Thanks to winter festivals, pop-up ice skating rinks and mulled wine, there are no longer any excuses to stay glued to the couch when the going gets cold. In fact, it's the ideal time to make a sneaky weekend getaway to cosy lodgings. If you're looking for a spot that isn't too far away yet offers adventure aplenty, then go for a staycation at one of the AccorHotels nearby in Parramatta, just 25 kilometres west of the Sydney CBD. Skip the traffic by catching a train or ferry, then divide your weekend between wandering along the Parramatta riverfront, feasting on authentic international fare, strolling in bush-tucker gardens and drinking creative cocktails. EAT AND DRINK For one of the best brekkies in town, claim a table on Circa Espresso's sunny terrace — or the lamp-lit, book-filled back room. Among the Middle Eastern-inspired offerings are Ottoman eggs with crumbed eggplant, garlic labneh, burnt chilli, sage butter and seeded sourdough. The coffee is roasted in small batches: Three Ropes — a buttery, chocolatey blend of Colombian, Guatemalan and Peruvian beans — or a single origin. Other spots for a good morning brew and bite are White Henry Espresso, tucked away in Fire Horse Lane and country farmhouse-esque Paper Plane, which serves up Little Marionette coffee. Come lunch or dinner time, head to hybrid eatery-retail space Butter. Yep, this is the sibling of the Surry Hills original, but it's twice the size. Stay downstairs for fried chicken, Champagne and hip-hop; head upstairs for sneakers, hoodies, caps, socks and bags. Another couple of inner-city favourites to have set up digs in Parramatta are BL Burgers and Neil Perry's Burger Project. For a more local experience, try dining at Temasek. Prepare to queue for a table — foodies pack out this friendly, no-frills eatery for excellent Malaysian and Singaporean dishes, from laksa to nasi goreng. Meanwhile, just one train station — or five minutes' drive — away is Harris Park's cornucopia of Indian restaurants, where Chatkazz does tasty, affordable, vegetarian street food and Not Just Curries, an array of regional dishes from all over India. Or, for something fancier, head to 350 Restaurant and Bar, the refined offering within the Novotel Sydney Parramatta, for a three-parter of blue swimmer crab with sweet corn veloute, Cape Grim beef cheeks and Frangelico panna cotta. It's recently nabbed a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence, which goes to the spots with the top user reviewers. A couple of sweet spots for pre-dinner bevvies are ALEX&Co., whose cocktail bar overlooks Parramatta River, and the Riverside Brewing Company, which offers an ideal winter beer in the chocolatey Eighty-Eight Robust Porter. Note that the cellar door is only open Friday and Saturday, 2pm—6pm. After dinner, swing by Uncle Kurt's, a street art-plastered small bar hidden away in a car park that feels as though it's straight out of Brooklyn and where head bartender Alex Colman makes every cocktail from scratch. Among his winter-friendly signature creations is the Westside, a heartening concoction of kaffir lime leaf-infused gin, yellow chartreuse, citrus, sugar snap peas, honey and ginger. DO Parramatta knows how to throw a festival just as well as the Sydney CBD. Coming up from October 9–12 is Parramatta Lanes, which takes over the area's laneways, plazas and hidden nooks. Roam the night and you might stumble across bands, street eats, pop-up bars, projections, glowing sculptures and interactive art installations.Before or after, book a ticket to a show at Riverside Theatres — the diverse program features everything from political satire to orchestral performances. During the day, Parramatta's surprisingly bushy outdoors offer stacks of escapades. To immerse yourself in Indigenous culture, head to Parramatta Park, where the Burramatta Aboriginal Landscape Trail travels through terrain that's been regenerated to reflect its state before European arrival. Meanwhile, among Parramatta Lake's 73 hectares of bushland, you'll find the Arrunga Bardo Bush Food Garden, crowded with edible and medicinal plants. Need to get warm? Jump on your bike and conquer one of Parramatta's many and varied cycle paths. The Heritage Ride takes in 27 historical spots; the Parramatta Park Ride is an easy, 3.5-kilometre loop through greenery; and the riverside route travels (mostly) along the waterfront to Sydney Olympic Park. If you have more of a lazy winter weekender in mind, then head to the Wentworth Atelier, a revamped Victorian terrace, for a blow dry or hot towel shave — with a top-shelf whiskey — at Dapper & Doll or to get measured up for a shirt or suit at the old-school Tailor & Co. SLEEP When you're on a wintry break, sleeping over in a snug spot is half the fun. For a stay right on the river — and just a minute's walk from the CBD — check into the Novotel Sydney Parramatta. The 4.5-star digs vary from Standard Rooms with queen or twin beds to Spa Suites with jacuzzis, but all come with massive windows that let in buckets of winter sunshine and splashes of earthy colours. There's an on-site gym, steam room, outdoor pool, restaurant and bar. For a more affordable option, book a room at the Mercure Sydney Parramatta, right near Rosehill Gardens Racecourse. You can count on a spacious, peaceful room, plus there's a tennis court, outdoor pool and the M Restaurant and Bar, serving contemporary Australian cuisine. Go to the AccorHotels website to book your stay in Parramatta, and to discover more of NSW, swing by Visit NSW.
UPDATE: 1.19PM, MARCH 29 — Staff have returned to Sydney Airport's Air Traffic Control Tower and all arrivals and departures have resumed. Head to your airline's website to check on the status of your flight. Have an interstate — or overseas — getaway planned for this weekend? Prepare for some possible flight delays and cancellations. A fire at Sydney Airport led to a temporary full ground stop — with no aircraft departing or arriving at midday on Friday, March 29. Air Services Australia reported that the Sydney Air Traffic Control Tower had been evacuated after smoke was detected in the building. While there's no further information as to the extent of the fire at this point, at 12.17pm, the Sydney Airport reported that some arrivals were being processed — but still no planes were leaving. https://twitter.com/AirservicesNews/status/1111437366156115969 With Fridays being one of the busiest days for Sydney Airport, this could lead to delays throughout the afternoon and, possibly, into the weekend. Passengers are being advised to check the status of their flight with their airline. We'll update you as soon as we know more and when services resume. For more updates, head to the Air Services Australia Twitter or to the relevant airline website.
The Central Coast is set to gain a massive new hospitality precinct thanks to Australian entrepreneur extraordinaire John Singleton. He's done much to develop the high-end hospitality scene on the Central Coast, with his ventures include the award-winning Pretty Beach House and Bells at Killcare Boutique Hotel. Next to receive the Singleton treatment is Gosford's 14-storey Bonython Tower — a luxury waterfront mixed-use building at Point Frederick, in which Singleton will open a new six-in-one venue offering. The Bon Pavilion is slated to open mid-April. Longtime hospitality partners Brian and Karina Barry (Pokolbin Hunter Valley Resort) will get in on the action, having also joined Singleton on Bells at Killcare, Pretty Beach House and the Bluetongue Brewery. In the kitchen is celebrity executive chef Sean Connolly, who is best known locally as the man behind The Morrison Bar and Oyster Room, but also operates highly lauded venues in Byron Bay, Auckland, Adelaide and Dubai. Connolly is all about ethically sourced produce and simple food done well, which will of course be on display across Bon Pavilion's many offerings. And we mean many. The enormous pavilion is split between six 'zones', each with a distinct offering. First up there's Bonfire, the venue's main dining room, which'll open for lunch and dinner — think freshly shucked oysters, seasonal fish and premium cuts of steak, plus an extensive wine list with a strong focus on Hunter Valley drops. For even more wine, head to the Bon Vin cellar door, which'll offer up premium wines from around the globe — including Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Spain and South America — with bottles ranging from $38 to a whopping $750. Then there's Bon Bar, open from midday until midnight, and slinging Australian and international craft beer on tap, a wide range of spirits and seasonal cocktails, plus late-night bar snacks. For more casual fare, Bon Bon Espresso offers breakfast and lunch, along with a selection signature cocktails and house wines — a clear theme across the board. There's also separate private dining and function rooms for booking. Speaking of a many hats, Connolly is also the space's creative director and will be responsible for the fit-out, alongside design practice Alexander & Co. The firm's resume boasts The Imperial Erskineville, Park House, Stanton & Co and The Sheaf, along with The Morrison and Connolly's venues in Dubai and Adelaide. The Bon Pavilion will open mid-April at 159 Mann Street, Gosford. Keep an eye on this space for updates closer to opening. Images: Jacs Powell Photography.
Having just reopened earlier this month, Merivale's The Royal in Bondi wasn't quite ready in time to take part in the group's Bottoms Up, Sydney campaign, where each of the group's venues slashed its drinks by 49 percent from 5–7pm daily across the entire month of June. But that doesn't mean the eastern suburbs pub has missed out on the happy hour fun completely — instead, The Royal will be hosting its own (almost) half-price happy hour — Bottoms Up, Bondi — offering the same 49 percent off daily deal throughout October. Head in from 5–7pm any day next month to score some very impressive savings on all cocktails, beer, spirits, wine and Champagne, as the pub sets out to cement itself as a favourite in the hearts of thirsty locals. The pub, which has been kicking around in some capacity since 1907, was acquired by Merivale late last year and is now pouring a hefty range of booze for just about every palate and budget. Swing by to get your nearly half-price kicks with a summery daiquiri, an espresso martini on tap, an interesting bottle of natural wine, or even something bubbly, celebratory and French. The Royal's attached retail offering The Bottle Shop has also reopened, and the pub's restaurant and courtyard will be back in action by summer, playing host to an exciting yet-to-be-announced food pop-up for the sunny season. Find The Royal at 283 Bondi Road, Bondi. It's open 10am–midnight, Mon–Sat and 10am–10pm, Sun. Bottoms Up, Bondi will run from 5–7pm daily for all of October.
