Category: FEATURES

Celebrate World Pride London at the LaLit Hotel

LaLiT Pride brunch 3

London’s gone rainbow for World Pride 2019, which will hit the city this Saturday, 6 July and what better way to celebrate than with food and drink? Hotel icon the LaLit London will put on a spread across two days, one for celebrating and the other for lamenting how hard you went; ideal for any party-goer. Friday 5 July will see them turn their Indian offering at Baluchi into an explosion of gay goodness, featuring drag, dining and debauchery. Think, a decadent four course dinner, canapes and drinks, all curated by chef Santosh Shah and an-hour-and-a-half of free-flowing prosecco, wine or beer. Star studded acts include trans icon Amanda Lepore, and the wildly distorted and ever avant-garde Hungry, plus many more. Diner’s £130 per person and you can grab tickets here. Meanwhile, the morning after wouldn’t be complete with a stylish simmer session, putting on all kinds of glamorousness to help ease the headache away. A hearty brunch comprising hair of the dog, the Pride brunch menu will include the likes of samosa chaat with sweet yogurt and tamarind chutney, and slow-braised pork belly with honey and chilli glaze. All from 12-2 it’s £40 a pop. Get tickets here.

The Sydney South Coast Food & Wine Festival is back

South Coast food wine 1

Down in Berry, South of Sydney, the South Coast Food and Wine Festival is back, serving up some of the country’s best regional food and wine. From Friday 13 – Sunday 15 September the festival promises to showcase the very best the South Coast has to offer. To the tune of over 15 events, there’ll be cooking classes, demos and tastings from local hero chefs, hatted restaurants hosting pop-ups, first-rate South Coast vineyards, and superb local producers, all supported by a vibrant array of free live music and entertainment. Food and wine on offer is 100% from south coast producers, thanks to the talents of over 50 stallholders expected to be showcasing delicacies from all over the region. Think seafood, cheese, berries, wines and much more for hungry and curious food lovers. Tickets to the South Coast Food & Wine Festival cost just $28pp and are on sale now at the Festival’s website. WHAT: The South Coast Food & Wine FestivalWHERE & WHEN: Friday 13– Sunday 15 September 2019 Berry Showgrounds, Berry, NSWTICKETS: $28pp

Taste of London: Blondie’s Kitchen does delightful desserts

Blondies Kitchen

The weather in London couldn’t be worse for it, but the food festival known around the world as Taste is back in town and showcasing a tonne of great foodie favourites. From Wednesday 19 – 23 June, Taste will take over London’s Reagent’s Park (get tickets here) in Marylebone – right near the food hub of Fitzrovia – to celebrate the London food scene and put the spotlight on some city favourites. One favourite of which is Blondie’s Kitchen: an independent operation by Chelsie and Kristelle whose love for food and the the chemistry they had working alongside one another in the kitchen gave birth to their proverbial food baby that’s taking the city, one sweet tooth at a time. They’re super excited to be apart of the festival this year, offering up some items that can only be found in the grounds. “We’re going to be serving hot cookie dough, fresh from the oven, topped with ice cream and we’ve never done this before,” said Chelsie. “You can expect lots of sweet happiness this year! We’re even topping our hot milk choc cookie dough with Frosties cereal milk ice cream. We’re also super excited to be the only dessert offering in the Deliveroo restaurant pop up. It looks so cool! You sit down, sample some dishes from around Taste and get served to your table,” she said. The festival’s all about making food accessible, enjoyable, social and much for fuel for the bod as it is about bringing people together for a chill and… Read More

