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.
Those fiery red wigs on the chic-outfitted “Directors of Chaos” who wait on busy Market Street to welcome you into QT Sydney should tell all you need to know about the property: this is a five-star hotel that does things differently. For over four years, QT’s very first Sydney venture (they opened a QT Bondi…
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…
With summer heating up the words “popsicle cocktails” are two of the sweetest things you can hear, and luckily for Sydneysiders the icy concoctions are currently being offered by a Belvedere Ice-Pop Bar which has been set up Hilton Sydney’s famed Zeta Bar. The well established rooftop bar will be pushing back against the relentless…
The GPO Grand have brought back their pop-up dessert bar ahead of the holidays, setting up right by Martin Place’s enormous Christmas tree to offer exclusive outdoor seating and a huge range of festive desserts. Under those Bulgari Christmas LED lights Sydneysiders will find the likes of Nutella donuts, loacker gelato, chocolate ricotta cannoli, salted…
In just a few weeks renowned dessert chef and new Christmas ambassador for Ferrero Rocher, Reynold Poernomo will be celebrating his Sydney based KOI Dessert Bar being open for a year. What has now become a Kensington Street staple opened late last year and has since become a platform for Poernomo’s inventive approach to desserts,…
A special pop-up exhibition will hit Surry Hills this week to highlight the works of ocean photographer and social media influencer Mark Fitz (@_markfitz) and the possibilities of works shot exclusively on a smartphone (in this case the iPhone 7 Plus). The exhibition, which has been created by impact protection pros Tech21 has been designed…
Subplots run amok in Office Christmas Party, an overwraught holiday comedy that marks a return to the big screen for directors Josh Gordon and Will Speck, who are best known for the Will Ferrell and Jon Heder mishap Blades of Glory. Though unlike the 2007 sports comedy, the team’s latest feature doesn’t have the thick…
Australia’s legendary Flickerfest International Short Film Festival will be returning for its 26th year come January 2017, kicking off under the stars as it once again sets up on Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach. What has become the country’s largest short film competition, and the only one with Academy accreditation and BAFTA recognition, has announced that…
Sure, you could put your kitchen to the test with a long and laborious Christmas lunch, or you could head out and let some of Sydney’s best restaurants do all that hard work for you. The latter is definitely the better choice. While most shut up shop for the holiday period, many of the finest…
Master turntablist and mashup pioneer DJ Z-Trip will be coming down to Australia for a quick tour in the first month of 2017, returning to a country full of fans that have always embraced his multi-style live DJ performances through the years. While most of the Australian shows will take place in January, Z-Trip will…
Celebrity-owned spirits are often met with cynicism, especially since there are so many of them in market nowadays. They sell though, penetrating the market quite impressively, and ever since Puff Daddy saw some incredible success with Ciroc it seems every month we’re hearing about big names attached to different spirits. Most seem just a quick…
Somewhere in the world right now an overly enthusiastic music publicist is preparing a press release to let you know that yes, Michael Buble has a new release coming, and those dulcet tones could only mean one thing: Christmas! The traditional gift-giving time of the year is but a few weeks away and those who…
“Why not make it smell like Fried Chicken”. No they are not the famous last words from KFC founder Colonel Harland David Sanders, but the reasoning behind a very odd product, spoken by CMO Kevin Hochman. It’s what he told Business Insider when approached about the very curious release of (extra crispy) fried chicken scented
Ratings are sliding for The Walking Dead and a big chunk of viewers are sounding off on social media; while it’s far from a consensus, it’s safe to say many have been disappointed with the way this uneven season has been flowing (remember Ezekiel? You’d be forgiven for forgetting already). A stubborn insistence on overlong…
Stacks and stacks of cookbooks are released into the world each year, but there are always those select through that break through to ‘must own’ status. Made With Love is truly one of those cookbooks, simply because it brings together some of the most acclaimed and renowned chefs in the world to each share recipes…
