Author: Chris Singh

Look we can get pretty crazy down here in Australia with our hybrid foods and pop-culture themed eateries, but our love for food that shouldn’t exist is nothing compared to what’s going on over in the States. The latest is Taco Bell, who through last year have been trialing taco shells made out of fried…

“Shot on location in New Zealand”. Ever since Peter Jackson made cinematic history with The Lord of the Rings franchise, that enticing sentence has been more than enough to let moviegoers know they are in for some spectacular production value. It’s almost cheating in a sense, calling on New Zealand’s famously majestic scenery to enhance…

A huge lineup of Australian talent is set to score the pristine surrounds of the Morning Racecourse as The Peninsula Picnic presented by Infiniti returns this April. Melbourne locals and visitors will be able to head along to the boutique music, food and wine festival on Saturday 1st April as the fail-safe life philosophy of…

For Hip Hop, 2016 was the year of cosigning anything and everything. So called ‘mumble rap’ became a thing and there was a massive push back against the term ‘real Hip Hop’, championing newcomers like Lil’ Yachty and Lil’ Uzi Vert (who, like it or not, have been attached to the music and the culture)…

The headline says it all really. Across five days during the week starting 15th Jan there will be a food truck pulling up to various locations around Sydney, giving away free sliders. Popular ex-Masterchef contestant Hayden Quinn and Hellmann’s have teamed up to man the vehicle, taking two of the chef’s recipes and hitting the…

Healthy fried chicken? That’s the claim surrounding new St Kilda’s Clucked, moving away from the southern fried chicken trend and pushing something a bit less understood and loved. “Happy, healthy fried 100% free range boneless chicken” describes a press released for the recently opened diner, a family-owned business located on busy Carlisle Street with signature…

After a successful pop-up Butterbeer Bar last year, it seems the team of South Yarra hotspot Good Things are dipping back into Harry Potter lore. Set for this week, the beloved bar will be transformed by a special Polyjuice Potion party, tasking the highly skilled witches and wizards behind the venue with providing Harry Potter…

One of Woollahra’s most beloved dining spots, Buzo, has just taken a big step in their continual evolution, saying goodbye to the tail end of 2016 and greeting 2017 with a new menu and a refocused cocktail list at their late-night bar. Moving from just Italian to Modern European cuisine, new Head Chef Jason Dean…

Within the past few years, QT Hotels & Resorts have made a massive impact on the lofty world of boutique accommodation in Australia, carving out their own lane through forward-thinking design philosophies and a desire to do things differently. Sydneysiders are in constant awe of the subversive, baroque sensibilities of QT Sydney, awards regularly pile up…

Not every Australia Day event is made equal. Boutique festival Goat Island Sounds will return on January 26th to dominate competition in Sydney, bringing a banging line-up, a live stream of triple j’s Hottest 100, and one of the most enchanting scenes possible in the harbour city. Six acts will spread across two stages set-up…

Welcome to Burger Watch, where we acknowledge the constant creativity bursting from all sides of the epic burger wave that sweeps Australia every week. The highest of high demand is reserved for this timeless food staple and just about every interpretation of it, whether it to be an over-the-top glutton-fest or a focus on simple…

Following their massive 160-stall deep Christmas markets the good folk at Carriageworks have announced that they will be hosting a Chinese New Year market curated by Kylie Kwong in partnership with Sydney Festival. And the renowned chef has gone all out for her part in the market, bringing in over 50 stallholders from Neil Perry’s…

Prahran’s The Cullen Hotel, a member of the acclaimed Art Series Hotel Group, is regularly referenced as one of Melbourne’s very best and brightest properties. For years now, the youthful hotel has thriving on not only a high standard of boutique accommodation, but in-house dining as well, an aspect which has taken a recent leap…

The popular Surry Hills restaurant and bar, Salaryman, quickly became known for seasonal left-centre takes on traditional ramen when it first opened in 2015. Glowing reviews and booming business sustained the concept for a year, but as a strong following built it became clear that a focus on ramen just wasn’t enough, hence a thorough…

As it turns out, giving the reigns of a big-budget Disney film to a Director who until now has been best known for indie cinema can be just the thing an old underappreciated story needs. That’s exactly what Walt Disney Studios did to breathe new life into Pete’s Dragon, recruiting David Lowery to helm an…

