El Camino Cantina will celebrate Dia de los Meurtos, or Day of the Dead, next Friday 2 November with a spicy Tex-Mex fiesta! They’re turning it out from 6pm with free face painting and El Camino’s resident DJ providing the ultimate fiesta soundtrack. At 8pm, you can battle it out for the title of ‘Chilli Eating Champion’ and a $50 restaurant voucher. How? You’ve gotta eat five chillies, ranging from mild to super hot, with the last person left standing crowned the champion. Complete with free chips and salsa, a Tex-Mex a-la-carte menu and Sydney’s biggest and best Margaritas, the celebrations will be endless, complete with Red Bull also be popping up to help serve Organic Ritas – El Camino’s classic Margarita mixed with Red Bull’s newest Organics range. For more information about Day of the Dead at El Camino Cantina, click here.
The Red Bull Flugtag is on again in Sydney on 10 November, so look skywards (or a bit lower) to see the best minds in aviation really achieve their dreams. The Red Bull Flugtag challenges teams to design, pilot, and build their own unique flying machines off Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair on Sydney Harbour and the result is usually hilarious. And wet. It’s on this Saturday, 10 November after an eight-year hiatus. With over 35 teams complete with craft blueprints the competition will really take-off with Jamie Whincup as the official scrutineer and an aeronautical engineer who will be able to discern if the crafts will take flight or not. The contestants take flight off a 6-metre high platform in the hopes of soaring into the skies, or more often, plunging into the waters below. Red Bull Flugtag, which means Red Bull “flying day” in German, pushes the envelope of human-powered flight, but competitors need more than airtime to reach the podium. Teams are judged on three criteria: flight distance, creativity of the craft and showmanship. See more and plan your day there at the Red Bull Flugtag website.
Sydney’s Beer Week runs from 26 October to 4 November and this year, will be teaming up with New Zealand’s popular beer name, Garage Project, to serve-up some fresh froths. Here’s where to go… Killer prizes include for Worst Dressed include cash-slab credit at the Garage Project online store, VIP access to the Cheers Beer Festival in Sydney on 3rd November and many more… Dinner and a show in the Theatre Royal to celebrate Dia De Los Muertos, live music from Kallidad. Beers from Garage Project including the 2018 release of La Calavera Catrina – A Watermelon Habanero & Maize lager & Day of the Dead our Chipotle Chili Black Lager. And of course a killer French/Mexican feast by Dan Pepperell to match. Ticket price includes buffet dinner, 4 matching beers and live music. Wild Flower Friend’s Over, Marrickville – 2nd November A good old fashioned Friday night of hospitality with FriendsOver at Wild Flower Blendery in Marrickville. A Garage Project and Wildflower line up features a few limited releases from Garage Project’s own Wild Workshop including a spontaneously fermented barrel sour made with wild forage NZ native flowers – Tarata. Game Over Man, Union Hotel Newtown – 3rd November Garage Project is bringing the noise with a dozen of their biggest and baddest beers, along with a fair few from their mates over in NZ – 8 Wired Brewing and Liberty Brewing. The Belles Project, all week 27th October – 4th November All three Belles Sydney stores will be offering a BEER & SPICE FLIGHT, where visitors will… Read More
Well this will come as a shock to most people but I have never had Ramen.. Until now and since then, I have had it 3 times and none compared to what I had at Horse Bazaar. Before I delve into the ramen, let’s talk about Horse Bazaar. It is the prime example of Melbourne eatery – a funky hidden gem in the city, offering classic Japanese dishes with a little twist, unlike their drinks offerings which are classic but with a Japanese twist. The decor is a little kitsch, a combination of Asia meets mirror disco balls with manga films projected on the walls. But now onto more pressing matter – the food. Being a Saturday, I knew we were in store for their ‘Ramen Saturdays’, I knew we would be in store for something exciting. We were lucky to taste the traditional chicken broth ramen, a spicy pork ramen and a vegetarian with crispy tofu. We also had dumplings and the one thing that gives me life no matter the weather; JFC or to those that don’t know, Japanese Fried Chicken. I could try and describe what I tasted but with my lack of knowledge of ramen, all that’s important is that it was so delicious, moreish and filled this void in my life I didn’t know existed. If you would like to know which one was my favourite ramen, I’m going to let you down and say they were all delicious and worth having a try of all so my suggestion would… Read More