Driving the east coast of Australia: Holden Equinox just makes road trips

James Banham standing in a Holden Equinox SUV car to take a picture of the ocean

It feels sturdy enough to take control of the road, its seats really hug you and make you feel secure, its acceleration and steering are super sensitive so you’re in control and it’s just damn nice to look at. This is the Holden Equinox SUV and it’s a dream to drive. It’s the kind of car you want your Mum to have, so you can steal it; it’s the kind of ride you want to make your friends jealous and it’s the kind of wheels you want for your life because it’s so damn practical. Here’s why. The size The Holden Equinox is chunky, yet funky, and sports all the perks of a regular inner city ride with more grunt to get you from A-to-B in the chassis of a car that’s build to carry a tonne. Think of it as your road suitcase. A spare wardrobe? Done. A kayak? Probably. A repository for everything you’re taking camping? Too easy. It’s got a seat-up and folded capacity of 846L and 1796L, so you know it’s built for loads. The tank Couple its hefty sizeable size, with a fuel tank capacity of 55L for the FWD and 59 for the AWD, it’ll get you there and back – and then some. This almost alone makes it the ideal SUV for coastal trips, weekends away and general city zipping for the times you need to just live. The look The Holden Equinox is a nice-looking ride. In addition to its size, the fuel economy and general usefulness… Read More

LONDON: Immigration and Modern Britain – The Kaleidoscope exhibition at Somerset House

Somerset House Kaleidoscope

There’s a new exhibition that puts Britain’s relationship with the rest of the world and its nationalities on the map, so to speak. It’s going down at Somerset House, right in the heart of London and it’s called Kaleidoscope; exploring the identity of immigration in modern Britain. The exhibition will contain stills and video, showcasing the works of ten photographers born or based in Britain, many with family origins abroad including Hong Kong, India, Jamaica and Russia. It’ll explore what it means and how it feels to live as an immigrant, or a descendent of immigrants, in Britain today. It all stems from personal experiences to evoke some sort of emotion in visitors to the exhibition and tell the story of a nation’s wide and varied multiculturalism. Think stories of the struggles of asylum seekers and stories of second and third generation immigrants in forms that are as moving as they are engaging, all presented in the striking environs of Somerset House. See the Kaleidoscope exhibition from 12 June to 8 September 2019 on Sat – Tues, 10.00 – 18.00, Wed – Fri, 11.00 – 20.00, except for 11 – 21 July and 8 – 21 August, when daily opening hours are 10.00 – 18.00. Get tickets from the Somerset House website.

LONDON: COYA’s annual summer white party takes over the city this June

Girl white party

There’s at least one place you should know (amongst thousands) in London and it’s COYA. They’ve started a bottomless, boozy brunch recently, but it’s their annual white party that really puts them top of the must-visit list, The annual summer time COYA white party right in the middle of London is coming around soon, on 20 June. They call it La Noche Blaca and it’s all about a transformation of the rooftop garden at 1 Angel Court into the back streets of Lima where guests can taste the flavours of Peru and enjoy COYA’s signature cocktails looking over the city skyline. It’s a dress-in-white thing, all part of the party vibe. Just be careful when it comes to gorging on Peruvian stalls’ street-style dishes of their popular Atun Chifa ceviche, pork tacos and the irresistible Churros con Chocolate. They’ll be pumping out pisco sours and Perrier Jouet champagne, the DJs will turn up the volume as the sun goes down and special performers will immerse guests throughout the evening, basically transporting them to Lima. If drinks are your thing and chic outfits in white also do it for you, this is for you. Head along to La Noche Blanca at COYA in London on 29 June for £25 per person. Get tickets here. Find them at Rooftop garden, 7th Floor, 1 Angel Court, 31-33 Throgmorton Street EC2N.

SYDNEY: Dinner at 6HEAD in The Rocks: Why you need to go

6HEAD Sydney view

Behind every great venue is a story and the recently opened 6HEAD restaurant located in the stunning Campbell Cove waterfront precinct east of The Rocks has quite the story to tell. Headed up by talented Executive Chef Sean Hall, 6HEAD is all about providing an exceptional steakhouse experience, working in collaboration with some of the country’s finest producers of quality Australian beef including Collinson & Co, Mayura Station and Tender Valley. The name 6HEAD takes us back to 1788, when the first fleet arrived with only 6 head of cattle – two bulls and four cows – which were sourced from South Africa on the long voyage from England to Australia. On arrival, a convict was tasked with keeping an eye on the cattle, however after coming back from a break, he realised the cattle had disappeared. No word on what happened to the convict, but it wasn’t until 8 years later that stories emerged about 100 head of healthy cattle spotted across the Nepean River. It was suspected the herd were direct descendants of the original 6 head, raising hopes beyond the colony that Australia had the capability to produce excellent cattle. The rest they say, is history. Fast forward to 2019, where the spirit of this story lives on at 6 Head and is the driving force behind Hall’s team, resulting in an enjoyable culinary journey. 6HEAD is unpretentious and friendly with a menu that will have you salivating from the word go. From starters including braised short rib croquettes to possibly the… Read More

