Travel & Lifestyle

In an age of modern accommodation, hotels that cater to tradition are a rare breed. Even those which have been standing for a hundred years or more are constantly moving to cater to the trends of modern travel and the needs of the busy traveller. Though flat screen TVs in every room and plenty of…

Every major city has its premiere viewing platform. New York has the Empire State Building. Sydney has the Centrepoint Tower. Auckland has the Sky Tower. And never a city to be outdone, Melbourne has the Eureka Tower, which has its viewing point – the “SkyDeck” – on the 88th floor of the building. At 285…

Siem Reap is the gateway city to Angkor Wat and is where I begin my trip. Entering Angkor Wat from the East Gate and it immediately dominates your line of sight, it’s the largest religious monument in the world. Walking around the ancient complex, it’s hard to grasp how such monumental structures were built. The…

Adelaide has been described as one of the fastest rising and ‘smartest’ cities in the world, with an emerging presence on the global radar to further Australia as a great and diverse country to visit. There’s something about the wide open spaces being only a stone’s throw from the city, or the fact that you’re…

Originally from the Blue Mountains, the boys from Hermitude headed off to perform at Lollapalooza last year. Along the way, Luke Dubber took some happy snaps for the band, who share their experiences here: Still sleep deprived and somewhat delirious, we arrived in Chicago. Driving to the festival downtown we drove past Daley Plaza, which…

The team at Woolloomoolo Manta Restaurant and Bar have announced they are collaborating with local sushi master Hideo Dekura to create a special six-course Japanese dinner matched with sake and wine that promises to take guests on a cultural and culinary journey on Wednesday 25th May. The handcrafted raw sashimi dishes showcased by Dekura will…

Recently announced, The May Dinner Series will be hosted by three of The Star’s signature restaurants: BLACK by ezard, Sokyo and Osteria Balla Manfredi over three evenings this month, featuring exclusive seasonal menus that have been designed to showcase the innovations of the restaurants’ top chefs. “We can’t wait to launch the May Dinner Series, and reveal the sensational…

10 days of wine, food, and art from NSW’s Mudgee region will be coming to Pyrmont Festival this months in the renowned event’s sixth anniversary. From 13th to 22nd May, transporting all that’s great about the famed winemaking region and fitting it across the event, giving guests the chance to experience both the country charm…

Coffee connoisseur Jason Ghebar has been building up the Charlotte brand (with Charlotte Cafe, Charlotte’s Little Sister and Baby Charlotte) since 2008.  What started as a single cafe in Birchgrove then branched out to Manly, Pennant Hills and Mosman, and now the newest member of the Charlotte brand makes its way to the Australian Technology Park,…

Ananas Bar & Brasserie fans bemoaning the departure of their favourite restaurant from The Rocks precinct don’t have to wait for its reopening in Darling Harbour in September to munch on their celebrated French cuisine.  Café Ananas will take over sister restaurant Café Nice‘s location at 2 Phillip Street.  It’s a name and signage change for the Phillip…

The newly-renovated Prahran venue, Mt. Erica Hotel has started a weekly Off The Beaten Truck food truck festival, adding to its already stellar lineup of events, curating a line-up of the city’s best mobile food stores every Sunday in High Street car park, bringing in three or four trucks each week. The festival also features entertainment…

Discerning diners around Sydney have long known that Sixpenny is one of the city’s best, and soon enough the recently opened Silvereye should be joining that rank seeing as Chef Sam Miller has been building up quite the culinary following. The two respected dining destinations will be coming together to collaborate over a special one-night-only…

Straight from South Carolina, the world-renowned pitmaster Rodney Scott will be heading to Sydney for the first time to set up shop in Harpoon Harry’s Public Bar for a two-day-only barbecue pop-up this month. Chef Morgan McGlone, who is currently holding the culinary reigns at the Surry Hills venue, is good friends with Rodney, and…

Another year, another comprehensive list. The Australian Financial Review’s Australia’s Top Restaurants’ Top 100 list was revealed tonight during a ceremony at The Star Sydney, crowning Melbourne’s Attica as the current best in Australia. The second edition of AFR’s yearly celebration of excellence highlights the best of the best in Australia and serves as a…

