, which slims the price tag for these typically expensive smart security cameras, without sacrificing performance. As more smart home owners begin to look towards jumping into a security ecosystem, it’s a valuable place for Arlo to be. Their latest addition…
Following on from exceptional in-ear headphones like the Elite 65t and 75t, Jabra’s solid reputation flows through the Elite 85t noise-cancelling headphones. And it’s clear the brand aren’t wasting their resources, significantly lifting their game even further by offering what is perhaps one of the very best options as we close out 2020. I already…
Keeping travel dreams alive and setting goals has never felt more important. We can all agree that 2020 has been an unfortunate year so far, and almost every facet of daily life has been wrought by this ongoing global pandemic, the start of which now feels like forever ago. The arts has been one of…
Cheap Fruity Lexia cask wine has it’s place in first-year uni circles hanging out in the park at night, but that goon bag starts to look a bit boring when you compare it with what Fireball Whisky if offering this holiday season. The party-minded whisky has re-released their giant 3.5L Firebox, packing some serious heat…
The gelato gods at Messina have partnered with Australian Mangoes for their new, summer-appropriate flavour. In a bid to support Aussie farmers and help them bounce back from everything they’ve been through this year, the new Mangoes & Cream flavour will be a semi permanent addition to the regular list of feverishly popular gelato combos…
Looking for a new vacuum to me isn’t much a matter of power as it is motivation. When Dyson, who have already proven themselves incredibly reliable when it comes to home tech, slap an eye-watching price tag on a product, they at least pack it with enough punch to justify to hefty investment. Specs is…
Christmas is almost here, and given the year we’ve just had, it’s go hard or go home. This holiday season is – pending none of 2020’s indulgent curve-balls – going to have a lot riding on it. It’ll be like cannoning-balling into that perfectly temperature controller pool after trudging through the Sahara, and hearing those…
As part of their ambitious level-up to the “Qantas service, Jetstar prices” they’ve been promising this year, Regional Express (REX) are officially graduation from small country airline to a capital city-hopping carrier as of 1st March 2021. While we’ve expected it for some time, Rex now has now acquired a number of next-generation Boeing 737-800NG…
As far as affordable, no-fuss smart security goes, Reolink is a name that deserves a lot of respect. Balancing a very attractive price point with quality is hard no matter which tech sector you’re prying open, and it’s clear the designers behind this smart home company know a thing or two about value propositions. This…
When Bose first released their wearable Bose Frames, I was a bit sceptical. The dependable audio company opting out of the bone-conduction approach many other competing open-ear headphones use was an odd choice. On the other hand, it’s Bose – good sound is expected. The company said that they avoided the prevailing approach to wearable…
Sydney has some incredible high-concept barber shops for when you need that necessary touch-up, or complete remodel, but the city has never seen anything like “UNOIT” before. Positioned between a wine shop and a gym, where Crown meets William at the edge of Darlinghurst, this ambitious, newly opened unisex barber shop is the brainchild of…
With percussive massage guns now becoming more popular in Australia, it’s good timing for Hydragun to enter the market. The flexible massager, with six different speeds and six different attachment heads, was designed by a Muay Thai enthusiast and offers users a well-designed, super premium recovery tool for various uses such as deep-tissue massage, preventing…
As the cross-section of wellness and tech continues to grow, we’re bound to find more percussive massage guns on the market. That’s a good thing, since to this point the market has been dominated by Therabody and their high-end theragun, with their latest top-tier model asking for an ambitious $899. At over half the price,…
As JBL’s new flagship gaming headphones, the Quantum One packs a lot of punch into a hefty price tag. And although it asks a lot, it gives quite a bit in return, performing well across comfort, audio, and versatility both as a PC and console set. For players who have just picked up a PS5…
Not every pair of truly wireless earphones come with a charging case that uses UV to kill 99.9% of bacteria (that cause S. aureus (staph) and E. coli). Yet LG and luxury audio partners Meridian have achieved greatness with the new Tone Free HBS-RN6 buds. Along with a heavily customisable sound signature, capacitive touch controls,…