Fridays are great, except for when your morning trip to work takes much longer than expected. That's the scenario many Sydney commuters faced this morning — Friday, August 23 — when the train network was hit by major delays because of a mechanical issue at Town Hall. As it turns out, it was quite the issue as the delays are set to continue into the evening commute. Make sure your phone's got a lot of juice — or you've at least got a book with you — because Transport for NSW is currently reporting major delays on the T1 North Shore and Western Line, T2 inner West and Leppington Line, T3 Bankstown Line, T4 Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra Line, T8 Airport and South Line and T9 Northern Line. Yep, that's six out of nine inner city train lines. If you're heading out of town this evening, you should be ok unless you're planning to jump on the Central Coast to Newcastle train — that one has been hit by big delays, too. This morning's incident continues to delay our services into this afternoon's peak. The Rail Operations Centre is working on a plan to run a frequent service on all lines. Please consider travelling home earlier/later or delay any non-essential travel. Updates to follow. pic.twitter.com/EfFeOpiB4l — Trains Info (@TrainsInfo) August 23, 2019 Travellers are being advised to either leave work early, head home later or avoid travelling at all if possible. You'll definitely need to allow plenty of extra time for travel, and make sure you listen to announcements and check indicator boards as trains may have altered stopping patterns. At the moment, the delays don't seem to have hit buses, so, if you're travelling to or from North Sydney you could try the 290, M20, 343 or 263. This morning saw long lines for buses, though, so you can probably expect the same to happen in the after-work rush. The delays come after trains were stopped between Town Hall and North Sydney for over three hours while an electrical crew worked to repair a loose hatch on a train, which was close to overhead wiring. While the mechanical issue was repaired at around 8.45am, but the flow-on effect has been huge. Here are some pictures of just how close this hatch was to 1500 volts of overhead wiring today. It appears that something has struck this hatch prior to arriving at Town Hall. We're investigating. As you can understand, we needed to isolate the power before starting repairs. pic.twitter.com/Px3YkkPDck — Trains Info (@TrainsInfo) August 23, 2019 To stay up-to-date with delays, check the Transport for NSW website and real-time apps. Image: This line for buses at Newtown Station this morning, by Quinn Connors.
Fridays are great, except for when your morning trip to work takes much longer than expected. That's the scenario many Sydney commuters are facing this Friday, August 23, as the train network is hit by major delays because of a mechanical issue at Town Hall. No trains were running between Town Hall and North Sydney for over three hours while an electrical crew worked to repair a loose hatch on a train, which was close to overhead wiring. While the mechanical issue was repaired at around 8.45am, the partial T1 line closure has caused heavy delays across the T2 Inner West & Leppington, T3 Bankstown, T8 Airport & South Lines and T9 Northern Lines. https://twitter.com/T1SydneyTrains/status/1164658072255631360 Commuters travelling from the city to North Sydney are being told to catch buses 290, M20, 343 or 263 from Town Hall. Special charter buses are also running from Clarence Street at Wynard Station, stopping at Milsons Point and North Sydney Stations. Travellers on the T2, T3, T8 and T9 lines are being told to allow for plenty of extra travel, listen to announcements and check indicator boards. Commuters on the ground in the inner west are reporting extremely long lines for buses as commuters avoid the train. [caption id="attachment_738837" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Quinn Connors[/caption] To stay up-to-date with delays, check the Transport for NSW website and real-time apps.
If you experienced lauded director Barry Jenkins' last film Moonlight, then you would know that he's able to load his movies up with an emotional punch like no one else can. And if you believe the early reviews for his latest production If Beale Street Could Talk, this time around could possibly be even more powerful. Starring Kiki Layne as Tish and Stephan James as Fonny, this adaptation of James Baldwin's acclaimed novel is a love story set within the bustling world of 1970s New York. As the leading couple fall in love and come to expect their first child, their promising future is left in tatters when Fonny is arrested for a crime he didn't commit. Elegantly adapting Baldwin's celebrated portrayal of black America, the three-time Academy Award-nominated Jenkins offers up a cinematically stunning masterpiece that considers the power of love and family alongside a razor-sharp social commentary. Currently sitting at a 94% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it seems like Jenkins has produced yet another massive success. You can catch his latest flick nationwide from Thursday, February 14 — be sure to check out the trailer here beforehand. But if you can't wait until Thursday, we've got our hands on a bunch of double passes to the preview screening at Palace Central Cinemas on Wednesday, February 13. To be in with a chance, enter with your details below. [competition]707652[/competition]
Over the last 19 years, Kylie Kwong's semi-eponymous Billy Kwong has not only fed a lot of Sydneysiders — it's been an integral part of the evolution of Sydney's dining scene. While diners have been chowing down on the restaurant's crispy saltbush cakes and steamed warrigal greens dumplings, other spots in the city — and the country — have too embraced locally grown foods, ethical practices and native Australian ingredients. So it's no small deal that the restaurant is closing. Kwong has today announced that, as she approaches her 50th birthday this year, she will close her Chinese-Australian restaurant forever. It's set to stop service in the coming months. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs64b5tDDej/ It's not all bad news, though. The closure of Billy Kwong will make way for a brand new Sydney restaurant from the chef and restaurateur. Kwong has revealed that she will open a "completely new dining concept" in collaboration with Adelaide furniture designer Khai Liew that celebrates her "unwavering love of food, family and connection to the broader community at large". While details are still vague, this new restaurant will be more casual and smaller in size than Billy Kwong. Kwong first opened Billy Kwong on Crown Street with Bill Granger back in 2000. She soon bought him out and later, in 2014, partnered with restaurateur David King to move the restaurant into a bigger (and grander) space in Potts Point. It's since become a Macleay Street mainstay and many loyal locals will be sad to see the restaurant — as well as Kwong, who is regularly seen on the floor with her long-serving restaurant manager Kin Chen — go. A closing date has not been set as the team is waiting to secure a new tenant for the space first. We'll let you know when the restaurant's last service is announced, along with any info on Kwong's new venture. Find Billy Kwong at 28 Macleay Street, Potts Point. It will be service as usual for the time being, with dinner running every night of the week as well as lunch on Sundays.
This is your annual opportunity to show your ma how much she means to you. And there's no better way to do that than with an unexpected adventure. Ditch your usual local this Sunday, May 12 and take mum somewhere she's never been before — whether that's a decadent lunch and show at the Opera House or a special screening at Golden Age. All kinds of mums — from artists and foodies to feminists and philanthropists — are covered on this list, as is the entire spectrum of budgets. Organising Mother's Day doesn't get any easier. EAT A MOUNTAIN OF DESSERTS AT KOI If your mum's a sweet tooth, then this one's for her. For the second year running, Koi Dessert Bar will be hosting a Mother's Day high tea on the Saturday and Sunday at both its Chippo and Ryde locations. Think three tiers of Koi's stunning treats and as much tea and coffee as you can drink, for $75 a head. There'll be two savoury bites and seven desserts all up, including mixed berry and pomegranate macarons, a mango dragon egg and an elderflower-yuzu cake. If you're really keen to impress her, then add the decadent $20 rose lychee cake to your order — it's made up of peach mousse, bergamot ganache, rose gel and matcha sponge. CATCH A SYDNEY COMEDY FESTIVAL SHOW All mums deserve a good laugh. Make your job easy by nabbing her a ticket to a Sydney Comedy Festival show. There's a bunch taking place on Mother's Day. Highlights include the UK's Alfie Brown and Australia's own Alex Reynolds, who will both be at Marrickville's Factory Theatre the entire weekend. Can't make up your mind? Go for the Best of the Fest Showcase, which gives you a surprise lineup of the funniest of the funniest for just 20 bucks. TAKE HER TO A ROOFTOP LUNCH AND HELP A GOOD CAUSE The Glenmore is hosting a Mother's Day lunch on its rooftop with a difference — this year, it will be raising money for the Women's and Girls Emergency Centre, which helps women and girls at risk of homelessness. If you book, mums will receive a glass of G.H. Mumm champagne on arrival, too, and the panoramic views of the harbour don't hurt, either. The restaurant will be open for both lunch and dinner on the day, and its menu of elevated pub eats has something to make every mum happy — from salads and schnittys to pan roasted barramundi and beef cheek curry. Afterwards you can wander through The Rocks' special Mother's Day Market, which will run until 5pm. [caption id="attachment_660591" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Nikki To[/caption] HEAD TO LUNCH AND A SHOW Treat your mum to dazzling Harbour views and Peter Gilmore's modern Australian marvels with a Mother's Day lunch at Bennelong. You're free to choose from the two- or three-course a la carte menu ($110–145) or try the Cured and Cultured menu, which lets you nibble according to your appetite. All mums score a complimentary glass of champagne on arrival, too. Hang around afterwards and head to a show at the Opera House, most notably for Festival Unwrapped, which celebrates the work of five emerging artists across the various stages. CONQUER A SUNDAY MORNING JOG TOGETHER The Mother's Day Classic will return for its 22nd year on Sunday, May 12. The community event raises funds for the the National Breast Cancer Foundation through a series of 4–8 kilometre walks and runs. The morning begins at Macquarie Street at Martin Place and finishes in the Domain around noon. Registration is still open and is a great surprise for all those active and/or philanthropic mums out there. If you don't want to joint the walk or run, there are plenty of ways to help raise funds and awareness at the Royal Botanic Gardens carnival — it features food, jumping castles, roving entertainers, and live music throughout the day. SEE A MOTHER'S DAY MOVIE AT GOLDEN AGE Add a dash of Art Deco glam — and a cocktail or two — to Mother's Day with an outing to Golden Age Cinema and Bar. The picture house has organised a couple of special screenings with your mum in mind. At 3pm, catch the Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire classic, Funny Face. At 5.30pm, watch a doco exploring the work of iconic Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. Our top pick is the 8pm showing of Women at War, a Cannes award-winning Icelandic film for the environmentalist mums out there. Each screening has the option of adding a Mother's Day bundle, which includes a film ticket, a glass of Moët and a Gelato Messina choc top for $40. [caption id="attachment_662280" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Trent van der Jagt[/caption] SEE DRAG OVER DINNER AT THIS RENOVATED PUB A restaurant fit for a queen, Priscillas in Erskineville is hosting a special Mother's Day lunch and dinner. The vego-friendly restaurant inside the renovated Imperial Hotel is pairing your meal with with performances by the pub's resident queens, Ruby Slippers and Farren Heit. Plus, entertainer Etc Etc will interview her own mum about raising a drag queen. Donations on the day will go toward the local family support organisation Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. Sittings are at either 12.30pm or 6pm, and reservations can be made via the website. INDULGE IN CUBAN HIGH TEA WITH HARBOUR VIEWS Harbourside bar Hacienda is offering up a Cuban-style high tea this Mother's Day, along with impressive views of the Harbour Bridge and Circular Quay. For $89 per person, you'll get a full menu of Cuban eats and a Limoncello Spritz to boot. For small bites, think choripan sandwiches (grilled chorizo and tomato salsa on crusty bread) and slow-cooked beef empanadas with veggies and sriracha. For desserts there will be coconut and pineapple tarts with hazelnut praline and scones with rose petal and strawberry preserve and clotted cream. You can check out the full menu here and grab a table here while you still can. Mums will also go home with a goody bag by Benefit Cosmetics and Lindt. HAVE A SUNDAY ROAST IN THE GREENERY OF THE GROUNDS OF ALEXANDRIA Head to The Grounds of Alexandria's Atrium on the Sunday for a family roast lunch in honour of mum. Starting at 11.30am, all guests will receive a glass of sparkling wine on arrival, along with canapés and a one fine roast lunch to share. Expect a whole-roasted rib sourced from six-week dry-aged Cape Grim grass-fed beef. It'll be served with brioche-crumbed bone marrow, wild harvested mushrooms, horseradish and red wine jus. Accompaniments include sautéed greens with black garlic butter, cauliflower and gruyere gratin, glazed heirloom root vegetables and pan-roasted Lyonnaise potatoes. The table bookings are for four or more, priced at $85 per head. If you'd prefer, you can book in for brunch or high tea instead. GO OUT FOR A DECADENT GIN AND GELATO DEGUSTATION If you prefer an event that isn't strictly Mother's Day themed, take mum out the week after to the Gelato Messina and Archie Rose Degustation dinner on May 16, 17 or 18. The Messina Creative Department head chef Remi Talbot has joined forces with the gin, rum and vodka distillery in the form of an eight-course (and eight-drink) gelato degustation. Dishes include foie gras ravioli, beetroot and hibiscus granita, a savoury gelato sandwich served with bouillabaisse and a take on the French dessert Paris-Brest made with choux pastry, almond and burnt vanilla. Drinks are equally extra and include the Peach Cobbler, made with sparkling wine and nitrogen frozen peach, and the Wattle You Make Of It, with wattleseed, finger lime and black walnut. It'll cost a pretty penny at $190 per head — but, if you're willing to break the bank for a night out with mum, we reckon this one will be worth it.
