Category: CITIES

Sydney has a new restaurant, Apera in Castlecrag

Apera tables

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Updated: 08/11/2018

A little bit north of Sydney lies Apera, which is the newest restaurant addition to its area and arguably the best. And here’s why: The restaurant is new to Sydney, in Castlecrag, about 25 minutes north of Sydney and sports a menu led by Jenny Shaw and Ryan Blagrove, who have drawn upon a plethora of local and international experience to produce a seasonal menu of uniquely Australian dishes. Jenny comes from the likes of the Palisade Hotel and Ryan’s history at The Queensbury by Marco White, means what they offer together is something truly sensational. At apera, it’s all guided by the chefs’ shared and evident love of Australian produce and commitment to sourcing ingredients as locally and ethically as possibly. Their short, but ever-changing shared dining menu features a selection of small plates to start, alongside rotisserie and wood-fired mains – the latter being a nod to their childhood summers spent cooking over campfires. Think Sydney rock oysters with finger lime and Tasmanian pepper, New South Wales clams with samphire and nduja oil, cauliflower with Birch’s Bay manchego, sage and Riverina hazelnuts, Cowra pasture-fed lamb shoulder with Warrigal greens and chimichurri, and Bannockburn salted chicken. Native ingredients also shine in the desserts with red gum fired pear, lavender crumble, vanilla ice cream and iron bark honey; rhubarb, lemon curd, shortbread and river mint; and chocolate mousse, mandarin, hazelnut and wattleseed praline. With an interior that is as stunning as the food is sumptuous, Apera is all about the bar, the comunal dining spaces, the outdoor picnic option and the native flora, all an homage to the Australian lifestyle. It was inspired by the site’s history as a florist… Read More

Category: CITIES, FOOD & DRINK, LIFESTYLE, SYDNEY

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Top 5 tips to the perfect poutine by the Stuffed Beaver restaurant

Poutine

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Posted: 27/06/2018

If there’s one of the best exports from Canada the world needs to know more about, it’s poutine. Potato chip, cheese curd and gravy, it’s possibly the best creation of food ever since the damn of time (opinion) and something you can even try cooking at home now thanks to the Crows Nest masters of it, the Stuffed Beaver in Sydney. Here are their top 5 pro tips to making the morsels. 1. Make sure your Dam gravy is the right consistency.  It should be medium thickness so it pours nicely just like nana did on her roast veggies 2. Make sure you use Dam thick cut fries like steak fries and make sure you cook them dam well done so they are Dam golden and crunchy.  That way they will retain the crunch to the end! 3. Make sure you use a Dam good quality cheese like a fior de latte mozzarella or even buffalo mozzarella if you feel like a Dam tasty gooey experience. You can make you own cheese curd if you like! 4. Pimp your dam poutine!  You can pimp It with anything!!!  Try the 3 little pigs with chopped Frankfurt, crispy bacon and pulled pork!!  You will be a dam happy little piggy at the end of that meal. 5. Remember not to burn your dam mouth when you eat on them. Blow little piggies! Or if you can’t be bothered giving it a DIY job, try celebrating Canada Day with the masters of it this July. WHAT:  Celebrate Canada Day at Stuffed… Read More

Category: CITIES, FOOD & DRINK, LIFESTYLE, SYDNEY

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There’s a new Japanese pop-up in Melbourne this winter serving the best hot pots

