The Best New Experiences in Sydney This Week

This post is presented by the All New Toyota Corolla Sedan.

There's plenty of fun to be had in this city each week, but there's only a small handful of truly fresh urban adventures to be had. We've partnered with Toyota to find the very best of these shiny-new experiences in Sydney. Presented by the All New Toyota Corolla Sedan, these are our picks to put you on the road to a life of goodtimes. Now your only challenge is getting to them all.

This week is all about being a glutton for chicken, loitering till late at Sydney's favourite garden estate, seeing the sun float in the harbour and picnicking in total style.

Eat: Fat Bubba's Chicken Wednesdays

Building on the popularity of their insanely valuable Dollar Dawg Tuesdays, Sydney favourite The Soda Factory has launched two new evenings of cheap eats, sure to add spice to your week and keep dollars in your pocket. Wednesdays will celebrate all things chicken, with Fat Bubba's Chicken Wednesday bringing with it outrageous $1 hot buffalo wings, plus a $10 bucket of fried chicken that'll give Colonel Sanders a run for his money. You can also get your hump day groove on, with live retro swing tunes from the Soda Factory resident bands. Thursday's Late Night Soda Social has a '50s vibe and $5 diner specials.

16 Wentworth Avenue, Surry Hills

Drink: The Potting Shed

The Grounds of Alexandria is expanding, with The Potting Shed, a late-night bar and eatery, set to open on Monday, March 24. In what is sure to be another outstandingly popular move by the team, the Potting Shed will be an extension of the unique Grounds experience, mirroring the impressive design aesthetic and staying true to its comfortable charm. There's a lot still in the works before opening, but what we do know is that the bar will be open 11am till late (later than the CBD lockouts? That remains to be seen), seven nights a week. Expect to see the fresh herbs and produce-driven techniques specific to the Grounds experience reflected in the cocktail list.

Building 7A, 2 Huntley Street, Alexandria

See: Madama Butterfly

Yes, that is the sun floating in Sydney Harbour. It's just part of the no-holds-barred set-up for Madama Butterfly, this year's Handa Opera on the Harbour. The night is a sensation whether you love opera or can't fathom it, which is why each year it brings in a huge audience of opera newbies. There's so much to enjoy: the transporting music, the lively choreography, the larger-than-life costumes, the themed pop-up bars and that eternal fail-safe — the outlook over the Opera House, Harbour Bridge and other wonders of Sydney Harbour. If your thoughts wander away from the action on the stage, it's to drink in the sense of occasion and feel immediately intoxicated.

March 21 - April 12; Mrs. Macquaries Point , Fleet Steps

Do: Lost Picnic

For many of us, the festival season's been plagued by cancellations and hot chips that are actually cold. Thankfully, the clever Simon Beckingham and Wade Cawood are lifting the game with their new boutique festival. Appropriately named Lost Picnic, the Centennial Park event will begin a new festival tradition of gourmet eating this Sunday, March 23. While you graze on the hampers on offer, local musos — including singer-songwriter Megan Washington, alt-rockers The Rubens, Emma Louise, Dustin Tebbutt and Sons of the East — will make for a more bohemian alternative to the festival season. The gourmet hampers are put together by renowned chefs Martin Boetz from The Keystone Group and Maurice Terzini from Icebergs and the Cherry Kitchen.

March 23; Centennial Park