Kitchen by Mike's casual approach to fine dining was game changing when the restaurant first opened in Rosebery all those years ago (way back in 2012). It combined casual eating, American high school lunchrooms, locally sourced ingredients and an acclaimed chef — Mike McEnearney — to create a flexible, no frills restaurant that sold itself through the main event: food. The canteen-style restaurant then closed — to much despair from fans — in 2015. But, now, it's back. This time, it has reopening in the CBD, which means city workers' lunch and breakfast options have just improved tenfold. Moving into the digs of McEnearney's now-closed fine diner No.1 Bent Street — located, fittingly, at 1 Bent Street — Kitchen by Mike is serving fresh, nourishing food from breakfast through dinner. Those familiar with the now-closed flagship KBM in Rosebery, or the new canteen at Sydney International Airport, will be pleased to know that well-loved breakfast favourites are still on the bill, such as McEnearney's bacon butty and avo toast with buckwheat, miso and nori, which are joined by new dishes like bone broth shots and handmade crumpets with honeycomb. His famed woodfired sourdough is also available — at all times. For lunch, you can browse an array of salads, woodfired and slow-cooked meats, tartines, pizza and puddings. Many vegetarian options are on offer, too, including cauliflower, sheep's curd, green apple and radicchio on sprouted buckwheat toast, and the famed cucumber, mirin, ginger and sesame salad. Salads will be made using all-Aussie produce — sourced at the markets that morning — and rotate daily. To check what's on that day's menu, check Kitchen By Mike's Instagram Story after 10am. While breakfast and lunch are only available on weekdays, dinner will also be available on Saturday nights. It includes more produce-led dishes such as burrata with grilled lemon, ash-baked eggplant, whole-baked cauliflower with chermoula and wood-roasted groper. The restaurant's drinks list is equally extensive, with Five Senses coffee, cold-pressed juices and kombucha available during the day — and all-Australian wines, beers and spirits available at night. Keeping with McEnearney's environmentally friendly approach to running venues, the restaurant is also low waste and single-use plastic free. Customers are encouraged to bring their own reusable takeaway containers — and coffee cups, of course — when ordering food to-go (and will receive a 10-percent discounts for their efforts). And there are plans to rebuild the Physic Garden on Bent Street, which was once attached to the Rosebery KBM outpost. At its biggest, the urban garden contained 100 different plant species, 50 of which were grown for their medicinal properties. Find Kitchen by Mike at 1–7 Bent Street, Sydney. It's open for breakfast and lunch from 7–11.30am and 12–3pm, Monday–Friday and for dinner from 5.30–11pm Monday–Saturday.
Twenty years after releasing their ninth and most celebrated record, The Soft Bulletin, Oklahoma rock legends The Flaming Lips are heading back Down Under. They're coming to Melbourne and Sydney to play the highly acclaimed album in full, as well as some of their greatest hits. Taking over the Sydney Opera House and Hamer Hall (the latter as part of Melbourne International Arts Festival), The Flaming Lips will bring their signature technicolour shows to life across four nights. Expect elaborate costumes, confetti cannons and even neon unicorns to fill the stages as the seven-piece band performs hits such as 'Waitin' for a Superman', 'Race for the Prize' and 'A Spoonful Weighs a Ton'. Released in 1999, The Soft Bulletin is widely accepted as the band's greatest album, named by NME as the Album of the Year and by Pitchfork as a 'masterpiece' and the third best album of the 90s. As well as playing this seminal album in full, The Flaming Lips will also perform some of their other greatest hits, including 'Do You Realize??' and 'Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1'. [caption id="attachment_724481" align="alignnone" width="1920"] George Salisbury[/caption] The Flaming Lips — The Soft Bulletin 20th Anniversary will take place at the Sydney Opera House on September 30 and October 1, and at Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne on October 3 and 4. Tickets go on sale at 9am on Friday, June 7, with pre-sale starting at 9am on Wednesday, June 5. To sign-up head to the SOH or Melbourne International Arts Festival website. Top image: George Salisbury.
It turns out you can loosen that grip on your wallet and breathe a little easier — Sydney has abandoned its position in the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) list of the world's top ten most expensive cities. As reported by the Age, in 2019's Worldwide Cost of Living Survey, our Harbour City fell from its 2018 standing of tenth place, in the most expensive cities index, to 16th. Melbourne, meanwhile, dropped eight spots down to 22nd position from 2018's number 14 ranking. For the first time, three international cities have shared the not-so-enviable top position, with Singapore, Hong Kong and Paris all clocking in scores of 107. The rankings are determined by price comparisons across more than 150 products and services, with the EIU looking at things like food, transport, utilities, clothing and rent in all the major cities. https://twitter.com/TheEIU/status/1107929944267603968 There are now no Aussie names in the top ten, with Brisbane, our third most expensive city, at number 41. In fact, Adelaide (which shuffled 21 spots down to 51st position) and Perth (now in 64th place, having dropped 18) are among the index's top 10 biggest downward movers, along with cities like Wellington and Istanbul. According to the EIU Global Chief Economist Simon Baptist, much of Sydney and Melbourne's drops were thanks to the weaker Australian dollar, with currency fluctuations having a hefty impact across the board worldwide. New York, Los Angeles, Osaka all increased this year, re-entering the top ten and knocking out Sydney. Via: theage.com.au
If you've wandered through Surry Hills or the CBD recently, you've probably seen quite a few passenger-less trams zooming around. And you've probably been wondering, like us, if they'll be taking passengers anytime soon. The answer is yes: next week. It's been a heck of a long time coming, but after multiple delays, you'll finally be able to board a tram on Sydney's new light rail from Saturday, December 14. Finally. Finally. And you'll be able to do so for free, too. Trips on the L2 Randwick-Circular Quay line won't cost a cent during the opening weekend. Time to make the most of your tax dollars. https://www.facebook.com/SydneyLightRailProject/photos/a.1175128939280346/2838116559648234/?type=3&theater To summarise the saga that is the CBD and South East Light Rail project: it was first announced back in 2012, construction began in 2015 and, since then, it's faced legal stouches, cost blowouts (to almost $3 billion) and delays galore, due to everything from awry overhead wires and a discovery of thousands of Indigenous artefacts. It was initially meant to be completed in early 2019, but that was pushed out to March 2020. Now, Transport for NSW has announced the first commuter services will be up and running by December 14. Just in time for all that Christmas shopping and economy boosting, of course. The project's completion also tidily coincides with the scrapping of the lockout laws in the CBD on January 14, 2020. Cynics will say it's more than a coincidence. After kicking off on 11am on Saturday, December 14, trams will run daily between 5am–1am. It'll also be a turn-up-and-go service with trams running every 4–8 minutes between Circular Quay and Central, and 8–12 minutes between Central and Randwick between 7am–7pm on week days (what's considered "peak" times). It'll be just one of the lines, the L2 line from Circular Quay to Randwick, that'll be up and running, however, with the L3 Kingsford to Circular Quay stretch expected to open in March 2020. It's not the first time trams have run through Sydney's CBD — just the first time in almost 60 years, with the old tram tracks ripped up back in 1961. Commuter services on the L2 Randwick Line (Randwick–Circular Quay) of the CBD and South East Light Rail will start on Saturday, December 14, 2019.
