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Dazzling dining views at Harbour Bar and Kitchen, Park Hyatt Sydney, Australia
Harbour Bar and Kitchen Restaurant at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Sydney, Australia, gives you dazzling, iconic waterfront views, perfect for sunset dining. Watch a sky change colour against magical architecture of the Sydney Opera House, as city night lights switch on and dusk falls. Park Hyatt's Harbour Bar and Kitchen is the perfect Sydney setting to enjoy fine food.
Located directly across from the Sydney Opera House, under Sydney's Harbour Bridge in the Rocks, Park Hyatt's Harbour Kitchen & Bar is open for lunch or dinner. Serving tantalizing, internationally-inspired, Australian cuisine from a wood-fired oven, rotisserie and char grill.
Perfectly positioned where boardwalk meets ocean, this is your opportunity to soak in a beautiful atmosphere while enjoying preliminary cocktails at the bar. People-watching here is fascinating; romantic strollers pass by, business walkers-and-talkers relax, tourists marvel at such amazing views along the boardwalk - why not arrive early and enjoy a walk yourself?
In the bar you can enjoy a martini, cocktail or boutique beer in classic elegance - a chic interior by creative designer, Tony Chi. Floor-to-ceiling windows showing off a most iconic Sydney view creates a light and airy ambience, complemented with jazz on Friday and Saturday nights.
Moving into the restaurant area of Harbour Bar and Kitchen doesn't mean you forgo the harbour view and Opera House. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows blissfully continue into the eatery! All the worries of the world fade away as you succumb to a luxurious first class dining service. Your friendly wait-staff lay napkins upon laps, as you choose from an exquisite seasonal menu.
The tantalizing dishes have been carefully engineered by Executive Chef, Andrew Mckee, hailing from Park Hyatt Asia fame. I recommend an entrée of summer pork terrine - as much for the artistic colour and presentation, as for the exquisite taste. Mains offered are such delicious dishes as wood-roasted barramundi, Tasmanian wilderness beef short rib, or Byron Bay Kurobuta pork. While seated at your water-facing table, glance behind to watch the Chef and his kitchen staff prepare their amazing cuisine in the open-plan kitchen. Or glance ahead to gaze at water sparkling views - what a choice!
The sommelier is at hand to recommend complementing wine from an extensive walk-in cellar of imported and local wines. Offering expertise from his French homeland, the sommelier's wealth of knowledge is astounding. The Pastry Chef, Fabien Berteau, has designed a fine dessert selection for your heavenly pleasure. I tried the Black Forest dessert consisting of 70% Valrhona organic chocolate topped with kirsch flavoured cream - yes, this incredible dessert comes thoroughly recommended by me.
Don't miss the present weekday lunch offer. Including main meal, glass of wine, dining service of luxury and divine views, plus valet parking - for $AU39.
Harbour Bar and Kitchen, Park Hyatt Sydney, is the perfect Sydney dining experience, a special dining encounter you won't want others to know about. But now you do. Enjoy...
Modern Japanese cuisine with shochu or cocktails is a fine art at Tokonoma Japanese Restaurant and Bar in Surry Hills.
One of the only Sydneybars to serve Japan's native shochu-based drinks, the trendy and ambient Tokonoma Bar and Restaurantalso offers amazing Japanese-styleseafood.Here, a unique contemporary dining experience awaits you.
Tokonoma Bar and Restaurant is conveniently located amidst central Sydney in the trendy hub of downtown Surry Hills. This is where Sydney's beautiful people frequent for after-work drinks and weekend catch-ups - and with flattering low-lit gold tungsten lighting we're all beautiful people, darling! As the venue of choice for events by glossy magazines GQ and Vogue, local celeb spotting is possible. Aussie starlet Ruby Rose lists Tokonoma amongst her favourite eateries, and if Madonna came to Sydney, London's trendy Zuma would surely be in danger of second place on her business lunchtime list.
