Deliveryhero.com.au Blog

“Must…outrun…encroaching…middle…age….”

Ok has anyone else noticed the trend of guys in their mid-30′s taking up long-distance running….? Cue quizzical look from our caped crusader and a few female employees.

With the City2Surf (14km) just around the corner (or should that be up the hill? – groan eds), at Delivery Hero HQ we thought we’d find out why people partake in an activity that bears a striking resemblance to senseless punishment. Think about it, you have to drag your sorry arse out of bed and run for hours and hours, and hours! And there are other things you should know before you start:

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If you harbour a secret love of anime despite the fact you’re now officially grown-up, then head to the SMASH! Sydney Manga and Anime Show this Saturday 14th July.

Get into character and battle your opponents in Cosplay chess. mikemol; Flickr

You can publicly declare your love for all your favourite characters – from Pikachu (Pokémon) and Astroboy, to Akira and Totoro, SMASH! is the place to be.  Now in its 6th year, this one-day Japanese pop culture convention is a meet-up for artists, creators and fans, taking place at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre at Darling Harbour.

Whether you’re an aspiring artist or animator, a Japanese pop-culture buff, into Cosplay, or just want to meet up with like-minded anime fans, SMASH! has something for everyone. (more…)

As food lovers, if we’re not making sure it gets to you, here at Delivery Hero, we also like to watch it on the big screen.  There are SOOO many good films out this year and the Sydney Film Festival is bringing them direct to you from 6-17th June. This year’s program features 156 films from 50 countries in 49 languages!

Festival director, Nashen Moody, has put together a diverse program of feature films and documentaries including 22 Australian premières from “Dead Europe” and “Not Suitable for Children”, to “Mabo” (featured in the indigenous Blackfella films program).  Other highlights include the new Wes Anderson flick “Moonrise Kingdom” which looks like a pearler! And then there’s “Beasts of the Southern Wild” by Behn Zeitlin which bagged the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance this year; and “Bully” a documentary by Lee Hirsch, which follows a few kids and their families in the USA.

This year’s festival also has a special focus on Indian cinema with Anurag Kashyap’s epic “Gangs of Wasseypur“. And by epic, we mean EPIC. It’s in two parts – each weighing in at 160 minutes apiece! You’ll definitely need some sustenance to make it through this gangster tale spanning generations. It’s been described as an Indian mash-up of Tarantino meets “The Godfather”, topped off with a neo-Bollywood soundtrack.

image: SteFou!; Flickr

After all that you will be craving an Indian takeaway on your way home, or even better, schedule your order with Delivery Hero ahead of time, so it arrives 10 minutes after you walk in the door.  Our tip would be Maya da Dhaba in Surry Hills. They do a mean Chicken Jhalfrezi, Dal Makhani (lentil dahl) and Punjabi Baingan (baby eggplant with tomato, chilli and coriander), plus a delicious assortment of spiced rice dishes.

Alternatively if you’re a hardcore foodie, then sign up for the food + film experience, which features the documentary film “Step Up to the Plate” which follows master French chef Michel Bras and his legendary three-Michelin Star hotel-restaurant. After the screening treat yourself to a 4-course meal inspired by the movie, specially prepared by chef Justin North at Quarter Twenty One, with matching Eden Road wines.

We want to know which films you’re excited about checking out at the Sydney Film Festival, and which dishes you’ll be chowing down on as you debrief.

Aaaah, Sydney in the winter time. It’s the time of year when our collective ego takes a beating and we realise our great city isn’t impervious to London-style grey skies and gloomy days. We all start rugging up, going through our ‘dvds I haven’t watched yet’ list and working out how many sick days we have left.

It’s also the time of year when a night out carries a little less attraction, especially when it’s 15 degrees outside and pouring down. You could always force yourself to brave the torrential rain, or you could stay at home, order in something delicious and relax. To help you make the right decision Delivery Hero has put together a little list of 5 Reasons to Stay In & Order Takeaway:

1.) You’re Not As Good At Jumping Over Puddles as You Think You Are

Everyone holds onto beliefs about their own abilities that often do not stand up to the test of reality, but let’s get this one out of the way. If you go out, you will encounter puddles, and, somewhere in the back of your mind, you think that you can jump over every single one of them like the lady in this photo:

What You Think Will Happen:

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It’s that time of year again to celebrate the kitschness of Eurotrash – oh we mean Europop. Yes the splendiferousness of Eurovision is about to hit our screens once again. This year the circus of European pop will be coming to you live and direct from the shores of the Caspian Sea in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Image: Vlad Gerasimov

