One of Brisbane’s best burgers has expanded its reach starting this August and a sensational, new burger player has finally landed on Caxton Street Strip in Paddington. Ben’s Burgers is now serving their delicious burgers at the Lefty’s Old Time Music Hall from Wednesdays to Sundays from 5:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Their first branch opened in Fortitude Valley and their second one was in West End. However, the owners, Ben and Nick Chiu, eventually decided to close the West End branch in a strategic decision that would allow them to focus on their upcoming projects.
Now, Paddington’s burger lovers will get a chance to try out their burgers – the Classic with beef, cheese, pickles, lettuce, tomato, onion, ketchup, mustard, and mayo.
Or their Cheese beef with a special sauce.
Photo credit: Ben’s Burgers / Facebook
Or for those who don’t want meat, there is always the Veg burger with mushroom, parmesan, pickles, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and aioli.
They also brought back their chicken sandwich, so don’t miss it!
Photo credit: Ben’s Burgers / Facebook
Address: 15 Caxton St, Petrie Terrace QLD, 4000, Australia
Eating healthy can sometimes be tricky, especially when your local supermarket has limited stocks of organic products. Whether you are a vegan, vegetarian, or eating a gluten-free diet for health reasons, Paddington has a couple of options where you can buy certified organic food and produce.
It’s Mirchi Healthy Indian
Photo credit: It’s Mirchi Healthy Indian/Facebook
Named after the spice “Mirchi” which means chilli, this specialty Indian restaurant in Paddington serves authentic Indian culinary delights. It’s Mirchi Healthy Indian is an organic restaurant that focuses on providing healthy Indian dishes which includes vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy free, nut free, and MSG-free meals.
Photo credit: It’s Mirchi Healthy Indian/Facebook
It’s Mirchi Healthy Indian Entrees include Vegetable Samosas, Cauliflower Pakoda and Chicken
Their menu includes a variety of healthy organic food such as Free-range Chicken Tikka, Organic Lamb Saagwala, Spinach and Broccoli Pakoda, and more.
It’s Mirchi Healthy Indian Entrees is located at 284 Given Terrace, Paddington. Visit their official page to learn more.
Fundies
Photo credit: Fundies Wholefood Market/Facebook
Formerly known as Fundamental Food Stores, Fundies Wholefood Market is dedicated to providing natural and organic food. Fundies Paddington has been one of the most popular organic shopping centres in Brisbane.
Photo credit: Fundies Wholefood Market/Facebook
Located at 219 Given Terrace Paddington, the store is committed to selling only certified organic products that are sourced as locally as possible. Fundies offers high-quality, least processed, and naturally preserved foods.
The store even offers qualified naturopath services on site to help answer any questions you may have for free.
Fundies Paddington is open from 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., Mondays to Saturdays and from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. on Sundays. For more information, visit their official website.
McCaskie Park will officially be the home of the newest permanent outdoor cinema in Brisbane.
Despite the era of online movie streaming, Brisbanites love for the outdoors remains strong. Being a part of the state’s “Sun Corridor” and its sub-tropical climate, going out to catch the latest flick at your local movie cinema is still a thing.
Talks about its development started going around early this year and now, the Brisbane City Council has finally given it the go-signal.
As part of the council’s initiative to get more people at the city’s public spaces, this new development will definitely see more people out, socialising, and enjoying the beautiful outdoors the city has to offer. The best part? It’s FREE and it’s a permanent thing!
The development proposal includes a 2.7 metre x 5.4. metre screen, a small stage area, and a speaker set up. The council plans to to make it operational on weekdays and weeknights. They will also allow the area to be used by organisations and individuals.
This proposal will also highlight the natural amenity and heritage values of the park, which is a local heritage place for recreational and sporting activities. The development will retain all mature fig trees on site, existing view-lines within the park, and the existing settings of the park.
Demand for properties in Paddington is on the rise as overseas buyers and bargain hunters search the area for properties with the best rates.
Although many anticipate lower demands for Brisbane apartments due to issues with oversupply and talks about price falls, buyers seem to be more interested in searching for a bargain in the area. This, as demand increased to over 4.5% over the past 12 months.
Among the most active property seekers are offshore buyers who are driving the surge in demand for properties around Brisbane. According to realestate.com.au’s Australian Property Market report, Brisbane currently has the biggest increases in offshore buyers, far higher than those of other capital cities.
Photo credit: CC-BY/Brisbane City Council/Flickr
The report also shows that prices in Brisbane are up by 1% with houses seeing a slight increase while apartments seeing a decline. When it comes to the demand, the timing in the cycle for the city seems to be at odds with Melbourne and Sydney. This is not the first time that Paddington has seen an influx of buyers looking for better property deals.
