Category: LIFESTYLE

The gin to have when you’re not having a gin

CEDERS alt gin

With mindful March just around the corner, there are those who are trying to be a little healthier and more balanced by reducing their alcohol intake for the month. Then are those who are giving up alcohol all together for a variety of reasons. And then there are those good, responsible humans who regularly nominate themselves as ‘designated drivers’ (you know who you are). But just because you’ve decided it’s time to cut out the alcohol, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a cool, refreshing G&T bursting with your favourite botanicals, garnished with a slice of lime.  Now that we have your attention, let’s talk about the hottest, grown-up, non-alcoholic gin alternative on the market – CEDER’S. Yes, it’s so boss, even the name of the alt-gin is all uppercase.  Produced in Sweden, CEDER’S is a distilled, non-alcoholic alt-gin created using pristine Swedish water, and rare South African and classic gin botanicals. Two of the three varieties are now available in Australia – CEDER’S Classic and CEDER’S Wild. CEDER’S Crisp is the third variety featured on the website but is not yet available in Australia.  Botanicals used to create the alt-gin include juniper, coriander, lavender, geranium, buchu, rooibos, grapefruit, ginger and clove. The result is a beautifully created alt-gin with all the traditional characters of an alcohol-based gin, without the consequences.  The ‘classic’ variety is described as floral and balanced while the ‘wild’ is spicy and intriguing. It’s best served in a gorgeous glass with a good quality tonic and a twist of your favourite fruit… Read More

W Hotel Sydney and Alyssa Edwards teach Sydney to Love Out Loud this Mardi Gras

Alyssa Edwards drag Mardi Gras 1

The queen of tongue pops, Alyssa Edwards is in Sydney for this year’s annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, pretty much posing as the face of the forthcoming W Hotel Sydney. She’ll be a special guest on the W Hotels LOVE OUT LOUD float at this Saturday’s Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras. After the news of W opening in Melbourne in August 2020 and W Sydney slated to open 2021, the hotel will inspire Sydney folks and visitors to celebrate equality and general gayness. They’ll jam their float this year with over 80 guests, including Vera Blue and local personality people on W Hotels’ supercharged fluoro boom box. It’ll be camp. Keep you eye out for it this weekend! See more about drag queens here.

8 super gay things to do at the Beresford this Sydney Mardi Gras

Beresford cocktail

The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is on again and the Beresford by Merivale, right in the middle of Surry Hills is serving up all the things. Minnie Cooper Cabaret Show Tuesday 25 February, 7pm-late Minnie Cooper is ready to bring it, with an all new cabaret and drag show, ‘It’s Not Just for Gays Anymore’. This 2 ½ hour spectacular is set to be all things fabulous upstairs at The Beresford. Book to avoid disappointment: 02 9114 7328. Bingay Wednesday 26 February, 7pm-late Bingo? Hell no. Say hello to Bingay – a night of fabulous tunes and crazy-ass rules, with hilariously camp prizes to boot. Bookings are essential: 02 9114 7328. Passport Party Thursday 27 February, 9.30pm-late The annual Mardi Gras Passport Party will welcome international guests with open arms and show them how we party down under, with a great line-up of DJs and a special performance by drag queen hostess, Decoda Secret. Free entry. Super Camp Friday 28 February, 8pm-late Beresford Sundays, Absolut and DJ Dan Murphy are bringing a super-sized CAMP Party to The Beresford for one night only. Get in and get down to all your favourite camp anthems, from the 90s onwards. Think Kylie, Tina Arena, The Spice Girls, Mariah Carey, Shania Twain and more. Big production, big energy, drag shows and camp AF DJs guaranteed. Tickets on sale now: $10 presale from this link. Mardi Gras Parade Saturday 29 February, 7pm-late Revellers can don their wildest attire and join the party at The Beresford for Gay Christmas, where… Read More

Local favourite Kogarah Clubhouse receives a facelift but maintains traditional club charm

Southern Fried Chicken Burger

Kogarah Clubhouse has been a local favourite for years. Established in 1947, it was originally known as Kogarah RSL Club, but it recently received a renovation, introducing a fresh, modern take on the much loved club. However the one thing locals will tell you hasn’t changed, is the friendly and genuine hospitality you’ll encounter at the Clubhouse. No BS here.  Kogarah Clubhouse now offers three contemporary venues – The Pearl Asian Eating House, Blake Street Kitchen and a revived Clubhouse Bar.  Featuring high, exposed ceilings and curved architecture, the Clubhouse Bar is the perfect venue to kick off your lunch or dinner date with a cocktail or a refreshing cider on tap. On the cocktail front, the ‘Sassy Pear Cosmo’ (grey goose, triple sec with fresh pear) jumps out at you from the ‘Something Special’ cocktail menu while the ‘Fairy Godmother’ (beefeater pink gin, cointreau blood orange and campari) is also extremely tempting.  From here, you can move to The Pearl Asian Eating House, featuring a menu that showcases authentic Asian flavours with a contemporary, modern twist. The Pearl is also a great venue for that old lunch time favourite, yum cha. The Pearl Asian Eating House is open for early dining from 11am from Monday to Friday and 10:30am on Saturday and Sunday. But if it’s a mouth-watering schnitty, a southern fried chicken burger or seafood platter you crave, then all-day modern eatery Blake Street Kitchen is your venue.  There’s something for everyone, from delicious starters such as satay chicken skewers and bruschetta to… Read More

