Shopping at Surry Hills

Crown Street will be your primary target if you’re going shopping in Surry Hills. This urban street glitters with an intoxicating mix of casual cafés, eclectic homeware stores and modern fashion boutiques. You will also want to check out Cleveland Street for a run through the Surry Hills Shopping Village. Next, skip over to Oxford Street and browse Oxford Square. The Surry Hills Markets hold great appeal for locals, and tourists alike, who know how to spot a shopping opportunity when it strikes.

If you’re near Mary Street, take the time to browse in Kyotap. This is the boutique of designer Fiona Buckingham, featuring clothing made with natural materials and an Eastern flavour. The Candy Store, on Bourke St, is also a must-see destination to marvel at the season’s best couture picks.

The Zoo Emporium on Campbell Street offers retro and recycled picks for the best in amazing budget buys. With a fun, frantic atmosphere and laid back prices, Zoo is a stand-out alternative to paying full price, and you’ll end up with something far more special.

Entertainment and Eateries at Surry Hills

Surrey Hills has quite possibly the highest concentration of restaurants in Sydney, ensuring cultural fare for nearly any type of cuisine desired. Along with the traditional restaurants, you’ll also love visiting the seemingly endless pubs that populate the shopping district. If you’re looking for a great pub to while away a few hours, drop by the White Horse Hotel on Crown Street or the Clarendon Hotel on Devonshire. From Art Deco to Victorian to ultra-modern, there’s a match every outfit and desired decore, all within a few city blocks.

If you prefer casual dining, make time to visit Bird Cow Fish on Crown Street- their espresso bar is well worth the visit. For cocktails or a gourmet meal out, the C-ique Design Bar is an awesome choice; call in advance to see if you can organise a booking to coincide with one of their cult film nights.

For great meals on the cheap, try the Bourke Street Bakery, offering blissful breakfast and brunch, or the Shakespeare Hotel on Devonshire Street. If you prefer a French bent to your morning feasts, the Lumierre Cafe & Patisserie on Bourke Street has a selection of affordable breakfast and brunch offerings.

Tourist Spots at Surry Hills

Sydney and the Surry Hills area in particular, are well known for its great diversity in cultures, and the incredible Churches are no exception. Make sure to visit the historic locations of the St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church, the St. Michaels Anglican Church and St. Peters Catholic Church.

Take a box lunch to Prince Alfred Park or Harmony Park for a peaceful outing, and be sure to visit the Surry Hills Library to enjoy the plentiful works by Sydney-dwelling authors.

Now that you’re in love with the area, drop by Furnished Property and find a great flat of your own. You may be surprised to see how well you can live on a lower budget, especially with shared or student accommodations.

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Being a student myself only a few years ago, I know how this feels and would like to share with you five great tips to save on meals while still eating well in Australia.

1. Cheap Tuesdays are an Australian phenomenon and most pubs, cafes and restaurants have great buy-one-get-one-free or discounted steak dinners on a Tuesday evening. A great chance to get out and about, get to know your new neighbourhood and sample a tasty delicious meal!
2. Try your luck with a traditional meat raffle at your local RSL Club on a Friday. If you and your mates put in a few dollars you could go home with a big tray of steaks and sausages! Beer is often a dollar or two cheaper at the RSL’s too so you can justify having a couple of beers while you wait for your lucky ticket to be drawn!
3. Look for the specials. When the supermarket has specials on mince, chicken, pasta, cheese and other bulk items, buy a little more and store it in the freezer or pantry. If you are sharing an apartment, get everyone to chip in and you will have tasty ingredients for weeks!
4. Take your lunch to work. This will save you up to $10 a day by the time you have bought a coffee and a sausage roll. Make a large lasagne, portion it up and put it in the freezer; you’ll have a filling lunch that saves you money and sees you through to dinner time.
5. Late night shopping. Get to the supermarket later at night just before closing. Bread, milk, and cooked BBQ chickens that can’t be sold the next day are often at rock bottom prices. If you’re sharing an apartment, all chip in and for just a few dollars you can put together an excellent meal for next to nothing.

Eating well and cheaply is achievable in Australia, giving you and your flatmates a chance to save those dollars. Who wants to spend their hard earned cash on over-priced groceries when you could be saving to your travelling adventure, pair of new jeans or just going out with your friends.

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WARNING: This article is super-long, but chock-full of great tips. Stay with us!

