Travel & Lifestyle

Anyone who’s travelled internationally has arrived at airports and seen the different lines that have been set up for different passport holders; some being expedited through automated systems, others needing to wait to have their passport checked, often with pre-organised Visas embedded. But some passports are more powerful than others. The most powerful provides visa-free…

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…

Following their massive 160-stall deep Christmas markets the good folk at Carriageworks have announced that they will be hosting a Chinese New Year market curated by Kylie Kwong in partnership with Sydney Festival. And the renowned chef has gone all out for her part in the market, bringing in over 50 stallholders from Neil Perry’s…

Prahran’s The Cullen Hotel, a member of the acclaimed Art Series Hotel Group, is regularly referenced as one of Melbourne’s very best and brightest properties. For years now, the youthful hotel has thriving on not only a high standard of boutique accommodation, but in-house dining as well, an aspect which has taken a recent leap…

The popular Surry Hills restaurant and bar, Salaryman, quickly became known for seasonal left-centre takes on traditional ramen when it first opened in 2015. Glowing reviews and booming business sustained the concept for a year, but as a strong following built it became clear that a focus on ramen just wasn’t enough, hence a thorough…

The count down to christmas is fast approaching, and for foodie enthusiasts it is one of the best times of the year, for obvious reasons: lots of freakin’ food. If it is your turn hosting this year’s Xmas lunch, or you’re in need of a head-turning dishes to add to to the table, then Bondi Harvest…

Technology has well and truly collided with our hunger for food and cravings for convenience. The emergence of food delivery applications like Foodora, Deliveroo and the latest, Ubereats, are making life incredibly easy: we can now scroll through hundreds of colourful, enticing food options from a huge range of cuisines, and have our choices hand-delivered straight to our…

The world’s finest ultra-luxury cruise line Seabourn has unveiled the first images of its newest all-suite vessel, Seabourn Encore, which launched in Marghera, Italy, earlier this month. The 40,350-GRT vessel has been designed by Adam D. Tihany, and is filled with modern design elements and innovations that balance out Seabourn’s reputation for understated elegance. The…

In today’s flight review, we return to Canada to try out Air Canada’s business class service on board their short flight from Alberta’s capital Edmonton, to Vancouver in British Columbia. This is often the sort of flight you’d make before connecting to the late night service back to Australia, however I opted to spend 24…

Almost two years old, the Hilton Garden Inn in Burlington, Vermont remains the newest major addition to the accommodation you’ll find in Vermont’s largest city – a city you can learn more about in our Ultimate Guide to Burlington. The hotel, like much of the city it sits in, is a mix of old and…

For many Australians, Singapore is seen as the country with “that amazing airport”, which serves as a gateway to Asia. You start here – flying in with airlines like Singapore or Scoot – before travelling onto other destinations in Asia or Europe. Those that spend time here may only be able to fit in a…

Earlier this month, The five star Hyatt Regency officially opened its doors in Sydney, taking over Australia’s largest upscale hotel, the 892-room Four Points by Sheraton right next to Darling Harbour. The opening came after a massive $250 million redevelopment that, in addition to an upgrade of the rooms and the extensive expansion of their…

Sydneysiders who have fond memories of dining at Saigon Street in Bali will be happy to know that the popular eatery has been brought across the waters to four locations across Sydney, all opened recently by Aki Kotzamichalis (co-founder of the island’s famed Ku De Ta). Local chef Phil Davenport, who was Ku De Ta’s…

Fratelli Fresh’s fast-casual pizzeria spin-off, Fratelli Famous, has been very well received in Sydney and Melbourne this year, expanding as part of Rockpool Dining Group’s (formerly Urban Purveyor Group) ambitious plans that have seen the hospitality group grow immensely in 2016. Now it’s Brisbane’s turn to get the city’s first Fratelli Famous, and where better…

Popular Asian dessert chain Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart, which originated in Malaysia earlier this year, are said to turn over around 20,000 baked cheese tarts pet day. It’s this kind of popularity that has allowed for an easy and rapid expansion into other markets, and the latest to benefit is Australia with four stores in…

