Ok, so there are many reasons a restaurant can be rated as a good one. It may be the taste of the food, the quality of service or both. Two Flat Whites rates the best restaurants in Sydney based on good food & great value for money.

Top of the pops would have to be Cine, located in the heart of ‘The Entertainment Quarter’ (Formerly Fox Studios). It has long been recognised as one of Sydney’s most enjoyable Italian cuisine experiences regularly frequented by a host of celebrities, TV personalities and our nations well loved sporting heroes.

They specialise in contemporary and traditional Italian cuisine at a cost to suit every individual, couple and family. Two Flat Whites regularly eats at Cine Restaurant & Bar & have not a single bad word to say about the establishment. The food is excellent value & is always fresh, the staff are friendly & very efficient.

Here are a few restaurants that have made our list: -

Cine Restaurant & Bar - Italian cuisine at Moore Park

Malabar at Darlinghurst – Indian Restaurant

Bagan Burmese Restaurant at Strathfield

Campos Coffee Cafe at Newtown

Satasia Thai Restaurant at Balmain

Shanghai Night Chinese Restaurant at Ashfield

An interesting article was written a couple of days ago. The article rates the best Australian bands of all time. It also looks at the future & names some rockers that haven’t yet hit there peek!

Top 9 Australian rockers

1. AC/DC
2. INXS
3. Bee Gees
4. Little River Band
5. Hoodoo Gurus
6. Midnight Oil
7. Cold Chisel
8. Paul Kelly
9. Powderfinger

What can I say great bands and great music. Here are the 4 soon to be top rockers

1. John Butler Trio
2. Pete Murray
3. Angus and Julia Stone
4. Ash Grunwald

angus and julia stone

ARTEXPRESS is an annual exhibition of artworks created by students from government and non-government schools for the Higher School Certificate Examination in Visual Arts. The works demonstrate exceptional quality across a broad range of subject matter, approaches, styles and media including painting, photography, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, documented forms, textiles and fibre, ceramics, digital animation, film and video, and collections of works.

ArtExpress opens at the Art Gallery of New South Wales from the 2nd February and runs through to the 30th March 2008. 

The Young Achiever Awards provide an excellent opportunity to identify, pay tribute and celebrate the achievements of some of our finest and most talented young people. They inspire us with confidence in their abilities and leadership skills. The contributions that these young people make to our community will help define the future.

The Awards recognise the achievements of South Australia’s youth in nine categories, which are:

* Adelaide Airport Limited Community Service Award
* The Coffee Club Arts Award
* Hyde Park Press Sports Award
* Nippy’s Environment Award
* The University of Adelaide Science & Technology Award
* AGL Regional Initiative Award
* Outstanding Young Indigenous Achiever Award
* RAA Driving Force Leadership Award

Judging – Tuesday 12th February 2008
     
Awards Presentation – Saturday 29th March 2008

The Australian Blues Music Festival is The National Festival of Australian Blues Music. It is held in a variety of venues throughout the historic Goulburn CBD on the second weekend of February every year.

The Festival showcases the very best of emerging and established blues acts from around Australia and features workshops with the artists, a weekend-long open mic, Youth in Blues Jam, buskers vintage guitar and amp shop, markets, industry ‘meet and greet’ forum, the Australian Blues Music ‘Chain’ Awards and the traditional end of Festival highlight – the All Star Pro Jam.

It is a friendly little festival with intimate performance spaces and plenty of opportunities to have a chat with your favourite artists. 2008 is set to sizzle with a great line-up. Be sure to reserve 7-10 February 2008 in your diaries now!

Consumers who want to celebrate Australia Day this weekend by buying Australian could be in a bit of trouble.

There are very few, if any, consumer brands that are truly Australian. Vegemite of course is owned by Americans, Tooheys is owned by the Japanese, Myer by the Dutch and OPSM by the Italians. Then Country Road is owned by South Africans and Sorbent by Netherlanders.