Visit the top Game of Thrones destinations in Spain by train

Train

What’s awesome about Europe is how close everything is – rude – but it means that within a day in most cases, you can be in some of the world’s most stunning and famous areas. Thanks to shows like Game of Thrones and networks like Eurail, accessing them and being a part of it, however small, is now totally doable. Eurail connects travellers to all the cool parts of Spain that the show was filmed in. Like these… Girona, Spain The stunning Girona Cathedral was used to film numerous scenes for Braavos, Old Town and King’s Landing, including the impressive steps that became the Great Sept of Baelor. How to get there: After arriving into Barcelona from Australia, use the Eurail Global Pass or the Eurail Spain Pass to travel by train from the coastal city of Barcelona to the old town of Girona, which will take a short 40 minutes.  Bardenas Reales National Park, Spain  Situated in north-eastern Spain, the extraordinary rural desert landscape has been used to film scenes throughout Game of Thrones, using the fantastical shapes found from the clay, chalk and sandstone rocks. In Season 6, the national park was the perfect setting for the Dothraki Sea, a vast area of the continent of Essos. How to get there: From Girona, catch a train back to Barcelona and then a local train to Tudela de Navarra, the nearest station to the national park. Travellers can experience more in the Navarra region and visit the city of Pamplona to enjoy the Running of the Bulls festival in July. Seville,… Read More

Imaginary Cities: The new exhibition at the British Library

Imaginary Cities

There’s a new, free exhibition open at the British Library in London that’s all about four fantastical, technology-based art installations inspired by historic urban maps. By artist-in-residence, Michael Takeo Magruder, the work is staged in the Library’s Entrance Hall gallery and explores the creative potential of archives and collections in the digital age.  The works are creative pieces based off four 19th-century maps of London, Paris, New York and Chicago from a collection of 50,000 images found within the British Library’s One Million Images from Scanned Books collection. The whole thing is about the coming together of digital technologies and traditional fine art processes. It also includes a virtual reality cityscape based on New York City which is generated anew each day to reflect the live, ever-changing visitor data. See the exhibition for free from 5 April to 14 July at the British Library, 96 Euston Rd, London NW1 2DB.

The return to recreation: The new Toyota RAV4 is the car for life

Toyota RAV4 2019 parked outside the d'Arenberg Cube in Adelaide

We’re in the age of the SUV! Literally every car manufacturer that matters is playing in the space and pumping out car-after-life-inspiring-car that makes you want to sell your current hunk, buy an SUV and a bike, throw it all in the boot and disappear for a while. That’s actually what Toyota is all about with its new RAV4, too. They’re all about turning up the ability for you to live life, away from the city BS we surround ourselves with all too much. What ever happened to weekend camping trips? Kayaking down the Murray River? A drive to the top of Mount Wellington in Hobart and riding the bike back down? The Toyota RAV4 is the type of car they’ve made to allow that to happen. It gives you the opportunity to check out of life for a little bit to actually go camping, actually try cruising up the coast to the beach and staying the night, or seriously giving that interstate road trip a go in style, comfort and practicality. It’s a car that is regarded as one of the original SUVs – back before everyone was doing ’em, 25 years ago – which has now reached its fifth generation and considered the safest, most capable, most refined and comfortable RAV4 ever. And what makes the new car that much more exciting is that Toyota is pumping them out in hybrid variants for the more ecologically and environmentally conscious. The hybrid type is best because it combines and ICE engine (internal combustion engine)… Read More