Category Travel

“I view Australia as part of Asia”, says Neil Perry

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 18.06.2016  (The Hindu): Neil Perry, the pioneering Australian chef, has been a defining contributor to how the world perceives Modern Australian cuisine. It is in Rockpool, his iconic fine dining restaurant located in the hub of Sydney’s financial district, that I meet him on an unusually balmy autumn afternoon.

The dining room is abuzz with men in dark suits on a business lunch, a young Korean couple perhaps on a life-changing date, an Italian family raising a toast to the parents’ 50 years of togetherness, and a group of women engaged in animated conversation, all relishing the exotic aromas wafting from their plates. The wood décor bathed in mellow light radiates warmth.

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David Roche Foundation House Museum opens on June 3

By Neena Bhandari

Fermoy House, the residence of art aficionado, David Roche will open its doors to visitors this June to enjoy, marvel and learn from the over 3000 artefacts the owner collected from around the world and Australia.

The David Roche Foundation House Museum, which includes Fermoy House and a new adjoining neoclassical building, will display his entire collection spanning from 1690 to 1960s.

`Living well is the best revenge’ was Roche’s refrain. He amassed a vast reservoir of furniture, porcelain, metalware, ceramics, clocks, paintings and textiles from renowned creators and many with a connection to royalty or aristocracy such as France’s Napoleon Bonaparte and Russia’s Catherine the Great.

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Ngeringa (Ukaria) Cultural Centre – a symphony in nature

By Neena Bhandari

Waking up on a clear October day in the Adelaide Hills draped in green gums, Ulrike Klein thought if this is her new home it would be wonderful.

It was 1983 and she has never felt any different. A philanthropist and connoisseur of music, Klein says, “Lifestyle is about culture, good local food and wine and to have that combination with four distinct seasons, clean beaches, blue skies, no traffic jams and festivals galore is what makes South Australia so special for me”.

She confesses that despite being very German at heart, she has never felt homesick. But she did find Australia to be very sports focused unlike Europe, where art and culture are an integral part of the society. As a parent of four young kids, she wanted to create a balance.

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