Category: CITIES

MELBOURNE: Winter got sweeter with the igloo garden at Auburn Hotel, Hawthorn

Auburn Hotel igloo

Date night, work dinner, need a drink, or just ‘cos, the Winter Igloo Garden at the Auburn Hotel in Hawthorn is there for it – and doing it well. Caged, steel igloos fill the back courtyard of the colonial days hotel along Auburn Road, adding a haunting, but super cute arrangement to the otherwise incredibly ornate 100+ year-old hotel. It’s a trendy take on traditional outdoor dining, giving guests shelter from the cold of winter, while keeping warm by sucking back Wild Turkey‘s American Honey bourbon. A sweet treat as well as an alcoholic smack in the gob you know you want, the American Honey bottle isn’t often seen, but ticks all the boxes of what you’re after from a drink in the middle of winter. It’s warming (‘cos bourbon), but sweetened in a dangerously morish way, thanks to the honey. The Wild Turkey folks and the Auburn Hotel have even partnered with the good, bee-loving people at Melbourne City Rooftop Honey to pair with their American Honey hot toddy, espresso martini, honey julep, old fashioned – the list goes on. Igloo packages cater to those looking for something cosy and intimate in a communal dining space, with larger group sizes of up to 28 people able to enjoy private seating and cocktail events in the mega igloo. The menu, inspired by the smooth, sweet flavour of American Honey, includes a selection of cured meats and cheeses drizzled in honey, followed with dessert, a chocolate honeycomb fondue. All designed to be paired with American Honey… Read More

Bill Henson’s first solo exhibition in seven years in Sydney at Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery

Bill Henson

On Friday 17 May, Sydney’s Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery will present a solo exhibition of new works by Bill Henson marking the first exhibition of Henson’s first in Sydney in seven years. Henson had his first solo exhibition, at the age of 19, at the National Gallery of Victoria in 1975. The gallery now has over 100 Henson works and his work is held in every major public collection in Australia and many overseas collections including Los Angeles County Museum of Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Solomon R Guggenheim Museum and so many more. Reviewing the Bill Henson exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria in 2017, the critic John McDonald wrote: “…Entering the transformed gallery from a room of French 19th century art, the impact is stunning…. Ineffability is the keynote of Henson’s work. Even the most detailed description would not prepare viewers for the experience of standing in front of these images in a darkened room…. The landscapes are deceptively straightforward at first glance….Yet the complexity of taking the picture from exactly the right position with the right quality of light is immense. It’s one of the miracles of art that the most difficult and complicated processes result in works of pristine simplicity…” Exhibition opens Friday 17 May 6-8pm and continues until Saturday 8 June 2019.

Luke & Friends: Luke Mangan and David Rayner’s new menu at Glass Brasserie

Luke Mangan David Rayner Glass Brasserie 1

What do you get when two prominent Aussie chefs who are passionate about seasonal, quality local produce join forces to create an Autumnal menu? An inspiring and memorable dining experience – and in one of Sydney’s most vibrant and lively venues, no less. This is exactly what renowned chefs Luke Mangan and David Rayner have created at Mangan’s signature restaurant, glass brasserie in Sydney. This is the third iteration of ‘Luke & Friends’, with Mangan collaborating with Noosa-based chef Rayner, owner and head chef of Thomas Corner eatery in Noosaville. Previous ‘Luke & Friends’ collaborations include celebrity chefs Guy Grossi and Maggie Beer. Mangan and Rayner’s friendship goes back a long way. They both share a passion for using seasonal, quality local and regional produce, celebrating the natural flavours of their chosen ingredients. And their passion for showcasing outstanding local produce shines through in the three impressive seafood dishes which are part of this exclusive offering, including a salmon ceviche, avocado, finger lime, pomegranate and shiso; a cuttlefish linguette, chilli, tomato, shallots, garlic, creme fraiche and oregano; and BBQ East coast baby octopus, caponata and black garlic. Refreshing and bursting with flavour, each dish tells a story about the beautiful and carefully sourced produce from around New South Wales. To round off the perfect meal, you can’t go past Luke’s Signature Liquorice Parfait with apple and lime, which is celebrating 25 years of pure deliciousness. Even non-liquorice lovers have been known to turn after sampling this exquisite sphere of explosive and clever flavours. The BBQ… Read More