The Langham Sydney’s Observatory Bar opens its doors this spring, providing visitors with a stunning new location to seek refuge from the bustle of the city. Nestled in the heart of Millers Point, Observatory Bar provides guests with an intimate space to enjoy a meticulously curated cocktail or fine wine. Inspired by industrial technology and modern gastronomy, Observatory Bar’s manager David Green brings an element of the fantastical to the luxurious venue with his evocative cocktail menu set to tantalise your senses. Incorporating interactive elements and utilising quintessential Australian ingredients, Green fulfils his desire to “create an exclusive menu and experience that offers our guests the chance to try hard-to-find spirits, rare whiskies and gins, without having to leave Sydney.” Observatory Bar’s décor ties into its elegant surroundings; beautifully plush teal and cream lounges line the bar, interspersed with armchairs and ottomans in the same colour palate. Wooden and golden bar trolleys are scattered around the space, merging seamlessly with the back-lit bookshelves to make us feel like we’re at – an albeit more elegant – home. Guests at Observatory Bar are encouraged to begin their beverage journey with the Green Ant Martini (Australian Green Ant Gin, Salt Bush, Lemon Myrtle aromatics and Green Ants) or Neap Tide (homemade finger lime sugar syrup, Ironbark distillery wattleseed gin, a splash of Australian sparkling wine, paperbark smoke, a garnish of Sydney rock oyster, fresh finger lime and violet), which both make use of Australia’s diverse flora and fauna such as sea asparagus and paperbark smoke. For the… Read More
Grant’s – Australia’s number two Scotch of choice – have utilised a unique whisky production process, combining three distinct casks to create a smooth blended whisky for the modern Australian scotch consumer. Casks of Virgin Oak, American Oak, and Refill Bourbon come together to create Grant’s Triple Wood, a smooth, mellow whisky with a hint of vanilla. It’s a versatile spirit, enough to work with four flavour categories of cocktail you wouldn’t have thought: espresso martinis, sweet ‘n’ sour, maple old fashioned, and a fruity tall treacle. Grant’s Triple Wood aims to showcase the diverse flavour palate offered by a blended whisky as opposed to a single malt, with Justin Strzadala saying “there’s a lot more to its story than [Australian scotch drinkers] think, both in terms of how it’s made and the flavour profiles.” A blended scotch whisky can have a multifaceted flavour profile, with its unique production process lending it multiple layers of flavour and mouth feel. Each component whisky brings a distinct characteristic to the blend, seamlessly merging together to create an inimitable Scotch. Master Blender and Malt Master at William Grant & Sons, Brian Kinsman, breaks the flavour palate down for us, “The Triple Wood process is at the very heart of what we create here at Grant’s. As a result of ageing our whiskies in three different casks, Virgin Oak which provides spicy robustness, American Oak lending subtle vanilla smoothness and Refill Bourbon bringing brown sugar sweetness, it is distinctive to taste and there is a balance of qualities drawn… Read More
The best places in Australia were decided on recently in the latest instalment of the national Good Food Guide Awards, marking the official launch of the 2019 Good Food Guide. Jock Zonfrillo’s Restaurant Orana (SA) nabbed the night’s top honour of Vittoria Restaurant of the Year – following his win in the Food for Good category last year, while Peter Gilmore (Quay, NSW) took out the prestigious Citi Chef of the Year award, and Jodie Odrowaz (Iki Jime, VIC) was named the Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year. New Restaurant of the Year was awarded to Laura (VIC), while Santa Vittoria Regional Restaurant of the Year went to the much-lauded Brae (VIC). This is also the first year the national awards has been held in Melbourne, with support from Visit Victoria. To get a spot in the coveted Guide, restaurants in New South Wales and Victoria must score at least 14 out of 20, while all other states must score a minimum of 15. To achieve a hat is a pinnacle of a chef’s career and a restaurant’s history, and the term ‘hatted’ has become embedded in the Australian lexicon. Only seven restaurants nationally achieved the top accolade of three hats, and they include Attica (VIC), Brae (VIC), Momofuku Seiobo (NSW), Minamishima (VIC), Quay (NSW), Restaurant Orana (SA) and Sixpenny (NSW). See more at the Good Food Guide website.
