Travel & Lifestyle

With its industrial-chic interior design inspired by the ‘Paris end’ of Collins Street, QT Melbourne’s signature restaurant, Pascale Bar and Grill feels almost tailor made for Melbourne foodies who love a fashionable and luxurious fine-dining experience. Everything in the dimly-lit restaurant; from the stuffed peacock, the grand staircase adorned with a plush sapphire-blue carpet, right…

Long-standing pub The Buena in Mosman has revealed its new look after an $8 million refurbishment collaborating with SJB Interiors and Tess Regan Designs. A redevelopment which not only includes Culinary Ambassador Guillaume Brahimi bringing over an extension of his famous Bistro Moncur, but a big revamp to the venue’s pub food focused menu. Upstairs…

“Why not make it smell like Fried Chicken”. No they are not the famous last words from KFC founder Colonel Harland David Sanders, but the reasoning behind a very odd product, spoken by CMO Kevin Hochman. It’s what he told Business Insider when approached about the very curious release of (extra crispy) fried chicken scented

With Christmas a few mere weeks away, the team behind The Craft & Co are hosting their very first Christmas market on December 11, to be held in the multi-faceted Collingwood space, which is regularly used as an eatery, distillery, brewery, and a coffe roaster among many others. With the motivation of ‘paddock to plate’…

This past week, United Airlines‘ new Polaris International Business Class began its roll-out, with the launch of a new inflight food and beverage experience, bedding from Saks Fifth Avenue, new amenities from Soho House & Co’s Cowshed Spa and the first Polaris lounge, which opened at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. Saks Fifth Avenue’s new bedding…

Stacks and stacks of cookbooks are released into the world each year, but there are always those select through that break through to ‘must own’ status. Made With Love is truly one of those cookbooks, simply because it brings together some of the most acclaimed and renowned chefs in the world to each share recipes…

A few years ago, Surry Hills’ much awarded Devon Cafe expanded to include a spin-off a few suburbs over, gifting Waterloo Devon on Danks, an enormously popular venture that allowed for some bigger turns into the flavour-rich world of Asian fusion. As an essential brunch destination, the cafe dominated Danks street right up until it…

The team behind Bottoms Up Bartenders (who earlier this year made headlines with plans for a Ron Burgundy bar only to be shut down by Paramount Pictures) have returned just in time for one final event before Christmas, one that thankfully won’t bring up any copyrights issues. It’s a continuation of their successful “Edible Cocktails”…

The annual Ballarat Beer Festival is just over a month away, and the program which will be spread across a Saturday is promising their biggest showcase of independently Australian owned craft brewers to date. Set for City Oval on Sat 21st January, the massive showcase will be stacked with over 150 styles of beers and…

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…

Situated in the heart of the Brisbane CBD, the Hilton Brisbane is a five star hotel which has served the city for some thirty years. It’s a rather grand – yet unassuming building – nestled in the skyline and offering quite a skyline of its own inside; an open lobby and a glass elevator looking…

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) has announced a brand new partnership with Virgin Australia and Delta Air Lines, with the strategic alliance partners now sitting as the Exclusive Airline Partners of the 6th Annual Awards in Sydney as well as the AACTA International Awards in Los Angeles. The partnership will see…

Last week, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage added 12 new inscriptions to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. These are forms of expression that “testify to the diversity of intangible heritage and raises awareness of its importance”. You can view all 366 items…

Named after Prince Philip II of Spain in 1543 by Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, The Philippines is a collection of over 7000 islands, situated on the edge of the Pacific Ring of Fire; an area prone to earthquakes and typhoons. It was this beautiful tropical land that was chosen by Ford to showcase…

When the team from Sugarcane opened their fiery red and orange homage to vintage tuck shops, Juicy Lucy, success seemed slow but steady. Word of mouth helped get the thing off the ground, seeing as it was on one of the more neglected strips of Surry Hills, but once it took off Juicy Lucy became…

Tucked just off Campbell Parade is where you’ll find The House of Luis Tans (Luis Tans for short), shaped into a space that formerly hosted contemporary Japanese spot PaperPlanes, ditching the Asian pop art for a mature dip into Peruvian chic, a stylish 70’s pastiche helped by vintage posters and stripes of colour. The restaurant…