Alcohol for breakfast: Archie Rose does a new ArchieMite batch

Archie Rose ArchieMite 2

It’s made from distilled Pepe Saya butter and Sonoma sourdough toast, so it’s basically breakfast; the new batch by Rosebery distillery, Archie Rose, is all kinds of Australian in a bottle. Apparently we’ve got a penchant for umami breakfast spreads – oh, hi Vegemite – so Archie Rose has taken cue and crafted its new – very limited – batch after what we’re into. And apparently, it’s good! “It’s lots of fun,” says Archie Rose master distiller, Dave Withers. “It sits in this weird but interesting place. Trying to describe how it tastes is like trying to describe the colour blue. If you like that savoury flavour of yeast-extract spreads, you’ll really enjoy it.” It uses a combination of individually distilled ingredients including a selection of blended yeast-extract spreads (“mites”) along with 25kg of freshly churned butter and 15kg of toasted sourdough from fellow Sydney producers Pepe Saya and Sonoma Baking Co. so you know it’s at least different. Released on May 8 (maaate), it’ll be a welcome, fun, umami drop to the Archie Rose range, serving up a mitey character at the front followed by a buttery, almost warm, crisp-edged flavour. See more and grab a bottle from the Archie Rose website.

Oscar and Lucinda in Sydney: Carriageworks, Sydney Chamber Opera produce world premiere

Oscar Lucinda

Australia’s artistic triumph of a book by the same name will make it onto the stage thanks to Carriageworks Sydney and its resident opera company, the Sydney Chamber Opera. Composer Elliott Gyger will join forces with librettist Pierce Wilcox to transform Peter Carey’s novel Oscar and Lucinda into a new Australian opera from 27 July – 3 August 2019.  Directed by Opera Queensland Artistic Director and CEO Patrick Nolan, the work reimagines the love story between the orphaned proto-feminist industrialist and the man who believes he is touched by God. Having nothing in common, except their addiction to gambling, Oscar and Lucinda find each other in colonial-era Sydney with a wild dream: to build a cathedral of pure glass, and to walk it into the Australian outback. “Elliott is one of this country’s greatest composers, with an originality, refinement and savage beauty that sounds like no one else. Seeing the score develop into our most ambitious and large-scale new work, filled with astonishingly vivid characters, colours and sounds has been a deeply exciting experience. Elliott has created a modern Australian epic without ever relying on the tired clichés of Australiana – a feat worth celebrating as we interrogate the history and stories that make up this complex country. Give him one instrument and he’ll make a world; give him 16 instruments and 6 singers and he’ll create a universe,” said Sydney Chamber Opera artistic director Jack Symonds.  Tickets on Sale 3 May, 2019 at the Carriageworks website.

Jardin Blanc: Eat with Raymond Blanc at the Chelsea Flower Show in London

Jardin Blanc Raymond

In what is possibly one of London’s most refined experiences at the hands of chef Raymond Blac, Jardin Blanc will again appear in Chelsea this year for a stunning gastronomic experience that money can buy. Blanc’s two hats will take centre stage at the secret garden restaurant – Jardin Blanc – amongst the renowned Chelsea Flower Show in London, giving diners a taste of what the £402 per person package can award you. From 21 to 25 May, Jardin Blanc will once again be the premium hospitality experience and hot ticket for London’s must-visit show, turning out access to the show, a complimentary open bar and special menus curated using the best seasonal ingredients, served with style for ticket holders. It’s all about flowers, food and fine experiences, all designed by Raymond Blanc and inspired by springtime’s sensational produce in a super flash surrounding. What to expect at Jardin Blanc “[Jardin Blanc is] an enchanting place filled with art, food, fun and of course, flowers,” said Raymond. “From breakfast to lunch, afternoon tea or dinner, we’ll provide for you a memorable experience.” Think ‘terrace’, with glasses of champagne, a pergola covering and swinging benches by Myburgh Designs, unlimited gin cocktails using Warner Edwards’ gin and the freshest of spring botanicals. For those a little more ‘hands-on’ and gin inclined, there’s a a gin tasting at Jardin Blanc as part of Tuesday’s La Lily Regale package, which for Friday visitors, means access to a live cookery demonstration from Raymond, with exclusive tastings accompanied by Champagne. Find… Read More

Baluchi does the best Indian food in London – and now with new Naan’ery by Santosh Shah

Baluchi naan Santosh Shah

London might be known for its royalty and weather, but it’s the Indian cuisine that really puts the culinary spotlight on the city. And when places like the new Naan’ery open up at Baluchi London in The LaLit hotel London, it’s easy to see why. The pan-Indian dining destination has hit the ‘go’ button on its new dedicated space offering contemporary twists on traditional bread recipes. They’re all authentically cooked in a cast iron tandoor oven and accompanied by perfectly paired wines. Think traditional Indian flavours in a wildly contemporary space, tailored perfectly to the tastes of inner-city Londoners. Executive Chef Santosh Shah has transformed the humble Indian naan bread – which he prepares right in front of you – all to the tune of four breads made using seasonal ingredients – with tasty choices including porcini & truffle naan; and fig & cheese kulcha. Priced at £55 per person or £99 for two, the selection of Indian breads will be accompanied by a traditional tiffin, featuring a choice of Baluchi’s renowned butter chicken curry, or an aubergine and tamarind curry, alongside the signature dal Baluchi, soft pilau rice and authentic carrot halwa. Oh, and if cooking naan is your thing or you want to just give it a go, Santosh is putting on some masterclasses to get amongst. Here’s what they’re about: Get your tickets from here. Saturday 11 May 2019 – creating the perfect curry and biryani Saturday 20 July 2019 – the art of Indian BBQ and street food Saturday 10 August… Read More