WHY MELBOURNE?
Whilst Sydney is the largest city in Australia, Melbourne is considered the cultural hub of the nation. No matter what your tastes, there’s something in Melbourne for you. From secret clubs hidden down city laneways to shopping in the biggest designer stores in the Southern Hemisphere, we guarantee that you’ll love Melbourne.

GETTING THERE:
The two most common ways to get to Melbourne are driving and flying. The drive down to Melbourne is a beautiful, scenic coastal route, so if you’re after a road trip then this is the way to go. However this will take you at least two days, if not longer, so it’s faster, safer and cheaper to fly. Both Jetstar and Virgin Blue have flights leaving to Melbourne at multiple times each day.

STAYING THERE – ACCOMODATION:
There are plenty of good quality hostels and guesthouses in Melbourne. Some that we looked at included The Greenhouse Backpacker, the Melbourne Central YHA, or the St. Arnaud guesthouse. However we ended up not taking any of these options, instead finding an excellent deal on a site called lastminute.com. Hotels with rooms available will advertise their rooms secretly on this website at a greatly reduced price. It worked a treat for us, but if you’re not too keen on the secret bit, then the website also has publicly advertised hotels at reduced rates.

WHAT TO DO:

The Markets: Queen Victoria Markets

These markets are so vibrant, fresh and cheap, you’ll never want to eat anywhere else ever again! From fruit and vegetable stalls to bakeries, butchers, delis, cafés and even the occasional chocolate or alcohol retailer, you know you’re getting the freshest food around. I recommend going for breakfast or lunch, buying yourself a bread roll and some cold meats, sitting out in the laneway on the seats provided and taking in the atmosphere.

http://www.qvm.com.au/

The Café: That place

This place is so great that we hardly went to another café the whole time we were there. Located in the heart of the city, this place – which is actually called “That Place” – has basically everything you could ask for, and all at a reasonable price. The coffee is superb, and the milkshakes and iced coffees are among the best I’ve ever tasted. They also offer light snacks, as well as a great range of larger meals – and almost all of these are under $10! That Place is highly recommended. That having been said, there are more amazing cafés in this city than you could poke a stick at, so be adventurous – it’s unlikely you’ll be disappointed.

http://www.beanhunter.com/cafes/review/that-place-cafe

The Diner: Bimbo Deluxe

Perhaps the name isn’t too appealing, but you’ll change your mind once you’ve stepped inside and tasted their pizzas. Priced at $4 on Sunday – Thursday from 7-11pm, weekdays 12-4pm, and Saturday 7-9pm, you’d be pretty hard pressed to find a better value pizza anywhere. And the price is no indication of the quality – these pizzas are 100% gourmet. There are also a range of dessert pizzas, multiple drinks on tap (including some boutique beers and ciders), and generally an excellent vibe. And, the cherry on top – it’s located in Melbourne’s chic Brunswick st shopping precinct. A winner all round!

http://www.bimbodeluxe.com.au/

The Shops: Brunswick and Smith sts

If you’re into alternative stores, op-shops and boutiques, look no further than Fitroy strip malls Brunswick st and Smith st. Here you’ll find one off, small chain and exclusive to Melbourne designer boutiques nestled in amongst cheap as chips op shops. Smith st is the cheaper of the two, but has less of the designer stores. For the ladies, I would recommend Kinky Gerlinky and Lion in Love, both on Brunswick st.

Check this out – the streets have their own websites, complete with full, high-res interactive street view!
http://www.brunswickstreet.com.au/
http://www.smithstreet.net.au/

The Culture: Laneways

The city of Melbourne is famous for its laneway culture. The laneways are a series of alleyways and side-streets throughout the city centre which are host to a feast of cafes, restaurants, boutiques and street art. We won’t recommend any specific laneways to you, because it’s so much fun to discover them for yourselves.