A few years ago, Surry Hills’ much awarded Devon Cafe expanded to include a spin-off a few suburbs over, gifting Waterloo Devon on Danks, an enormously popular venture that allowed for some bigger turns into the flavour-rich world of Asian fusion. As an essential brunch destination, the cafe dominated Danks street right up until it…
The team behind Bottoms Up Bartenders (who earlier this year made headlines with plans for a Ron Burgundy bar only to be shut down by Paramount Pictures) have returned just in time for one final event before Christmas, one that thankfully won’t bring up any copyrights issues. It’s a continuation of their successful “Edible Cocktails”…
The annual Ballarat Beer Festival is just over a month away, and the program which will be spread across a Saturday is promising their biggest showcase of independently Australian owned craft brewers to date. Set for City Oval on Sat 21st January, the massive showcase will be stacked with over 150 styles of beers and…
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…
Niantic’s Pokemon Go quite obviously paved the way for the next installment in traditional handheld Pokemon games to make a big impact on the video game market. We are now in the seventh generation of the irresistible RPG series and, as expected, dual titles Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon have been breaking sales records since…
Get ready to welcome the new year with menacing grime beats and furious street-minded rhymes as UK duo Krept & Konan plan a visit down under. The underground South London heavy hitters will be charging into the first week of 2017 with a whirlwind visit that’ll see them play two shows: one in Sydney and…
When the team from Sugarcane opened their fiery red and orange homage to vintage tuck shops, Juicy Lucy, success seemed slow but steady. Word of mouth helped get the thing off the ground, seeing as it was on one of the more neglected strips of Surry Hills, but once it took off Juicy Lucy became…
Tucked just off Campbell Parade is where you’ll find The House of Luis Tans (Luis Tans for short), shaped into a space that formerly hosted contemporary Japanese spot PaperPlanes, ditching the Asian pop art for a mature dip into Peruvian chic, a stylish 70’s pastiche helped by vintage posters and stripes of colour. The restaurant…
Rosebery’s food-focused precinct Saporium will be pushing into the holiday season with a two-day festival of sorts, tasking some of their most popular tenants with forming a Christmas market, offering a range of unique gifts and food collaborations. Planned for Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th December, Saporium will transform into a lively marketplace with the…
Look, despite what people like Pauline Hanson may try and show you, the historic Great Barrier Reef is in trouble, and it has been for quite a number of years. While the issue remains a hotbed of contention for politicians, conservationists like those at Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) are doing their best to help…
Each year Westfield shopping centres around Australia push into the Christmas holidays with an enormous amount of sales, all tied into what they call Super Saturday. The Saturday in question is tomorrow, where all 35 Westfield centres around Australia will offer over 200 exclusive offers from their major and independent retailers. To facilitate all your…
From “Best Burger” to “Best Hotel”, New South Wales’ rich hospitality industry was sifted through earlier this week by the annual Australian Hotel Association NSW Awards for Excellence, resulting in winners across 42 categories, celebrating some of the state’s best venues and top performers. The ceremony, which was held at The Star Event Centre, was…
Dr. Sam Prince’s INDU has become quite the force on Sydney’s dining scene, edging to the top with charming contemporary Indian and Sri Lankan food inspired by the Doctor’s time spent in the coastal villages of those regions. The underground CBD restaurant has also just changed up their menu, adding a few more dishes to…
The team at Redfern favourite Milk Bar by Cafe Ish emerged as major competitors on Sydney’s crowded burger scene quite awhile ago, and even since they’ve built a steady stream of regulars with regular specials, some modest and some over the top. This could be their most unique yet, with this week’s burger special taking…
Award winning intermedia artist David Pledger, the team behind Gold Coast’s transformative Bleach* Festival, and QT Hotels & Resorts recently teamed up to debut a thoughtful, possibly game-changing concept going by the name of Hotelling. Apart from the annual Bleach* Festival, there are not too many who would recognise Gold Coast, and specifically Surfers Paradise,…
