Brisbane’s newest five-star hotel, W Brisbane, is the first of its kind in Australia and the high tea offering is a standout. Forget the Royal Doulton and cucumber sandwiches, served in the hotel’s Living Room Bar, High Tea of Aus takes classic Australian flavours and infuses them with a W twist. Think Aussie faves including an iconic Aussie meat pie, the lamington and your favourite breakfast drink Milo reimagined into a stellar line-up of treats. Read more.
2. This is your favorite day out with your dog
Don’t you hate seeing those sad eyes when you leave man’s best doggie friend at home? Make the pet-friendly Granite Belt your destination and you can take them along. Four-year-old cockalier Bella is rarely gets invited when I go travelling but a trip to the Granite Belt changed all that. See where we went.
3. This is where to picnic in paradise
The only thing that will drag your eyes away from the views on a picnic in paradise will be the taste of the home-grown Norfolk Island food. Norfolk Island is full of wonderful picnic spots where you can relax on thick, green grass while you gaze over the ocean or sit comfortably at picnic tables. Here are five top places to enjoy.
4. That time when Opal shattered into pieces
New Brisbane restaurant dining gem Opal, which was due to be revealed in September 2019, shattered with the departure of Executive Chef Josue Lopez. Located in the new Emporium Hotel South Bank, the restaurant was planned as a platform to showcase the very best of Queensland. Find out what happened.
6. The new place where you should be shopping
Take a flavour journey at Mercado, a food marketplace where you will find a gourmet’s dream pantry filled with food to buy and eat. When I walked through the door on the opening day, I immediately had a flashback to Harrod’s Food Hall in London but without the crowds and the spangled Mercedes Benz parked outside. It also reminds me of Eataly, an Italian marketplace chain which I wandered through in Munich trying not to fill my overstuffed suitcase with anything extra. Sadly, this closed just a few short months later.
7. The hottest new hotels in Brisbane.
Brisbane has hit the hotels jackpot with ten new staycation and vacation places to rest your head open already and a further five to open before 2022. You are spoilt for holiday choice like never before and there are sure to be bargains to be found as the new players find their way in the market. Here are your options.
8. Where you can try Chinese dining with a difference
Donna Chang is Chinese cuisine like you have never seen before in Brisbane. Vibrant and aromatic Chinese flavours and cooking techniques combine with premium Australian ingredients to create a mouth-watering collision.
Think Peking style barbecue duck with a native fruit glaze and mangrove blossom honey on the char sui pork. Look out for the heritage breed Black Namoi chickens and try the impressive array of dim sum. The restaurant is also focusing on a 100-kilometre radius to source produce. Read more.
9. The Brisbane staycation
There is something undeniably elegant about Treasury Brisbane Hotel with its sophisticated old-world charm, perfect for a staycation in the heart of the Brisbane CBD.
It reminds me of hotels I have enjoyed in the posh areas of London, on leafy Nice avenues and New York’s Broadway. Places where tradition and good old-fashioned service are highly valued and visitors are treated as special guests.
Here’s why you’ll want to stay here.
10. What to wear when you fly
Whether it is a short getaway or a long-haul trip to Europe, knowing what to wear on a plane may be the difference between comfort and agony.
I asked members of the Australian Society of Travel Writers for comfortable clothing tips to help you crack the what to wear on a plane code. Travel writers frequently get off a plane after a 12-hour flight and must hit the ground running to a dinner or event so they need to be very smart about their travel clothes. Here’s what they said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kerry Heaney is a food sherpa, travelling the world bite by bite. For her, it’s all about where to go to eat and where to eat when you go, and she’s been writing about that for the past 20 years.
A writer and editor who contributes regular food and travel feature stories for a range of print publications including Escape.com.au, Kerry has been sharing food love through Eat, drink + be Kerry for ten years.
Although dedicated to eating her way around the world, Kerry is an expert on Queensland food and has written the Queensland food component for several Hardie Grant titles.
Kerry is a past president of the Australian Travel Writers Society (ASTW). Chat with Kerry on Facebook at Eat,drink+beKerry or see where she has been lately at eatdrinkandbekerry on Instagram.