Sydney's Tokonoma Bar and Restaurantis definitely a dining nightspot of the times. Certain anonymity is granted with their trendy high booths so grab one if you can - then feel like you've reserved your own private dining room complete with a private bar. Enhancing your dining pleasure is smooth timber-lined decor, house DJ designed music, cocktails infused with fruits-of-the-world and, of course, beautiful waiting staff to help with your dining selection.
With divine cocktails, good food, and conversation flowing, the rest of the room is soon forgotten. For a more traditional buzzing atmosphere there is also a table dining area. Waiting staff are exceptionally fun and friendly, and impressively informed about the Japanese menu. The menu lists items from a selection of the bars within Tokonoma, and Toko, the sister bar and restaurant next door.
Drink: Very new to Sydney, and what Tokonoma proudly pours best in the city, is the native Japanese shochus and tonics. I'm talking antioxidant aplenty and no calories. Try the blood orange and honey tonic, otherwise known as pure heavenly liquid bliss on rocks of ice. Or for something fun from the bar, try a Rabuba martini with a divine infusion of rhubarb and passion fruit cocktail - your taste buds will thank you.
Eat: The Tokonoma dining menu highlights fine selections from the sushi bar, robata grill, the signature tasting menu, and outlines meat and seafood dishes aplenty.
Many Sydneysiders recommended I try the dish called ‘hiramasa no sashimi to karikari buta' which translates as ‘kingfish sashimi drenched in truffle oil, feathered with fine pork belly crackling, and baby shiso', which translates as ‘extremely worth trying'.
The Japanese miso marinated black cod is a favourite dish of mine, and Tokonoma's ‘hata no saikyo-miso yaki' certainly lived up to my hopeful expectations. Ever so blackened and perfectly crisp on top, the succulent flesh of white codfishmade my mouth water on sight alone.
A red meat selection called ‘Ami yaki ro-su niku no wafu sauce' is a great dish to try, presenting as petite cubes of juicy scotch fillet steak soaked in glorious wafu sauce and garnished with garlic crisps.
The dessert list shows creative twists on the usual offerings of brulee, pudding and fondant. How can one not try a pear and white chocolate spring roll accompanied with sesame brittle and pear sorbet? It's easily washed down with a fine dessert wine.
A visit to Splash Day Spa on Australia's Gold Coast is a purely indulgent way to escape a bustling world; immersing yourself for a few hours in a cosy, underground oasis. Below Surfers Paradise, you can let your body and mind be restored...
There are two entrances to Splash; one is off the mall of Chevron Renaissance, and the other (is the entrance I prefer,) hidden lower than street level, so you feel like you're entering a secluded and sacred den - exclusive to those ‘in the know.'
Walking into the reception, complete with sparkling chandelier, a premonition of glamorous pampering is definitely hard to avoid. Infamous Dermalogica products adorn the walls and a friendly receptionist offers a large comfy lounge area to rest in, followed by a tour of the Spa. Grant Robinson, who runs the spa, has recently returned from Dubai (home of the 5 star Spa experience) - an influence that is noticeable when glancing around the Spa in the luxurious detailing throughout the dimly lit bathhouse. The Spa boasts temperature plunge pools, massage-jet hydrotherapy pools, large steam rooms and sauna, pampering rooms for massage and facials, and a lounge bar with complimentary tea and healthy nibbles, if you fancy. Beauty treatments and enhancements are on offer in the Splash clinic. The change rooms are equipped with everything a 5 star hotel Spa would provide - gown, slippers, chilled lemon water for the day and preparation products to help you return to the real world later, like hair dryer and products.
I arrived early and spent some time rejuvenating in the heat and weightlessness of a 38 degree pool, (fyi official relaxation temperature) and sauna. I held my breath and attempted the cold pool in between, for the circulation health benefits from rapid temperature change- it's a definite pick-me-up.
