Author: Chris Singh

Last year respected website Haute Grandeur named ANA InterContinental Tokyo “Best Business Hotel” in the continent and “Best Lifestyle Hotel” in Japan; in addition, the property was also named “Japan’s Leading Business Hotel” by the prestigious World Travel Awards that same year. It’s certainly hard to argue with those accolades after witnessing first hand just…

The anticipation was at an all time high this past Wednesday at a special ceremony held at Melbourne’s historic Royal Exhibition Building. With the highly authoritative World’s 50 Best Restaurants already announcing their 100-51 positions last week, with some very fine entries, discerning diners all across the world were speculating as to which destinations would…

With three properties across Tokyo it’s safe to say that, as far as high-end accommodation goes, the InterContinental brand is a dominant force in one of the world’s most famously vibrant cities. All three have had their fair share of awards and nominations, no less The Strings by InterContinental Tokyo which is positioned a stone’s…

Curious choices defined The Walking Dead’s season 7 finale “The First Day of the Rest of Your Life”, and while it didn’t quite make up for what’s been an average season at best, it featured all the big beats characteristic of a landmark episode mixed in with those small character moments that teetered between nauseating…

One of our favourite craft breweries here over at the AU is the consistent and imaginative White Rabbit. The sister brewery to Little Creatures, both occupying the same space in Geelong, have impressed with recent experiments like their red wine infused craft beer, so it stands to reason that this latest release is going to…

Gone but definitely not forgotten, AMC’s now iconic Breaking Bad series is still making waves through pop culture, largely in thanks to currently running spin-off Better Call Saul, the third season of which will be premiering in Australia in Stan come April 11th. Cause the celebrate? You’re god damn right. After popping up at SXSW…

Mjølner (pronounced Mjol-near), Asgard and Valhalla: three terms one would associate with storied Viking culture and the legend of Thor, and possibly some of the last things you’d associate with Sydney’s dining scene. That’s changed now that The Speakeasy Group, the same team behind Eau de Vie (both Sydney and Melbourne), Boilermakerhouse and The Roosevelt,…

Under The Green apartments at the Brisbane Showgrounds in Bowen Hills is where you’ll find the recently opened Super Combo, a burger bar that looks to Arcade classic Street Fighter for inspiration. Co-owned by Hao Vu and Michael Nham (of Melbourne’s NSHRY), who both grew up mashing buttons on Street Fighter II at their local…

Air New Zealand have just taken a big, comfortable leap forward for passengers hopping on the popular direct route between Sydney and Cook Islands hub Rarotonga. As of this past week the highly regarded airline have upgraded their aircraft on the route to operate a 787-9 Dreamliner, bringing a superior option for those looking to…

Walking into a luxury hotel is almost always accompanied by a dramatic, and instantaneous, sense of freedom. As such, the lobby – the face of any hotel – is one of the most important steps for any property, so grand design is almost a given. That idea is built upon even further for those heading…

One of the most famous and downright talented trios in the music industry for the past few decades has been Dixie Chicks. Natalie Maines‘ diverse vocal work complemented by Martie Maguire and Emily Robison has proven to be a powerful combination, working in perfect harmony to produce hits that have reached far beyond the famously…

I’m constantly impressed by just how damn successful Chef’s Gallery is. The restaurant, which has a flagship at Town Hall but has expanded in recent years to places like Parramatta and Hurstville, is constantly one of the busiest dining spots in the area, always commanding a wait list that can stretch to an hour if…

Each year dominant ice-cream brand Ben & Jerry’s thank their many fans for a year of support with a day entirely dedicated to free ice-cream. They’ve been doing this public service since 1979, etching a nice little tradition for themselves and watching as demand piles up – last year they handed out over 103,000 scoops…

Just in time for her Australian tour, the one and only Mary J Blige has released the first single from her forthcoming Strength of a Woman LP. It sure is “hardcore hip-hop soul”, as Mary described in a recent interview on U.S station Power 105.1, with a blistering guest spot from Kanye West who bursts…

Three-hatted fine dining institution Sepia, one of Sydney’s most celebrated and popular dining hotspots, has made a big announcement. The team driving the restaurant, acclaimed chef Martin Benn and his partner Vicki Wild, will not only be departing the venue after eight incredibly successful years and numerous awards (they’ve maintained three hats every year since…

