Reviews

Review: Alpha Restaurant (Sydney) – Greek institution makes some welcome changes

Sydney’s Greek dining institution Alpha has refined their menu further to make Peter Conistis’ cooking more accessible to a wider variety of diners. The major change is that they’ve taken some of their most popular, larger dishes and also included options for smaller sizes so those who really want to indulge, especially groups, can have…

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Eating with the AU: Gelato Messina X Airwick ‘Edible Life Scenes’ pop up (Syndey)

Let’s just say trying to explain how a partnership between connoisseurs of fine gelato and a major air fragrance company may work to anyone elicits some pretty intriguing reactions. However, given Gelato Messina’s rather unique and quirky approach to producing their flavours, it makes sense they’d take inspiration from Airwick’s new Life Scents range, don…

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Eating with the AU: Grill’d Nourish & Flourish Burger launch with nutritionist Lola Berry

Grill’d Ambassador Lola Berry with celebrity personal trainer Dan Adair There’s nothing like a good burger, one that barely fits in your mitts or your mouth, the crunch of fresh ingredients and soft bun giving way as you bite into it, catching driblets of juicy goodness before they stain your shirt. Yep, there are a…

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Eating with the AU: The Smoking Panda’s first birthday – CBD (Sydney)

The Smoking Panda is one of those blink and you’ll miss it places, a nameless sign stamped with a cute furry panda is the only clue that this hidden gem of a bar even exists. Which is just the sort of thing to be expected from its cheeky collaborators barman/mad scientist Grant Collins (White Hart, The Powder…

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Eating with the AU: Taste of Sydney 2015 – Centennial Parklands

Not even sporadic torrents of rain on Friday night could deter the most eager food enthusiasts flocking to the heart of picturesque Centennial Parklands for a chance to dine, shop and learn from a selection of Sydney’s finest culinary innovators, as part of the annual Taste of Sydney premium food and drink festival. A comfortably spaced array of restaurant…

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Eating with the AU: OzHarvest’s fourth annual CEO Cookoff

Larry Emdur with Matt Moran, Ronni Kahn and Guillaume Brahimi In its fourth year of operation OzHarvest’s annual CEO Cookoff gives true meaning to the term ‘pop-up restaurant’ by bringing together the nation’s top chefs and CEOs in a bid to increase awareness of food security, homelessness and food wastage in Australia. The event saw over 120 business leaders…

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Eating with the AU: Gazebo – Dining with Head Chef Jason Dean – Elizabeth Bay (Sydney)

Gazebo has been recently transformed, re-opening its doors late last year to a freshly decked interior celebrative of its rich past. An appreciation for the seamless duality of the venue’s formal indoor and casual outdoor settings is only trumped by Head Chef Jason Dean’s (Pier, Gastro Park) lovingly prepared menu, accented with the special touches…

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Eating with the AU: Beer Deluxe – Federation Square (Melbourne)

Next time I’m heading into the city to meet up with friends at Federation Square they will find me round the back enjoying a beer (or two) at BEER DELUXE – isn’t that just the most fabulous name for a place serving over 250 types of beer plus a decent food menu! Tucked at the…

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Eating with the AU: La Svolta Italian Restaurant – Prahran and Hampton (Melbourne)

As I enter La Svolta I am warmly welcomed by owners Valerio Calabro and Giuseppe ‘Pino’ Russo and I immediately feel like I’ve come to an Italian home as my hand is shook, names are vocalised and I am ushered outside to their new, ready for summer, dining space to eat and drink their exclusive…

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Eating with the AU: OzHarvest 10th birthday celebrations and new HQ launch

“Our Purpose is to Nourish our Country” is proudly emblazoned on the freshly painted walls of the converted warehouse in Alexandria that OzHarvest, Australia’s leading food rescue organisation, has recently opened, with the support of founding partner Goodman Group. The opening is testament to the organisation’s continuing growth and success and is the perfect place to celebrate 10…

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Party with the AU: Melbourne Emporium Official Launch Featuring Baz Luhrmann – CBD (Melbourne)

On a recent, starry night Melbourne’s reimagined retail icon Melbourne Emporium, created and hosted by creative visionary Baz Luhrmann, promised to be one of the biggest, most celebrated events on Melbourne’s calendar this year. We were lucky enough to head along to the launch, melting into the glitz and glamour as this lush shopping precinct…

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Drinking with the AU: Matilda Bay Brewery 30th Birthday (21.05.14)