Revealed just a few weeks out, Kingsford favourite The Regent has thrown open their doors to the public following an extensive makeover that has seen changes to both the interior and the pub’s food and bev offerings. The popular student haunt now sports a restored heritage ceiling and a design that has gone street-level with…

Newly appointed Head Chef George Fowler ha brought a sharp focus on seasonal and sustainably sourced produce to make some changes at Potts Point favourite The Butler. Now with a team that also includes Danish-born Executive Chef Kasper Christensen (ex-Quay) and regular foraging sessions with forager and chef Elijah Holland (who worked with Kasper at…

As the city of Sydney approaches the holiday season and its famously crisp summer, the very approachable Vibe Hotel Rushcutters Bay has unveiled a substantial makeover as well as their brand new bar-eatery Storehouse on the Park, bringing the property into the same league as Vibe Hotel Canberra Airport and Vibe Hotel Marysville, all of…

Tour operators need to change and evolve with the times, constantly looking at what young travelers actually want in order to curate their various itineraries and offer as much value as they can. Of course, one of the best known for Australians, Topdeck, is no exception here, evidenced by several new programs which will offer…

Earlier this year, one of the most highly regarded boutique hotel brands in the country, Art Series Hotel Groups, finally opened the doors to their long-awaited Queensland debut, The Johnson, followed an extensive three-year renovation of the heritage listed Main Roads Building. Like its sister hotels, the property pushes light-hearted luxury with a link to…

Sometimes it pays to be a little over-the-top, which should explain the success of The Thirsty Wolf’s colourful “Unicorn Month” which recently ran throughout November. It’s pretty straight forward, for an entire month the popular Newtown bar replaced a typical Melbourne cup celebrate with a four-week homage to a different breed of horse, channeling the…

Canadian Club are getting in on that slice of summer celebration by introducing pop-up racquet clubs across Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane for December and January. In an effort to build anticipation for one of the country’s largest annual sporting events, the Australian Open, the pop ups will be using some of the country’s best known…

After three months of renovations, Crowne Plaza Surfers Paradise has unveiled some enhancement to their public spaces as well as two new dining venues, a wine bar named Balthazar and a specialty restaurant named SIFU, both located on the ground floor of the popular hotel. Having been named for a 12 litre wine bottle, Balthazar…

Melbourne go-to Dukes Coffee Roasters has officially expanded to Sydney with South by Dukes, a slick new venue in the lower of Tower One in the Streets of Barangaroo precinct. Long known as one of the most highly-regarded specialty coffee roasters in Melbourne, Dukes has built a sizable following for their signature beans which are…

Following the successful entry of Yayoi into the Australian dining scene, Japan-based company Plenus have begun what they hope will be a nationwide expansion for another one of the popular brand’s, Hotto Motto. The well known bento box chain, which boasts around 2,656 locations world wide, has chosen Sydney’s The Galeries as their first port…

One of Bondi’s best known venues, the beachside Hotel Ravesis, has pushed into the summer holidays with a complete refurbishment, revealing what is perhaps one of the area’s largest and most impressive changes in years. The two-storey space now has brand new interiors for the ground-floor, the balcony and the restaurant & bar spaces, as…

Rockpool Dining Group’s rapidly expanding Saké Jr has just seen a second venue open up for Melbourne, this time at St Collins Lane. The popular fast-casual spin off to Sake Restaurant & Bar debuted earlier this year as part of a larger expansion for Urban Purveyor Group (now Rockpool Dining Group following a merger with…

After being named fastest growing food chain last year, Guzman Y Gomez have designs on expanding their Mexican fast food beyond expectations come 2017, recently announcing at least 12 drive-through outlets to roll out across Australia over the next 12 months. As reported by The Australian, the popular Mexican chain [which honestly deserves the praise]…

For the past few years, locals and visitors have been watching Jupiters Gold Coast stand at the forefront of an enormous wave of change for the area. 2015 and 2016 especially have seen the tourist destination take on a dramatic evolution ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth Games, from artists taking over nearby hotels to a…

With the gradual easing of sanctions and restrictions on Cuba from the USA (at least under Obama’s administration), U.S. Operators are, for the first time in some 55 years, able to provide their passengers service between mainland USA and Cuba. It all started back in August when JetBlue hosted the first scheduled commercial passenger flight,…