COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on our lifestyles – we’re staying in (and we implore you to, as well). Life has changed. Drastically. While it’s not permanent, it’s a big shift, and we’re all feeling it. While you’re doing the right thing (spatial and social distancing + self isolating), we’re updating you with what you need to know about all the things you love. How you can still eat, drink, consume, watch and buy the things that bring you joy. How you can continue to support Australian businesses, artists, creators, makers and more. How you can stay amused, active, educated and entertained at home. How we can all stay connected to the things that make us us.
Here’s Sandi Sieger’s guide to what’s hot and happy(ning) this week. Eat, drink, buy, try, visit, read, be merry – iso style.
EAT: Roll’d Runner Food Van
Popular Australian Vietnamese food brand, Roll’d have invested in a hot new set of wheels dubbed the Roll’d Runner Food Van, and much like a Mr Whippy truck, it’s hitting a road near you!
The Roll’d Runner will set up shop and make fresh food in front of people’s homes or workplaces. Their aim is to have one Roll’d Runner racing around each neighbourhood across the entire country.
Roll’d currently have 82 stores throughout Australia and some have sadly closed, but they are planning to reopen them as soon as possible.
Founder and CEO of Roll’d, Bao Hoang, believes that hospo as we know it has drastically changed and these are the new long-term strategies for growth.
DRINK: Allpress Espresso Coffee
As everyone is staying in and social distancing during the current COVID-19 outbreak, now is the best time to ensure your caffeine intake isn’t impacted too. Allpress Espresso is here to help with your delicious coffee needs with freshly roasted coffee and simple brewing tools that will help you make the perfect cup of joe all from the comforts of your home.
Check out the range online here.
TRY: Hitch
Hitch is the new water bottle/coffee cup combo designed to make everyday essentials more sustainable and easier to carry. It launched on Kickstarter on Earth Day.
What makes Hitch different from the hundreds of reusable water bottles in the market is that it has a removable barista-approved cup hidden inside — both full-sized, insulated, stainless steel, and leak-proof. While many people have made the switch to reusable water bottles or even coffee cups, the inconvenience of carrying both items means that many of us are still using a disposable cup for our to-go coffee.
Single use cups aren’t just terrible for the user, they’re terrible for the planet. Paper cups are lined with an invisible layer of plastic, which makes them nearly impossible to recycle. In fact, less than 1% of paper cups are ever recycled and we’re cutting down 1.6 billion trees every year to make them. Not to mention the plastic lids, which have a nasty habit of finding their way into the ocean.
BUY: A Ticket To Perfect Pairings Virtual Wine Concert – Van-Anh Nguyen X Winona
Love music? Love wine? Well well well, you’re in for a treat. Reawaken your iso-numbed senses with this special synergy of wine and music via virtuoso pianist Van-Anh Nguyen. Van-Anh has been running her wildly popular concert series ‘Perfect Pairings’ for a few years at venues around the world, but this is the first time she’s offering it virtually. Voyage around the world with three wines guided by guest sommelier Laura Hicks, and three accompanying piano performances curated by Van-Anh, all in the comfort of your own home. Fancy a tango with your Malbec? Yes, please. Dress up, dress down – you do you (but Van-Anh will be giving a special prize for the best dressed).
Buy tickets online here.
VISIT: A Hotel Near You For Some Much Needed Quiet
Many parents and corporates are feeling overwhelmed with the sudden change to remote learning and working from home, along with the various distractions that seem to come from all angles, causing one email to take three times longer to write. From kids begging for maths help, housemates blasting music, constant wi-fi dropouts and pets that just won’t stop wagging their tongues for a treat, working from home can be difficult to say the least.
The Ascott Limited understands the challenges and wants to help anyone craving a few hours of solitary work by offering the When in Doubt, Zoom It Out package that provides the comforts of a home with the perks of an office.
The perfect opportunity to separate work and home lives (and keep the household peace!), the new package offers the privacy of a serviced apartment, equipped with everything needed for a successful day of work including as many cups of coffee required and the perfect lighting for that 9am Zoom call.
Available across The Ascott Limited’s Australian properties in Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart and Perth, the $79 per day package includes free hi speed Wi-Fi, free parking, access from 9am to 5pm each day, as well as the comfort and space of a serviced apartment including fully-equipped kitchenette with Nespresso machine, spacious bathroom, and a flat screen TV equipped with everything you need for video conferencing.
This package is available across The Ascott Limited’s Australian Properties – Citadines on Bourke Melbourne, Somerset on Elizabeth Melbourne, Citadines Connect Sydney Airport, Citadines St Georges Terrace Perth and Somerset on the Pier Hobart.
READ: Now I Climb Rocks by Liv Hambrett
How much of who we are is where we come from? How do we give our children their cultural inheritance when we are so far removed from it? And is it possible to learn an entire language in a birth prep class? In this collection of essays, Australian writer Liv Hambrett dives into her own experiences of pregnancy and the early years of motherhood as they played out in a country and language not her own. Poignant, funny and personal, Now I Climb Rocks explores how raising children in another country can make us question our very ideas of belonging and becoming.
Australian readers can buy the book on Amazon or Apple Books.
Readers in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, the UK, Ireland, Italy, Canada, Luxemburg, The Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Slovenia, Spain, the USA or Germany, can buy it in softcover, hardcover or as an ebook directly from the publisher’s site by clicking here.
