Category: FOOD & DRINK

Fruity Beer has arrived just in time for summer

Fruity Beer Lifestyle Image 3

As the warm summer season descends (don’t even talk to us La Niña you’re not welcome here) it’s time to get the fridge stocked with your favourite beverages, and Dan Murphy’s has added a new contender to the mix for summer: Fruity Beer. What is Fruity Beer exactly? Well, it is beer, but not as you know it. In fact, even if you’re a beer hater you should be giving these varieties a try as the brews are less bitter than regular beer and fruitier tasting than seltzers. Fruity Beer is for everyone wanting something new and score bragging rights about being the first to discover a new category. “Customers today are increasingly looking for more discovery,” Endeavour Group Head of Beer, Jarrod Holt says “40 percent of the products that we retail in our BWS and Dan Murphy’s stores today did not exist 8 years ago – which is why we are committed to continuing to meet the changing needs of customers by providing them with trend leadership and innovative new drinks.”  While ‘fruit beers’ have been a mainstay of European brewing for centuries, this new age Fruity Beer is different. Just like regular beer, Fruity Beer’s main ingredients are malted barley, hops, yeast, and water, however modern technology and cutting-edge innovation has helped create a new beer with ultra-low bitterness and a sweet, dominant fruit flavour that’s much stronger on the palate than anything you’d taste in a craft beer. Fruity Beer tastes and smells so much like real fruit, drinkers can identify… Read More

Iconic ice coffee brand expands into lactose-free arena

25 martin place restaurants

We all know someone who is lactose intolerant but refuses to take it seriously. Well they don’t have to suffer any longer because your favourite iced coffee brand, Ice Break, have just dropped a new lactose-free variety! Teaming up with the best selling lactose-free milk in Australia, Zymil, Ice Break has added an easy-to-digest lactose-free iced coffee to their line up. Alreading blowing up socials (much like the way dairy does to some people’s guts), the announcement is being celebrated as another win for a growing food market that’s catering more and more to different diets.  With two shots of coffee and 48% less fat than regular full cream milk, it’s a nice pick me up for those with a busy schedule.  The new lactose-free variety is available now at Coles, Woolworths, independent grocery stores and of course the main places we all buy iced coffee, petrol stations and corner stores. Happy comfortable drinking lactose intolerant friends!

Sydney pub to try this summer: Coogee Bay Hotel

Coogee Bay Hotel garden

As the days draw longer and the moment – whether it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner– calls for an ocean breeze, great food and a cold beverage. So if whiling away the day on the sand and surf isn’t your vibe, then a trip to the iconic Coogee Bay Hotel, where the locals’ local has given its menu a spring clean in preparation for summer, might be just right? The Marra Bar & Grill is a sprawling indoor/outdoor light-filled restaurant and bar that offers everything from upscale eats to curated cocktails and even a kids’ menu, headed by internationally renowned Executive Chef, Nathan Tillot. Among the standouts on the newly revamped menu are Josper grilled meats and fish, juicy burgers, a gourmet grazing board, rotisserie salmon salad, extensive share menus, and tempting desserts. Or is a grill aesthetic isn’t your thing, they go green, too. The Coogee Bay Hotel garden might be it. During the daylight hours you can tip your head towards the sun, order a craft beer and some flavourful fare, and bid farewell to any commitments for the rest of the day at this right-on-the-beach favourite. Cabanas for up to 15 people are now available to book, but you’ll want to be fast! You could simply order a watermelon margarita, a bottle of prosecco, or a glass of sauvignon blanc and enjoy some live music as you kick back amongst the ocean scenery. But don’t forgo delicious eats – the from-scratch kitchen turns out lunch and dinner including wagyu beef burgers, fish and… Read More

New pub alert: Wooly Bay Hotel, Woolloomooloo Sydney

Wooly Bay Hotel Sydney 1

Completely refurbed with a new Mediterranean restaurant and swanky new rooftop, the Wooly’s back – and just in time for summer. Situated opposite the famed Woolloomooloo Wharf and enjoying gun-barrel views of Andrew Boy Charlton Pool and Sydney Harbour, the three-storied 1800’s landmark has undergone a dramatic $14 million dollar transformation that all-the-while paid homage to the property’s celebrated history, tranquil surrounds and beloved neighbourhood community.  A little bit cosy, a little bit to-be-seen and the rest a little bit ‘the Med’, the new pub’s the perfect combination of all the things you want from a new space to eat and drink the afternoon-away in. Unsurprising when you consider the pub’s been nominated for the 2022 Eat Drink Design Awards. The Woolly Bay Hotel’s food and beverage options are sequenced over three levels beginning with the ground floor public bar, which resembles a cosy at-home lounge atmosphere and boasts floor-to-ceiling French doors opening onto Cowper Wharf Roadway and overlooking the waterfront.  For more and to book, head to the Wooly Bay Hotel’s website

Whittakers oat milk chocolate: Whittaker’s have entered the chat with new Oat Milk chocolate

Whittakers oat milk chocolate

Lactose intolerant friends rejoice! After nearly two years spent tinkering, tasting and refining, the iconic choccy brand Whittaker’s have dropped an Oat Milk chocolate. Truly iconic scenes to turn every dairy free person’s cafe milk of choice into a moreish slab.  Simple yet pure, the Whittaker’s Oat Milk chocolate recipe uses lightly toasted oats alongside premium Rainforest Alliance Certified™ Ghanian cocoa, bringing to life their first ever plant-based chocolate which has taken Australia by storm in exactly 12 hours.  While most lactose free chocolate bars are either 90% cacao or contain cacao solids in the place of milk, this is more of a true milk chocolate with 42% cocoa chocolate and boasts being the only plant-based chocolate in the lolly aisle. Whittaker’s Oat Milk chocolate is available now in Coles, Woolworths and selected independents. Stay tuned for our petition for them to release the PB&J and Coconut varieties in an Oat Milk chocolate! See more at the Whittaker’s Oat Milk chocolate website