So what are Australian icons? Ruthven nominates the services industries. “They are the things we spend most of our money on. You have companies like HBA, the banks like NAB and airlines like Qantas.”

Ruthven says the surveys he has seen that ask “would you buy Australian?” reveal that jingoism is dead. “The patriotism went along with the Aussie brands. People say they will buy Australian only if the product is as good or better than a foreign brand. I don’t think even Dick Smith, who is trying to get people to buy local peanut butter instead of Kraft, will succeed unless it is better.”

Happy Australia Day everyone!

Read the full article here

Barossa Under the Stars is set to feature one of the great rock voices of all time – Joe Cocker. Cocker has had hit records in the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s. His unmistakable voice and interpretive powers have given the world some of rock’s finest music moments.

In the ultimate double bill, legendary British music icon meets celebrated Aussie icon Jimmy Barnes in commemoration of Barossa Under the Stars’s 10th anniversary, supported by special guest Renee Geyer.

Don’t miss the unique sound of Joe Cocker and Jimmy Barnes live in concert this summer.

Saturday, 2nd February 2008
Barossa Arts & Convention Centre, Magnolia Rd, Tanunda
Wine & Food Village from 2.00pm
Entertainment starts 5.30pm

Tell your friends, your family, your colleagues (and possibly even your boyfriends), that from this Thursday 24th January to midnight Saturday 26th January we’re celebrating Leeloo’s 3rd birthday (that’s right she’s 21 in dog years) with a HUUUUGE 30% off absolutely everything!!!!

Grab a bargain to support Australian designers and artists and own a treasure in the process! All exclusive one-offs and limited edition pieces available only at Leeloo! Sale includes all clothing, jewellery, homewares, art and accessories!

Happy birthday Leeloo!

The Kathleen Mitchell Award is a Biennial Award dedicated to encouraging young Australian authors to achieve their dreams.

It was established in 1996 by the will of the late Kathleen Adele Mitchell. Her aim was to encourage “the advancement, improvement and betterment of Australian literature, to improve the educational style of the authors, and to provide them with additional amounts and thus enable them to improve their literary efforts”.

The award attracts a prize of $7,500 & entries for the 2008 award close on the 22nd February 2008. The winner will be announced in April 2008.

Previous winners of the Kathleen Mitchell Award include:

2006 Markus Zusak The Book Thief
2004 Lucy Lehmann The Showgirl and the Brumby
2002 no award 
2000 Julia Leigh The Hunter 
1998 James Bradley Wrack 
1996 Sonya Hartnett Sleeping Dogs

Australian films don’t get better than ‘The Jammed’. We recently caught this very well made flick starring Ashley Hudson (Veronica Sywak) who lives a normal life working in an everyday office in Melbourne. By chance, she meets Sunee (Amanda Ma), who has come from China searching for her missing daughter, Rubi (Sun Park). Ashley reluctantly agrees to help Sunee, but the trail proves to be a dangerous one.

The film starts off  with a traditionally frenetic “what the hell is going on?” opening sequence as an illegal immigrant working as a prostitute undergoes interrogation in an immigration office, on the verge of being deported.

We then jump back in time a mere three weeks for the back-story and are introduced to five women. Crystal (Emma Lung), Vanya (Saskia Burmeister) & Rubi who have been imported into Australia with false papers and forced to work as prostitutes. Sunee is a frightened Chinese mother with a purse full of cash looking for her missing daughter. Linking these women is Ashley.

The film is unrelenting in its detailed dramatic exposition of the physical and psychological conditions these women endure. It also explains how criminal brothel owners are able to enslave women without the need for chains, and without the fear that they will run off at the first opportunity and tell the police.

This low budget, locally made masterpiece further outlines one’s faith in just how good Australian social realist flicks can be. ‘The Jammed’ has been skillfully made in every way and all of the actors are remarkable; it’s better than many more heavily publicized Australian films. Do yourself a favour & go out & catch this little gem!