Travel & Lifestyle

Now that all three of their venues across Sydney (the original Surry Hills location, North Sydney and Barangaroo) are well-established, Devon Café has never been in a stronger position. The highly influential and pioneering café, which arguably bolstered the cities offensive in its ongoing dining rivalry with Melbourne, remains one of the best and most…

Walking away with the title of best pizza in Australia is nothing to be taken lightly. That’s exactly what Lucio De Falco did at this year’s authoritative World Pizza Championships, snatching the title from the usual suspects and bringing it home to his two Sydney restaurants, Darlinghurst’s acclaimed Lucio and its more recently opened Zetland…

Emirates has become the world’s first airline to introduce virtual reality on its digital platform, allowing would-be flyers access to 3D seat models as part of a visualisation engine displaying a 360-degree view of the interior of both the Emirates A380 and the Emirates Boeing 777. This has been designed especially to give customers a…

Paddington, is the ‘Sunday Best’ suburb of Sydney. Boasting equally chic and affluent Australian fashion labels and hole-in-the-wall art galleries, a quick jaunt down Oxford Street is all you need before you find your steps a little lighter, your smile a little wider. It’s also home to some of the best eateries known throughout Sydney….

Travelers heading over to Finland’s famous three-day Rusirock Festival to see the likes of N.E.R.D and The Chainsmokers will be the first to test out a new electric Taxi service that has found a different way of charging customers for rides, one that doesn’t involve cash, credit or any cryptocurrency. Those taking advantage of the…

While en route from Sydney to Hong Kong on the inaugural flight with Virgin Australia, I caught up with the airline’s Group Executive Rob Sharp to talk about the flight and where VA plans to go from here. You’re launching this Sydney to Hong Kong service a year after your Melbourne flights launched; what have…

Australia’s most divisive spread is taking over! Last month Boost Juice threw a Vegemite smoothie on their new ‘Aussie-themed’ menu) and now Village Entertainment (Village Cinemas and Event Cinemas) have announced a limited edition Vegemite Popcorn. Part of their Chef’s Gourmet Premium Popcorn series, the ubiquitous cinema brand will be offering movie-goers the classic snack,…

Now in its fourth year, the Adelaide Beer & BBQ Festival has made a name for itself as one of the most anticipated events on the South Australian calendar. This year, the event expanded to Sydney for the first time, taking over Moore Park’s Entertainment Quarter for three days of brews, bites and bands. Beer…

Virgin Australia today launches its inaugural flight between Sydney and Hong Kong, the airline’s second direct service to Hong Kong, and its only to (currently) operate seven days a week. The flight, which will take off at 10am this morning and land in Hong Kong at 5.40pm local time, will see a number of special…

We don’t all have the funds to be regulars over at storied Rose Bay restaurant Catalina, but while many may keep this as an occasional indulgence, it’s always well worth seeing how this dining institution is constantly evolving thanks to their unwavering commitment to change. Like most seasonally-focused restaurants, Catalina switches up their signatures with…

The internationally recognised burger brand, RocoMamas has recently chosen Melbourne’s endless dining precinct, Chapel Street, to open its first flagship Australian joint. If you’re planning a visit, expect to get your hands, mouth and face dirty, as the idea behind this menu is to put down the knives and forks and attack their iconic ‘smashed…

Southern Cross Station’s collection of casual eats just took a big step up with the opening of acclaimed Malaysian-born restaurant chain PappaRich. A 40-seater venue was unveiled earlier this week, bringing the authentic flavours of South-East Asia to Melbourne’s CBD with a new-concept lean towards fast service, best represented by self-serve kiosks, a first for…

After a month-long competition resulting in fierce competition between the many different metal scenes of Finland, the official “Capital of Metal” has been named. Lemi, a small municipality with a population of just over 3000 in rural Southeast Finland, has walked away with the honour based upon them having the most dense metal scene in…

Tokyo’s iteration of Marriott International’s energetic and youthful Moxy brand has done well to distinguish itself among the many traditional hotels that lie across the sprawling city. Located in the Sumida Ward, just five minutes on foot from JR Kinshicho Station, the property is a creative and playful entry to a neighbourhood most tourists wouldn’t…

For the first time ever Matt Moran will be taking his iconic Sydney restaurant Chiswick and hosting a 80-seat pop-up iteration at this year’s Splendour in the Grass. The iconic three-day festival will no doubt benefit from Moran’s planted-to-plated approach which has seen Chiswick, both the original in Woollahra and the extension at the Art…

