Travel & Lifestyle

Meatmother in Melbourne has been relaunched and reinvented. The restaurant remains dedicated to the importance of ethically-raised, quality produce, but the menu and cooking techniques have seen some changes. Previously well-known for its American BBQ, the new Meatmother now draws upon BBQ techniques from around the world, and will be grilling, smoking, roasting and barbecuing over premium white charcoal….

Although The Toothsome Chocolate Factory  carefully avoids official affiliation with Willy Wonka, this chocolate factory and “savory feast emporium” is planned to bring an “out-of-this-world” dining experience to the CityWalk at Universal Studios, Orlando. The factory incorporates the surrealism of Steampunk, including “smoke stacks, funky gadgetry, and staff wearing unique Steampunk fashion”, along with the dream-like…

Saké Double Bay has become famous for one particular dessert that seems to pop up in Instagram almost everyday now. Their large Dragon Egg dessert has caught the attention of many a discerning diner in the area and has become a tradition for some. It’s not hard to see (or taste) why. That Valrhona dark…

Ahead of adding new items to their menu from this weekend, Din Tai Fung have announced a special themed bun to help bring in Easter holidays and state school holidays this year, as well as celebrate the release of Kung Fu Panda 3. Instead of your typical Easter Bunny, the acclaimed dumpling chain will be…

Canadian mega-fest Festival d’été de Québec has dropped quite the dizzying line up of international and local artists, many of whom have had an indelible impact on music’s history, performing alongside future legends across rock, pop, adult contemporary, metal, country, indie, Americana, folk, hip hop, electronica, and pretty much everything else you can think of….

Universal Studies Hollywood has announced the opening of a permanent walk-through attraction based on The Walking Dead. The previously seasonal, limited-time attraction based on the popular US television show will now be enhanced and open to guests all 365 days of the year. The show that will be replicated in the attraction depicts the story…

There are some very big things going down in Sydney this weekend, with the most super-sized being the start of The 20th Biennale of Sydney. So much mind-bending, challenging activities and art exhibitions will be spread across seven Sydney venues fashioned as “Embassies of Thought”; it’s a packed program with something for pretty much everyone…

Australia’s largest and fastest growing health food and lifestyle hub will open its sixth store in Sydney’s Lane Cove on Thursday 31 March 2016. From under one ethical, sustainable roof, About Life offers the services of a wholefood supermarket, café, self-service food bar and catering company. The range of natural groceries offered, from staples to…

As March Into Merivale approaches it’s end for another year so too does the big Coogee Foreshore Festival at Coogee. Easily one of the biggest and best events of the comprehensive Merivale food and wine festival, the event brings an afternoon of eating and drinking by the beach as both inside and outside the sprawling…

Tigerair are today putting on two very tempting sales to further their commitment to affordable travel. The first is following the concept of ‘pay to go on way, return for $1’ as they look to do something special for the approaching Easter holidays. The second sale will be to celebrate the recently launched services to…

Sydney winery Cake Wines, since appearing on the scene five years ago, have been consistently sharing their love of wine culture with the wider public, with a commitment to accessibility, and now they have their first permanent Cellar Door in Sydney to spread that love even further. Staying true to their social approach, they’ll continue to hold exclusive…

When a partnership between serial purveyors of cereal Kellogg’s announced that they were teaming up with Gelato Messina for a limited edition flavour we had some pretty good guesses as to what this could result in. We were hoping for something to do with Aussie childhood fav Coco Pops, and it seems Messina had the…

This competition is now closed.. Over 18? Like heritage beers? Dig live music? If yes then we’ve got a pretty sweet competition for you. McCracken’s – one of Australia’s first and one of the 6 heritage breweries that untied to form Carlton and United – is launching McCracken’s Amber Ale on Tuesday 22nd March with…

This week we fly the only direct Sydney to New Delhi route with Air India on the Dreamliner 787 (Australia’s first Boeing 787 Dreamliner service). Does the Dreamliner live up to the hype? AU takes a flight (a whole 12 hours and 10 minutes) to suss it out. Airline: Air India Route: Sydney to New…

Melbourne’s popular Gauchito Gil’s Malbec World Day is making its way to Sydney for the first time, with the event set for Saturday, 23rd April. Named for the legendary, Robin Hood-like Argentine character, Gauchito Gil (who was also known as the Patron Saint of Thieves), the event is organised through Bottle Shop Concepts, who have also run events Game of Rhones and…

