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.
An undercover thriller directed by Spike Lee and produced by Jordan Peele, adapting the real life story of a Colorado Springs black police officer who infiltrated the Klu Klux Klan in the 1970s? This is going to be good. Focus Features has lifted the lid on the first trailer for BlackKkKlansman, a film which is…
Justin Hemmes and Merivale are feeling the festive spirit across Sydney and June. And why wouldn’t they? We’ve got Vivid Sydney and Sydney Film Festival coming up, plus there’s loads of other things to do (except stay out really late, we’ve still got those shitty lock out laws) during those 30 days, so the hospitality…
Fans of the dark, weird and macabre side of cinema are once again in for a treat as Freak Me Out returns to the 65th annual Sydney Film Festival. As one of the event’s most popular programs, the collection has once again been carefully stitched together with a far-reaching, open-minded sense of curation from guest…
Hilton Sydney has launched a new Culinary Cocktail Experience program up at the fabulously moody Zeta Bar, headed by Executive Chef Kruno Velican and Head Bartender Christian Comparone to showcase a range of artisanal “farm-to-glass” speciality cocktails using fresh produce and complex cooking techniques. It’s fairly straight forward. Guests get a menu that reads like…
We all know BL Burgers pretty much own the Sydney game when it comes to weekly burger specials. The non-stop revolving list of recipes, often themed, they sling from their various locations even inspired a special concept venue in Newtown and it has surely guaranteed them cult status over the years. Now they’ve gone and…
Hot off having his book adapted into one of 2017’s best films, Greg Sestero has rocketed into the press cycle for the wider release of Best F(r)iends: Volume One, his new film with The Disaster Artist himself, Tommy Wiseau. The pair, who made myths and legends in 2003 with peerless accidental classic The Room, will…
The highly anticipated Australian return of the W Hotels brand is upon us. Brisbane’s W Brisbane has been confirmed to open on the 1st June 2018, bringing the city its first five-star hotel in 20 years and re-introducing the country to W’s energetic, bold aesthetic and playful sense of luxury. Located at 81 North Quay,…
Inner-West Sydney always welcomes new craft beer bars with open arms, and the latest will certainly be no exception as the country’s fastest growing independent craft beer producer, Stockade Brewing Co, opens shop in Marrickville this month. The new fully operating brewery, tasting room and bar will repurpose an old factory space with a large…
After two iconic Mollymook locations, Rick Stein and his Bannisters brand will be opening up a new 4.5-star luxury hotel and restaurant at Soldiers Point, Port Stephens. With a total of 80 rooms, including four luxury suites and a penthouse, the new property will make full use of its location, with 50 of its rooms…
Composers, producers and artists will gather at Carriageworks over two days in June for Open Frame. The festival, presented by Room40, will highlight various stages of sonic intensity and experimentation with a stacked program that includes, amongst other highlights, the world premiere of an Occam (XXIX) composition by French electronic music composer Éliane Radigue, commissioned…
Earlier this month, Emirates revealed a special treat for the many discerning wine-loving Australians who are to travel with them in 2018. The highly awarded airline has uncorked some of the finest wines from their dedicated Burgundy cellar in preparation for another year of offering a high-end experience to their First Class passengers, launching the…
As if you would expect anything less, the Sydney Film Festival has once again come through with an exciting, diverse and progressive program for its 65th iteration. Set for 6th to 17th June, the lauded festival is looking to be as immersive and thought-provoking as ever with a program that reaches far beyond the Official…
Rising Houston rapper Genesis Blu doesn’t seem like your typical Third Coast emcee. She’s not rapping about the things often ascribed to the Lone Star State’s unique brand of hip hop, but instead represents a unique fusion of professional life and art. She’s a psychotherapist by day, and that life is bleeding over into her…
Local institution Raffles College of Design and Commerce will once again be enjoying a big presence at this year’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia as they plan to showcase seven designer’s Resort ’19 collections. With an aim to lift the best emerging design talent around, Raffles will be building on an already rich legacy at the…
Inspired by the recent sell-out success of their Cretan dinner, Alpha Restaurant is planning to highlight more of Greece’s distinct regions with their regional dinner series, spanning dining experiences pulled from Peloponnese, the Ionion Islands and Central Greece. Whenever a restaurant puts on a regional dinner series it always spreads awareness of the significant differences…
