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.
If you live in or around Parramatta, you’re diet just got so much harder to maintain. The granddaddy of Sydney Burger chains, BL Burgers, is just about ready to open their very first Western Sydney venue, after finding massive success in locations like Darlinghurst and Bondi. A Bar Luca spin-off, known for their incredibly unique…
Lavish long lunches 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 perfect Sunday afternoon then…
Following the announcement of their Sydney Table series, Vivid Sydney and Carriageworks have unveiled details for The Night Market, their large-scale, one-night-only collaboration which celebrates contemporary food and wine, to the theme of “Cooking with Fire”. As such, fire-loving chef Lennox Hastie (of Firedoor) has joined as the event’s guest curator. The bright minds behind…
A few years ago Zeus Street Greek didn’t seem like it’d reach the level of growth it enjoys today. Their first store was out in Drummoyne, quietly building an empire as a fresh take on Greek street food, that offered more than just souvlakis and gyros, rightfully earned the business a loyal following. Fast forward…
The Mr Black Festival of the Espresso Martini, kicking off in just a few weeks, has proven so popular that organisers have been forced to add an extra day, making that a total of three days dedicated to one of the most beloved cocktails in the country. With the first two days selling out almost…
As of earlier this year, the the site of Wild Dog restaurant and five kilometres south of beautiful Warragul has been reborn, now refurbished as Hogget by chef Trevor Perkins and winemakers William Downie and Patrick Sullivan. A true gift for locals and a tempting stop on a road trip out of Melbourne, the winery-restaurant-cellar…
An interactive one-day event celebrating everything tea is coming back after a successful debut last year at Melbourne Exhibition Centre, attracting more than 4,200 tea lovers. The aromatic Melbourne Tea Festival will aim at connecting guests to specialty teas from all over the world, highlighting exciting tea purveyors who will be on hand to showcase…
“Experimental Indian” isn’t something you’d hear often around Sydney’s dining scene a few years ago. Now, it’s picking up, and a few inventive restaurants across the city are really highlighting a side of Indian cuisine that moves far away from excessively creamy butter chicken and puffy, indulgent cheese naan. Brick Lane is but the latest…
Food and wine lovers are being well catered for this month as Noosa Food & Wine Festival returns to the sunshine coast, bringing with it a stacked program of events spread across two festival villages, one at Noosa Main Beach and the other in “The Woods”. Top local restaurants will be getting involved in the…
In the past few years, Cadbury’s slightly more playful Marvellous Creations range has already moved the stalwart dairy milk chocolate brand in the right direction. It’s introduction has allowed for a fresh take on the collection, set to take an even bigger step with this latest release: “Cadbury Dairy Milk Marvellous Creations Spider”. It’s an…
After a string of sold out nights last year Carriageworks and the forthcoming Vivid Sydney are once again planning to host their series of bespoke dining experiences. Taking place at The Clothing Store across the nights of 14-17 June, Sydney Table will be bringing in some of the state’s leading chefs and pairing their specially…
Opening up earlier this year, Wine 1160 is a big refresh to the local dining and drinking scene of Armadale. The small neighbourhood bar – pronounced eleven-sixty – boasts a 160-deep wine list, to which it is entirely dedicated, with the kitchen pumping out food that has been curated to complement the many drops on…
One of the country’s most renowned pastry chefs Anna Polyviou stirred up a recent episode of MasterChef Australia with one of the most curious desserts the reality show has seen, sparking contestants with a challenge to recreate her playful Firecracker dessert. The intricate, cartoon-themed chocolate dessert was an instant hit with viewers, playing on Polyviou’s…
Get your gluttonous self down to Melbourne Central on Wednesday 17th May because the fine folk behind local institution Flour Market are putting on a one-night-only festival dedicated exclusively to one of the greatest culinary creations of all time: the donut. The world’s most livable city boasts some of the finest donut connoisseurs in the…
Marking a new boutique hotel brand for the same group behind Australian (and recently New Zealand) favourite QT Hotels, Eventhouse Cronulla has successfully tapped into the refreshing leisurely lifestyle of the famed beachside suburb, gutting the former Rydges and replacing it with an expansive coastal atmosphere. Your stereotypical “Aussie lifestyle” has long been defined, to…