Dominant sister duo Krewella have been making their mark on the EDM scene for years now, pumping out hit after hit while stil maintaining a distinctive enough style to keep them in high demand for festivals and headline shows across the globe. Coming off one of their busiest years yet, and a completely sold out…

Sydneysiders who have fond memories of dining at Saigon Street in Bali will be happy to know that the popular eatery has been brought across the waters to four locations across Sydney, all opened recently by Aki Kotzamichalis (co-founder of the island’s famed Ku De Ta). Local chef Phil Davenport, who was Ku De Ta’s…

Fratelli Fresh’s fast-casual pizzeria spin-off, Fratelli Famous, has been very well received in Sydney and Melbourne this year, expanding as part of Rockpool Dining Group’s (formerly Urban Purveyor Group) ambitious plans that have seen the hospitality group grow immensely in 2016. Now it’s Brisbane’s turn to get the city’s first Fratelli Famous, and where better…

Popular Asian dessert chain Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart, which originated in Malaysia earlier this year, are said to turn over around 20,000 baked cheese tarts pet day. It’s this kind of popularity that has allowed for an easy and rapid expansion into other markets, and the latest to benefit is Australia with four stores in…

Revealed just a few weeks out, Kingsford favourite The Regent has thrown open their doors to the public following an extensive makeover that has seen changes to both the interior and the pub’s food and bev offerings. The popular student haunt now sports a restored heritage ceiling and a design that has gone street-level with…

As the city of Sydney approaches the holiday season and its famously crisp summer, the very approachable Vibe Hotel Rushcutters Bay has unveiled a substantial makeover as well as their brand new bar-eatery Storehouse on the Park, bringing the property into the same league as Vibe Hotel Canberra Airport and Vibe Hotel Marysville, all of…

Tour operators need to change and evolve with the times, constantly looking at what young travelers actually want in order to curate their various itineraries and offer as much value as they can. Of course, one of the best known for Australians, Topdeck, is no exception here, evidenced by several new programs which will offer…

Earlier this year, one of the most highly regarded boutique hotel brands in the country, Art Series Hotel Groups, finally opened the doors to their long-awaited Queensland debut, The Johnson, followed an extensive three-year renovation of the heritage listed Main Roads Building. Like its sister hotels, the property pushes light-hearted luxury with a link to…

Sometimes it pays to be a little over-the-top, which should explain the success of The Thirsty Wolf’s colourful “Unicorn Month” which recently ran throughout November. It’s pretty straight forward, for an entire month the popular Newtown bar replaced a typical Melbourne cup celebrate with a four-week homage to a different breed of horse, channeling the…

Canadian Club are getting in on that slice of summer celebration by introducing pop-up racquet clubs across Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane for December and January. In an effort to build anticipation for one of the country’s largest annual sporting events, the Australian Open, the pop ups will be using some of the country’s best known…

After three months of renovations, Crowne Plaza Surfers Paradise has unveiled some enhancement to their public spaces as well as two new dining venues, a wine bar named Balthazar and a specialty restaurant named SIFU, both located on the ground floor of the popular hotel. Having been named for a 12 litre wine bottle, Balthazar…

Melbourne go-to Dukes Coffee Roasters has officially expanded to Sydney with South by Dukes, a slick new venue in the lower of Tower One in the Streets of Barangaroo precinct. Long known as one of the most highly-regarded specialty coffee roasters in Melbourne, Dukes has built a sizable following for their signature beans which are…

Following the successful entry of Yayoi into the Australian dining scene, Japan-based company Plenus have begun what they hope will be a nationwide expansion for another one of the popular brand’s, Hotto Motto. The well known bento box chain, which boasts around 2,656 locations world wide, has chosen Sydney’s The Galeries as their first port…

One of Bondi’s best known venues, the beachside Hotel Ravesis, has pushed into the summer holidays with a complete refurbishment, revealing what is perhaps one of the area’s largest and most impressive changes in years. The two-storey space now has brand new interiors for the ground-floor, the balcony and the restaurant & bar spaces, as…

Rockpool Dining Group’s rapidly expanding Saké Jr has just seen a second venue open up for Melbourne, this time at St Collins Lane. The popular fast-casual spin off to Sake Restaurant & Bar debuted earlier this year as part of a larger expansion for Urban Purveyor Group (now Rockpool Dining Group following a merger with…