Matilda Bay Brewery, founded in 1984, threw a 30th birthday party and we were invited to help celebrate their occasion. It was perfect that the party reflected that delicious era of music from the 1980s, but mixed it up with music from the 90s and now. A cab took us to the Matilda Bay Brewery…

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Eating with the AU: Gourmet Food Safari's Italian Gourmet Tour of Haberfield (Sydney)

From the Turkish delights around Auburn to Korean in Eastwood, Greek in Marrickville and Laotian in Canley Heights, Sydney and its surrounds is a treasure trove of some of the world’s finest cuisines. The reasons are perhaps quite obvious: it’s in these areas where you find these nationalities in their greatest numbers. In the case…

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Eating with the AU: Janus Italian at Westfield Sydney

Since the Centrepoint Tower’s shopping centre remodeled and re-opened its doors a few years ago as Westfield Sydney, the emphasis on quality food has been as much a priority as the hosting of the hottest international clothing brands. Their food court is widely regarded as the best in Sydney – with upmarket restaurants providing many…

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Eating with the AU: Taxi Dining Room – Federation Square, Melbourne

I head down to Melbourne several times a year and always stop off at Federation Square for one reason or another; the latest exhibit at ACMI, a meeting at one of the area’s cafes, a concert in the square or a beer at Transport. But never had I had the opportunity to experience the much…

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Eating with the AU: Devon Cafe – Surry Hills, Sydney.

The latest cafe to enter the trendy Surry Hills scene is Devon, appropriately named on the Central end of Devonshire Street; a sort walk away from the crowded Crown and Bourke Streets, in an area of the suburb which always seems to be reinventing itself. Devon is by far the most upmarket cafe to approach…

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Eating with the AU: Marly Kitchen – The Marlborough Hotel (Newtown)

Everyone wants tacos. Tacos tacos tacos. It’s the pub food craze that has turned places like the Norfolk in Sydney into a must go destination (especially on Taco Tuesdays!). They followed a similar objective with the relaunched Abercrombie and even the Newtown Hotel, while the old Excelsior is making a killing as the rebranded Mexican…

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Eating with the AU: Miss Peaches ft. Ray Beadle (Newtown, Sydney)

A long time fan of food from Continental USA’s Southern most regions, it’s fair to say I’m not spoilt for choice when it comes to finding food of a similar style here in Australia – not to mention price. Some of the ingredients we just don’t have readily available here while some dishes just aren’t…

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Eating with the AU: Black Penny – Cleveland St, Surry Hills (Sydney)

Black Penny is one of the latest bars to make a splash in the trendy Surry Hills scene, with a focus on good vibes, classy decor, live music, unique cocktails and shared dishes to enjoy “between friends”, such as the “scallops in a blanket” ($17), pictured above. One of their most popular cocktails is the…

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Eating with the AU: Yebisu Izakaya – Regent Place, Sydney

The touch-screen supported Izakaya has become a more recent addition to the Sydney food scene, with Wagaya and Mizuya both proving popular destinations for both Japanese locals and westerners with Karaoke rooms, booths for almost all guests and a wide and varied selection of food and drinks on hand. Yebisu Izakaya in Regent Place (next…

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Eating with the AU: The Animal at the Newtown Hotel, Sydney

Upstairs at the recently renovated and reopened, ever-so-popular Newtown Hotel – the latest to join the Keystone Group’s run of venues around Sydney – are two exciting additions to the Newtown nightlife. First, a rooftop cinema, and secondly, a brand new restaurant called The Animal, featuring a fusion of Australian and Greek cuisines. Unlike many…

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Eating with the AU: TruckStop at Beach Road Hotel, Bondi

One of the first food trucks to make a stand on the Sydney scene was Eat Art Truck, with a changing menu that focused on an Asian-American fusion of delicacies – and plenty of other influences along the way. Just like Cantina Mobil before them, who recently opened up a physical storefront off Oxford Street,…

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Eating with the AU: Eliunt – Extra Virgin Olive Oil Degustation

Eliunt are a new company on the market whose objective is to serve the finest extra virgin olive oils from around the world, and educate their users along the way. The company, which launched in Australia earlier this year ahead of its plans to expand internationally, currently sells ten oils from ten regions around the…

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Eating with the AU: Austin Eats at Austin City Limits.

This week, the Big Day Out festival has announced a touring festival first in Australia: the concept that food at a festival should be GOOD. With the amount of Food Trucks now popping up, particularly on the East Coast, there’s no longer any excuse that food at festivals should be limited to Dagwood Dogs and…

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