Since the 80s, many blockbuster films have owed much to the work of Hans Zimmer. It’s likely none of them would have been the same without tapping into the intricacies that have come to define the renowned composer’s treasured work, resulting in scores that have gone far beyond the screen and stood on their own…
We knew it was just a matter of time before we started seeing even more Golden Gaytime inspired food and drink pop up all over the place. A recent release of authentic Golden Gaytime crumbs in a Milo-style tin must have done it, giving people reason to experiment with one of the most iconic Australian…
It’s that time again! The GABS Beer, Cider & Food Festival is once again preparing to show Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland just why it has been named one of the best beer festivals in the world (by U.S magazine The Beer Connoisseur). With record attendance last year, the touring festival is set to bring in…
Some of Australia’s favourite dairy beverage brands are coming out swinging this year. First we had a fitness flip to the uber popular Oak, but now it seems Dare have a slick new product coming to shelves across the country, and this time it focuses on the love of craft cold-brewed coffee. Pushing their new…
As Chippendale’s Kensington Street precinct continues to grow, Sydney welcomes a fresh new café by the name of Concrete Jungle, an apt name for a space that has been brought to life with touches of vibrant greenery, shaped as a “serene oasis” in the midst of one of the city’s busiest areas. Though a large…
Funky new contemporary Japanese restaurant Tokyo Laundry has just opened down at Gateway Sydney precinct of Circular Quay, adding to a diverse lineup of restaurants and cafes with an inventive menu by Michelin Star chef Masahiko Yomoda (ex-Restaurant Vivraishe), widely known for his training in both Japanese and French cuisine, worked to suit the new…
Through May and June, Sydney’s The Lyric Theatre will serve as the first Australian venue to host The Bodyguard, a production which is as much a tribute to the life and music of Whitney Houston as her iconic 1992 feature-film debut of the same name. I write “iconic” because the film is fondly remembered for…
An entire weekend of everything dog. Sound good? It certainly does. The multi award-winning Melbourne Dog Lovers Show is once again set to take over Royal Exhibition Building for the 7th year in a row, bringing with it an enormously comprehensive showcase highlighting and celebrating everything about one of the most lovable things on planet…
In what’s a very exciting prospect for one of the city’s most anticipated openings of 2017, Chris Lucas (of The Lucas Group) has announced that Chin Chin Sydney will be led by creative ex-Spice Temple chef Graeme Hunt. The announcement promises a big move for Hunt, who has spent the last four years helping Melbourne’s…
The Australian Museum has never said no to some of Sydney’s most unique parties these past few years. After all, the historic opposite-Hyde-Park institution was the original site for the sorely missed Jurassic Lounge when the unique after-work party series began. It seems the venue’s penchant for parties with a difference hasn’t died down though,…
Two years ago, founders Chris Payton and Rohan Rivett attracted a lot of attention to their Small Mouth Vodka. The 100% Australian made organic Vodka picked up both a Gold Medal and a Master Medal, the top accolade, in the “Smooth” category at the 2015 Vodka Masters in London, putting this artisan Vodka on the…
2017 has already been a big year for OzHarvest, one of Australia’s most cherished and important charities, seeing as they have officially expanded to the UK with help from Jamie Oliver and The Duchess of Cornwall. Now the food rescue charity have revealed their next big step, opening up The OzHarvest Market in Sydney’s Kensington,…
After unveiling a new era last year and subsequently rising through the ranks to become one of the area’s hottest spots, The Dolphin Hotel in Surry Hills will be using their dedicated Wine Room as a platform for a guest chef series fashioned as “Aperitivo Hour”. The series, which kicked off early last month and…
“Creating a fig liqueur had never been done before”, tells Patrick Borg of Think Spirits, a renowned Australian liquor distribution company which has recently released an unprecedented fruit liqueur, Esprit de Figues, that is fast rising to the very top of the wish lists of discerning drinkers and bartenders alike. Yep, it’s a genuine fresh…
Festivals dominate Sydney whenever winter approaches. Food & Wine festivals, light festivals, writers festivals, fashion festivals, beer festivals – you name it. On the produce side of things, the cool climate starts to bring in some incredible eats and drinks, filling you up with all kinds of intense flavours and fuel to help you make…