Time passed too quickly and I was called for my renewing facial. Led into a facial room, resting upon comfortably cushioned table, and listening to the soothing sounds of trendy Norah Jones, the therapist embarked on 55 minutes of face therapy. Dermalogica products cleansed me, and micro-exfoliated my skin. Any pain from extractions was forgotten with a flowing neck and shoulder massage using oil-free massage balm. A hand massage (you get to choose hand or feet) took away my tension, and a multi vitamin power mask worked it's magic while a heavenly head massage finished the treatment - much to the opposition of my mind and body which could have stayed in the blissful facial trance forever....
My verdict: If Surfers Paradise is party city central, then Splash Day Spa is definitely where I'd take myself to rest the next day.
Q1 Spa in Surfers Paradise, on Australia's famed Gold Coast boasts the indigenous inspired Mali Mapi mud treatment and exfoliation. Which, if I didn't know better, was the real meaning of the word "dreamtime..."
On a rainy summer's day I found myself aimlessly wandering Surfers Paradise's urban jungle - through busy streets chock of fast paced business suits, designer shoppers and daytime neon lights. My destination: the Q1 building. Aka: ‘The Tallest Building in the Southern Hemisphere' as any local will proudly recite, following with it would have been ‘the world,' but Dubai trumped that idea.' In fact Q1 is the 25th tallest building in the world, higher than the NYC Chrysler, and I am impressed it would be compared to the Burj Khalifa, having before stared up at the colossal tower, wondering if Jack threw his magic beans into the foundation cement - it's that high!
So to get my bearings, I glanced up. Glistening through rainclouds was a bright white spire piercing the heavens above a skyline of scrapers. It was a magnificent sight and I scanned my eyes to the building attached. 322.5m is noticeably not as high as the Burj Khalifa of 828m. Perhaps no vertigo feeling will hit you on sight, but you will definitely feel a sense of international glamour. To be precise, I was entering an award-winning Spa.
Pettina, the manager, warmly greeted me and directed the way to an exclusive change room, complete with private shower and WC. With robe and slippers provided for the day, I was escorted to a soothing Jacuzzi for bubble soaking before my treatment began. The warm temperature and back-massaging jets immediately lifted any stress. Time vanished, I was escorted to a treatment room where massage therapist Fi introduced herself and described what the Mali Mapi experience was all about.
Fi tells me a female pharmacist, having studied native Australian flaura and fauna befriended a female indigenous elder and together they established the brand Li' Tya. Meaning ‘of the earth' Li'Tya's signature mud treatments, exfoliating salt scrubs and Australian native bush essential oils have been inspired by and created in harmony with traditional aboriginal cleansing rituals. Together they have presented this to the world, and Q1 proudly represent the products in all spa treatments.
Fi holds out a palette of purifying body mud and lemon myrtle desert salt samples, detailing the benefits of each, and I get to make my selection. Every treatment at Q1 Spa begins with a smoke ritual, where burning leaves give off an aroma of whatever you select. There is no foul burning smell, more an incensing aroma enveloping and immediately creating a calming bush-like atmosphere.
My feet are cleansed in warm, scented water. Heated oil is expertly massaged into my ligaments. I chose the detoxifying salt, which is hydro active and rubbed into my skin to rid dead cells, working on balance and purification. I have the option of a hand or foot massage, and I choose hands. The mud is painted onto my body and I am cocooned in a thermal cloth, while my pores absorb nutrients. The mud is deeply cleansing, and grounds my toxic system. While a regenerating Australian native peach hair mask is massaged into my scalp, my mind too easily picks up on calming music where I recognized faint kookaburras laughing. A female indigenous accent is mixed to modern soothing instrumental sounds on the soundtrack. Breathing in gum scented air, and am transported to the muddy banks of a lost lagoon where life stands still for a moment. I am purified, cozy and feel completely free from the world outside. I also can't help imagining life on earth 40,000 years ago, and the indigenous cleansing rituals before an important night. Next up is Vichy shower time, where water drops emulating rainwater is set to 38 degrees temp, and washes away the mud. 60 minutes have passed too quickly. I am robed, and led upstairs to the Relaxation room with detox tea and quiet time.
I float out of my ‘dreamtime' into the real world... Concrete streets again, damn - take me back to Q1 Spa please!