Opera Australia puts on spectacular new production of Aida as its winter season highlight
Opera Australia is putting on Aida this year as their headliner for the 2018 winter season.
FOOD & DRINK, ARTS & CULTURE, LIFE & TRAVEL
Opera Australia is putting on Aida this year as their headliner for the 2018 winter season.
Remember when charcoal beauty products came in about a year-or-so ago? People went mad for it. All-of-a-sudden it was ‘blak’ this and ‘blak’ that, turning even the most simple of products into a jet black smear that left a dusty haze in its wake. But despite the country’s penchant for all things black and charcoal seeming like a fad, it hasn’t died; but in fact, thrived. Arlo Blak is one such charcoal-loving retailer that has the whole range of goodies on-hand to help you purify and detoxify your body with ease, all without staining the bathroom or ruining your towels. Promoting beautiful and brilliant skin from the inside out, Arlo Blak’s range is ideal for clearing the skin, whitening the teeth and all-the-while, made from activated coconut shell charcoal, it is a natural, flavourless and odourless alternative for the more heavy-duty chemicals out there in the market. How it works? By burning coconut shells and removing the oxygen, steam and gases are released to ‘activate’ Arlo Blak, creating an ultra-fine black powder with a highly porous surface. The black powder acts like a magnet, helping to draw out dirt and oil from your pores, discolouration from your teeth and toxins from your body. Have a squiz at the whole range here.
Know what makes a good date night? Cold weather, coats, cosy bars and quality food and drinks, which is exactly what you get one a date night at Spice Alley, just off Kensington Street in Chippendale Sydney. It’s the city’s go-to for quality, affordable, cheap Asian eats tucked nicely behind a range of quality bars and other restaurants offering a a range of other menus like these. With the vibe befitting of a paved urban alleyway beneath a canopy of yellow lanterns, Spice Alley is a bustling lane that takes hawker-style dining and makes it inner-urban, right from the side streets of the largest Asian cities within the confines of Sydney. Some of its most top-notch eateries include Bang Luck Thai eatery, Alex Lee Kitchen Singaporean Eatery, Spice House function space, Hong Kong Diner Cantonese Eatery, Kyo-to Japanese eatery and restaurant, Hokie Poké and Old Jim Kee Malaysian eatery, really staging the best of what the region’s cuisine has to offer. Ideal for drinks, right from dinner, the offering of Spice Alley makes date nights a breeze, the need for thinking obsolete and the end result… well, up to you, but it’ll be good, regardless of the result. Check out more about Spice Alley here.
Feel that dull ache in your back teeth? Yeah, that’s your them screaming out for mercy in advance of this year’s naughtiest dessert festival coming to Sydney, Milk ‘n’ Sugar. It is set to return this year alongside VIVID Sydney at the Overseas Passenger Terminal Circular Quay next weekend, bringing together Sydney’s finest dessert enthusiasts to offer revellers a colourful array of diverse, distinctive and delicious flavours. With items on the menu like Fluffy Crunch’s Flurrito, scoops of ice-cream topped with Froot Loops and rainbow dust that is rolled up in fairy floss; a tonka bean mandarin mousse with a brownie base from Koi Dessert Bar; hand chocolate dipped cheesecake on a stick from Bianco Kitchen; a crunchy golden churro burger from Bar Coco; light-up doughnut ice-cream cones from Hungary Bites and dessert arancini balls from Arancini Guy, you should skip dinner. It all goes down at the Overseas Passenger Terminal from 8-10 June from 6-11pm, with a $2 entry fee.