Is it your turn to plan date night or the next weekend adventure, and you're coming up short? Let us help. The Blue Mountains is great for a wintry escape — it's relatively close to Sydney, which means you get away without completely draining your annual leave balance, and it's chock-full of adventures — be it of the food or recreational kind. So, we want to help you trade the rush of the city for a breath of (very) fresh air with a winter weekend escape to the Blue Mountains — including the opportunity to explore the depths of an ancient rainforest. Alongside a voucher to spend on the Airbnb property of your choice, you'll score two adult Scenic World passes, so expect plenty of marvelling at the wonders of nature to ensue. There, you'll swap phone scrolling and swiping for panoramic views of the wilderness, waterfalls and the notable Three Sisters on the Scenic Skyway. You'll also get to ride the world's steepest train, the Scenic Railway. Then, after being immersed in the Jurassic-era temperate rainforest of the Jamison Valley Floor, you can feed your culture and food appetite with some of the Blue Mountains neighbourhood gems. We're talking a squiz at Platform Gallery, Australia's first dedicated feminist art gallery, a caffeine hit from Sorensen's Glasshouse and Garden, sipping some local drops at Dryridge Estate's cellar door and a bite or two of eclectic street food from around the world at 8Things. Enter your details below for a chance to win. [competition]723631[/competition]
The crew at Beyond Cinema have a knack for turning bedtime stories and big-screen flicks into immersive, larger-than-life adventures. Just look at last year's Great Gatsby-inspired party, which took over a glam northern Sydney mansion, or the more recent Harry Potter-themed potions classes, which were so popular the season had to be extended. Well now, it's the much-loved tale of Alice in Wonderland that gets the Beyond Cinema treatment, by way of an all-new immersive pop-up experience inspired by the nonsensical Mad Hatter. Descending on a secret Surry Hills location in the not-too-distant future, The Alice Bar invites punters to dive through the looking glass and into a fantasy world. Expect things to get curiouser and curiouser across your 90-minute visit, whether you're creating your own liquid concoctions under the guidance of The Mad Hatter, settling in for an indulgent tea party, or getting raucous with the likes of the March Hare and the Cheshire Cat. [caption id="attachment_740466" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Wizard's Cauldron[/caption] As always, Beyond Cinema is keeping most of the details scarce until closer to the date, though they're already old hands at bringing Alice In Wonderland to life. The team's earlier Mad Hatter's Tea Party events have proved a hit in both Sydney and Melbourne over the past couple of years. Beyond Cinema's The Alice Bar event will take place at a yet-to-be-revealed Surry Hills location in February, 2020. You can sign up for more details here.
As much as we love catching a movie under the stars, outdoors cinemas are usually more of a summer activity. After all, it's sort of hard to focus on the story when your extremities are going numb. Enter Hot Tub Cinema Sydney. Coming to a secret rooftop location in the second week of July, this novelty nickelodeon works exactly the way you think it does: you and your mates strip down to your togs and enjoy a flick from the comfort of a bubbling tub. Melbourne has already dabbled with the concept, with retro films and cocktails aplenty. The organisers of Hot Tub Cinema Sydney are yet to reveal which four films will feature on the program, although shame on them if they don't include Jaws or, failing that, Splash. Spots will be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis, although you can sign up for pre-release tickets. For more information and to stay in the loop about Hot Tub Cinema Sydney, visit their website.
Make sure you get your proper Sunday morning sleep in, because today you'll be dominating one, or many of the 13 bouldering courses at Nomad, a new bouldering gym that's popped up in Annandale. Home to the largest bouldering arch in the Southern Hemisphere, Nomad has 980 square metres of wall surface for you to climb all over. The somewhat terrifying difference between bouldering and normal rock climbing is that you'll be doing this activity without a harness. After you've finished working up a sweat, wind down with an arvo session at Wayward Brewing just around the corner. Check out who may be dishing out eats this weekend, cosy up on the vintage couches surrounded by friendly people and enjoy some Sunday live music from 4pm to 7pm.
If you've been using every birthday, wedding and office party as an excuse to jump online and order box upon box of Bakedown Cakery's sesame-raspberry chocolate bark, blood orange flavour bombs and white chocolate skulls, then we'd like to introduce you to your new home. Today, Bakedown opened a flagship on the Lower North Shore, where you can buy their creative sweet hits anytime you get a craving. You'll find the shop, which doubles as a chocolate studio, in the TWT Creative Precinct in St Leonards. Paint splashes, neon signs and sparkles make it hard to miss. If you're in any doubt, look out for the cabinet packed with bite-sized chocolates, the block-o-chocs in flavours such as passionfruit-sesame and matcha, and the face bark, printed with customers' faces, so you can eat not just your hat but your head as well. "We wanted to develop a store that delighted the senses and gave our customers the 'kid in a candy-store' experience, with stunning products that really catch the eye, but also have sophisticated flavour profiles," said Jen Lo, Founder and Creative Director, Bakedown Cakery. More often than not, you'll find Jen herself there, in chocolate-making and cake-decorating action. After all, there are always pralines that need filling, cupcakes that need icing and new flavour combinations to dream up. One of the secrets of Bakedown's success is never staying still for long. "Our in-cabinet chocolate range is on constant rotation, using different products and seasonal ingredients," said Jen. "One day you may bite into a mandarin, yuzu and dark chocolate bonbon; the next, a summer-inspired infusion of blood peach and white chocolate; and the next some homemade, heartwarming fudge." Find Bakedown Cakery at 62 Atchison St, St Leonards.
The Rocks is a big Sydney drawcard for both tourists and locals alike. The area's colonial history, evident in the iconic cobbled laneways and heritage pubs, gets most of the attention. But unmistakably interwoven into these storied streets is the culture and history of the earlier land custodians. The Rocks Dreaming Aboriginal Heritage tour allows you to take a step into the rich history and culture of Indigenous Australia. Owned and operated by Dunghutti-Jerrinjah elder Margret Campbell, this 90-minute tour takes visitors through The Rocks while providing commentary on Aboriginal Dreamtime and customs. It will lead to a deeper appreciation of the area and of how indigenous culture still thrives today. Tours depart daily at 10.30am.
Hosting a series of events and workshops throughout the month of September, The Wardrobe pop-up at Castle Towers will see industry leaders showing you tips and tricks on how to up your style game. Kicking off on Wednesday, August 23, events cover off a wide range of skills and interests, from fashion photography and illustration to cosmetic design to how to add some statement pieces to your wardrobe. While stylists will offer insight into the latest trends, professional makeup artists will hold 20-minute consultations on the benefits of natural cosmetics, properly matching your foundation to your skin tone and how to care for your skin during the warmer months. Instagram influencers will host sessions on flat-lay photography, The Lip Lab will teach you how to blend your very own shade of lipstick and Birdsall Leather will be on hand every day to monogram and personalise your leather pieces. With all these workshops on, we've happened to secure a double pass to Cult of Scent's DIY fragrance workshop to giveaway. At the workshop, you'll be able to craft and bottle your very own scent, tailored to you. What's more, we also have a $100 gift card to Castle Towers to give you as well, which you can redeem at any shop in the centre, including Aesop, David Jones, T2 and General Pants Co. Sound like your cup o' tea? Enter your details below for a chance to win. [competition]633489[/competition]
Music festival The Plot returns to Parramatta Park this November, and the all-Aussie lineup of artists it's bringing with it is better than ever. From the same minds behind Groovin' The Moo, The Plot's always been big champion of emerging local talent and, dropping its first artist announcement today, the festival looks set to continue its strong support of our up-and-comers. On Saturday, November 18, the festival will ring in its fourth year with the likes of electronic duo Saatsuma, Melbourne three-piece Cable Ties, Splendour and Meredith faves Confidence Man, Brisbane's Hollow Cove and triple j Unearthed finds, Northeast Party House. They'll be joined by more established favourites like Bec Sandridge, Brisbane songstress Airling and the ARIA-nominated sleepmakeswaves, with about 30 more names to come. And, if you've attended The Plot before, you'll know to expect plenty of other treats alongside their fresh selection of live local tunes. This year's festival promises to showcase some of the greater west's best, across a diverse array of food, drink, craft and clothing stalls. Just who'll be making an appearance will be revealed in the coming weeks. In the meantime, here's the first batch of acts announced for The Plot 2017. THE PLOT 2017 LINEUP Airling Alex The Astronaut Alice Ivy Bec Sandridge Cable Ties Confidence Man Dean Lewis Dear Seattle Haiku Hands Hollow Coves Jess Locke Kuren Kyle Lionheart Lastlings Maddy Jane Manu Crooks Ninajirachi Northeast Party House Nyxen (Live) Ruby Fields Saatsuma Skegss Sleepmakeswaves The Teskey Brothers Tigertown The Plot will take place on Saturday, November 18, at Parramatta Park. Grab tickets from August 24 over at theplot.co Images: Jess Gleeson.
Known for its impressive cocktail list, eclectic interiors and nondescript entry, Freda's in Chippendale is a favourite among the suburb's locals and visitors alike. In a new addition to the family, homemade pizzas will be gracing the kitchen every night in the form of Moon Pizza. Drawing inspiration from the famed slices of New York City and Puglia in Italy's south, Moon Pizza puts a modern spin on the traditional favourites, with seasonal combinations rolling out every week. Highlights include the Melenzane (eggplant and ricotta), Not So Napoli (confit garlic, olives, fried capers) and Patate (potato, truffled ricotta, rosemary). Prices start from $10. In more news, the venue has introduced a natural wine list, with a selection of whites, reds, oranges and roses chosen by sommelier Andrew Ainsworth (Paddington's 10 William Street bar). To welcome Moon Pizza to the joint, Freda's is hosting a Moon Launch bash with The Good Boys performing live on August 16, with DJ Salami, Patch Free and Casually Ciara on the decks. Moon Pizza launches on August 16. Find Freda's at 107-109 Regent Street, Chippendale.