Bondi locals are about to be gifted something special as BL Burgers continue their expansion by opening up a new branch at Bondi Beach later this Month. As reported by Goodfood.com.au, the now famous burger joint which began in Bar Luca and recently expanded to Oxford Street will be taking over the first-floor space at…

A little less than a year ago, to coincide with the Toronto Pan American Games, the Canadian city finally upgraded the public transport options between their major International Airport, Pearson, and the city’s primary train station in the centre of town, Union – introducing an express train service dubbed the UP (Union Pearson Express). Before, you had…

Located on the North Island of New Zealand, Auckland is renowned as one of the major cities of the Oceania ecozone, an increasingly popular destination for those that use the city as a comfortable base for exploring the wider natural surrounds. The city is also a frequent stop for business travelers in the Southern Hemisphere,…

When most Australians think of Gold Coast attention jumps to the ostentatious area around Cavill Avenue where many teens form their first impressions of the notoriously wild, club-heavy area during Schoolies. That’s a pretty extreme first impression, and sadly it’s one many hold until they actually go back as adults and see Gold Coast for…

In today’s Flight review on AU Abroad, we take you on board Air New Zealand and one of their services from Sydney to Auckland (NZ104). This is an airline who has stayed ahead of many of their competitors, racking up awards just as fast as air miles and it’s all on the back of their…

I assumed a medical marijauna prescription was difficult to get in LA, a token gesture to avoid the bad press of incarcerating the cancer ward that had no impact on the availability of weed for everyone else. When a friend that worked in a dispensary told me it was much looser than this in the…

When most Australians think of Gold Coast attention jumps to the ostentatious area around Cavill Avenue where many teens form their first impressions of the notoriously wild, club-heavy area during Schoolies. That’s a pretty extreme first impression, and sadly it’s one many hold until they actually go back as adults and see Gold Coast for…

Located on the North Island of New Zealand, Auckland is renowned as one of the major cities of the Oceania ecozone, an increasingly popular destination for those that use the city as a comfortable base for exploring the wider natural surrounds. The city is also a frequent stop for business travelers in the Southern Hemisphere,…

The ultra-slick Black by Ezard has been a staple for Sydney’s discerning diners for almost five years now, maintaining the high standards of celebrity chef and owner Teage Ezard with what is presented as a modern modern grill and steak house that feels premium and casual at the same time, an ambiance upheld by it’s…

Ella Fence, whose debut EP Wanderlust garnered international attention, is touring the US, Canada and the UK with her all-female Folk/Pop band. This week the artist has already performed at Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe and last night at New York’s The Bowery Electric, before travelling to Toronto for Canadian Music Week through the first week of May, and…

Equality Needs You is the theme of the 2016 New York City Pride celebration, which will be held from the 19th to the 26th of June at various events and venues across the city’s five boroughs. LGBT rights have come a long way in recent years, but as Chris Frederick, Managing Director of NYC Pride, notes, the theme of…

From December 2013 to June 2014, Andrew Smith was appointed Destination NSW’s “Chief Funster”, and travelled all around NSW to see the best of what our country had to offer. Among this time, he went to Tamworth, joined the AU on a weekend in Newcastle and much more. Now back in the real world (though…

Chicago. Chi-Town. The Windy City. Famous for its deep dish pizza and its gangsters, the largest city in Illinois has all this and more to offer the visitor coming through its fine city. For the music fan, Chicago more than satisfies, especially if you’re in town during Lollapalooza week, as the AU was back in…

Hello Asia! editor Johnny Au visited South Korea’s second most populous city of Busan recently and took the opportunity to see how to explored the city in a day. From taking the KTX (the local bullet train) to picking out a city hop on/hop off tour, come explore this modern coastal city with Johnny. The…

Melbourne’s Owen Rabbit has announced a brief European tour on the back of his recent singles, “Weeds”, “Holy Holy”, and “Denny’s”. The tour will see him play at the iconic music industry showcase The Great Escape in addition to showcases like The Aussie BBQ and venues like Sound Gallery. His DIY experimental-electronica sounds have made…

Delta Air Lines have today announced that they will be the US launch customer for Bombardier’s new C series aircraft, the CS100, with 75 of the aircraft already on order. The introduction of the new planes, due in 2018, will allow the company to reshape and upgrade its narrow-body fleet – 130 of which are being…