Over the next three days, Melbourne locals will be able to get their hands on a free pair of prescription glasses as popular online retailer VisionDirect.com.au opens its very first Vision Direct Optical Centre in the heart of the CBD. They’ll be going large for their opening week, committing 100 free premium acetate frames and…

After arriving in Barcelona without a suitcase, hours of flight delays and not even a glass of water thanks to British Airways, I was starting to think that non-budget airlines were non-existent in Europe. With the likes of Ryanair and EasyJet defining the budget carrier model for the region, other, once full-service airlines have followed…

Two hours east of Adelaide city lies Australia’s newest world-class motorsport park for competitors, enthusiasts and spectators. Luckily for us, The Bend Motorsport Park’s opening coincided with the launch of the 2018 Mustang it what would be a showcase of Adelaide scenery and adrenaline-charged pleasure. An hour outside of Adelaide we stopped at Wistow Bakery…

A lot has been made about Virgin Australia‘s upgraded A330’s, operating from East to West Coast, in particular their “The Business” product, which offers a flat bed on Australia’s longest domestic route. The acclaim has sat on the quality of the seats, the fact that every seat has aisle access, and on the high quality…

There are millions of interesting little details threaded through the rich, and often controversial, history of Los Angeles, one of the most storied cities in the world thanks to its confluence of just about everything you can think of. It’s one of North America’s most multi-cultural, famed for it’s (mostly) sunny weather and largely distinct…

Arnott’s Shapes are still very much top of the line as far as Aussie snacks go, which should come to no surprise seeing as 230,000 packs of the things are consumed every day across the country (compare that with 100,000 packs of Jatz, and 43,000 packs of Vita-Weat). In a response to the strong-as-ever popularity…

Australians will have greater access to Hawaii over the Christmas holidays as Hawaiian Airlines increase their non-stop service between Brisbane and Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport to up to four weekly flights from 10th December 2018 to 8th January 2019. The expanded summer schedule will see additional flights departing Brisbane at 10:30pm on Mondays,…

We’ve already got Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tarts and Ippudo, so it was only a matter of time before ST Group bought down another very well-known Japanese brand, dipping back into the sweet side with Pafu. Last year the Japanese puff-pastry dessert made a successful debut at QV in Melbourne, so now it’s Sydney’s turn to…

From Banksy to Robert Lewis and Bruno Tanquerel, over 150 artists have left their mark on New York’s unique museum-meets-hotel, The Carlton Arms, converting rooms into one-of-a-kind art experiences. One of the latest artists to contribute to the project is Australia’s own Johnny Mackay, formerly of Children Collide, who now resides in New York and performs as Fascinator….

Virgin Australia’s Velocity Frequent Flyer Points program has this week announces a new partnership with Westpac, aimed at giving new home owners in Australia access to potentially hundreds of thousands of points. The substantial bank of points being offered come with two options, both accessible to Westpac customers who apply for a new home loan…

Following the big-ticket launch of W Brisbane, the first luxury property from W Hotels Worldwide as they steadily re-enter the Australian market, the renowned brand have announced a 593-key property for Sydney. The new-build W Sydney will make its debut in 2020 as part of The Ribbon from award-winning architect Hassel, a $700 million development…

Four bartenders who have been instrumental to the rise of Melbourne’s highly regarded Black Pearl will open a new venue in the CBD later this year. Rob Libecans, Chris Hysted-Adams, Matthew Stirling and Ryan Noreiks will lead the charge at Fancy Free, helping shape the bar as a neighbourhood watering hole in the middle of…

Johnnie Walker Black Label has been re-imagined with the iconic whisky’s latest iteration, a limited edition expression which benefits from part of the blend being matured in former Sherry casks. Officially titled the Black Label Sherry Edition, the whisky was recently launched in the Australian market and has since become one of the more buzzed…

The next instalment in the ongoing seasonal night markets from Carriageworks will pay homage to smoked, spiced and slow-cooked food with “Burning Love”. Teaming up with the infallible Porteño duo of Ben Milgate and Elvis Abrahanowicz, the arts and entertainment hub will host 55 of Sydney’s leading restaurants, bars and producers with special menus worked…

Anna Polyviou, renowned Executive Pastry Chef of Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney will once again be leading charge as she curates the hotel’s 5th annual “Sweet Street” dessert festival at the end of this month. Set for one night only on 29th June, the curated sugar rush will bring in a bunch of the city’s best and…