Regular balloons might be considered a choking hazard, but the ones you'll find floating around at The Galeries next week are anything but — these ones are 100 percent edible and don't taste like rubber at all. Instead, the balloons come in a range of much more appealing fruity flavours like coconut, raspberry, passionfruit and orange. The whimsical desserts have been created by Sydney's legendary pastry artists Black Star exclusively for the retail precinct's SpringVention celebrations, which run from September 7-10. The floating treats will be on offer for free from midday each day, from the ground floor's pop-up Edible Balloon Bar. SpringVention is an initiative that sees CBD shopping precinct ring in the new season with a range of events. Across the four days, there'll be food specials, live music and special installations by acclaimed Sydney artist Dina Broadhurst. While you're there, take it as an opportunity to check out The Grounds of the City. SpringVention runs from Thursday, September 7, until Sunday, September 10, taking over The Galeries, at 500 George Street, Sydney. Get your hands on those free edible balloons from midday each day, at the Edible Balloon Bar on the ground floor.
If you've been lusting after this Twisties burger and you live in Sydney's northwest, do we have some news for you. Burger Head, the Penrith-based burger joint responsible for the monstrous creation and some all-round top burgs, is about to pop up in Beaumont Hills. The team hasn't released its opening date quite yet — keep an eye on the Facebook page for those — but we do know the temporary eatery will be showing up within a matter of days and hanging about for about three months. So you can consider your burger needs for spring more or less taken care of. The same trio who run the Penrith eatery — that's Tim Rosenstrauss (previously of the now-closed Master), Richard Borg (ex-Momofuku) and Joshua DeLuca (ex-Quay) — will be overseeing the Beaumont Hills incarnation. They've has a busy 2017, after opening in January, they've also made appearances at Burgapalooza and the Sydney Royal Easter Show. On the menu you'll find all the tasty morsels that've had Penrith salivating, from the cheeseburger (Angus beef patty, onion, pickles, cheese, Burgerhead sauce, mustard mayo) to the Clucker (buttermilk fried chicken thigh, pickled onion, mayo) and — needless to say — the Twisties burger. Burger Head will pop up at Shop 7, 70 The Parkway, Beaumont Hills within the next week. For opening details, keep an eye on their Facebook page.
When your nine-to-five plays out like a well-oiled machine, it can sometimes feel like each week is a little same-same. But Sydney is brimming with a fine bounty of things to experience and explore each and every day. So aside from casual laziness and a little lack of inspiration, there's really nothing stopping you from squeezing some adventure and spontaneity into your schedule. We've teamed up with Mazda3 to help you celebrate the little things that bring a sense of adventure to life. Shake things up, as we give you seven different detours in Sydney. From Monday to Sunday, enrich your everyday with one completely achievable cultural activity that inspires you to take the scenic route as you go about your daily routine. This week, dine in a private gallery, sketch overlooking the harbour and explore the biggest second-hand bookshop in Australia. Plus, we've got your future detours sorted for the new few weeks here. All require no more effort than a tiny break from the norm — what's your excuse for not trying them all?
Chippendale's warehouse-chic bar and nightclub Freda's is unveiling its newest food offering. Less than five months after opening its New York/Italian–inspired slice spot at the bar, Moon Pizza has announced it's throwing in the towel off to pursue other things. So, who will provide the food after a sweaty round of dancing? The bar's new food collaborator is called Cheesy Grin and it sounds like it will be a more than adequate replacement. It has previously popped-up at Grifter Brewing Co. and The Midnight Special, but will take up an extended residency at the Chippendale favourite starting on January 31. Chef Wesley Jones is at the helm and will serve up a well-rounded snack menu divided into four sections: ocean, landscape, sweet and salumi. And it has a strong selection of toasties. The 'ocean' section is inspired by Jones's upbringing on the south coast. Expect oysters — el natural or topped with nasturtium granita — and kingfish crudo, while under 'landscape' you'll find leafy green salads with herbs, flowers and veggies. The 'salumi' will include smaller nibbles, such as candied walnuts, beet pickles, stracciatella, roasted blood plum with lardo and a hearty meat plate. You can also choose to leave the deciding to Jones with the sample plate ($25). If you're hanging out for dessert, he'll also be whipping up deconstructed strawberry and white ganache doughnuts and a crumble flavoured with Grifter's pale ale, ginger ice cream and ganache. While the main menu will end at 10pm, Cheesy Grin will also be serving toasties right up until closing (which is 2am on Fridays and Saturdays), so you can cure that carb craving at 1am without hunting down a kebab store. The toasties will come on four different bread types — pretzel, brioche, sourdough and semi-sourdough — with a choice of fillings like sopressa and cured egg yolk, four cheeses, and snow peas and mint. If, on the opposite side of the evening, you're there early, you'll be able to order one of the few bowls of pasta available each night. At the moment Cheesy Grin's extended residency doesn't have a set end date, but we suggest you don't delay heading in to check it out. Cheesy Grin will open at Freda's on Wednesday, January 31. Head to the website for more details and the full menu.
Forget about spending this Saturday cleaning. The creative powers that be didn't come up with daffodils, blue skies and the like so you could stay indoors burdened by brooms and brushes. Instead, take full advantage of your precious weekend with a cheeky day trip to the Blue Mountains. Catch the train to Leura, a quaint little village that feels worlds away from the bustle of the metropolis. Sweet tooths will want to make a beeline for The Candy Store, an iconic lolly paradise in the Leura Mall Arcade. Expect speciality treats, old-school delights from your grandparents' childhood and international confectionary. Once you've had your fill of sweet treats, have a poke around the many shops, where you'll find unique fashion, antiques and other delights. Wrap up the day in Katoomba, with dinner at Scenic World's EATS270, where you'll get uninterrupted views over Jamison and the Three Sisters, with a killer Angus beef burger.
'Tis the season for many things, though at one particular pop-up Christmas market, the festivities are entirely, deliciously gin-related. Held at famed gin bar The Barber Shop and hosted by Sydney's own gin expert The Ginstress (aka Elly Baxter), the inaugural Christmas Gin Market is a one-stop pressie shop, with a very distinct flavour. Taking over the space for three hours on both December 7 and 14, expect a careful curation of gin-themed delights — products from top local distilleries, Treat Dreams' handcrafted gin-filled chocolates, gin-based marmalade from Four Pillars and gin-scented grooming products from the folks at Enright's Original Gin. You'll also be able to get your hands on the soundtrack from hit Sydney Festival show, Mother's Ruin: A Cabaret About Gin, and there'll be meet-and-greet opportunities with some of your favourite Aussie distillers. Browse top-notch gifts for your gin-thusiast mates, while sipping gin cocktails crafted by the Barber Shop team and you'll find yourself very much tapping into the Christmas spirit. The Christmas Gin Market runs from 6-9pm on Thursday, December 7 and Thursday, December 14. Find it at The Barber Shop, 89 York St, Sydney.
Lovers of art, music, live performance, quirky ideas and wild experiments, you have a brand new, rather roomy home. It's called Cement Fondu and you'll find it in a beautiful, 270-square-metre space in a leafy street in Paddo. Here, directors Megan Monte and Josephine Skinner are ready to surprise you, make you laugh and get you thinking. Drawing upon their two decades in the arts between them, they're planning out-of-the-box exhibitions, one-off performances and lively conversations. And that's just in the main gallery. There's also an Art Store, which will host artist takeovers, and The Project Space, to be dedicated to workshops, residencies and emerging artists. The frivolity will kick off on Saturday 10 March, with the opening of Cement Fondu's first exhibition, Suburbia. Between 6pm and 8pm, there'll be three live happenings: a cooking demo-storytelling show with Indian diva Radha La Bia (aka Shahmen Suku), a Miss Philippines-inspired Aerobics Oz performance by Caroline Garcia and The White Drummer, starring Tina Havelock Stevens (2017 Fisher's Ghost Award Winner). Open to the public from Thursday 15 March till Sunday 29 April, Suburbia will feature works by more than 15 local and international artists and collectives, spanning across art, music, cinema and performance, and exploring the concept of "looking beyond our own backyard". Expect paintings by Tangentyere artists Nerine Tilmouth, Louise Daniels and Elizabeth Nampitjinya; tapestries by Melbourne-based Paul Yore; audio works from the Sweatshop Western Sydney Literacy Movement; and stacks more. Meanwhile, Rosie Deacon, who's currently in residence at Parramatta Artist Studios, will take over the Art Store with her animal-inspired sculptures, jewellery and installations. And, in The Project Space, she'll be collaborating on a public workshop with a trio of artists from Studio A; look out for details. Find Cement Fondu is at 36 Gosbell Street, Paddington from March 10, or visit their website for further details. Image: Radha La Bia-Shahmen Suku, The Divine Game, 2017. Performance installation. Image credit: Tim da Rin.
In April, we farewelled Merivale's American-themed Manly eatery Papi Chulo. Now, in its place, we're set to welcome the hospitality group's second Queen Chow when it opens next week. Papi Chulo shut up shop on April 29, and the East Esplanade space has since undergone a small refurbishment. Group tables are now topped with lazy susans, tanks filled with live seafood great guests at the door and deep greens and dark timbers echo the hues of Queen Chow's sister restaurant in Newtown. What has remained, is the restaurant's stunning view out across the sparkling Sydney Harbour. In the kitchen, executive chef Patrick Friesen and dumpling master Eric Koh use Australian ingredients to recreate dishes served up at neighbourhood Chinese restaurants. Oysters — served from an impressive zinc-clad oyster bar — come topped with finger lime, Australian pipis are wok-fried with XO, and Moreton Bay bugs are doused in butter and black pepper. You'll also found Chinese-Australian staples such as sticky honey prawns, Mongolian lamb and deep-fried ice cream. Koh's famed dumplings are also a highlight of the menu, with a lineup of steamed or fried scallop and prawn siu mai, pork xiao long bao, prawn har gau and more. Alongside the food menu, Merivale's group sommelier Frank Moreau has pulled together another impressive wine list, with over 200 wines from across Australia and the world. Queen Chow's reopening is part of Manly Wharf's $9 million dollar makeover, and the restaurant will soon by joined by Rockpool Dining Group's Fratelli Fresh and Sake Restaurants, which are set to open later this year on the Wharf's second storey. Find Queen Chow Manly at Manly Wharf, 22-23 East Esplanade, Manly from Monday, July 9.