Prices for properties in Brisbane remain far more affordable and with strong spending on infrastructure, the city is now well prepared for population growth brought about by the continued improvement of jobs growth.
Aptly named after J.R.R. Tolkien’s fictional character, a goddess who is a giver of fruit and queen of the earth, Yavanna is magically turning your beloved comfort food into vegan delights in Paddington.
Photo credit: Facebook/Yavanna
Yavanna is the newest plant-based bar and eatery in the suburb, an outcome of a collaboration among people with a passion for all things plant-based. With a mission to change the world one bite at a time, the restaurant and bar offers decadent and inclusive food and drinks for everyone who steps in their door.
Yavanna’s timely addition to Brisbane’s food scene is consistent with the growing demand for vegan cuisine across Australia. The country happens to have the third-fastest growing vegan population worldwide.
Photo credit: Facebook/Yavanna
Their menu includes a vast selection of unconventional vegan food such as chargrilled steak, flame-grilled chicken, buffalo wings, and more. Take note that the mention of animal products is referencing a high-quality plant-based alternative so no animals were harmed in making them.
Photo credit: Facebook/Yavanna
Yavanna’s bar menu features their spicy margarita spin called The Eye of Sauron plus natural wines as well as beers and ciders from local breweries such as Green Beacon, Newstead Brewing, and Balter.
Paddington’s Secondhand Market is back at The BrisWest Centre on Saturday, 21 July 2018. From 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., the centre will be filled with great deals on designer clothes, homewares, books, and music.
Delicious food from the BrisWest Cafe, homemade Spring Rolls, and Sausage Sizzle, plus a raffle await shoppers in the event. Entry to the event is free for shoppers.
Photo credit: Facebook/The BrisWest Centre
If you are thinking of decluttering your home or clearing up more space in your closet, Excess Baggage: Paddington Secondhand Market is the perfect place for you to recycle your things and make some money. Simply book a ticket online to get a table where you can sell your stuff.
Take note that table numbers are limited to ensure that there is a maximum space for everyone’s comfort inside the hall. At the time of writing, indoor spaces were already sold out but there are still remaining spaces for selling outdoors. Click here to grab a space.
Photo credit: Facebook/The BrisWest Centre
Friendly Reminders for Sellers
Sellers will be provided with a table, chair and space for a BYO rack.
You can bring one rack per paid ticket.
For those who have booked a table outside, you can provide your own gazebo as you wish.
The BrisWest Centre will be available for set-up from 7:00 a.m. on the morning of the market.
Packing up should be done on the specified closing time of 3:00 p.m. since doing it earlier will send a message to shoppers that the event is closing.
Parking area in the front of the centre can be used to unload stock until 8:30 a.m. on the morning of the market.
If you are parking longer than two hours, you may park your car along the side streets of Latrobe Terrace.
Do not forget to clean up your space after closing.
If you have booked a table but can’t make it to the day, you may get a refund by simply notifying the organizer within 24 hours of the market.
For more information and updates on the event, visit The BrisWest Centre’s Facebook page.
Catch The Real Housewives of Brisbane: The Musical at the Brisbane Arts Theatre from 24 June to 6 August, and you’re sure to be in for a humorous and scandalous experience.
The musical will highlight the series Real Housewives with a Brisbane touch. The series is written by Molly Bell whilst the theatre production will be helmed by Artistic Director John Boyce.
Witness the scandalous lives of women as they deal with plastic surgeries, different personalities, affairs, and many more. See these women join together as friends and at the same time, be the worst enemies of themselves as well.
The series documents the lives of affluent housewives from several regions in the United States. The first series was titled The Real Housewives of Orange County and hit the small screens in 2006.
Whether you’re a fan or not, you will surely have a lot of fun watching these series brought to life through a musical play.
The shows will run every Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays. Get your tickets here.
Address: 210 Petrie Terrace, Brisbane City QLD 4000, AU
Rosalie, Paddington and Inala will be the first areas to benefit from the $12 million Flood Resilient Homes program as part of the Council’s flood resilience initiatives. The program aims to lessen the impact of flooding and assist residents affected by the flood to recover more quickly.
According to Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, the multi-million-dollar Flood Resilient Homes program, which will be delivered over four years, is a key feature of the 2018-2019 Budget. It is also part of a commitment to ensuring that the city has the services and infrastructure to meet the needs of future generations.
The new program involves a two-part scheme. First, households will receive a free in-home flood-risk assessment to determine how the property’s flood immunity could be boosted.
Photo credit: CC0 Public Domain / USFWS / PIXNIO
Eligible homeowners will then get access to flood-resilient property upgrades which includes retrofitting flood-resilient flooring and walls, relocation of electrics and services, and raising the level of timber homes.