If you want more information though, go here: included is a full list of Melbourne’s laneways:
http://www.onlymelbourne.com.au/melbourne_details.php?id=9408

The attraction: Tim Burton exhibition

Running until October 10th, this prolific exhibition celebrates the macabre world of Tim Burton’s creations. Included in the gallery exhibition are costumes, set pieces and props from some of his films; as well as storyboards, incidental sketches and even letters and stories he wrote in his youth. If you go at the right times, you can also catch a screening of one of his films, other films which inspired him, or documentaries and other examinations of Burton’s work.

http://www.acmi.net.au/timburton.aspx

The secret club: The Croft Institute

We found this club by accident, and it was a terrifically fun adventure. You’ll almost certainly need to google it in order to find it. To get there, you have to go down a graffiti-covered alley that twists and turns around until you’re hardly sure which direction you came from. Down this rabbit hole you’ll find a venue that is the perfect mix of cool and simple. There is a downstairs area which is a bit more chilled, usually host to some cracking hip-hop beats, and an upstairs area open on weekends, playing host to some fresh house, electro and dance DJs. This blurb doesn’t do the place justice, so check out the website to get a better idea of the vibe!

http://thecroftinstitute.net/

The live music venue: Yah Yah’s

If you’re willing to go for a bit of a risk, Yah Yah’s is the place it’s likely to pay off. Here you’ll find all kinds of live music – the website boasts “rock, soul, garage, surf, exotica, 60s, 70s and more.” All acts are likely to be independent and/or unsigned, but there’s still a huge amount of quality. Drinks are cheap and the vibe is cool. A warning, though – ear plugs are available for sale at $2 a pop at the bar, and you’ll need them!

http://www.yahyahs.com.au/

Phew! What a marathon article! But the fact is that these tips are just the tip of the iceberg. Part of the beauty of Melbourne is that there’s so much to be discovered. So whether you’re going on your own, with friends, or with your partner, you’re guaranteed to have a ball. If you go, let us know what you did and how you found it!

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If you and your flatmates love going out in the cross, you’ll know that after the clock strikes 10, the majority of food options available are less than appetizing. That’s why we’ve put together this list of the yummiest, cheapest food joints open late around Kings Cross.

SPANISH SNACKS: CAFÉ HERNANDEZ

This place is a treat! It’s literally been open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week including public holidays ever since it opened in 1972. What an effort! And they’ve clearly spent all of those opening hours perfecting their menu, with a host of options on offer to suit whatever cravings you may have. As you may have guessed from the name, the café is Spanish, and highlights of the menu include tortillas and churros. But, if you’re not feeling too adventurous, they also have plenty of sandwiches and other café essentials. And, of course, they have brilliant coffee, with what is probably the widest selection of beans and blends to choose from in Sydney. So if nothing else is open and you still want good quality for cheap, don’t worry – this place will ALWAYS be there.

Opening hours: All day, every day!
Specialties: Spanish food, world coffees
Location: 60 Kings Cross rd, Potts Point
Website: http://www.cafehernandez.com.au/

JUST DESSERTS: WOWCOW

Weird name, hey? This place is a funky little frozen yoghurt bar. It may not seem like the season for frozen treats, but once you’ve tried this stuff you won’t be able to resist! The Americans have fully embraced frozen yoghurt bars, but they’re only just getting off the ground here, and to my knowledge this one is the original and best. Choose from four yummy flavours of yoghurt (there’ll be different flavours each time) and a buffet of extra toppings, including everything from berries to biscuits. If you’re not in the frozen yoghurt mood, they also have some warmer sweets.

Opening Hours:
Sunday – Thursday: 12 midday – 11pm
Friday – Saturday: 12 midday – 12 midnight
Specialties: Frozen yoghurt
Location: Shop 2/304-308 Victoria st, Darlinghurst
Website: http://www.wowcow.com.au/

REVOLUTIONARY TASTE: COCO CUBANO

Now I’m the first to admit that this place is a bit on the expensive side, but you certainly get your value’s worth. Hearty staples of Cuban cuisine go hand in hand with great coffee and other standard café fare, and the atmosphere is at once friendly and sophisticated. If you’re planning on being there for a while, they’ve also got plenty of books to take a look at. If not though, duck in and out or even just grab some take-away.

Opening Hours:
Monday – Thursday: 6am – 12 midnight
Friday – Saturday: 6am – 2am
Specialties: Coffee and Cuban snacks
Location: 97 Darlinghurst rd, Kings Cross
Website: http://www.cococubano.com/

DELICIOUS DINNER: GUZMAN Y GOMEZ

This place is only open late Fridays and Saturdays, but hey – that’s the only time to be in the Cross anyway, right? Guzman y Gomez has been widely praised for bringing real Mexican food to the people of Sydney – not the greasy, heavy stuff you can get at any old nachos stand, but real, fresh, healthy and filling taste sensations made from true Mexican ingredients and recipes – and all at very reasonable prices. ¡Buen apetito!