Sydney food and drink masters, Merivale, is about to open a new Cambodian food spot, Kingdom of Rice on 12 October, for six weeks only at the Tennyson Hotel. So if Phnom-Penh inspired dishes are your thing, the new project by the guys behind Potts Point restaurant ACME is where you’re at. It’s a Cambodian-style street food in the drive-way eatery for a six-month stint, serving-up a menu of five categories of shared-style dining; snacks, skewers, grill, wok, noodles and rice. You start off with prahok k’tis (crudities with prahok k’tis, a dip made with fermented fish paste, pork belly and kreung), svay kchey (green mango, chilli and salt) and ‘trey neet alek’ (dried fish and watermelon), followed by a selection of skewers served with chlouh (pickled green papaya salad) and numpang (baguette) – phsaet ung (shiitake mushroom), sach chrouk ung (caramelised pork) and sach gor ung (lemongrass beef). Hot off the wok are classics including bort ling (corn, dried shrimps and scallions), cha dtrop (chicken, smoked eggplant and coriander) and cha le’a samot tdek meric (pippies, lime and kampot pepper), while slab moan baoek ung (kreung stuffed chicken wings), trey ung (whole fish, lemongrass, coconut and herbs) and murk ung (calamari, pork fat and scallions) are served straight from the grill. Rounding out the savoury offering is a selection of noodle and rice dishes that pair perfectly with the mains. For dessert, the team has turned to the fruits of South East Asia with jek ung (grilled banana, sticky rice and caramel), noum dorng karem (pandan coconut waffle and coconut sorbet) and bobor lapoav (roasted pumpkin, tapioca and coconut milk). They’ve been inspired by the hustle and bustle of Phnom Penh markets and the space is… Read More
Strawberry jam is dead. And no, that’s not because psychos keep pricking them with needles all over the country, but, according to the South Pacific Jam Company, strawberry jam has a new contender for first place in the jam game. And, the usurper? Banana jam. View this post on Instagram A post shared by South Pacific Jam Company (@southpacificjamcompany) on Sep 26, 2017 at 8:03pm PDT They categorise it as a taste of spontaneous joy, which – as founder and manufacturer, Catherine Stace would attest to – is just the beginning. Because Australia has an abundance of tree fruits but culturally we’ve been stuck in a loop of runner fruits, we have overlooked stunning flavour profiles such as bananas. Using popular home-grown fruits, the Banana Jam, Mango & Ginger Jam and Guava & Pineapple Jam are made with crafted blends of Australian unrefined raw sugar, coconut oil and coconut sugar creating a rich, caramelised coconut setting with up to 40 per cent* less sugar than other jam and spreads. And the result is incredible! Banana jam primarily is quite a delicate flavour; sweet, but fruity, smooth, but textured – but overall delicious. The South Pacific Jam Company range is versatile; you can add it to your toast, drizzle it on pancakes, top it on yoghurt, shake it up in a smoothie, slather it on a pavlova, add it to a cheese platter or create a salad dressing, which is why it’s so good. A lot of what the South Pacific Jam Company produces can be used in this way as well as the traditional ‘on… Read More
It was a gala dinner of the best kind. With celebrity chefs Justin North, James Metcalfe, Shariq Hassan and Jaci Koludrovic at the helm, 150 guests were treated to a night of culinary excellence. And while this was a pretty incredible experience, the best part of the night was knowing that all the proceeds from this gala dinner were going to a very good cause, Variety – the Children’s Charity. Variety is a well-respected charity that helps disadvantaged Aussie kids have a fair go in life. The ‘Run For Kids Dinner’ marked the launch of the four chefs’ fundraising efforts for Variety, with Justin North participating in the NYC Marathon in November – a further fundraising activity for Variety. Held at the Sailmaker Restaurant at the Hyatt Regency, the ‘Run for Kids Dinner’ was a fine example of how brands come together for the good of the community. The majority of the produce and services were donated, which meant the event only cost $1800 to run. The target for the night was $50,000 which was easily met (with over $53,000 raised on the night) after fundraising activities during the evening, which included a raffle and live auction. Each of the four chefs’ had the opportunity to create a course, which was paired beautifully with premium local wines – 2016 Mollydooker ‘The Boxer’ Shiraz and 2016 Fox Creek Chardonnay – both from South Australia. The incredible four course line up included: Canapes by Shariq Hassan, Hyatt Regency Sydney (Sapphire Coast rock oysters, king prawns & fried… Read More