Located just across the street from the South Bank’s art and gallery precinct (including the GoMA, which is currently celebrating their 10th birthday), is a small and unassuming cafe/restaurant that produces a Michelin-star quality food at reasonable prices. Jerome Batten is the man behind Gauge, a role he juggles while also helming Sourced Grocer, a…

Last week, The Australian Traveller People’s Choice Awards crowned their 2016 winners, with Queensland coming out on top, winning in six categories – including three for Hamilton Island, best beach for Whitehaven, best family holiday spot for the Gold Coast) and sexiest hotel pool for Palazzo Versace in Surfers Paradise (pictured above). Meanwhile, the recently…

Rosebery’s food-focused precinct Saporium will be pushing into the holiday season with a two-day festival of sorts, tasking some of their most popular tenants with forming a Christmas market, offering a range of unique gifts and food collaborations. Planned for Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th December, Saporium will transform into a lively marketplace with the…

New Zealand’s national carrier Air New Zealand has teamed up with multi-platinum artist Ronan Keating and young Hunt for the Wilderpeople star Julian Dennison to record a witty Kiwi interpretation of the Christmas Classic “Walking in a Winter Wonderland”. Given the Southern Hemisphere celebrates Christmas in the Summertime, you will quickly understand the direction that…

Look, despite what people like Pauline Hanson may try and show you, the historic Great Barrier Reef is in trouble, and it has been for quite a number of years. While the issue remains a hotbed of contention for politicians, conservationists like those at Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) are doing their best to help…

As a well-endowed dining district, Melbourne is a hub for innovative food trends and quality multicultural cuisine. However, it is The Meat and Wine Co that fills the small gap missing in this foodie city with their Afro-centric style. Specialists in premium meats, wine and trending dishes, The Meat and Wine Co recently launched a…

Each year Westfield shopping centres around Australia push into the Christmas holidays with an enormous amount of sales, all tied into what they call Super Saturday. The Saturday in question is tomorrow, where all 35 Westfield centres around Australia will offer over 200 exclusive offers from their major and independent retailers. To facilitate all your…

From “Best Burger” to “Best Hotel”, New South Wales’ rich hospitality industry was sifted through earlier this week by the annual Australian Hotel Association NSW Awards for Excellence, resulting in winners across 42 categories, celebrating some of the state’s best venues and top performers. The ceremony, which was held at The Star Event Centre, was…

Following the roll out of Harry Potter and Simpsons themed worlds at their Theme Parks around the world, Universal Studios has announced this week that they will be adding new Nintendo-themed areas to their parks in Japan, Orlando and Hollywood. Japan and Orlando come as little surprise, especially with the company being based in Japan,…

With some two hundred names on its lineup, the 17th edition of the music festival Primavera Sound in Barcelona is shaping up to be one of the most impressive yet. As it did this year, the majority of the event will take place as a paid, ticketed event at Parc del Fòrum, whilst the Raval…

Dr. Sam Prince’s INDU has become quite the force on Sydney’s dining scene, edging to the top with charming contemporary Indian and Sri Lankan food inspired by the Doctor’s time spent in the coastal villages of those regions. The underground CBD restaurant has also just changed up their menu, adding a few more dishes to…

The team at Redfern favourite Milk Bar by Cafe Ish emerged as major competitors on Sydney’s crowded burger scene quite awhile ago, and even since they’ve built a steady stream of regulars with regular specials, some modest and some over the top. This could be their most unique yet, with this week’s burger special taking…

Award winning intermedia artist David Pledger, the team behind Gold Coast’s transformative Bleach* Festival, and QT Hotels & Resorts recently teamed up to debut a thoughtful, possibly game-changing concept going by the name of Hotelling. Apart from the annual Bleach* Festival, there are not too many who would recognise Gold Coast, and specifically Surfers Paradise,…

The NSW Tourism industry and its successes were celebrated recently for 2016 with this year’s ceremony held at Sydney’s Luna Park. Winners, awarded in Gold, Silver and Bronze categories were announced for a range of categories including Major Festivals and Events, Major Tourist Attractions and Ecotourism. Included in this the Gold level winners were the…