Japanese hot pot shabyu shabu

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Posted: 26/06/2018

Melbourne is known for its food – just ask the chefs at this year’s Melbourne Good Food Month – so it seemed like the right place for Master Den to temporarily set-up shop on the site of the old Kappo restaurant for all things ‘Japanese hot pots’. The pop-up – or ‘poppu uppu’ in Japanese – has been open since 20 June and with the likes of the renowned Izakaya Den and Hihou in the mix, is offering a unique take on ‘nabemono’ dining experiences of Japan, where a pot is filled with broth and allowed to simmer, before vegetables and protein are gradually added to cook. The poppu-uppu offers dozens of varieties of hot pots, each with a distinguished flavour and style, and Master Den has created his own special versions of shabu shabu, a Hokkaido-style seafood nabe, and an elegant Japanese mushroom hot pot, that guests make themselves at the table guided by the friendly staff. What’s on the menu? The Shabu Shabu features a konbu flavoured broth, with a plate of wagyu rump, topside and sirloin 6+, with the option to add speciality cuts like rump cap, scotch fillet and Japanese favourite, Cube roll. The Hokkaido style Seafood Nabe has a light miso flavoured broth, and is filled with Tasmanian Salmon fillet, local mussels and Mackeral, or add local flathead fillets, New Zealand pippies, Coffin Bay Oysters, Crystal Bay prawns and Harvey Bay scallops. The Special Mushroom Hot Potcomes with a konbu, sake and soy flavoured broth, silken tofu, and a selection of Japanese mushrooms including shiitake, enoki, shimeji,… Read More

Category: CITIES, FOOD & DRINK, LIFESTYLE, MELBOURNE

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What Maggie Beer, Dame Nellie Melba and soprano Jessica Pratt all have in common

Maggie Beer Jessica Pratt Opera

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Posted: 25/06/2018

It was the iconic Dame Nellie Melba who started the trend at the height of her career and has since left the trend unmatched. Until now. Australia’s favourite kitchen legend, Maggie Beer has joined forces with the Sydney Opera House to craft a dessert – much like in the way of the famed ‘peach Melba’ after the Dame herself – after soprano Jessica Pratt thanks largely to her debut this season as the lead in the Lucia Di Lamermoor production by Opera Australia this month. When Dame Nellie Melba was at the height of her worldwide fame in 1892, legendary French chef, Auguste Escoffier of the Savoy Hotel created a dessert in her honour, especially for a dinner party held by the Duke of Orlèans and named it Peach Melba. To be served at Aria by Matt Moran on Sydney’s Circular Quay, Maggie and Matt will serve her creation, aptly named La Dolce Jessica by Maggie Beer during Jessica’s season of Lucia di Lammermoor. The bougie dessert is a decadent deconstructed trifle, the dessert consists of a lemon curd base, fresh raspberries and raspberry jelly, crystallised macadamia nuts, an Amaretto crumb, and toffee tuile. Find out more about Aria and the latest production by Opera Australia at their websites.

Category: ARTS & CULTURE, CITIES, FOOD & DRINK, LIFESTYLE, OPERA, SYDNEY

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What to know about Lucia Di Lamermoor this season by Opera Australia

Lucia Di Lamermoor Opera

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Updated: 25/06/2018

Opera Australia’s Sydney winter season has kicked-off and first cab off the rank is the renowned Lucia Di Lamermoor by Donizetti back in the 19th Century. Here’s what to know about this season’s production by Opera Australia and director, John Doyle. What is the story about? A tale of love, not well-received, resulting in the gradual decline into insanity. Lucia is truly, madly, deeply in love with a man her whole family despises. When her brother Enrico discovers their love, he is furious, and devises a plot to drive the lovers apart. He does it without thought for her heart, but it is Lucia’s mind that will pay the price for his actions. What is the big music you’ll know from the performance? The tale is known for a lot of reasons, but musically, it’s the sextet, ‘Chi mi frena tal momento’, that probably deserves the title of biggest hit. It’s the aria known for its positioning in the most pivotal point of the production, taking place happens at the height of the story and all of the emotional and dramatic tension of the opera is caught up in this lovely, complex ensemble, as each of the characters sing of their part in the tragedy that is to follow. Have a listen below… For more about Lucia Di Lamermoor and to get yourself a seat, try Opera Australia here.