With another month of summer to go, Bondi Road's much-loved Latin American eatery has moved beachside. You'll find Panama House's new quarters in The Pacific, overlooking the sea, foregrounded by Campbell Parade. Making the most of the view is a stunning glass balcony, dotted with wooden benches and bright, summery cushions. Inside, there's seating for 120 on leather banquettes and comfy chairs surrounding ironbark tables, as well as a marble kitchen. Local Jason Grant took care of the design. In the kitchen, head chef Sean Kiely is busy with an all-day menu. Brunch, served until 4pm — for those days when you can't quite drag yourself from the beach — features the gumbo omelette (stuffed with prawns and chorizo and served on habanero corn bread with black beans and salsa verde), as well as the jalapeño rosti, made up of layers of guacamole, spinach, smoked mushrooms and a poached egg. Come evening, the dishes are more about sharing. Go for chargrilled, Western Australian octopus with chorizo esquites and salsa verde or Jamaican jerk spatchcock with edamame beans, black beans, rocket, charred corn and chimichurri. You shouldn't have too much trouble finding a match on the wine list, which includes 50 drops, all sourced from Australia and South America. As far as cocktails go, there's a bunch of jazzed-up classics, including the famous PH margarita. Panama House is now open at 180 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach. It's open Monday to Saturday, 8am–11pm, and Sunday, 8am–10pm. For more info, visit panamahouse.com.au. Images: Richard Mortimer.
Been itching to experience Bowral's acclaimed fine diner Biota, but aren't so keen on making the two-hour trek down south? Well, come June, you can sample the goods without putting in the kilometres, because chef and owner James Viles will bring Biota to the big smoke for a four-week residency in Chippendale. Taking over the former Silvereye space within The Old Clare Hotel from June 11 to July 7, it'll be a 'fun and casual' dining experience, built around Viles' trademark commitment to cracking local ingredients. The specially designed five-course menu is inspired by some of the Biota team's favourite places and produce, Australia's finest imagined in dishes like a whole salt and pepper mud crab with wild greens from Far North Queensland. As for the beverage pairing, there'll be signature cocktails made with all-Aussie spirits and a tight but interesting crop of domestic wines, curated by the restaurant's star sommelier Ben Shephard. There's even a beer crafted exclusively for the residency, that's made — believe it or not — from weeds. Expect a few more surprises, too, with a handful of special guests scheduled to make cameo appearances throughout the month. In May, Viles is hitting Far North Queensland for a cooking and camping trip with chef mates like David Moyle (Longsong), Aaron Turner (Igni) and Lennox Hastie (Firedoor) — word is, some of that crew will be swinging by the Chippendale kitchen, adding their own one-night-only dishes to the Biota menu. And if, after that, you're keen to head down to Bowral to check out where it all comes from, book in for one of Biota's 'gather and cook' adventures, where you'll go foraging in the Southern Highlands before eating your finds over a campfire feast. Biota Chippendale will run from June 11 until July 7 on level two of The Old Clare Hotel, Chippendale. It will be open for dinner Wednesday and Thursday, and for lunch and dinner Friday and Saturday. The five-course menu clocks in at $110 per person, with matched beverages for an extra $68 per person. Bookings can be made here.
Ah the Sydney property market. Just when you think it can't get any more depressing, along comes a story to drive home the fact that no, you'll probably never own your own home. Hell, from the looks of things, most of us will struggle to ever even own our own parking spot, after a 15 square metre space in Potts Point sold for close to 200 grand. According to Domain, the car space under the apartment building at 6 Challis Avenue was the subject of an intense bidding war between three parties, with the final bill coming in at $190,000. Laing Real Estate Agent Anthony Birdsall told the publication that parking spots in the area are "pretty scarce – most are attached to apartments." That may be true, but still… come on! For the record though, this isn't even the most expensive car space in Potts Point. In 2015 a spot in a private parking facility sold for $264,000. Must be nice having that kind of money. Must be reaaaal nice. Image: Flickr.
In case you hadn't noticed, Sydney is big. Really getting to know the ins and outs of an area are near impossible unless you live in it. Enter Culture Scouts. Culture Scouts is all about providing local walking tours with an edge. This tour won't cover the guide book favourites; it's a curated cultural hit-list of the best arty spots in the area, from the cool, creative cats who know best. The Inner West tour focuses specifically on the art meccas of Enmore and Newtown. The guides, who are all creative professionals, will help you dive into the artistic underbelly of the neighbourhoods, showcasing the best street art, murals and graffiti. They will steer you towards the best foodie haunts and vintage stores plus you'll get to meet some of the area's most colourful residents. You will feel like a local in no time.
It’s time to fire up your barbecues and perfect your spice rub recipe, because Sydney is about to host their first ever Barbecue Festival. The one-day event — which debuted in Melbourne last year — will feature free classes and demonstrations, more barbecued meat than you can poke a skewer at, live entertainment and, of course, the great barbecue cook-off. The cook-off is sanctioned by the too-legit-to-quit Kansas City Barbeque Society, and the winner will go on to compete at the world championships in the U.S., as well receive as a sweet cash prize and — most importantly — unrivalled barbecue glory. We spoke to festival director Matt Vitale about the festival, the different styles of American barbecue, and got all the pro tips on how to barbecue like a boss. MEET THE EXPERT: MATT VITALE Matt had always been an avid backyard barbecue cook, and a few years ago he decided to try his luck at the big time by entering a barbecue competition for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Matt teamed up with his wife and they won — sending them to the World Championships of barbecuing, held at the Jack Daniel’s distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee. "It was an amazing experience, and unexpected," he says. "I met a bunch of great people from the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS), which is the largest organisation of barbecue enthusiasts in the world, and the organising body for this sport — it is a sport in the States.” The KCBS wanted to sanction a contest to Australia, and with Matt's assistance the first Yaks Barbecue Festival was brought to Melbourne. Now, it's Sydney’s turn to get a juicy slice of the action. THE FOUR TYPES OF AMERICAN BARBECUE According to Matt, there are four different regional styles of barbecue in the U.S. Texas barbecue is mostly beef-focussed; the rubs are a lot simpler, mostly salt and pepper, with not much sauce that is usually served on the side. In Memphis, they generally favour a dry rub on their ribs, and again sauce is usually on the side. North and South Carolina have more of a focus on pork where the sauce is more vinegary with a bit of chili thrown in for good measure. But it's Kansas City, Matt says, that takes the best elements from all of the regions. "They're really well known for their beef brisket and burnt ends, which are these cubes of meat taken from the point end of the brisket. They’re also known for their ribs with rich, tomato, sticky sauce, which I think a lot of people really associate American barbecue with. That’s what Kansas City barbecue is really famous for.” [caption id="attachment_555155" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Dollar Photo Club[/caption] HOW TO COOK THE PERFECT BBQ CHOOK Kansas-style barbecue may be well known for their trademark tomato-based sauce, but sometimes it's worth knowing how to perfect the basics before you go slathering on a sticky sauce left, right and centre. One never-fail barbecue recipe that Matt is happy to divulge is his cherrywood-smoked chicken. "Smoked chicken is an achievable dish to do," he says. "A lot of these things you need to cook for a long period of time, but chicken you can get done in a couple of hours." So how do we recreate this magic for ourselves? First, grab a split chicken from a good butcher or poultry and game supplier, as getting it split makes it easier to cook. You're going to need a smoker for this recipe — a very worthy investment if you're serious about your meat. Fire it up to a bit over 100 degrees celsius, and put some wood chunks in there. Matt recommends cherrywood because it's easily available in Australia. Cook the chook for about an hour and a half breast-side down, then turn it over, baste it with olive oil, and leave it for another 30 minutes. Unlike beef brisket, which can take 10-12 hours, this takes a little over two hours and you're ready to eat. Matt recommends pairing this with fresh vegetables cooked over charcoal, such as charred corn, sliced eggplant and asparagus, as they get nice and caramelised. Drink of choice? Beer, of course — either a Fat Yak or a Lazy Yak goes perfectly with any barbecue. PRO TIPS FOR BBQ NOOBS While a lot of Australians love to consume barbecued goods, not all of us are as talented at making it as we are eating it. Matt recommends starting with a solid fuel BBQ to get the most out of your meat. "Gas BBQs are great, but there's so much more that you can do on a solid fuel BBQ. Cooking with wood and charcoal, you'll always get a better result.” Another piece of advice Matt leaves us with is to not be afraid to just give it a go: “sometimes you’ll get it right, other times you’ll get it wrong, but the more you practice, the more you'll get it right." The Yaks Sydney Barbecue Festival is happening this Saturday, January 30 at The Domain, Sydney. For more information, check out the event. Top image: Dollar Photo Club
The heritage-listed Capitol Theatre has been around since 1928 and continues to host some of the best musical and theatrical productions in Sydney. The gorgeous interior will take you back to another time. Meanwhile, the theatre pulls in all of the modern Broadway favourites, including Andrew Lloyd Webber's School of Rock: The Musical, which ran in early 2020. Coming up is the Tony and Olivier Award-winning musical Come from Away, which will take the stage in 2021. The venue also offers a free membership program, which offers members pre-sale tickets, access to the best seats in the house and special offers aplenty. It's one of the best ways to see this year's blockbuster Broadway hits on the cheap.
