Author: Nazia Hafiz

Caffeine aficionados to flock to The Rocks Aroma Festival this weekend (Sydney)

Coffee. Nectar of the gods. Sweet, black gold. It’s not surprising that an annual festival celebrating one the finest beverages to ever have been invented does exist. Coffee aficionados prepare to unite this coming Sunday 24th July at heritage listed, iconic venue that is The Rocks in Sydney, to sample and be educated on the…

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Liverpool’s Gemelle Ristorante Italiano unleashes their ultimate Butcher’s Feast (Sydney)

Located in Sydney’s greater western suburb of Liverpool Gemelle Ristorante Italiano is taking the Italian tradition of warmth and generosity to a new level with the launch of their ultimate Butcher’s Feast. The restaurant which established itself firmly in the community in the early 90’s has become known for its sophisticated take on hearty, regional…

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Sydney’s Winter Festival sets up in front of St Mary’s Cathedral

Winter Festival has kicked off this month, and will be running until the 17th July outside of its usual St Mary Cathedral spot in Sydney’s CBD. The festival offers up a stack of fun activities embracing the winter chill including an ice skating rink complete with cute little ‘penguin aids’, munich bier pop-up, european food…

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Review: Drake Eatery’s Producers Dinner – Bondi (Sydney)

Drake Eatery’s chic yet homely decor would only be half the reason Bondi passers by would gravitate towards a place named after two things, the street Head Chef Ian Oakes’ grandma lived on and his favourite poultry. Focussed on simply prepared dishes that hero quality locally sourced and sustainable produce in a relaxed setting, it seems…

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Heineken embrace Australian multiculturalism with City Shapers Festival

Heineken will be celebrating global cultural, culinary, musical and art contributions which have positively helped shape and influence Australia’s diversity as part of a City Shapers Festival which will span across Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth. Whilst all capital cities will share in the fun it seems Melbourne is set for a truly memorable experience…

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Pier One Sydney Harbour is hosting a Chivas Regal Winter Lodge

The downstairs lobby and back bar area of luxury boutique hotel Pier One on Sydney’s harbour has been transformed into a lush winter ski lodge where guests can sink into comfortable rich furnishings, warm up by an open flame and of course sip on a Chivas whiskey based cocktail or two. Positioned to take advantage…

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Cadbury celebrate Australian Olympic Team with limited edition Lamington and Apple Crumble flavours

In the lead up to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, confectionary giant Cadbury has decided to celebrate its proud partnership with the Australian Olympic team in the sweetest way possible, by releasing two limited edition quintessentially Australian flavoured family blocks of their signature milk chocolate. The move not only boosts support for the team (fitting…

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DVD Review: How to be Single (M) (USA, 2016)

Given the combined creative genius of writers (Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein, Dana Fox) who co-wrote this screenplay, one would have expected to strap themselves in for a solid, heart wrenching, feel good romp with How to be Single. However not all rom-coms are created equal and this would be sure fire winner, boosted by the…

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Food and Art fuse as Carriageworks announce series of exclusive dining experiences for Vivid Sydney

Food has evolved into more and more of a true art form, an expression of creativity, a joyful at times theatrical experience depending on where you go or whom you talk to. Carraigeworks are planning on taking dining out further into the realm of an all encompassing series of events dubbed Sydney Table, teaming up…

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Baron Samedi Spiced Rum launches in Australia with a little help from The Rubens

Last week Merivale venue Beresford Hotel hosted a mysterious, spectacularly macabre scene as part of Campari Australia’s launch of a new brand of spiced rum named after Haitian/Lousiana voodoo spirit of death Baron Samedi. Campari Australia teamed up with Nova Entertainment putting together an immersive musical and theatrical experience available exclusively for competition winners and…

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First Impressions: Hunter Gatherer – North Sydney (Sydney)

This week North Sydney spruced its nightlife with the launch of new bar and eatery, Hunter Gatherer, adding to the few options the area offers for the “make a night of it” crowd. It seems the ambient splendour and quality of canape and cocktail served up at Hunter Gatherer’s opening night, may hint at a…

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Live Review: Paul Mason Power Trio + Ollie Brown – Venue 505, Sydney (31.03.16)

There’s something to be said about witnessing an artist who truly knows their way around an instrument, especially in an intimate setting such as Venue 505, which is well known for corralling the greatest and sometimes most inconspicuous local jazz talent. Paul Mason and his power trio put their names up on 505’s entry way…

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Premium food delivery service Suppertime announce rebrand to Foodora at Australia’s first restaurant without a kitchen

Premium food delivery service Suppertime have chosen to take on the branding and name of their parent company foodora, a globally operated on-demand food boutique based in Germany, which acquired them last year. The start-up have made a name for themselves via their accessibility to the hottest restaurants around (most of which don’t have their…

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GABS Beer, Cider and Food Festival to tour Sydney, Melbourne, and Auckland in May

Sydneysiders, Melbournites and for the first time ever, Kiwis rejoice! The hugely popular and expansive GABS Beer, Cider & Food Festival (formerly known as the Great Australasian Beer SpecTAPular) is back bigger, better and more bevvy laden than ever before in May, and will see more than 400 craft beers and ciders including 120 ‘Festival…

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OzHarvest’s Annual CEO Cookoff in Sydney raises over $1.5M in support of Australia’s most vulnerable

Celebrating its fifth year, the somewhat bittersweet and momentous occasion that is OzHarvest’s CEO Cookoff took place this week in the palatial grandeur of The Cutaway at Barangaroo Reserve. It was a day that resulted in a record $1.5 million being raised for OzHarvest, with funds still climbing. 2016 has been the biggest year for…