“Property owners will be able to take advantage of up to $50,000 of flood-resilience retrofitting upgrades from Council, to help prepare for, and more-easily recover from, flash flooding,” Cr Quirk said.
This year, the Flood Resilient Homes program is offered to residential properties that are at risk of being flooded one in every two years due to flash flooding in the two pilot precincts.
“The owners of more than 220 houses in Rosalie and Inala North will be the first to benefit from the Flood Resilient Homes program, which has been developed in consultation with industry groups including the Insurance Council of Australia, Suncorp, Master Builders and Master Electricians,” said Cr Quirk.
Furthermore, Cr Quirk said that the Council’s drainage construction program and Voluntary Home Purchase Scheme would still help in increasing city-wide flood immunity, but the Flood Resilient Homes program will target properties where drainage would not eliminate flash flooding.
“Council will invest $31 million into new major and minor drainage construction this year, to provide additional drainage capacity where it will effectively reduce flooding and $66 million to maintain the current network,” he said.
The program will certainly be helpful to residents of the two suburbs as both Inala and Rosalie were amongst the communities that experienced extreme flooding in 2011.
Over the next months, eligible residents in Rosalie (Paddington) and Inala will be contacted by the council’s CitySmart to register for the program.
Kelvin Grove State College(KGSC) will receive $3 million in funding from the State Government as part of the 2020 Ready Program, which will see the school deliver additional classrooms to accommodate new students in 2020 and beyond.
The State Government has committed to $250 million for its 2020 Ready Program, which will support more than 60 high schools across the state.
Education Minister Grace Grace said that the Palaszczuk Government is happy to bring much-needed infrastructure to bring world-class education to Kelvin Grove State College students.
Next Phase of Education Reform
Minister Grace said that the 2020 Ready program will ensure that the state schools are prepared for the future.
“The ‘2020 Ready’ program signals the next phase of Queensland’s major education reforms, which started more than a decade ago,” Minister Grace said.
“In 2007, the State Labor Government gave Queensland children a flying start with the introduction of prep, which we supported with additional, specialist classrooms for preppies.
“As you may remember, Queensland’s first intake of preppies were those whose birthdays were in the first half of the calendar year – meaning theirs has always been a much smaller cohort of students, known as the ‘half cohort’.”
By 2015, another educational reform took place in which Year 7 students were moved into high school thus establishing six years of secondary education. With this development, the need for additional facilities increases.
“With the original prep students set to graduate from high school at the end of 2019, we will have – for the very first time – six full year levels of students in Queensland secondary schools from 2020.
The $250-million funds for infrastructure will ensure that high schools in the state can accommodate an anticipated 17,000 additional students in 2020.
Deputy Premier and Treasurer Jackie Trad said that this will boost the government support to students.
“Our kids are our future and, as a Government, one of the most important things we can do is give Queensland students a world-class education,” Ms Trad said.
“This investment will deliver more classrooms and learning centres to provide the best possible environment for learning.”
Want to give your child a headstart at learning football? Start them young with the help of Little Kickers, which will be launching football classes for kids in Paddington from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Monday, 11 June 2018.
Considered as the world’s biggest and most successful pre-school football academy, Little Kickers provides football programme for kids aged 18 months to seven years.
Credit: Little Kickers/YouTube
Their classes are based on the principles of play not push, so they are filled with excitement, adventure, and imaginative play. You may see your child score goals, but to them, they are either launching cannon balls or feeding a hungry crocodile.
Little Kickers was founded by Christine Stanschus in the UK in 2002. She saw the need for a pre-school football program that was both fun and educational whilst creating a love for physical activity that carries into adulthood.
Now, Lisa Granshaw is bringing Little Kickers to West Brisbane. Lisa has been with Little Kickers for seven years working as a coach. Being a Taringa/Indooroopilly resident for more than five years, she is excited to launch her business in the local community.
Lisa Granshaw, owner/coach of Little Kickers West Brisbane. Photo credit: Supplied
“I love having a job where I can unleash my inner-child and make a fool of myself to capture the attention of a room full of kids (and to the amusement of their parents) is beyond a dream come true,” she said.
“I have found my role as a coach very rewarding. I have watched the shyest of children grow into confident, independent kids that count down the hours until their next class,” she added.
Lisa has a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise and Sports Science from UQ and she knows the importance of health and fitness, particularly from a young age. She said, “I just want to help kids develop a positive relationship with physical activity that hopefully follows them to adulthood.”
Little Kickers will be launching their classes at Paddington Community Hall on Monday. They are offering a Free Trial class for families to ensure they love the classes before enrolling.
To learn more about their classes, visit their website or call Lisa on 0452 470 202. Check out their Facebook page for updates.