Legendary chef Peter Doyle was one of Australia’s very first “hatted” chefs. The culinary veteran earned the accolade while leading his debut restaurant Reflections at Palm Beach, decades before he was to take the reigns at Merivale’s flagship fine-dining restaurant est. in 2003. Since then, Doyle has earned an outstanding reputation as one of the…
IHG Group will be opening Australia’s very first dual-branded hotel in the middle of Melbourne’s CBD, merging Hotel Indigo Little Collins and Holiday Inn Melbourne Bourke Street Mall. Slated to open doors by 2022, the ambitious property will take over from the site currently trading as The Walk Arcade, developing the space to allow both…
Lavish long lunches and fancy dinners always rule when it comes to Mother’s Day options around Sydney this year. If taking your leading lady out to experience some of the best food the city has to offer, while letting the restaurants add their own little touches to each menu, sounds like your idea of a…
Fried chicken fiends have been flocking to Wish Bone since the long-awaited restaurant opened at the former site of The Gretz on Enmore Road. Though their award-winning bar is no more, the Hartsyard team have a guaranteed winner on their hands with this new venture, which puts the focus on the jaw-droppingly good fried chicken…
IHG and Barnes Capital will be doing things a bit (actually, a lot) differently when they collaborate to open a new Holiday Inn in the increasingly trendy Melbourne suburb of Coburg. Moving away from the hotel brand’s established aesthetic, Holiday Inn Melbourne Coburg will be focused on modern unexpected design, with an eye-catching façade of…
Australian chef David Thompson has been conquering the culinary world ever since word spread about Nahm, his multi-award winning Bangkok restaurant which is regularly considered as one of the best dining spots in all of Asia. After nearly two decades with the Nahm brand, originated in London, Thompson has decided to bid farewell to the…
As talks around legalising marijuana continue to progress in Australia, it’s becoming increasingly important to directly engage with the complexities of cannabis. While the densely layered stigma surrounding the misunderstood plant is still gradually peeling back, there remains much to understand and learn about what is now the latest superfood to be made legally available…
To celebrate the first permanent Sydney store from Melbourne-born burger heroes 8Bit, the video-game inspired joint is planning to give away 300 freebies of their signature burg: the 8bit with cheese. They’ll be serving up these totally free, totally delicious burgers on Thursday 3rd May (that’s tomorrow for those playing at home) from their home…
Several waterfront villas and a luxury hotel are being planned for Manama, the capital city of Bahrain. The property, to be managed by the iconic Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, will form part of the immense 310,00 sqm Bahrain Marina development, which is a landmark waterfront development for the city that will include not…
Now well-established amongst Sydney’s bacon-loving diners, Cuckoo Callay’s Bacon Ooze Festival is back with an entirely new menu for the fourth consecutive year. You’ve got until the last week of June to head along to either (or both, do both) the popular café’s Newtown or Surry Hills outposts and dig into a specially created menu…
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of KFC in Australia, the behemoth fast-food chain will be posted up at Overseas Passenger Terminal in Sydney this Friday 27th April. Starting from 12pm on the day, they’ll surely be attracting some pretty crazy queues because they are giving away free fried chicken. Understandably, KFC Australia are expecting thousands…
Tremendously attractive and tasteful, Hotel F6 is a boutique in Helsinki well worth paying attention to. The popular hotel opened around two years ago and has since been one of the most booked properties in the area, not just for the refined, youthful spirit but also it’s remarkable location: tucked away quietly in the middle…
With high replay value and some clever pacing, Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson have transposed their West End play Ghost Stories to the big screen with a refreshing eye for originality, spinning a grand three-part horror anthology into one thoroughly entertaining and unpredictable film that never stops subtly building towards its tremendous finale. And that’s…
The capital of Finland may be better known for efficient and eye-catching design, jovial saunas and superb produce, as opposed to Europe’s most quintessential tourist attractions, but the city also plays host to one of the continent’s most increasingly sought after annual music and arts festivals. The acclaim regularly surrounding Flow Festival speaks volumes for…
It should be well known by now that Canggu is one of the hottest neighbourhoods in Bali right now. The increasingly popular beachside destination has been attracting all kinds of new businesses, the latest of which is a seafood shack going by the name of Fish Bone Local. The first of several planned projects for…
