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 World Whisky Day events in Sydney and Melbourne for 2017

World Whisky Day is coming this weekend, and you better believe that some of Australia’s best drinking holes are going to be pulling out the rarities and underrated gems to celebrate. It’s the World Record Day of Whisky, and each year drams the world over are swirled, sniffed and sipped to toast to one of…

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Butter are pimping their fried chicken meals with nutella fries this month (Sydney)

It was only a matter of time before these two sneaker destinations linked up. Beloved sneaker gallery Subtype have partnered with the team behind sneaker-and-chicken shop Butter on a limited edition fashion tip, resulting in not only a collaborative tee and sock capsule but a special fried chicken promotion that’s being run at Butter for…

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Gelatissimo and Brewtown announce exclusive gelato-brewnut fusion for Newtown (Sydney)

Newtown locals are used to seeing some of their favourites come together for limited edition collaborations. By now those who live around the inner-west gem should be more than familiar with the Newtown Locals but there’s plenty of other partnerships worth paying attention to. The latest: a delicious fusion from Gelatissimo and Brewtown Newtown. Gelatissimo’s…

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Fancy Hanks are doing a collaboration lunch with Rice Paper Scissors this weekend (Melbourne)

One trend we’re definitely not sick of, and likely never will be, is the rise of the “guest chef collaboration”. Everywhere you turn there’s a new restaurant kicking off a guest chef series, giving diners dynamic and exciting one-off dinners that push away from the norm and opt to offer something new. Melbourne’s Fancy Hanks…

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John Walker & Sons release super premium whisky Mastery of Oak in Australia

Just in time for World Whisky Day (20th May), the prestigious John Walker & Sons series has launched their 2017 private collection in Australia. The high-end series of blended scotch whiskies by Master Blender Jim Beveridge has revealed a limited release of 5,588 individually numbered decanters in this fourth release of an ongoing series that…

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Review: a progressive dinner from East to Man Tong Kitchen (Melbourne)

Melbourne is a multicultural hub brimming with an array of delightfully diverse cuisines from all over the globe. In particular our range of Asian eateries that are sprinkled throughout the CBD brings so much variety to that one condensed area, meaning it really does take a lot to stand out from the crowd. The Hutong…

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Broadway Sydney is hosting a four-day music, food and fashion festival this month

Now that they’ve gone and revamped a big chunk of the long-standing shopping centre, Broadway Sydney are throwing their very own four-day festival, making good use of their wide range of food, fashion, beauty retailers for what they’re calling Fusion Fest. The organisers aren’t doing pulling any half-measures either, bringing in a bunch of very…

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James Boag release a limited edition “fine dining” beer to Australia’s top restaurants

For the next few months a selection of hatted restaurants across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Tasmania will be offering a very limited edition and Australian-first beer range from James Boag. Titled the “James Boag Epicurean”, the new premium range has been brewed especially for food pairings in fine dining restaurants, the result of extensive research…

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St Kilda Burger Bar scores a permanent residency at Arts Centre (Melbourne)

One of the city’s finest burgers-on-wheels, the St Kilda Burger Bar, has parked up their truck at a permanent location, securing a spot just outside of the Arts Centre in Melbourne CBD. The crew behind the truck will be opening up each morning, first with a selection of non-burger breakfast dishes from 8-10am and then…

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Golden Age Cinema is serving up cherry pie at their two-day David Lynch marathon this weekend (Sydney)

Petersham’s Daisy’s Milk Bar has hooked up with hipster favourite Golden Age Cinema & Bar to celebrate the imminent arrival of David Lynch’s long-awaited reboot of Twin Peaks. How so? The lively milk bar will be serving up slices of their gorgeous cherry pie as the Surry Hills cinema present two days of Lynch classics…

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Fatties Burger Appreciation Society launch a behind-the-scenes video series on Sydney’s best burgers

More than 80,000 burger lovers across Australia (possibly the world) are subscribed to what started out as a small but passionate online community linked by the love of one of the most ubiquitous foods of all times. It’s the now famous Fatties Burger Appreciation Society (FBAS) of course, a Facebook group that continues to grow…

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Film Review: Ridley Scott tugs on existential threads with Alien: Covenant (USA, 2017)

2012’s Prometheus marked the beginning of a franchised prequel to Ridley Scott’s original Alien, not only taking fans back to the origins of this iconic sci-fi franchise, but diving deeper into the meaty philosophies such a concept brings, finding purpose with the motif of creation. The introduction of synthetic android David (Michael Fassbender) emerged as…

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Stan is bringing Twin Peaks’ iconic Double R Diner to Sydney and Melbourne

Stan Australia recently turned Sydney’s great Thirsty Bird into Los Pollos Hermanos to celebrate the season three premiere of Better Call Saul on the SVOD service. Now it appears a similar type of promotion will be going down for the forthcoming, and very long awaited, return of David Lynch’s genius Twin Peaks, with Stan marking…

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BL Burgers has opened their first Western Sydney shop in Parramatta

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…

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Where to spend Mother’s Day 2017 in Sydney

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…

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Cooking with Fire: Carriageworks’ Vivid Sydney night market announced for June

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…

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Review: Zeus Street Greek justifies their recent growth with high quality casual eats

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…

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Sydney’s espresso martini festival has added an extra day to meet demand

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…

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Hogget is regional Victoria’s newest winery, restaurant and cellar door

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…

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Melbourne Tea Festival promises rarities and workshops when it returns this month

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…

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Review: Brick Lane brings the lighter side of Indian dining to Darlinghurst (Sydney)

“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…

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Noosa’s four day food and wine festival returns this month (QLD)

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…

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Cadbury Dairy Milk have just released a range of ice-cream spider chocolate blocks

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…

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Vivid Sydney and Carriageworks announce chef line up for “Sydney Table”

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…

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Wine 1160 is Armadale’s new neighbourhood wine bar (Melbourne)

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…

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Anna Polyviou’s epic chocolate firecracker gets a dessert pop-up at Shangri-La Hotel (Sydney)

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…

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Flour Market’s massive donut festival is returning to the streets of Melbourne this month

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…

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Hotel Review: Eventhouse Cronulla (NSW) anchors itself with “beach-chic” accomodation

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…

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Review: Hans Zimmer and his orchestra reach celestial highs with emotional live show in Sydney

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…

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This Sydney bar is now doing limited edition Golden Gaytime cocktails

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…

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