Feed me, Portuguese
You can end up in a world of pain, trying to be authentic in an ethnic restaurant. Try, for example, lunch yesterday in Madeira restaurant in suburban Melbourne, a Portuguese […]
NOTEBOOK
Canter past Patagonian icefields. Sail the tranquil waters of Lake Como in Italy. Sip coffee in a Palestinian village. Listen to the ancient voices of Australia’s Arnhem Land. Climb the mountain paths of northern Albania. Let’s go!
Hot to shop: Dubai
33C outside, -4 inside at Ski Dubia, in the Mall of the Emirates In the US, they’d ask ‘do you want fries with that?’ In Dubai, they ask, ‘do you […]
Singapore’s new groove
It’s a country built on shopping malls, where chewing gum is illegal and nerdism is in, so the brief was to find the new, hip, not-necessarily-so-shiny Singapore. Doing the research, […]
Hot to shop: Seoul
They call it Planet Korea, and the bizarre north Asian capital, Seoul, is regularly written up in the world’s big newspapers of the day for its new design focus and […]
CPI: the cappucino index
According to the most CPI (that’s Cappuccino Price Index to you), Brisbane has the most expensive coffee in the country. A cuppa will set you back on average $3.31 compared […]
Feeling the love (or not) in Dubai’s rarified air
“No kissing or overt displays of affection,” warns a sign on Dubai Mall’s glass doors. “Please wear respectful clothing. For example, shoulders and knees should be covered,” it adds. The […]
Tom’s in town and speed’s hit the fan
It’s all go here in Dubai. Time Out Dubai was gossiping about him only last week, then suddenly, the front page of the Khaleej Times is splashed with Tom Cruise […]
Travelling 14 hours just for you, Bryan Adams
Straight off the plane and into the rooftop pool… It took four people to get me off the aircraft and to the hotel: the woman to meet me and take […]
Carpets, gold and pink champagne: Dubai, I’m coming…
Melbourne’s Emirates airline lounge is a sea of caramel leather, with bottles of pink Moet on the buffet, alongside bottles of pink Verve, if you’re a champagne snob. The dates […]
The recipe for world peace? Choux pastry and mangoes
“Hip Brisbane?” said a friend who’d grown up in Brissy in the 60s. “Visit first, then try to convince me.” If she’d spend just a couple of hours with me […]