Opening Hours:
Sunday – Thursday: 11am – 10pm
Friday – Saturday: 11am – 4am
Specialties: Mexican
Location: Cnr Bayswater rd and Pennys ln, Kings Cross
Website: http://www.guzmanygomez.com/

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SYDNEY’S WINTER WONDERLAND

Feeling homesick for a cooler climate? Fancy a spot of ice-skating and frosty fun? Sydney’s weather at the moment isn’t exactly warm, but with the winter festival kicking off in Sydney and Bondi, now you can make your Sydney winter experience complete.

Two very similar festivals are about to kick off in Sydney – the Alpine Winter festival in Bondi and the city, and the Winterland festival at Carriageworks in Eveleigh, just near Newtown. Both festivals boast ice-skating rinks (the one at Bondi is on the beach!), tasty alpine cuisine and warm drinks in cosy settings. Plus, the Winterland Festival at Eveleigh has a bucketload of other cool stuff going on, including live music, markets and karaoke!

Here are all the details you need – and get in quick – tickets to the ice rinks run out fast!

THE ALPINE WINTER FESTIVAL

City
Dates: 24th June (that’s today!) – 4th July
Venue: St Mary’s Cathedral Forecourt
Activities: Ice skating rink, alpine ski hut and food market
Website: http://www.winterfestival.com.au
Prices: Starting at $22 + booking fee for just the ice rink and skate hire, up to $49 for a ski hut deluxe package. There are heaps of different packages at different prices, so check out the website.

Bondi
Dates: 16th July – 25th July
Venue: Bondi Beach (as in on the beach!)
Activities: Ice skating rink, alpine ski hut and food market
Website: http://www.winterfestival.com.au
Prices: Starting at $22 + booking fee for just the ice rink and skate hire, up to $49 for a ski hut deluxe package. There are heaps of different packages at different prices, so check out the website.

WINTERLAND FESTIVAL, CARRIAGEWORKS

Dates: 3rd July – 31st July
Venue: CarriageWorks Arts Centre, Eveleigh
Activities: Ice rink, alpine cuisine, markets and live music. The music is different depending on which days you go – check the website for details.
Website: www.winterland.com.au
Prices: Entry to the Winterland Festival is free! Ice skating sessions cost between $12.50 and $16.50, depending on when you go, and the amount you spend on food, market items and so on is up to you!

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CAFÉ REVIEW – San Churro

Shop 5/84 Campbell Parade,
Bondi Beach

OR

47 Glebe Point Road,
Glebe

Ever had churros? If not, you’re missing out. And the best place to get them in Sydney is chain store San Churro.

Prices: A little bit on the expensive side, but still one of the cheapest chocolate cafes in Sydney. A hot chocolate will set you back about $6, and a plate of churros for one costs about $8

Food: A churro is a Spanish fried dough stick – it’s kind of like their version of a doughnut. But in stick form. Anyway, you dip them in melted chocolate, and the result is pure bliss. San Churro also serve other chocolate-based food including fondue and brownies, as well as offering every kind of hot chocolate under the sun, their speciality being Spanish hot chocolates, which are more or less just melted chocolate in a cup. Be prepared for cocoa overload!

Service: Food arrives quickly and staff are nice.

Atmosphere: Pretty excellent. The room is full of dark wood and the lighting is dim, giving the impression of a Spanish taberna. It’s usually pretty busy – especially late at night – but never feels too crowded.

Take Away: Yes
Close to: Bars, pubs, cafes and restaurants on Glebe Pt Road; shops, cafes and the beach at Bondi
Public transport: Both are serviced by buses.

RATING: 8/10

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So, let’s kick things off!

RESTAURANT REVIEW – The Italian Bowl

255 King St
Newtown

Prices: Great considering the large serving sizes. $10 for basic pastas, up to $15 for veal and chicken main dishes.

Food: Serving sizes are generous, and food is always fresh and delicious.

Service: Speedy and very friendly.

Atmosphere: Awesome. There are tables for groups, as well as a bench with stools if you come alone or with a friend. The bench looks into the kitchen which is completely exposed to the restaurant, and the chefs are always talkative, funny and very friendly. In addition, the walls are covered with the signatures of the celebrities that have eaten at the restaurant.

Take Away: Yes
EFTPOS: Yes
Close to: Bars, pubs, cafes – it’s right in the middle of Newtown’s lively King St.
Public transport: Bus stop just outside the restaurant, or Newtown train station 150m down the road

RATING: 9/10

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