If you haven't heard about Down Under yet, you will soon. No, we're not talking about the Men at Work song that you now have stuck in your head. Instead, we mean the new Aussie film that shines a spotlight on the state of race relations across the nation by turning the 2005 Cronulla riots into a black comedy. Yes, really. In actor-turned-filmmaker Abe Forsythe's second feature, two groups of Sydneysiders drive around their beloved beachside suburb after the bulk of the battle takes place, each trying to protect their patch of turf. In one car, Jason (Damon Herriman), Ditch (Justin Rosniak), Shit Stick (Alexander England) and Evan (Chris Bunton) search for people to beat up. In another, Hassim (Lincoln Younes) looks for his missing brother with his pals Nick (Rahel Romahn) and D-Mac (Fayssal Bazzi), and his uncle Ibrahim (Michael Denkha). If you're feeling a little awkward about the above the description, that's okay — in fact, pointing out the pointlessness of prejudice in all its forms is a big part of the point of the movie. As funny as it is thought provoking, Down Under premiered at the Sydney Film Festival to considerable acclaim, and now heads to the Melbourne International Film Festival before releasing in Aussie cinemas on August 11. [competition]581868[/competition]
One of the biggest sacrifices that inner-city renting can present is not being able to have a pooch pal for a roommate. For anyone who is a dog person (but, let's be honest, who isn't?), this can be quite the adjustment to make. So, any exposure to a four-legged friend conjures serious levels of excitement that are usually only reserved for when you see the waiter bringing your food at a restaurant. As one of several off-leash dog parks in the inner city, Harmony Park in Surry Hills is a mecca for recreational dog-watching. There is something quite cathartic about sitting and watching those silly mutts expend all of their energy on a few rounds of catch. Watch a little puppy get virtually bowled over by a giant hound, to then promptly get up, shake it off and go again. Go gaga as a short-legged pooch attempts to get airborne to catch a frisbee, casually missing by over a metre. And accept all the snuggles and wet, sloppy kisses you can get, until the owner thinks you're a weirdo. It will fill that pet-shaped hole in your heart — temporarily, at least.
Vivid Sydney is really cranking it up this year. Last month they announced a truly epic program of lights, music, ideas and live events, which, in one heck of a slam dunk, included none other than Björk (BJÖRK!). As part of Carriageworks' contemporary program, she'll launch a huge virtual reality project dubbed BJÖRK DIGITAL — a collaboration with some of the world's best filmmakers and programmers. And to celebrate the opening, Björk herself will travel to Sydney to curate a one-off music event at Carriageworks, where she'll DJ with special guests. In a response that absolutely everybody expected, the opening night event sold out quick sticks. While that leaves the 12 people who actually got tickets pretty smug and happy, it leaves the rest of us sad and confused as to how we'll live a life where Björk doesn't make an appearance. Luckily, Carriageworks have today announced that they'll be adding a second BJÖRK DIGITAL party, to be held the night following the opening on Saturday, June 4. The event itself cost $110 a tickie, and will include access to the BJÖRK DIGITAL exhibition, DJ sets by special guests and a DJ set by Björk herself. As well as the two big parties, the exhibition will run from June 4-18. It will include a downright must-experience program of her extensive video, multimedia and virtual reality works. Tickets for the BJÖRK DIGITAL Party #2 go on sale this Friday, April 8 at 9am. To snap some up, visit the Carriageworks website. By Shannon Connellan and Lauren Vadnjal.
Prepare to add another activity to that growing list of summer must-dos: Merivale and Summer Bright have just announced a slew of A+ Sunday afternoon shows at two prime waterside venues. And the best part? They're all free. Yep, all 16 of 'em. Returning for a second year, the Sunday Sundown sessions will be held over 16 Sundays from November 27 to February 26. They'll once again be going down from midday at the Coogee Pavilion rooftop and The Newport, which are both top-notch places to watch the sunset, in our humble opinion. Kicking off with a performance by Aussie hip hop artist Tuka, the Pavilion will go on to host Remi, Yolanda Be Cool and Sampology, among others. Up the coast at Newport, Client Liaison will kick things off on December 4 and will be followed by Montaigne, Ngaiire Triple J Unearthed acts Middle Kids and Jack River. Jarryd James will help welcome in 2017 playing New Year's Day, and The Bamboos will help celebrate Australia Day. But here's the full lineup. SUNDAY SUNDOWN 2016-17 LINEUP COOGEE ROOFTOP 27 NOVEMBER: TUKA + BAD EZZY 11 DECEMBER: BASENJI + SWINDAIL 1 JANUARY: ACT TBA + RUNNING TOUCH 8 JANUARY: YOLANDA BE COOL + GENERIK 22 JANUARY: NINA LAS VEGAS + DOM DOLLA 26 JANUARY: LUKE MILLION + DRO CAREY 5 FEBRUARY: SAMPOLOGY + NOAH SLEE 19 FEBRUARY: REMI + KUREN THE NEWPORT 4 DECEMBER: CLIENT LIASION + CONFIDENCE MAN 18 DECEMBER: MONTAIGNE + HEIN COOPER 1 JANUARY: JARRYD JAMES + CLEOPOLD 15 JANUARY: MIDDLE KIDS + JACK RIVER 26 JANUARY: THE BAMBOOS + ACT TBA 29 JANUARY: ACT TBA + SABLE 12 FEBRUARY: NGAIIRE + ALL OUR EXES LIVE IN TEXAS 26 FEBRUARY: SKUNKHOUR + SONS OF THE EAST Sunday Sunday will run every Sunday from midday at Coogee Pavilion and The Newport from November 27 – February 26. For more info, visit merivale.com.au/sundaysundown. Image: Bodhi Liggett.
Have you been painstakingly catching Pokemon all over town, but undeniably disappointed you can't bloody well eat the damn things? Get that bib on. Sydney's Hashtag Burgers are cranking out Pokemon-inspired burgers from their Down-N-Out burger CBD pop-up for the next two weeks. And they're pretty well adorable. The crew will be be releasing a limited number every day for the next two weeks from their In-N-Out-inspired pop-up inside the Sir John Young Hotel on the corner of Liverpool Street and George Street. Each burger has been dreamt up by chef Seb (ex-Thirsty Bird and Mr Crackles) and corresponds to the different type of Pokemon it looks like. And because Pokemon are random little critters, you're not allowed to choose which Pokeburg you'll receive — it's completely by chance. Go catch 'em all from today until September 3. Hashtag Burgers' Down N' Out pop-up can be found at the Sir John Young Hotel on the corner of Liverpool Street and George Street, Sydney CBD.
When it comes to rooftop bars, Parramatta hasn't exactly had its fair share of the sky-high pie — but this year, that's all set to change. After announcing their plans to open the bar in June last year, Australian developers Crown Group have today confirmed they are putting the final touches on their new hotel, Skye Hotel Suites at Parramatta's 28-storey V by Crown complex. And that also means that the new bar — which will be Parramatta's highest by far — is getting towards completion point too. Dubbed Nick & Nora's, the bar comes from none other than the Speakeasy Group, the team behind stalwart cocktail bar Eau de Vie and the due-to-open-soon Mjolnir. Though not technically on the building's top storey, located on level 26, the openair terrace bar will apparently afford 270-degree views of Sydney's skyline, the harbour and the Blue Mountains. Apart from that, details on the bar's menu are still scant — but judging from their other venues, expect some serious cocktails. The rest of the hotel will feature 72 luxe hotel suites, some flashy facilities — which include a swish pool that's only open to residents and guests — and a retail precinct that will include an outpost of Neil Perry's popular Burger Project. The rest of the building's design is the work of Allen Jack + Cottier and Koichi Takada Architects and — if it's anything to go by, Nick & Nora's is set to rival even the best of Sydney's current rooftop bars. The hotel is set to open in May, with the bar to open soon after. Nick & Nora's is set to open later this year on level 26 of V by Crown at 45 Macquarie Street, Parramatta. Stay tuned for more details on this one.
The Head On Photo Festival brings a collection of four photographers across the three main galleries at Gaffa. In Gallery One, The Alien in Our Midst combines the work of real-life partners Belinda Allen and Christopher Lawrie. Lawrie's section combines a selection from his History of Salt — From Weavers to Wapstraws is a volume of family history caked in salt and the Insular Australia series has folio pages slowly and similarly ossifying — while The Land of Dreams series shows portraits of recent migrants juxtaposed with the skeletal ruins of bush houses. Their faces are by turns circumspect, calm, sad, cautious and confident. Allen's History Tree lets a stunning series of trees push out from the pages of maps and rough reference books, laid out over poster size grids. For The alien in our midst … series of twinned photos, she takes a similar approach to Lawrie's Land of Dreams, mixing immigrant youths literally draped in printed images of the outback, with other landscapes behind. The results are mixed: The alien in our midst (Lake Eyre) shows a sky of seagulls flattened into a broken, sandy lakebed but some of the others don't lose their three-dimensional subjects enough against the flat landscape behind. Gallery Two shows Christian Pearson's Conversations with the Land. Not all of his photo montages work, but those that do are fantastic. In We're all red in the middle, spots of rounded watermelons sit tessellated in boxes, green dots adrift on a broad, dusty red land, while The wind has been cuts together rusted shades of desert like a Pantone deck from nature: red, then milky, then bone-yellow sand. In Gallery Three, Clare Weeks' Outside In has dead animals sitting against wallpaper, nonchalant as a collection of pensioners' china cups. Almost all of the animals have their heads out of frame, as though even in death they're trying to escape this domestic scrutiny. A curl of claws and paws suggests movement that's no longer on the cards, and only a crested pigeon stares back, dead and indignant. Images We're all red in the middle and The wind has been by Christian Pearson.