This is the 57th year of the contest and representatives from 42 countries will take part.Amidst this sea of sequins, over-the-top ballads, euro-trash-disco numbers, there are always some gems. It doesn’t matter if you’re a genuine fan or a forced spectator, Eurovision is always good for a giggle. (more…)

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” - Virginia Woolf

Such literary luminaries as Roddy Doyle and Jeanette Winterson are in Sydney this week for the annual The Sydney Writer’s Festival, which kicked off on Monday and runs until 20th May. We love a good read at Delivery Hero. In fact there’s nothing better on a weekend than nestling into the couch with some takeaway Thai food and a good book. We’ll be heading to the writers festival to find what some of Australia’s best-loved authors like Kate Grenville and David Malouf have been up to. And of course we want to know what their favourites dishes are! In the mean time, here’s the low-down on some of our fav Aussie and international authors.

Image by Moriza; Flickr

Anita Heiss – Salt and Pepper Squid   Australian Indigenous author, Dr. Anita Heiss (“I’m Not a Racist, But…”), describes herself as ‘a concrete Koori with Westfield dreaming’. She writes poetry, academic texts, books for children and chicklit novels. While Dr. Heiss admits she doesn’t cook much, when she does head into the kitchen, kangaroo is on the menu! Otherwise chocolate rates as one of her favourite things, and she says her last meal would be salt’n'pepper squid (that”s definitely one of our favourites too!) You can catch Dr. Heiss talking about her latest book with Anne Summers today at the Sydney Writer’s Festival. (more…)

Chances are, you weren’t an instant foodie or passionate food experimenter. More likely you came into this world without sophisticated taste buds, happy to gobble up your fruit loops and milk for breakfast rather than sit over eggs benedict with tangy hollandaise sauce and a glass of freshly squeezed pomegranate juice. But as we mature so do our thousands of taste buds, giving us opportunities to enjoy our daily life through amazing flavours.

And somewhere along the line we’ve experienced ‘wow food moments’ as we’ve tried our fair share of new (and strange) ingredients and dishes, and developed a more refined palate. This wow moment is the instant when we taste something for the first time, and become forever hooked. It could be entirely new to us, or some dish we’ve tried before but really taste it for the first time again. My most memorable wow moment was the time I tasted Indonesian food, and never looked back. (more…)

It began innocently as these things often do, with empty cupboards and a craving for something delicious yet comforting to take my hunger pangs away. As a busy woman who loves her food but has little time to cook, I’d ordered my fair share of takeaway cuisine and had been more or less satisfied with the results. And then In and Out Noodle Bar happened. I had found ‘The One’.

Image by adactio, Flickr

Tom Kha kicked things off, the fragrance of aromatic ingredients filling the air as I savoured the mellowing effect a dash of coconut milk brings to this famous sweet, salty and sour Thai soup.  Next I dove into a Chicken Larb and, expecting the same straight forward combination of mince chicken and herbs, I was unprepared for the delightful hit of lime and authentic roasted rice which crunched pleasantly between my teeth, lifting the dish to a higher plane.  Alternating between this, fluffy Jasmine rice and a holy basil and chilli vegetable stir fry aka Pad Kra Prao, I felt a pang of regret that I hadn’t discovered this gem of culinary Thai delights sooner. (more…)

Our guest post today comes from April who creates the wonderful Sydney food blog Polkadots and Chopsticks.

You know after a long day at work, 90% of the time you just want to come home and have dinner appear from nowhere. Well unfortunately I didn’t get a letter when I turned 10 telling me I’m a wizard, so I’ve had to find alternatives to dinner with no effort.

So the answer? Take away!

Satay Chicken Skewers

But like everyone else I’m so bored of generic pizza delivery. Discovering Delivery Hero though has opened so many more options. I’m particularly partial to Asian cuisines. First appearances were great, the site runs smoothly and the design is modern and fun, making the only difficult part of the whole process trying to decide what to eat! (more…)

From the perspective of a restaurateur, naming your establishment is a tricky thing. Do you go for something that tells people the style of food you’re serving and where it is? what about a pop culture reference? or just something that sounds cool? or do you go for the pun?

Lord of the Fries Melbourne, by mugley; Flickr

Many restaurant and cafe owners choose the straightforward option. Marrickville Thai & Seafood is a case in point. As customers, there’s no confusion about what kind of food the restaurant serves and where it is. This can definitely make it easier if you’re trying to organise a night out with friends.

Another popular choice is to give your establishment a person’s name, like Annie’s Restaurant or Micky’s Cafe. It doesn’t matter whether this person is real or fictional, a name like that just sounds friendly and inviting – “See you at Micky’s!”. (more…)