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.

The best New Year’s Eve parties around Melbourne for 2017/18

The loosest day of the year is upon us! New Year’s Eve is going to bounce us into 2018 and it’s your choice whether you want that to be in style or in shambles. It’s long known that deep in the heart of the CBD is exactly where you do not in any way, shape…

Read more

Melbourne CBD gets a new rooftop Japanese restaurant with Yokocho

Melbourne CBD has welcomed a new Japanese restaurant just in time for the holiday season. Yokocho, located in the historic Mid City Arcade on Bourke Street, will be reimagining Tokyo’s unique street culture with a design that’s minimal on interior, big on atmosphere with a reflection of the laneways made famous by the Japanese capital’s…

Read more

Review: Johnnie Walker 18 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky

Though it was released earlier this year, the Johnnie Walker 18 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky isn’t a new expression by any means. It’s merely a rebranded, renamed and reimagined Johnnie Walker Platinum Label. That choice fits the bottle in with the iconic brand’s other expressions a bit more seamlessly, sporting a stylish design and…

Read more

Launceston’s grain silos will be turned into a $25 million luxury hotel next year

Mantra Group will be bringing a high-profile opening to Launceston in Tasmania next year when it welcomes the 108-room Silo Hotel to the Peppers brand. Reimagining the Kings Wharf grain silos of the city, the $25 million redevelopment will make unique use of the location, with 52 of the 108 rooms location in the barrels…

Read more

Victoria’s Mitchelton Winery opens luxury on-site hotel and spa

Located in the Victorian countryside near Nagambie is the recently opened Mitchelton Hotel and Spa, a new luxury accommodation option that has resulted from a $16 million addition to the sprawling Mitchelton Winery Estate. A personal project of Gerry Ryan and his son Andrew, the hotel is now set up along the banks of the…

Read more

Emirates introduce fascinating multi-million dollar upgrades to their Boeing 777 aircraft

Recently revealed to passengers flying their Brussels and Geneva routes, Emirates completely refreshed interiors for its Boeing 777 aircraft represent a substantial move forward for the highly awarded airline. This includes the unveiling of their long anticipated First Class private suites, which are said to take design inspiration from the Mercedes-Benz S-Class with floor to…

Read more

TV Review: Mick Taylor is as chilling as ever in the second season of Wolf Creek

The Australian outback has provided the Wolf Creek universe with a terrifying, swallow-them-whole landscape across both film and TV for the past 12 years now. When director, producer and writer Greg McLean first unleashed his horror concept (and debut feature film) to the world back in 2005, word-of-mouth was swift and excitable, championing Australian horror…

Read more

The best New Year’s Eve parties around Sydney for 2017/18

The loosest day of the year is upon us! New Year’s Eve is going to bounce us into 2018 and it’s your choice whether you want that to be in style or in shambles. It’s long known that deep in the heart of the CBD is exactly where you do not in any way, shape…

Read more

This 17th century sugar plantation on the Spanish island of La Palma now hosts a unique luxury hotel

High-end hospitality brand Luxe Collection by L.E Hotels, noted for their incredibly unique and individual properties across 18 countries, have recently added Hotel Hacienda de Abajo to their portfolio, a historic property that’s built on a restored 17th century sugar plantation located on the island of San Miguel de La Palma, in the Canary Islands….

Read more

Mary’s, Alpha, Bodega, Messina and more for Meriton Festival Village

In less than a month Sydney Festival will be kicking off their 2018 program, which is as diverse as ever with its intelligent blend of art, performance, theatre, music and more. Though for many it’s the festival’s beating heart, the pop-up village that will be set in Hyde Park, that’s most exciting. From 5th to…

Read more

The Duke of Clarence opens just in time for the holiday season (Sydney)

The year ain’t over just yet! Before we edge our way into 2018, the team behind Sydney’s award-winning The Barber Shop are introducing a new essential drinking destination to the CBD, inspired by and fashioned as a 19th century English tavern. Titled The Duke of Clarence the new pub, which is now open to the…

Read more

Huxtaburger opens in Footscray (Melbourne)

Melbourne’s unstoppable Huxtaburger has finally made it’s way out to Footscray, with a new restaurant opening to locals this past weekend. The famed burger joint, which has locations all over the city, will be doing much of what made the brand such a juggernaut on the scene in the first place. The menu will be…

Read more

Johnnie Walker unveils two new Blenders’ Batch expressions including an Espresso Roast Whisky

Good ol’ Johnnie Walker. We can always rely on the iconic blended Scotch Whisky to constantly roll out new and exciting expressions towards the end of the year. They’ve already made waves with the newly relaunched Aged 18 Years and that hype is definitely looking to continue with the imminent arrival of two new experimental…

Read more

Anna Polyviou has opened a gingerbread dessert pop-up at Shangri-La Sydney

Renowned Punk Princess of Pastry Anna Polyviou will be helping Sydney’s lush Shangri-La Hotel, at which she has long been an Executive Pastry Chef, charge into the holiday season with a special pop-up store which will be marked by an enormous four metre gingerbread train out the front, combining 2,000 kilos of gingerbread bricks, 500…

Read more

Over 115 producers and providores join the lineup for Carriageworks Farmers Market (Sydney)

Those who are looking for quality produce ahead of Christmas should keep this one in mind. Carriageworks are bringing back their annual free-entry Christmas Farmers Market on 23rd December, rounding up over 115 producers and providores for an enormous market kicking off at 8am and wrapping up at 1pm. Focused on food and produce, the…