New collectable whiskey: Starward releases Vitalis

Glass of Whiskey with Ice

Celebrating 15 years with a once-off release: Starward’s giving us Vitalis. It’s seriously nice whiskey in a nice bottle – that doubles well as something you’d stick a flower in once you’ve drained it. Truly unlike any other Starward whisky, Vitalis is composed of hand selected parcels from its Port Melbourne distillery, with each of the six parcels selected based on their connection to the brand’s epic 15-year journey. Since founding Starward 15 years ago, David Vitale, has been on a mission to reach for the stars and move forward, by creating a whisky that’s bold, accessible and award-winning. Starward’s notable difference from other whiskies is its maturation of whisky in red wine barrels. Vitalis will be released via a ballot, opening on Thursday 6 October. Australian’s wishing to purchase a bottle of the collectable whisky are invited to register at starward.com.au with the whisky retailing at $199. 

New local grocer, Leaf is open in Armadale Melbourne

vegetables

Leaf serves ‘village grocer’ vibes and there’s a new one opening in Melbourne. Leaf will welcome visitors this October and bring locals fruit and veg wholesale. The modern-look Armadale store will house a range of curated produce and high-quality ingredients. Hard-to-find products from local and international small-scale producers, whether organic, sustainable and conventionally grown and produced are set to line the walls and shelves, bringing a taste of local to the well-known, premier shopping destination. Like its Elwood and Hawthorn siblings, Leaf Armadale will offer in-store experiences to encourage the local community to shop and eat more sustainably. This includes the Australian-first self-pour Schulz Organic Dairy ‘milk bar’; a station where eco-conscious shoppers can bring in their own glass bottles to fill with fresh, quality Schulz Organic Dairy milk, reducing plastic waste and packaging. To compliment pour your own milk will be a full range of bulk grains, nuts and seeds to scoop yourself. Find Leaf Armadale at 833 High Street on Friday 30 September.

Mejico Melbourne is opening a new tequila bar in the city

Mejico Melbourne

One of Melbourne’s best Mexican restaurants, Mejico, is launching a new Tequila Bar above their vibrant and modern dining space this October. Located in the heart of the CBD in Pink Alley laneway, Tequila Bar by Mejico will offer a unique drinking experience for Melburnians, serving up one of the finest and largest selections of tequila and mezcal in Australia. A unique city destination for evening meet-ups to early hour sessions, Tequila Bar by Mejico will serve food and beverages from 9pm until 3am, Thursday to Saturday. Showcasing a signature tequila and mezcal cocktail list for guests to enjoy, the bar will also offer a selection of tasty late-night eats such as Daylesford Beef Brisket Empanadas and Jalapeño Poppers. For more, head to the Mejico Melbourne website

Cinnamon and chilli cocktails to turn up the heat this summer

Man cocktail coconut

The heat of summer is getting closer and closer, so what else to do than channel the luxury and warmth of the sun into what you put in your drink? Chatting to the folks at Dubliner Fiery Irish cinnamon and chilli flavoured whiskey liqueur, which just launched in Australia last month, we have some ideas… Fiery Mule Glass: Rocks Ingredients: ·         30mls Fiery Irish ·         90mls Ginger Ale ·         10mls Lime Juice ·         Dehydrated Lime Wheel Method: Add ice to a rocks glass, add ingredients and stir. Garnish with dehydrated in lime wheel Spicy Apple Glass: Highball Ingredients: ·         30mls Fiery Irish ·         90mls Appletiser or Cloudy Apple Cider ·         Green Apple Slices Method: Add ice to a highball glass, add ingredients and stir. Garnish with apple fan. Spicy Bird Glass: Tall Ingredients: ·         30mls Fiery Irish ·         10mls Campari ·         45mls Fresh Pineapple Juice ·         15mls Lime Juice ·         5mls Sugar Syrup ·         Dehydrated lime wheel Method: Add ice and all ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Shake and strain into glass. Garnish with lime wheel.

Best food festivals around Italy: where to go

Pizza

Italy is the home of pasta. The birthplace of pizza. The refuge of cannoli and the haven of tiramisu. And that’s just covering a few regions! As the world gets increasingly food focused, Italy’s reputation has just taken over, giving us not just the image of Italy as a foodie’s paradise, but direct-from-the-source-type places where we can get all the produce we’d ever need. Think Eataly! To honour the beautiful country that is Italy and to get excited for the full calendar year of food events and things to do around the country, we’re taking a look at the best and biggest food festivals around the country to add to your diary. And why. JANUARY, gennaio Sagra della Sfincia di Priescia, Montelepre, SICILY All about the traditional Sicilian sweet treat, sfincia di priescia, this annual festival takes place on 6th January in the Piazza Principe di Piemonte. FEBRUARY, febbraio Battle of Oranges, Ivrea, PIEDMONT Get your cameras ready because the Battle of Oranges must be seen to be believed. An epic three-day food fight which runs from Sunday until Shrove Tuesday every year, this festival is all about flying fruit in a re-enactment of a skirmish dating back to the 12th century. MARCH, marzo Feast of San Giuseppe, CAMPANIA, SICILY, LAZIO Across southern Italy on March 19th, Italians celebrate San Giuseppe with myriad versions of zeppole, the more-ish crispy fried dough balls which are a popular street food throughout the south. Ask for the melt-in-your-mouth Zeppole di San Giuseppe – and don’t even try stopping at just one…. Read More