Travel & Lifestyle

Review: Tinker – Northcote (Melbourne)

Forget Port Melbourne, forget Brunswick… things are happening in the little suburb of Northcote that will challenge the most established of Melbourne food hubs. The area now boasts high end restaurants like Estelle by Scott Pickett, St Kilda sweethearts Radio Mexico’s second spot, Norte,  and now the brand new, totally chic, must-visit brunch spot, Tinker….

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Burger Watch: Burgers by Josh pays homage to a classic Maccas special with “The McRibby” (Sydney)

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…

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Belvedere Ice-Pop cocktails have popped up in Zeta Bar (Sydney)

With summer heating up the words “popsicle cocktails” are two of the sweetest things you can hear, and luckily for Sydneysiders the icy concoctions are currently being offered by a Belvedere Ice-Pop Bar which has been set up Hilton Sydney’s famed Zeta Bar. The well established rooftop bar will be pushing back against the relentless…

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GPO Dessert Bar returns to Martin Place with Nutella donuts and chocolate truffle baby cakes (Sydney)

The GPO Grand have brought back their pop-up dessert bar ahead of the holidays, setting up right by Martin Place’s enormous Christmas tree to offer exclusive outdoor seating and a huge range of festive desserts. Under those Bulgari Christmas LED lights Sydneysiders will find the likes of Nutella donuts, loacker gelato, chocolate ricotta cannoli, salted…

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Reynold Poernomo offers special Ferrero Rocher dessert for Christmas at KOI (Sydney)

In just a few weeks renowned dessert chef and new Christmas ambassador for Ferrero Rocher, Reynold Poernomo will be celebrating his Sydney based KOI Dessert Bar being open for a year. What has now become a Kensington Street staple opened late last year and has since become a platform for Poernomo’s inventive approach to desserts,…

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Anna Polyviou’s epic gingerbread house and festive high tea take over Shangri-La Hotel (Sydney)

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Sydney’s Shangri-La Hotel. Executive Pastry Chef, Anna Polyviou and her team of elves have outdone themselves this year with a life-sized gingerbread house full of lolly decorations on display, as well as a Christmas-themed carousel. The introduction of these annual decorations have transformed the atmosphere in…

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Review: Hurricane’s Grill new Circular Quay location mixes classic charcoal with carnivorous delight (Sydney)

Floor to ceiling panes of glass permits natural light to fill the large, open space of the new Hurricane’s Grill location in Circular Quay’s The Gateway precinct. As well as allowing to people-watch as Sydney Harbour and the Ferry terminal lie in view, it brightens up the new restaurant from the popular meat-focused brand. A…

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Direct flights between Australia and London to arrive in 2018

In what is game changing news for the Australian travel industry, Qantas has revealed its plans to provide Australian passengers with the first ever direct service to the United Kingdom. The non-stop service will take place exclusively on Qantas’ 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, which will travel 14,498 kilometres from Perth on the West Coast of Australia,…

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Sydney’s second airport is (finally) given the all clear for construction

Since 1946, there have been plans to build a second airport in Badgerys Creek, about 50 km west of Sydney. In typical political fashion, any progress was continually put on hold, as those in power continued to look for cheaper alternatives (like expanding existing airports in places like Bankstown or Canberra), or simply downgraded its…

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The best Christmas day lunches in Sydney 2016

Sure, you could put your kitchen to the test with a long and laborious Christmas lunch, or you could head out and let some of Sydney’s best restaurants do all that hard work for you. The latter is definitely the better choice. While most shut up shop for the holiday period, many of the finest…

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On the Shelf: Casamigos (Blanco)

Celebrity-owned spirits are often met with cynicism, especially since there are so many of them in market nowadays. They sell though, penetrating the market quite impressively, and ever since Puff Daddy saw some incredible success with Ciroc it seems every month we’re hearing about big names attached to different spirits. Most seem just a quick…

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The Ultimate Australian Christmas Gift Guide

Somewhere in the world right now an overly enthusiastic music publicist is preparing a press release to let you know that yes, Michael Buble has a new release coming, and those dulcet tones could only mean one thing: Christmas! The traditional gift-giving time of the year is but a few weeks away and those who…

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Review: QT Hotel’s Pascale Bar and Grill – CBD (Melbourne)

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…

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Review: The Buena’s Vista Bar – Mosman (Sydney)

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…

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KFC have created a scented candle that smells like fried chicken for some reason

“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

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The Craft & Co is hosting a big European style Christmas Market this weekend (Melbourne)

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’…

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United Polaris International Business Class officially begins roll-out on United Airlines’ fleet

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…

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Recipe: Dan Hunter’s Summer Roast Chicken

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…

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Review: Devon Cafe brings their award winning food to Barangaroo (Sydney)

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…

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Edible Cocktails: classic drinks reimagined as food at Loch & Key this month (Melbourne)

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”…

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More than 40 craft brewers announced for Ballarat Beer Festival (VIC)

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…

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Burger Watch: Bar Luca get cheesy with new Beverly Hills Cop burger (Sydney)

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…

Read more

Hotel Review: Hilton Brisbane brings five star accommodation and dining to a whole new level in Brisbane’s CBD

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…

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Delta and Virgin Australia are partnering with the 6th AACTA Awards; launch massive competition

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…

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UNESCO’s “Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” provides a remarkable blueprint to global culture

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…

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A photographic journey to the Pacific Ring of Fire: My Ford SUV Experience in the Philippines

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…

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Review: Juicy Lucy Diner – Surry Hills (Sydney)

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…

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Review: Luis Tans – Bondi (Sydney)

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…

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Review: South Brisbane’s Gauge serves up an outstanding lunch menu

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…

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Queensland on top as Australian Traveller reveals Peoples Choice Award winners for 2016

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…

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