Once IKEA start, they obviously can’t stop and it’s a great thing when you consider the vast – and awesome – range of stuff they keep pumping out with designer-after-designer. We’ve been through the rounds of Scandinavian designer collaborations so far, now moving on to things with slightly a different feel in the collection between IKEA and industrial designer Tom Dixon, coupled with some emerging design talents from Sydney’s UTS university. Now we welcome the latest collab, DELAKTIG, which is offering up something altogether new. The challenge for students was simple: personalise the range to reflect life at home in Australia. The end result was a creative take on just that, the kind of stuff you’d be happy to have at your place this winter. DELAKTIG is an open-source sofa concept, featuring an endlessly configurable modular furniture collection made-up of sofas and accessories. The design vision is based on a platform which can be personalised to people’s constantly changing wants and needs. “Co-creation is very normal now, particularly in the digital world. I could imagine it’s going to become much more popular in the physical world as well. DELAKTIG is an experiment that challenges the conventional methods of creation and distribution of furniture and explores the notions of adaptability and future-proofing. Ultimately, DELAKTIG celebrates sustainability, longevity, flexibility and creativity,” said designer Tom Dixon. The range’s aluminium frame allows for personalisation through clip-on items, such as side tables and lamps, but the range is the first that IKEA has formally encouraged customers and companies alike to modify or add… Read More
At the top of a crest in the main thoroughfare of Crows Nest lies Monte Alto, the suburb’s new addition – right across the road from the Stuffed Beaver – turning out easy eats for those who like something a little bit different. Formerly known for its round-the-world coffee menu, Monte Alto has learnt to love a contemporary take on Australian favourites for the locals whose taste for well-done staples is paramount. Taking cues from owner and chef Harry Nguyen’s Vietnamese Australian cultural background, the food on offer is quality, and moderately adventurous. They work with things like charcoal, pair it with classics like a burger and make it 2.0 with the addition of homely touches like bacons, cheeses and other additions. Basically, it’s all welcome when you look at the finished product. Owner and head chef, Harry Nguyen, has designed a unique and honest menu to showcase his unrivalled passion for food and hospitality; using the best quality ingredients from reputable local sources to satisfy all taste buds. “The menu tells my story; from my Vietnamese heritage and culture, to the restaurants I have gained invaluable experience working in. I always keep those precious times very close to my heart and hope that my dishes can bring a unique dining experience for all guests,” he said. Monte Alto has managed to make themselves the main name in the game of halloumi fries served with tomato salsa and pesto aioli and 12-hour slow cooked coffee rubbed pork roast served with garlic mash, poached greens, tomato salsa and stock reduction… Read More
Breaking news: after years of attendance, I finally guessed an Underground Cinema film when I received the first email about it. And you know what? I didn’t enjoy it any less. Loved it, in fact. The theme of the first Underground Cinema for 2018 was DELIRIUM. We lucky cinema-goers were assigned the role of US marshals and reported for duty one suitably chilly night at Jack’s Magazine, a bluestone former ammunition storage facility used in colonial Victoria on the Maribyrnong River, which became the site of a hospital for our purposes; and our mission. Dressing in sharp 1950s suits, trench coats and hats, we reported to wardens, received instructions and spoke to some concerned (and some eerily-calm) nurses and doctors about a patient who had gone missing. As always, Underground Cinema did an amazing job in immersing us into this thriller- like environment. Wandering through dark tunnels to lavish offices and derelict dormitories, with the Underground Cinema actors making us question was what real and not, I have to admit to grabbing my plus one’s arm in fear (and being laughed at for it). Luckily there were Jameson cocktails, food trucks and popcorn for us to break the tension. As we finally sat down to the film (guessed yet? Scorsese’s Shutter Island), the audience cheered as the opening title came up. It happens every time at Underground Cinema, and I’m pretty sure it keeps the audience coming back. Get involved with the Underground Cinema movement here.
What is enlightenment to you? What would we see, if the world was more enlightened? These are just some of the many questions posed at ‘Enlightenment at the Calyx’, located in the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney during VIVID Sydney 2018. The night kicks off with a short walk down to the Calyx with a quick stop on the way to observe an evocative performance of light and art. The performance provides a little hint of what to expect from the guest speakers later in the night. Cocktails, wine and curated food greet you as you enter the Calyx and take in the cool, crisp evening with lights projecting across the night sky from the Sydney Harbour. It seems a fitting venue to be starting meaningful conversations about what it means to be human. So with that, it’s also a good time to grab another vodka cocktail. The short talks are fascinating and thought provoking. Speakers include Fiona Kerr, Neural and Systems Complexity Specialist who explores the wonders and possibility of our brain. She tells us they are now researching chakras. Do they actually exist? The crowd goes wild. Entomologist and collaborative memory and intelligence specialist Tanya Latty takes us on a journey into the mysterious world of ants and other insects. Collectivem mind expert Derek Leddie talks about the three brains – the one in our head, heart and gus. And philosopher and writer Tim Dean asks us to take an everyday item and think about what it really is? An evening of light, conversation,… Read More