Sydney label Future Classic should be a name known to all discerning dance lovers around the world know, in previous years they’ve put out gems from the likes of Flume, Chet Faker, and Charles Murdoch, and know they’re getting into the fashion game with a special eyewear collabo with New York’s well-respected Moscot. Releasing the…

Sydney! This is your final chance to get into Rene Redzepi’s Noma Australia pop-up before the much-discussed residency comes to a close. In support of OzHarvest and Redzepi’s food-talk festival MAD, the final 15 tables to this highly sought after dining experience have now been put up for auction and will remain up until 8pm…

Over 10,000 people clicked attending for Hashtag Burgers’ inaugural Burgerpooloza, a gathering of some of the best damn burgers you can find in Sydney. That’s significantly more numbers than organisers Ben Kagen and Archie Saliba could have possibly expected when they rounded up the likes of Pub Life Kitchen and Bar Luca for this burger…

Sydneysiders, Melbournites and for the first time ever, Kiwis rejoice! The hugely popular and expansive GABS Beer, Cider & Food Festival (formerly known as the Great Australasian Beer SpecTAPular) is back bigger, better and more bevvy laden than ever before in May, and will see more than 400 craft beers and ciders including 120 ‘Festival…

Those who have been to Dee Why Hotel know that their beloved beast-of-a-burger The Trufflenator means business. It’s a serious smack of flavour with rare fungus used to create a unique truffle mayo that brings character to the stack with double Wagyu beef, truffle butter, truffle infused provolone, truffle maple syrup, crispy bacon, American cheddar,…

Perched at the top of a very steep street is where you’ll find the very European looking Martinique Whitsunday Resort, sticking out amongst the dozens of resorts which line the street, with it’s big private balconies and sandstone look. It’s a truly magnificent collection of multi-room apartments and luxury accommodation to base yourself out of…

Teeling Whiskey seems to be setting it’s sights on making Irish Whiskey the most popular spirit in the world once again, leading the huge resurgence the spirit category has seen in recent years. The young, multi-award winning, unconventionally independent producer has expanded to 46 countries in recent years, Australia being one of the most recent,…

Chippendale’s Kensington Street Social has now had more than enough time to settle into it’s groove as the third new opening at The Old Clare Hotel. The menus and cocktail list here have already been a hot topic for discerning diners and drinkers in the area, many of whom have the good sense to also…

New Zealand’s capital of Wellington has sprung to life with a variety of unmissable events to welcome in Autumn, particularly a big street festival celebrating one of the most famous areas of the city, Cuba Street. With more cafes, bars and restaurants per capita than hustle-and-bustle New York City, Wellington is also known as “the…

Award-winning bartender Pasan Wijesena of Earl’s Juke Joint fame is about to take a bold step into the universe of pop-culture themed venues with a David Lynch inspired bar right around the corner in a space that was once occupied by Enmore’s Anna Thai. The Enmore Road drinking hole will undoubtedly be all types of…

The Coogee Foreshore Festival returns to Coogee Pavilion on Sunday the 20th of March. The festival is part of the eighth annual March into Merivale, the popular five-week food and drink program bolstered by dozens of Merivale’s restaurants and bars to showcase the work of their group chefs. Food and drink stalls, live performances by The…

With the growing trend of tea appreciation in Australia, Tea Festivals Australia (organisers of Sydney Tea Festival) will be bringing Melbournians a tea celebration of their own. 2016 will mark the inauguration of the Melbourne Tea Festival, to be held on Sunday 29th May from 9am-4pm. Taking place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre,…

The Morrison’s 2016 Annual Crab Carnival is back for its third year, which will see Executive chef and owner of The Morrison Sean Connolly deliver crowd favourite crab dishes, as well as a handful of new additions. This year’s event will introduce Salt & Pepper Crab Legs and bite sized Crab Hush Puppies, alongside some old favourites…

Next weekend, on Sunday to be exact, the stunning Wulugul Walk by the water at Barangaroo will be the location for an unprecedented burger war dubbed “Burger Kings”, pitting six of Sydney’s best against each other to be judged by a panel made of ravenous Sydneysiders, including you – yes, you. It’ll be a free…

At the world’s largest international travel fair, CEO of Qatar Airways, Mr Akbar al Baker announced that the airline will be expanding its network to include 14 new destinations across four continents, with the latest announcement including expansions in Europe and a new route between Doha and Auckland, which takes the spot as one of…