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.

Pennywise is back in the terrifying trailer for “It: Chapter Two”

Surprise blockbuster hit It slashed up the box office in 2017, making the Stephen King adaptation the most successful R-rated horror film of all time. Now, it’s finally time for the sequel, simply dubbed “Chapter Two” which heads back to Derry where the original characters – collectively, the Losers Club – are all grown up….

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Post Malone’s Aussie-exclusive collaboration with Crocs is…weird

While in Australia for a nation-wide tour, chart king Past Malone has lifted the lid on a brand new collaboration with none other than Crocs. Helping the divisive shoe ascend from the murky depths of fashion hell, the “Wow” singer has finessed what is his third drop of the successful footwear collaboration, which has been…

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Unmapped is Australia’s new luxe-adventure company for the thirties and fourties crowd

As popularity continues to grow for small group tours, new lux-adventure company Unmapped has stepped onto the scene to champion solo travellers in their 30s and 40s. Founded by Australian Jennifer Gaskin, Unmapped will attempt to slide in the oft ignored spot between the 18-30 and 50+ demographics, tightening focus on “active adventure, foodie experiences,…

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The five best menus in Sydney for Mother’s Day 2019

Mother’s Day is coming up in less than a week now, and Sydney’s best restaurants are starting to fill up with families looking to treat mum to something special. Each year we go through and pick out some of the restaurants we feel will be leading the pack when it comes to the special occasion,…

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What to expect from Melbourne’s “astral” Mystic Chamber room

Melbourne’s perfectly located DoubleTree by Hilton is in its final weeks for a special guest experience dubbed “The Mystic Chamber”, a concept that has transformed one of the hotel’s rooms in partnership with Muses of Mystery. The curated one-off hotel experience has completely taken over one room with genuine crystal balls, dreaming mist, celestial walls,…

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Mother’s Day menus in Sydney: Four Seasons’ Mode Kitchen & Bar

Mother’s Day is coming up on Sunday 12th May, and as always that means some of Sydney’s finest restaurants will be putting together special menus, packages and events to help families celebrate. But sometimes it’s just best to keep it simple: great company, excellent food, and a whole lot of love. Amongst its elegant brown…

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What to expect from Melbourne’s brand new foodie precinct, ELLA

Melbourne is about to welcome a new city precinct with ELLA (where Elizabeth meets La Trobe), rolling out a whole heap of new cafes including an off-shoot of South Yarra’s beloved hatted restaurant Atlas. Promised as an ambitious 2500-square-metre food and lifestyle space, it will embrace numerous aspects of everyday Melbourne life while also channelling…

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You can now go on “tattoo” and “drag” themed river cruises in Europe

Now that U River Cruises, a dedicated millennial reimagining of the classic river cruise experience, has been firmly established amongst new-gen travellers, the company is now looking towards playful themed cruises to spice up their offering. Two themed itineraries will be rolled out later this year, both on board the company’s “The A” vessel which…

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Marriott International take on Airbnb with the launch of “Homes & Villas”

Marriott International, the world’s largest hotel group with over 6500 properties worldwide, are officially about to leap into the home rental market that has been dominated by Airbnb for the past decade. Easily one of the biggest and most surprising recent evolutions in the lodging industry, the new upscale rental property platform, simply called “Homes…

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Track of the Day: Emotional Oranges “Someone Else” (2019)

Operating on an alt-R&B edge, L.A group Emotional Oranges hooked up with Dante Johns of THEY to shape up new single “Someone Else”. A nifty preview of their forthcoming The Juice: Vol 1 project (out May 10th via Avant Garden), the track is an effervescent smack of funk that hangs off the sweet spot that…

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Watch Jim Carrey fight Sonic the Hedgehog in 2019’s strangest film trailer

It’s 2019, and we’re about to witness not only a live-action Pokémon movie, but a legitimate big-budget ($90 mil) film depicting the adventures of Sega’s most recognisable mascot, Sonic. That’s right, lightning-fast, anthropomorphic hero Sonic the Hedgehog is getting his own CGI-rich feature film despite no recent Sonic title really making an impact on the…

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Mortal Kombat 11 Review: Cinematic and spectacular

With a rich, 27-year history to tap into, NetherRealm Studios has plenty to play around with for Mortal Kombat 11, the latest title in one of gaming’s most time-honoured fighting franchises. And they most certainly do not hold back, making clear efforts to best 2015’s Mortal Kombat X, which following release was considered one of…

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Win a double pass to the sold out Meatstock Sydney this weekend

What has truly become one of Sydney’s most beloved annual festivals, Meatstock is set to make its triumphant return to Sydney Showgrounds for its fourth year this weekend. The two day BBQ & Music festival will once again bring in some of the world’s best known pitmasters, with U.S legends Tom Jackson and Big Moe…

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London now has luxury steam train services to Surrey Hills and Windsor

For the first time in 50 years, two regular steam train services will introduced at London Waterloo, giving locals and visitors the chance to navigate the famed English countryside in true vintage luxury. The Steam Dreams Rail Co. will launch two services later this year, revealing elegant 1950’s Pullman Style Dining carriages which guests will…

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Game of Thrones: Five things we know about The Battle of Winterfell

It doesn’t seem like enough to just say this next, third, episode of Game of Thrones Season 8 will be ambitious. Plenty of things in this day and age are ambitious: jazz-rap concept albums from chiselled Compton emcees; some absolutely fucked mutant food hybrid, likely involving Nutella and doughnuts; millennial media start-ups that are so…

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Game of Thrones Season 8: Who will die in the Battle of Winterfell?