Mother’s Day drinks in Sydney: Spritz Bar and Gin Lane

Spritz Bar Grant Collins

Sure, having you as a child is probably great and all, but sometimes Mums just need to drown their sorrows, which is why some bars in Sydney and turning it up for them this Mother’s Day. In the lead up to it, master mixologist from Gin Lane & Spritz Bar in Chippendale, Grant Collins, has selected two of his wackiest cocktails to sell at happy hour prices all week. Spritz Bar will put on a cucumber and rose G&T, while Gin Lane has an indulgent champagne and strawberry martini on offer, both for $15 each. Gin Lane Inspired by the Gin Lane print by English artist William Hogarth, the bar is a little bit 1750s-cum-2019, albeit with a sophisticated edge. It’s set in a beautifully restored 18th century terraced town house and captures the building’s old-world charm, with rich jewel tones, warm lighting and timber features. It’s ideal for their Mum’s Day beverage that’s all about neo-classicism and pink, on her special day, working for its charismatic appeal that’re perfect for long evenings of conversation over delicious cocktails. Find Gin Lane on Kensington Street, Chippendale. Spritz Bar A cocktail signature of the Sydney summer, the spritz (Aperol) has won a spot in the hearts of all drinkers and the Spritz Bar, on a rooftop along Kensington Street, isn’t letting it go this autumn. Purposed to do good spritzes, often on Kensington Street, Spritz Bar is about the perfect spot to enjoy a relaxing drink and nibbles both before and after dinner and now, Mother’s Day…. Read More

Eat The Problem: MONA’s Kirsha Kaechele opens the new exhibiton

Mona Eat The Problem Kirsh Kaechele dining table

Everything you’d be loathed to see in your kitchen, presented in a striking contemporary compendium of graphic imagery, inspiring recipes, underpinned by social-political commentary: this is Eat The Problem. A book and exhibition by Kirsha Kaechele from MONA in Hobart – read more about the gallery here – Eat The Problem is a sensory experience of overloaded proportions, forcing its viewers to see, feel, smell and taste like never before. Or at least, insanely rarely. Fuelled by the reality that faces the Australian ecological system, that is invasive species, creatures and experiences, the Eat The problem exhibition startles visitors through dazzling light, permitting them to taste colour, feel sound vibrations and participate in movement and music. In a nutshell, Eat the Problem lets visitors engage in various acts of transformation as part of Kaechele’s surrealist exploration of turning flaw into feature using invasive species—including humans—in food and art. Heralded by a gigantic glockenspiel (like a xylophone), that assumes the role of a dining table that’s been illuminated in the full colour spectrum, MONA’s executive chef Vince Trim has designed a menu that uses invasive species such as deer, sea urchin and thistle and transforms them into sumptuous monochromatic dishes for visitors to eat. And if you’re not hungry or would like the full experience, the exhibition allows you to book a session to undergo a range of transformative healing sessions in the gallery, including sound baths, reflexology, massage and hot and cold treatments. “Eat the Problem brings to life the practice of transforming shit into… Read More

What to see at the NGV: Summer exhibitions of Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat

From 1 December, the National Gallery of Victoria will have two of the most influential artists of the 20th century on show. Until 13 April 2020 and exclusive to Melbourne, the NGV will present more than 300 works in an exhibition that will offer new insights into Haring and Basquiat’s unique visual languages and the many intersections between their lives, practices and ideas.         This of course off the back of the NGV’s winter Friday Night Series, which in 2019 stars a tonne of leading and emerging singers and performers, really rounding out what the Gallery has to offer. Oh, and plenty of dumplings, courtesy of Hutong Dumpling Bar. “We felt there’s been enough time to pause and reflect on just how powerful their (Haring and Basquiat’s) aesthetic has become worldwide, particularly in Melbourne, which is famed for its street art scene,” said Tony Elwood, director of the NGV. The Gallery is known for their leading and renowned exhibits, which this year and to round-out summer, will highlight the artists’ idiosyncratic imagery, radical ideas and complex socio-political commentary that changed the art world of the 1980s.      See more about the exhibitions on now and in summer at the NGV at the Gallery’s website.