What’s up with the Canberra Night Noodle Markets

Canberra Noodle Market

As every good city should, Canberra is hosting their own instalment this year of the Night Noodle Markets. And it’s looking delish. They’ve released the sizzling menus of this year’s event, with a feast of signature dishes and creative tastes from Canberra and Australia-wide favourites. Returning to Reconciliation Place for an extended stint of eleven nights due to popular demand, from 28 February until 9 March, the air will be filled with spicy, salty and sweet aromas as Reconciliation Place is transformed into a bustling Asian street food festival.  And we spoke to chef Matt Blackwell of Monster Kitchen & Bar about why he’s doing this year’s fest and what we can expect! Describe food in a sentence. Food for me is something that brings people together, weather its eating a bowl of Larb in a local street market in Bangkok, or with your close friends and family at home. Why have you dedicated your life to it?Cooking allows me to be creative and constantly gain new experiences and meet really cool new people. It has allowed me to constantly travel and keep finding new things. Why should Canberra want to eat what you make?I am trying to bring some of what we do over at GOMA so people can get a taste of it in Canberra. Most of the ingredients and dishes I am bringing with me are really unique to Queensland, and I think it will be really cool for people in another state to get to try them in the way I’m using them. … Read More

Automating your home: A lot more possible than you thought

Interiors home living room

In the days of Google Home, Amazon Alexa and Siri, who can do anything you need other than make your morning coffee and take your stuff to the dry-cleaners, your home is next in the long line of tech updates. And the best bit, is that the days of just being able to time your lights and flick them using an app are over – you can turn your home into something seriously ‘of the future’ with just a few updates. Think: Talking to your centralised hub like Amazon Alexa having your air conditioning units, humidifiers and more reacting together in response to changes in your home environment communicating with postmen and couriers through the door bell relaxing and unwinding in the evenings by setting schedules with connected products such as scent diffusers, lighting and curtains returning to a freshly vacuumed and mopped home, every single day. Things like this are doable with a whole range of tech, like these nifty finds. Sort your life out with Amazon Alexa From scheduling things in your calendar, to simply setting a timer, to generally reducing your screen time, these Amazon Alexa babies make life easier! Control your home’s temperature without even thinking about it Using the Connect Universal Smart IR remote with temperature and humidity sensors, helps with controlling TVs and air cons from a single remote. Set scenes to automate your life! Have constantly clean floors thanks to Ecovacs Control your personal cleaner using the the Ecovacs app or with voice command through Amazon Echo or… Read More

Travelling sustainably: Lonely Planet’s guide to not killing the earth while you holiday

Man airport plane travel

Think off-grid camps, community stays, responsible wildlife encounters, cultural immersion tours, conservation opportunities, green hotels and more, the new guide book by Lonely Planet, available this March, has the Earth’s back. “While the global tourism industry has made great strides towards sustainability in recent years, achieving sustainable tourism is a continuous process,” Lonely Planet says. “This process is reflected in our book. When we asked travel writers from around the globe to tell us about their favourite sustainable travel accommodation and experiences, their top picks covered the spectrum of sustainability. Some options had sustainability at heart from conception, while others have made a concerted effort to improve. What unites them, is a commitment to enacting positive change.” How to use the book… There’re five chapters, each alongside a theme of escape: Nature, Relaxation, Culture, Urban and Learning. Within each chapter, the profiles are labelled with the key sustainability features you can enjoy while staying at the hotel or participating in the tour. Check it all out and get your own at the Lonely Planet website.

Haircut and a cocktail: Why Sharps barber is doing Metaxa cocktails

Metaxa

Everybody loves a drink. Everybody needs a haircut. Combine the two and you’ve got a great after-work activity, delivering you a new look and slightly cloudier judgement, making for an even better time. Sharps is serving Metaxa. A Greek spirit from 1888, it’s known as the original Greek spirit and is all about its vibrant yet smooth, Metaxa’s unique taste takes you on a voyage that piques your curiosity and encourages a sense of exploration. They celebrated the whole collaboration at the end of 2019, by teaming up with travellers who’d share stories and anecdotes from their travels, overcoming adversity and challenges, the world’s first expedition to officially reach the furthest source of the Essequibo river in Guyana and complete its descent by kayak, last year.   In any case, seize the spirit of exploration, try a new do and head to Sharps for more. They’re serving up Metaxa 12 Stars and ginger rock cocktails, too. Find out more and make a booking at the Sharps website.

London: Where to celebrate Holi Festival

Bang Bang Oriental Food Hall

So, there’s two things to know about Holi Festival, the Indian fest of colour and it’s heaps of fun. Also, food. A vital part of Indian culture and a quality element of the festival, all of which can now be attained at Bang Bang Oriental, the largest food hall of Asian cuisine in London. To celebrate, the Bang Bang Oriental space will be celebrating the Holi Festival with an exclusive performance from the award-winning Bollywood dance group Bollywood Belles on Friday 6 March 2020 from 7pm. Three types of Indian dances will be performed on the night and guests will have a chance to demonstrate their skills with a 15-minute dance class led by the experts. For those looking for a taste of India, Patiala Xpress specialises in authentic Indian cuisine and diners are welcome to try a tasty selection of Indian dishes including Chicken Biryani, Prawn Malabar and Paneer Tika. So bring your jingly bits, appetite and cultural awareness for a night to be savoured. Find out more at the Bang Bang website, link above!

Where to drink pink: The Lanique pop-up bar in London

Lanique

Lanique, Spirit of Rose has teamed up with VAULT Festival 2020 (28th January – 22nd March), to bring bespoke rose tinted cocktails to London’s boldest arts and theatre celebration.  At The Vaults on Waterloo’s Leake Street, The Rose Bar is an immersive cocktail experience from Lanique, taking you on a journey through the drinks’ rich history. You’ll start in 18th century Prussia, through to modern day London. All in drink form. All delicious. All pink. And the best bit? It’s free to visit. For more and to plan your visit, head to the website.