People are going to die in Game of Thrones next week. There’s absolutely no question about it. Hyped as the longest battle sequence ever committed to film/tv, the third episode – probably titled “The Long Night” – will undoubtedly be a milestone in television history as it deals with the direct result of the fearsome…

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Dragon’s Dogma Review: Another excellent port for Nintendo Switch

Nintendo Switch has had a brilliant run of ports to date, with most of them thoughtfully refined to fit onto the docked/portable hybrid system; Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen is no exception. Though Capcom’s action-RPG has been re-released several times in the past, it’s position in the world of action-RPGs remains firmly as an underdog –…

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Huawei P30 Pro Review: An absolute powerhouse

Already the newly released Huawei P30 Pro has begun racking up awards, a pile which will no doubt stack high come end of year, starting with “Best Photo Smartphone” from the Technical Image Press Association. The Chinese company’s highly anticipated new flagship builds upon a steady legacy of “rewriting the rules” – as so their…

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Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 2 Review: Final Preparations, Final Goodbyes

Season 8’s premiere, “Winterfell”, was a surprisingly disappointing and robotic brush of box-ticking. Reunions and moments of levity took up the most of it, appealing to the masses with schlocky CGI dragon-riding and destined-for-meme Bran stare-downs. The only thing remotely impressive about the episode was John Bradley’s acting. “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” was…

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Kanye West’s Coachella Sunday Service: Tears, Water, and DMX

Coachella’s second weekend may have been rich with performances from some of the music industry’s biggest names, but no other event garnered as much wide-eyed curiosity as Kanye West’s “Sunday Service”. An extension and validation of all the Sunday Service sessions that have been drip-fed to us over the past few months, portraying an invigorated…

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Track of the Day: Kae the Goat & Droopo “Dex Up” (2019)

As part of Melbourne’s Gremlns crew, rappers Kae the Goat and Droopo are aggressively aiming for the coveted top spots in Australia’s ever-changing hip hop industry. Fuelling those ambitions is new track “Dex Up”, a collaboration between the two artists which has immediately grabbed attention across the country thanks to its pounding production and slick…

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Flying Lotus previews new album, drops first single with David Lynch

Experimental producer Flying Lotus is prepping his first studio album since 2014’s brilliant You’re Dead!, and from our first preview, it’s going to one hell of a bizarre ride. The prolific artist has teamed up with Twin Peaks mastermind David Lynch to, confidently, release a pretty non-music first single called “Fire is Coming”. It’s less…

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Etihad Airways are offering free 2-night stopovers in Abu Dhabi

Etihad Airways are currently offering passengers a free stopover in Abu Dhabi as part of a “landmark global promotion”, tied to flights between 21st April and 15th July 2019. Not only that, but no less than 15 different hotels in the UAE capital have come on board to offer two free nights accommodation for guests…

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KFC are doing their own version of the Halal Snack Pack now

As word spreads that KFC has introduced Australia’s “first ever Secret Menu”, the not-so-secret-anymore list of Kentucky fried hacks has just edged forth with a new item. In a nod to the country’s love of Halal Snack Packs, the fast food giant is now serving up “The Kentucky Snack Pack”. KSP, a serving of salted…

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Game of Thrones Season 8 “Winterfell”: what worked and what didn’t

After what felt like an endless wait, Game of Thrones has returned for its sweeping final run of episodes, six instalments which will wrap up what has essentially been one of the greatest television events of all time. I’ve spent the past week and a half re-watching it all – my fifth time doing so…

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Sydney’s Carriageworks plan epic food program for 2019

Sydney institution Carriageworks is doubling down on their incredibly popular food program this year, announcing a number of events and a special conversations series that will address current issues in the industry. Central to this program will, of course, be the Carriageworks Farmers Market which returns in July for a winter theme, but there will…

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All the delicious things you can do in Sydney this Easter long weekend

More than just an excuse to fill up on chocolate, Easter means a long weekend filled with good food, friends and family (usually in that order). There’s no lack of exclusive Easter treats to eat around Sydney this year, both for the savoury and sweet lovers, so we’re rounded up five of the best to…

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Sydney welcomes tiny cocktail and meze bar “Baraki”

Sydney favourite Alpha has opened up a tiny new cocktail and meze bar named Baraki, carved into the ground floor of 240 Castlereagh Street with just 8 seats. The smaller-than-small bar will extend Executive Chef Peter Conistis’ vision beyond Alpha and upstairs cocktail bar Beta, channelling the Athens neighbourhood of Plaka with two backlit walls…

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Forget Hot Cross Buns: Mode Kitchen & Bar is doing Sydney’s best Easter weekend menu

Created especially for this coming Easter long weekend, an exclusive three-course menu lovingly curated by Head Chef Francesco Mannelli will reiterate just how essential Mode Kitchen & Bar has become to Sydney’s discerning gourmands. Truly earning its place in the opulent lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney, the highly regarded Mode Kitchen & Bar…

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Adam Liaw’s favourite Sydney spots for some top quality beef

Is there any source of food recommendations as reliable as a master chef? Adam Liaw, he who took the crown on the second series of MasterChef Australia in 2010, has been a beacon for good food around the world through numerous TV appearances and cookbooks over the years. So it makes perfect sense to grab…

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