"Written and directed by" is a significant phrase in Hollywood. In an industry notorious for taking a screenwriter's story and completely bastardising it during production, directors like Christopher Nolan, Woody Allen and the brothers Wachowski and Cohen have all demonstrated the virtues of controlling a film's production from its very inception right through to its, well… Inception. In essence, the words "written and directed by" offer audiences the greatest guarantee that the film they're about to see is the closest thing to the film the director actually set out to make. Which begs the question: why did Boaz Yakin set out to make this movie? Safe, starring England's best whispering frown — Jason Statham — is a violent action flick written and directed by Yakin; however, 'written' might be a touch generous. Statham has more hair than this film has plot, and with lines like "I’ve been in restaurants all night but all I've been served is lead", the dialogue is equally sparse. As an action film, Safe operates squarely within the boundaries of its genre's logic. The Chinese bad guys are Chinese, so they all know martial arts. The Russian bad guys are Russian, so they all laugh while killing people and sound exactly like Boris Badenov from Rocky and Bullwinkle. Last but not least, the cops and politicians are all so corrupt, the only person who can stop them is a good cop who's not a cop any more. Throw in a young Chinese maths prodigy (Catherine Chan) whose memory is abused by the Triads as an untraceable ledger for their illegal activities and you've got all the ingredients you'll need. All the ingredients, that is, to bake yourself a pie. A pie made of lead. A death pie.
You know you're in for a night of good theatre when you're greeted with an opening scene of two people screaming and chasing each other round the set. It's the perfect opening for a play which depicts the gradual deterioration of a relationship as unspoken truths are brought to the surface. Steph (Julia Grace) is angry at Greg (Andrew Hnery) because she's found out through a friend that Greg has said something not too flattering about her face. Her reaction and his insubstantial defence of his actions cause her to leave. Gradually we're introduced to the other friends on the scene — Carly (Lucy Maunder), Steph's friend, and Kent (Stephen James King), Greg's colleague and supposed best bud — and we discover that it's not just Greg and Steph that are feeling lost in their lives and relationships. Written by Neil LaBute, known for his recurring commentary on beauty and its all-too-powerful effect on the world, this is the Australian premiere of Reasons to Be Pretty, and director James Beach has done a bang-up job. The American accents are initially jarring, as they tend to be on stage, but everyone maintains a solid American drawl, especially King, who's brutish gum-chewing and distinctive eye-blinking epitomises the stereotypical American slob. While the first act gets bogged down in the singular issue of who said what and what it meant, the second goes on to flesh out the characters into fully formed beings with whom, by the end of the play, the audience is emotionally attached. Every new revelation serves the purpose of highlighting who the bad guys really are, quite different from whom you assume at the beginning of the play. Henry, who plays Greg and co-produced this show, is a restrained but immoveable force delivering LaBute's biting one-liners with ease, while Grace's Steph, who chews up the scenery while she gradually tears it down in the first act, comes back with a powerful restraint in the second. Maunder's Carly, while she has the least inflammatory of roles, is revealed as a quiet force by the end. Whether you're familiar with LaBute's work or are interested in a simple evening of modern theatre, there are plenty of reasons to check out Reasons to be Pretty.
If one tried to chart Michael Winterbottom's films by genre, a labyrinthine map would emerge. From comedic road movie The Trip to notoriously, violently graphic The Killer Inside Me; postmodern comedy A Cock and Bull Story; meditative, quiet Genova; and absorbing war films A Mighty Heart and Welcome to Sarajevo, Winterbottom is defined by his chameleon-like ability to consistently, effortlessly shift. Loosely adapted from Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Trishna is set in contemporary India rather than late 19th-century England. If you're turned off the movie because you haven't read the book, I have one piece of advice: shelve that notion. I know only the basic plot line of Tess, and yet I was won over from the beginning. Trishna is a rich film in its own right. Starring the inimitably beautiful Freida Pinto as the titular character, the film chronicles her growing relationship with a young, wealthy British transplant in India to look after his father's hotels. Prefacing his responsibilities with a jaunt through the country with his friends from home, he meets Trishna, a poor, hardworking Indian girl living with her family on the desert fringes of Osian, an ancient town in Rajasthan. The romance develops slowly but commences with a sweeping gesture — Jay organises Trishna a job at his father's hotel in the hills around Jaipur. Her defection from the desert to the city is representative of emerging social migratory trends in the country. Indeed, the social and economic backdrop of India was ripe with adaptive potential for Winterbottom. As he has said, "Hardy was describing a similar moment in English life. A moment when, in the nineteenth century, the conservative rural communities were being transformed by the agricultural and industrial revolutions, when fewer and fewer people were being employed on the land, so people moved to the local towns or cities." The young couple's emerging relationship is fraught with external pressures and untimely occurrences. Soon, their idyllic romance, set against the backdrop of Mumbai after Jay defects from his designated role in Jaipur for business opportunities, begins to falter. Drawn back into the familial duties he so hates after his father has a stroke, the two move to another hotel where they resume their previous roles of owner and maid, but this time with devastating consequences. Shot beautifully and devoid of Bollywood kitsch, this is one to watch. https://youtube.com/watch?v=gdFiV9yDHG4
Director Netta Yashchin's stage adaptation of George Orwell’s 1945 novella Animal Farm at the Australian Theatre for Young People is dedicated to the Jewish-Arabic director and peace activist Juliano Mer-Khamis. He was murdered just over a year ago in Jenin in the West Bank, close to the Freedom Theatre he ran for young people. Hearing about his production of Animal Farm inspired Yashchin to create her own production of the story, which she says is "extremely relevant today". Staging Animal Farm in Palestine has an immediate weight and relevance. Sydney's Walsh Bay doesn't have quite the same effect. Nevertheless Animal Farm is a cracker of a story and it is hard not to find it interesting wherever you are. Orwell's illustration of post-revolution reversion to the same oppression as that of the overthrown powers is a great piece to stage at the moment. Australian Labor party leadership squabbles don't qualify as a revolution, but the hypocrisy and deceit displayed by our politicians is right there in Animal Farm. More pertinent perhaps is Egypt's post-revolutionary presidential race, which has turned into a farce because of the string of disqualifications based on pedantic nationality rules. The production is highly physical while at the same time retaining much of Orwell's excellent writing as narration delivered directly to the audience. Dymphna Carew's choreography and Tom Ringberg's fight direction give the piece a physically vibrant edge that keeps the story alive. The pigs' transformation into authoritarian masters trying to walk on two legs is a particularly striking moment. The performances are generally compelling, with a strong sense of ensemble for this large cast of 18. Michael Brindley presents a delightfully eccentric characterisation of the messianic raven, Moses, with his utopian belief in Sugarcandy Mountain. Stephanie King playing the Cat has some consummate acrobatic skills on the silks, which at times distracts from the action (because she's so good). The performers seem to be enjoying themselves, which is always a pleasure to watch. If your copy of Animal Farm has been gathering dust since high school, this is an excellent opportunity to reacquaint yourself with the classic.
The Rocks has proved an unexpectedly difficult area to rejuvenate. Home to winding laneways, heel-cracking cobblestones, quaint colonial haunts, and shady histories, it should be the atmospheric epicentre of cultural life in this city. We've been waiting for the day it is. But so far, despite notable inroads by such initiatives as the Pop-Up Project and the MCA's Lights on Later, The Rocks has had a hard time shaking off its tourist-saturated image. Now the most promising sign of change yet has come with the new weekly event Village Bizarre. Happening on Friday evenings throughout November and December, it puts contortionists, comedians, music-makers, open dance classes, games, barbers' chairs, and curios at the end of every alley and under each rickety awning. You'll meet such characters as convict butcher George Cribb, underwater knitters Mrs Polly Mer and Mrs Ester, and melancholic cabaret artist Tia Juana. There are also some more sustained, very intriguing site-specific performances, including the Melbourne and Adelaide Fringe Festival hit Ute Uber Kool Ja, in which you venture into the Holiday Inn room of an ageing rock star (you'll need to book tickets for the privilege), and Blind Date, a blindfolded one-on-one tour of The Rocks that's tailored specially to you. And don't forget to download the mp3 before you head out if you want to experience Crowds Above You. To keep you hopping from oddity to exotica, the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority-presented event features three pop-up bars — the Enchanted Forest Bar, the Canopy Bar, and best of all, the White Rabbit Bar, which, in an Eyes Wide Shut meets leporine vibe, requires you to don a rabbit mask before entry. https://youtube.com/watch?v=nHIDspGbLrM
Engaging, topical, entertaining and (mostly) free. The Woollahra Festival is held over four days in November, bringing together a diverse programme of shows, talks and community events to celebrate world music and visual arts, as well as provoking intelligent discussion on contemporary ideas and global issues. For a small event that’s produced entirely by local residents, there’s a heck of a line-up; from Tai Chi and belly dancing to debating foreign policy, local architecture and iconic literature. Plus it’s family-friendly too: this year’s festival has a ‘magic’ theme for the kids, including illusionists, acrobatics, dance, hula hooping and pretty pooches. Now in its third year, some of the festival’s most popular events – like Dinner on the Village Green (a three-course dinner at $150 per person, as part of the closing event on Sunday 18 November) – will be sure to sell out quickly. But there are plenty of free and $10 events, including talks from well-known writers, journalists, architects, politicians, chefs and more – as well as free gigs from an impressive list of world musicians.
Join Cake Wines and their 'uncomplicated' approach to wine as they launch their second pop-up bar in the disused Cleveland St Theatre. Cake will host a number of events beginning at 6pm on Thursday night with the brand's Archi Bottle Prize awards. A live FBi Radio broadcast will be held on Friday night, and the bar will also be open from midday to midnight on Saturday as a part of the Surry Hills Festival in Prince Albert Park. As you sit and enjoy the Archi-Bottle Prize you can sip on your choice of Shiraz, Rosé, Chardonnay, Lucky Duck cider or Little Creatures Beer and chow down on gourmet food from Jafe Jaffles. For every bottle of Cake Wine purchased, 25 cents of the sale goes back to FBi and 4ZZZ Radio stations. And thanks to Cake, two Concrete Playgrounders will win a bottle of Pinot, redeemable at the bar. To go in the running just subscribe to Concrete Playground (if you haven't already) then email hello@concreteplayground.com.au