Category: ARTS & CULTURE, CITIES, LIFESTYLE, OPERA, SYDNEY

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Melbourne Good Food Month with 8bit restaurant

8bit burgers

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Posted: 25/06/2018

This June in Melbourne, it is Melbourne Good Food Month, which means it’s nothing but quality eating and good vibes around the southern food capital. Presented by Citi, the festival returns with favourites along the length and breadth of a packed programme. This year, Melbourne Good Food Month features heaps of foodiful events, showcasing the very best of Australia’s restaurant industry over 30 delectable days. We spoke to Shayne McCallum of 8bit restaurant in Melbourne who had nothing but the best to ay about the month-long celebration. A post shared by Eat8bit (@eat8bit) on Jun 25, 2018 at 1:10am PDT Melbourne is the food capital of Australia. What are your thoughts on this?  Melbourne is pretty lucky with all its diversity of restaurants & cuisines.  We have so much young, talented hospitality crew doing amazing things & opening great cafes, late night bars, & smart casual diners and the food and beer festivals all year round.  I can easily see, truth in that statement. Are you excited to be a part of the activations in Melbourne this Good Food Month? We were thrilled that we got asked to work with Good Food Month, I have personally done a few gigs with Good Food Month over the years, but it’s the first time 8bit has been a part of it, which we are really stoked about. Obviously, it’s all about the best of what you do, but are there any secrets or surprises in-store for fans? We are bringing some of our best-selling burgers & our waffle fries to this event, we don’t sell the waffle fries in store, so it… Read More

Category: CITIES, FOOD & DRINK, LIFESTYLE, MELBOURNE

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Talisker does Dark Mofo with the return of the Dark Bar

Talisker hot toddy

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Updated: 26/06/2018

What do you get when you combine art, music, alcohol and some left-field thinking in Australia’s southernmost city, Hobart? Dark Mofo, of course, and it’s back again this year with all sorts of interesting headline acts, and the return of some quality offerings on-hand. It’s the festival that turns the mostly calm city into a frenetic, eclectic, quirky and dark place for the hedonistic pleasures of some of the most outrageously tasted. This is the one time of the year where thousands of mainland and international artists and tourists descend down under, expecting MONA to turn out incredible entertainment but also satisfy their taste for the weird and wonderful culinary scene in Tasmania. Nothing works better with the amazing food then pairing it with the amazing drinks found at the dozens of bar hidden around Dark Mofo. At the centre of Dark Park is the cosy yet sophisticated Talisker Dark Bar, making a return this 2018. Talisker Dark Bar is the perfect one-stop bar for amazing cocktails, delicious jaffles and the amazing atmosphere. What may look like an abandoned warehouse from the outside, inside has been turned into a rugged seaside looking bar, reminiscent of Skye, the Isle in which Talisker Scotch Whisky originates from. Coupling its efforts with the produce of the renowned Tasmanian Bruny Island that produces some of the country’s finest cheeses, oysters and beverages, You find the sweet, smoky, peppery notes of Talisker whisky were perfectly paired with the amazing golden oysters provided by the likes of Tasmanian producers Get Shucked,… Read More

Category: CITIES, FOOD & DRINK, HOBART, LIFESTYLE

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IKEA Australia just announced its first take back service to upcycle your old pieces

Ikea Tom Dixon UTS Delaktig couch 1

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Updated: 16/11/2022

If IKEA isn’t doing awesome collaboration-after-collaboration with designers from all over the world, or giving students a creative leg-up, they’re usually kicking goals in other ways. And this June is no exception with the furniture retail giant announcing that it is introducing the first ‘take back’ furniture scheme for customers ever. What does that mean? Well, by joining the sustainability and environmentally friendly bandwagon that everyone is on these days, IKEA will allow Sydney customers (for the moment) to give their unwanted IKEA furniture a second life by returning it to the IKEA for it to be sold on to a new customer. You can wave ‘goodbye’ to Facebook Marketplace! Underpinning importance of the circular economy, IKEA is also unveiling its first ever Circular Living pop-up store at IKEA Tempe this month, which will be open for eight weeks, giving you an in-depth look at the recyclable and renewable materials that make up their favourite IKEA products. All this was brought on by IKEA’s people and planet positive report from 2018, which revealed that it’s possible Aussies have thrown away 13.5 million pieces of furniture that could be recycled, reused or repaired and given a second life. The findings show Australians are being more wasteful than they intend to – with half the population (56%) having thrown out furniture in the last 12 months, even though a quarter would have it if they knew how to repair or reuse it. It’s pretty shocking stuff. But, what do you get for returning your old furniture?  IKEA is sweetening the deal with the whole idea. Not only do you get to minimise… Read More