Read more

Mr Crackles and Handpicked Wines are throwing a “Swine & Wine” party (Sydney)

In what is pretty much guaranteed to be one of the stand-out events on Sydney’s long list of December food and drink events, local institution Mr Crackles – considered an originator in the art of attracting enormous fucking queues – has partnered with Handpicked Wines for a huge pre-Xmas feast mixing swine with wine on…

Read more

Gemtree Wines have released a new premium shiraz aged in a barrel buried underground

Family owned winery Gemtree Wines, located out in McLaren Vale, have just released the contents of the first wine barrel in the world to be returned to the earth and aged in the ground. SubTerra is a single-vineyard shiraz said to mirror the same premium quality that is often credited to wineries throughout the McLaren…

Read more

Barossa Boy: a new wine series launches out of the Barossa Valley

Sixth generation Barossa winemaker Trent Burge is spearheading a new passion project and wine series titled Barossa Boy, a collection that he hopes will mirror the same consistency and quality that’s been threaded through his family’s history in the Valley which dates back to 1855, when his great-great-great grandfather John Burge first immigrated to South…

Read more

Mr Black adds Coffee Amaro as the second permanent expression to the coffee liqueur brand

Mr Black Roasters & Distillers have grown immensely in the past few years, picking up quite a few awards along the way and selling out limited releases left, right and centre. Their latest expression is the second permanent addition to their growing line of specialty coffee liqueurs, pushing in a bit of a different direction…

Read more

How Two Live are running an independent fashion pop-up store in Melbourne

Sisters Jess and Stef Dadon of popular fashion blog How Two Live have just brought a four week pop-up store to Melbourne with fashion and homewares from 20 independent Aussie labels including Pared Eyewear, Emily Green, Lovestar, From St Xavier, Kitsu, State of Georgia, and the girls’ own footwear label TWOOBS. Featuring a curated edit…

Read more

Film Review: The Disaster Artist (USA, 2017) is a profound display of fearlessness

Tommy Wiseau’s laughably bad The Room has such a strong and passionate cult following that the “disasterpiece” is still being discussed, screened and dissected 14 years after its limited cinematic release. There aren’t many films that can boast that kind of staying power, existing in a singular universe where something is so bad it takes…

Read more

Future Park: Japanese collective teamLab brings the wow factor to Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum

Famed Japanese art collective teamLab and their endless, unique and energetic approach to art and technology is currently on full display at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum. Future Park is the largest exhibition from the collective and the largest ever seen in Australia, featuring eight interactive light installations which will be dazzling art lovers of all ages…

Read more

TV Review: The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 8 “How It’s Gotta Be”

I’m not quite sure what I just watched, and I find it hard to imagine a team of writers turning that script in and thinking that it would make for a satisfying, entertaining or even reasonable Mid-Season Finale. I love The Walking Dead, honestly, but “How It’s Gotta Be” was truly poor form for a…

Read more

Interview: Greg McLean & John Jarratt talk Wolf Creek Season Two, survival horror and the Aussie outback

This Friday Australian viewers will dive right back into the chilling world of Wolf Creek as Stan plans the second season to their successful miniseries adaptation of the horror franchise. Director Greg McLean is back on board, creating this six-part outback horror epic exclusively for Stan with John Jarratt reprising his role as self-righteous backpack-killer…

Read more

The best ways in and around Sydney to eat your way through Christmas 2017

We hope you’re ready for the holidays because in or around Sydney this December there is going to be plenty for you to eat and drink your way into 2018. Whether you’re scouting for a party venue or looking to tuck into the special holiday menus popping up around the city and beyond, we’ve got…

Read more

Sydney’s legendary Mamak has opened in Seminyak (Bali)

Sydney’s beloved Award-winning Malaysian restaurant Mamak (known for it’s long queues and late opening hours) has opened their first international restaurant in Bali, bringing their bold traditional flavours to the island’s metropolitan Seminyak area. Located in the heart of Seminyak, Mamak Bali will showcase their beloved Malaysian Rotis, Curries and Satays to Bali locals and…

Read more

Live Review: J Cole and his Dreamville crew put on Australia’s hip hop tour of the year

Ari Lennox, EarthGang, J.I.D and Bas. North Carolina emcee J. Cole, now one of the most commanding names in hip hop, is certainly chiseling his Interscope imprint Dreamville Records into something truly impressive, and positioned to grow well beyond 2018. It’s nothing new for a successful rapper to start fielding and fostering their own roster…

Read more

TV Review: The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 7 “Time for After”

Eugene is a broken man. With his loyalty and decisions a major focus of “Time for After”, the penultimate episode before the Mid-Season Finale, we get to explore this character in a much more meaningful way than before. There’s some real depth here as he visibly struggles against his own conscious and deals with the…

Read more

Following its 13th consecutive Chef’s Hat, Wollongong’s Caveau is as focused as ever (NSW)

Having been awarded their thirteenth chef’s hat in a row and evolving under new management, Wollongong’s treasured Caveau is enjoying an eventful 2017. The award-winning fine dining institution is now being managed by chefs Simon Evans and Tom Chiumento, both whom have been running the kitchen since late 2015 and have a strong sense of…

Read more

The best Christmas gift ideas in Australia for 2017

Gift guides popping up all over your feed is a good thing; it’s another sign that the holidays are finally here. 2017 is about to be done and dusted, but first you’ve got the Olympic sport that is gift-giving to get through. However you choose to celebrate the Christmas holidays, it’s going to be all…

Read more