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Textbook Boulangerie Patisserie – Alexandria (Sydney)

Tucked away on the corner of Botany Road and Mandible Street Alexandria unassuming Textbook Boulangerie Patisserie has been a long term goal of John Ralley and Steve Anderson, realised when they opened for business a mere five months ago. The duo, having met over a decade ago during their apprenticeship in the Southern Highlands, have…

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Test driving Adrenaline with a scenic helicopter flight over Sydney harbour

Christmas is looming and the heat is on to one-up family and friends in the gift department. Thankfully, it’s surprisingly easy to give someone a unique and unforgettable experience with or without the ‘thrill seeking’ intensity factor via Adrenalin, one of Australia’s leading experience sites. The team have put together all sorts of exciting, inexpensive activities…

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DVD Review: Self/Less (USA, 2015)

Mankind’s eternal search for the fountain of youth has seen Hollywood explore more than one scenario where immortality is a reality, always at some morally reprehensible dystopic expense. Films such as Elysium,The Island, Transcendence or more recentlyChappie have approached the idea from different angles with great success. Whether director Tarsem Singh’s (The Fall, Immortals, The…

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Public House Petersham – Petersham (Sydney)

It’s a given that any decent pub needs to check the following boxes to attract a crowd over the summer months: comfortable beer garden, nice selection of local and imported bevvys and tasty pub grub. Thankfully we inner-west suburbanites are spoilt for choice when it comes to places that qualify, to which the ranks can…

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Eating with the AU: Gelato Messina X Airwick ‘Edible Life Scenes’ pop up (Syndey)

Let’s just say trying to explain how a partnership between connoisseurs of fine gelato and a major air fragrance company may work to anyone elicits some pretty intriguing reactions. However, given Gelato Messina’s rather unique and quirky approach to producing their flavours, it makes sense they’d take inspiration from Airwick’s new Life Scents range, don…

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Film Review: Self/Less (M, USA, 2015)

Mankind’s eternal search for the fountain of youth has seen Hollywood explore more than one scenario where immortality is a reality, always at some morally reprehensible dystopic expense. Films such as Elysium,The Island, Transcendence or more recently Chappie have approached the idea from different angles with great success. Whether director Tarsem Singh’s (The Fall, Immortals,…

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Eating with the AU: Grill’d Nourish & Flourish Burger launch with nutritionist Lola Berry

Grill’d Ambassador Lola Berry with celebrity personal trainer Dan Adair There’s nothing like a good burger, one that barely fits in your mitts or your mouth, the crunch of fresh ingredients and soft bun giving way as you bite into it, catching driblets of juicy goodness before they stain your shirt. Yep, there are a…

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Eating with the AU: The Smoking Panda’s first birthday – CBD (Sydney)

The Smoking Panda is one of those blink and you’ll miss it places, a nameless sign stamped with a cute furry panda is the only clue that this hidden gem of a bar even exists. Which is just the sort of thing to be expected from its cheeky collaborators barman/mad scientist Grant Collins (White Hart, The Powder…

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Jumping with the AU: Big Air Festival – Sky Zone’s 1st Birthday Party – Alexandria (Sydney)

Sky Zone came to our backyard, took one look at that lone, depressingly rusty trampoline drowning in overgrown lawn and decided Australia needed more awesomeness in its life. In the spirit of one upmanship they took a stadium, lined it with trampolines (and padding you know, for safety’s sake) and said ‘hey kids, have at it!’…

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Event Recap: The Cake Bake and Sweets Show – Olympic Park (Sydney)

Gravity defying tea cup cake, cake decorating championship finalist Sydney Olympic Park Stadium braced itself over the weekend when it opened its doors to thousands of sugar-crazed patrons for the annual Cake Bake and Sweets Show. Three glorious days of sweet treats and basically anything that goes in, on or around a cake is hardly…

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Behind the Scenes: Head Chef Chris Irving teams up with AMCS to host David Thomas Conservation Oration at The Gantry

Chef Chris Irving can claim some pretty incredible career achievements, including organising a banquet for the Queen, consulting for the Spanish Noble family, feeding the Beckhams and working alongside Chef Gordon Ramsay for four years. His hard work has led to an illustrious career and status that he’s used to champion the adoption of ethically…

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Film Review: The Book Of Life (PG) (USA, 2015)

‘Dia de Muertos’ aka Day of the Dead has always been a great theme for films to work with, particularly animated ones. Director Jorge Gutierrez has taken the opportunity to inject the Mexican tradition’s vibrancy into The Book of Life, generating a sense of wonderment through stunning visuals and lively characters. The film’s plot revolves…

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Film Review: The DUFF (M) (USA, 2015)

Every once in a while a phrase or acronym surfaces which unjustly gives legs to a social stereo­type. In The Duff (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) Director Ari Sandel applies his tongue in cheek approach to some of the more serious social undercurrents that continue to plague ‘young people’ working out their place in the world, resulting in a film…

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TV Review: Bob’s Burgers Season 5 Episode 16 “The Runaway Club” (USA, 2015)

From the minute the opening theme rolls into the bass lines to Simple Minds anthem for The Breakfast Club ‘Don’t You Forget About Me’ it’s apparent that this episode’s going to be something special. In hindsight the title really says it all, meshing elements of the play on The Breakfast Club, the fashion runway themes…

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Eating with the AU: Taste of Sydney 2015 – Centennial Parklands

Not even sporadic torrents of rain on Friday night could deter the most eager food enthusiasts flocking to the heart of picturesque Centennial Parklands for a chance to dine, shop and learn from a selection of Sydney’s finest culinary innovators, as part of the annual Taste of Sydney premium food and drink festival. A comfortably spaced array of restaurant…

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