Category: CITIES, FEATURES, INTERIORS, LIFESTYLE, SYDNEY

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Talking women in business with Isabelle Dubern, co-founder of The Invisible Collection

Invisible Collection couch

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Posted: 19/06/2018

The Invisible Collection is an e-commerce outlet selling bespoke pieces crafted by renowned interior designers – and well! – But it’s the way they sell their furniture online that sets them apart from the rest. They have a very curated offering, bespoke sourcing services to industry and private clients and strong links with their artists and designers, acting as agents to organise pop ups and events worldwide, all the while creating strong and sustained visibility to all the talents they live to showcase. We had a chat with Isabelle Dubern, the woman behind the work, about it all. How do you explain the success of The Invisible Collection, pioneer on the e-commerce market of collectible furniture, after a year of existence? Just like music and fashion, the furniture industry is a cultural business. With The Invisible Collection, culture is a prerequisite for the purchase of furniture pieces. If our customers did not have this cultural knowledge, they would not buy pieces at the prices we practice on the site. The Internet has fundamentally changed the way culture is conveyed, music is the best example, and the same lessons apply to fashion, art and decoration. Art has already largely begun this shift: one out of two clients that participate in auctions online at Christies is a new customer for the auction house. Moreover, the furniture pieces of the interior designers we present are luxury products, both from the craftsmanship and the creativity that go into them. According to Mac Kinsey, online luxury sales will triple in… Read More

Category: CITIES, LONDON

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Good Food Month kicks off in Melbourne with the city’s best restaurants

Melbourne Good Food Month bar

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Updated: 16/11/2022

With summer now a distant memory thanks to the temperature dipping into single digits, what better way to get over the winter blues than with a glass of red and food from some of Australia’s top chefs at this month’s Good Food Month Melbourne? And we all know if there’s one thing Melbourne does well, it’s food and wine. For the next two weeks, Melbourne Palms, a palms-inspired pop up restaurant nestled right in the action of Federation Square will play host to exciting events with home-grown culinary greats including a stellar line-up. Join the likes of Alla Wolf-Tasker from The Lake House, Daylesford and Andrew McConnell (Supernormal, Cumulus, Cutler & Co., Melbourne), a pasta party with Andreas Papadakis of Tipo 00, Melbourne, Mitch Orr (ACME, Sydney) and Joel Valvasori-Pereza(Lulu La Delizia, Perth), and a fish butchery masterclass with Josh Niland (Saint Peter, Sydney), just to name a few. There’s even still a few highlights for the month still available, like Brunch with Josh Niland (Sunday 17 June, 10.30am, $70), One Fish, One Chef with Josh Niland (Sunday 17 June, 2pm, $80?), Date Night with 8-Bit & Glacé Frozen (Friday 22 June, 6.30pm, $60?) and Cutler & Co: An evening at the Cutler & Co Bar (Wednesday 20 June, $75) that includes an incredible offering. Josh Niland’s brunch is with the two-hatted chef, the seafood king behind Saint Peter in Sydney’s Paddington and winner of the 2018 Good Food Guide’s ‘Best New Restaurant of the Year’ award. You’ll hear about his strong focus on the importance of locally sourced, sustainable food and inspiration behind his expertly crafted sustainable seafood dishes,… Read More

Category: CITIES, FEATURES, FOOD & DRINK, LIFESTYLE, MELBOURNE

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