Luxury camping platform Under Sky are launching an immersive experience in Victoria’s The Grampians to encourage travellers to immerse themselves in the famously picturesque area. Beginning from 1st April and running up until 7th May, they’ve teamed up with family-run Mount Zero Olives, a private property located on at the Northern park of the Grampians…

In case you haven’t heard, the highly authoritative World’s 50 Best Restaurants ceremony is being held in Melbourne next week. Often referred to as the definitive ranking of culinary excellence across the globe, the anticipated list will be released on Wednesday 5th April after much deliberation by an anonymous panel made up of over 1,000…

Australian holiday rental site Stayz have today launched an unprecedented new concept which could change the way holiday-makers pay for their accommodation. Instead of exchanging cash for their temporary digs, people can now pay for their holiday home with every step they take. In other words, the more active you are, the cheaper your holiday….

With last years inaugural event a runaway success, the well-connected team behind Hashtag Burgers are itching to bring Burgapalooza 2017 and stretching it to much bigger scale. Whereas last year’s burger-focused festival was rooted in Manning Bar, this year brings the two-day eat-a-thon to Marrickville’s leafy Fraser Park (after nonsensical complaints from Newtown locals) with…

Free Rum cocktails? Free food? The team over at Lobo Plantation, Australia’s current reigning “Rum Bar of the Year”, must be feeling mighty generous. The reason for this is fairly simple: there’s going to be a big overhaul to their cocktail list, so they thought it best to celebrate with a huge, completely free party…

Gin: one of the most adaptable and customisable spirits in existence, drawing on various botanicals for vastly different flavour profiles. The art of crafting gin has been used to connect different expressions to different times, places and cities, and the latest release in Australia’s ever-growing artisan Gin scene is anchoring it in the most Sydney…

The team behind highly awarded and consistently inventive Potts Point restaurant Gastro Park has announced last service on May 20th of this year. After what has been perhaps the busiest year of new high-profile openings Sydney has seen in quite some time, Gastro Park and chef-owner Grant King have become the latest locally treasured restaurant…

Not every property can claim a setting which features a genuinely breathtaking 800-year-old ikeniwa (a pond garden), but Four Seasons Kyoto is far from your typical luxury hotel. Fairly fresh-faced in one of Japan’s most historical cities, having opened in October of last year, this property stands perfectly located in Higashiyama-ku, near plenty of temples…

“Something They Need” wrapped up everything the way you would expect, setting some final pieces in place for the inevitable showdown in next week’s finale. The problem with this is that the absence of anything unexpected, outside of some nice bits of drama over at The Sanctuary, resulted in a clean episode that lacked any…

This year will see Australian SVOD service Stan bring out a sizable chunk of their original content, truly stepping up as their popularity increases across the country. A unique function of this is the commitment to Australian stories and artists, the latest of which is being realised in the recently debuted One Night Stan. The…

With celebrated chef David Tsirekas taking care of the food, Sydney’s ambitious 1821 already has a lot going for it. Now they’ve gone and opened up a slick looking basement bar downstairs, a bunker bar named Odessa, with luxury notes of gold and velvet to match a menu that reads with a hearty list of…

To celebrate 32 years of some of the best, most unique and heartfelt animation to ever grace our screens, the very discerning folk at Supersmall Club will be hosting a massive (unofficial) party dedicated to none other than Studio Ghibli. The iconic Japanese animation film studio has inspired a pop-culture soiree of the kind Melbourne…

Starting in just a few weeks, Qantas will be rolling out a new partnership with Stan which will see the Australian SVOD service incorporated into the airline’s in-flight entertainment. When the roll out is completed all domestic Qantas flights will have full access to Stan’s comprehensive library available for passengers travelling across the country. The…

To go back and transpose Power Rangers into a blockbuster teen superhero film in this day and age seems like an odd choice. Though the original TV series quickly became a cult hit, time hasn’t been so kind to the franchise, even if it has strangely persisted for over two decades (it’s 24th season is…

Continuing the swift roll out of Neil Perry’s popular Burger Project chain, the celebrated fine dining chef has officially announced a big expansion in Melbourne, giving the city it’s third outlet as the brand opens this week at Melbourne Central. The shop will be located on the ground floor of the LaTrobe Street shopping centre…