Jetsettersblog

A new Seafood Discovery trail has been launched showcasing the best seafood dining options in the Southern Gold Coast and Tweed regions.

The free 32 page guide features options to suit every budget, from fish and chip takeaways, cafes and beachfront surf clubs to fine dining restaurants along the 35km stretch of coastline from Currumbin to Cabarita. Aquatic activities are also featured and include deep sea fishing, river cruises, kayaking, whale watching and snorkelling.

The Seafood Discovery Trail guide can be downloaded from www.seafooddiscoverytrail.com  and links are available to online booking systems for accommodation reservations.

Asia is possibly best known for its amazing food. From the spice of Thai food to the exotic textures of Laos cuisine and the sour mixes found in Cambodia, this tour will take you through these amazing countries while tantalizing your taste buds along the way.

In each city, Journeys Within, a specialist in travel to Southeast Asia has tried to include a cooking class focusing on local cuisine, a meal with a local family to get the flavor of authentic cooking, and one night out at the must-visit restaurant.

Of course food doesn’t tell the whole story so in between these amazing meals Journeys Within has included the highlights of each country: from the Grand Palace in Bangkok, riding elephants in Chiang Mai, visiting waterfalls in Laos and seeing the amazing Angkor Wat in Cambodia, your eyes and ears are going to have as much fun as your taste buds!

www.journeys-within.com

Food lovers from all over Australia will soon be heading to Sydney for the city’s epicurean celebration.

Tickets are now on sale for Taste of Sydney, a major food festival taking place in the Australian city.

Centennial Park, a large green space in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, will be hosting the gastronomic extravaganza from March 11th to 14th.

The festival offers a chance for people to sample the signature dishes of the city’s most exclusive restaurants and celebrated chefs, as well as enjoy free wine tasting and musical entertainment.

A central feature of the event is the Taste Producers Market, where food and drink from 100 of Australia’s finest grocers, butchers, coffee makers and vineyards will be available.

Throughout the Taste of Sydney site, dishes and drinks are purchased using the festival’s own currency – the crown.

A limited number of exhibitors also accept ordinary cash, but the participating restaurants can only be paid using the special currency.

People using in hotels in Sydney and attending the festival can exchange their money for a book of crowns when they arrive at Centennial Park, with AU$1 being the equivalent of one crown.

Standard advance tickets for Taste of Sydney are priced at AU$27.50 (GBP15.40), or visitors can pay AU$30 on the door.

The Halekulani in Waikiki has announced that reservations for its La Mer and Orchids restaurants are now available via OpenTable.com.

Diners are now able to utilize the capabilities provided by OpenTable.com to book tables at La Mer and Orchids with access to real-time availability. Individuals looking for an elegant dining experience can reserve a table at La Mer, Hawaii’s longest consecutively ranked AAA Five Diamond restaurant.

Those who want a more casual dining experience can book Orchids, which serves contemporary seafood dishes in an oceanfront setting.

For more information, call 800-367-2343 or visit www.halekulani.com  or www.opentable.com

The Landings St. Lucia, A RockResort, unveiled a new fine-dining restaurant, The Palms, which provides another culinary option for guests of the beachside all-suite resort.

In addition to The Palms, guests can dine at The Beach Club restaurant and bar, which has undergone a transformation. Located in the grand entrance pavilion as an extension of the open-air Viscount Lounge,

The Palms menu features sustainable cuisine with Caribbean flavor, offering the latest seasonal produce and seafood purchased from local St. Lucian farms.

Open Tuesdays through Saturdays for dinner, guests can watch live performances by a classical pianist during their meal.

Adorning the walls of the restaurant are pieces of original art work by artist Llewellyn Xavier, a St. Lucia native, who produced each piece in the collection using recycled materials.

In addition to the 28-seat open-air dining room, there is a private room available for special events. Executive Chef Richard Tonks’ menu includes potted pork and duck appetizer with pickled vegetables and potato pancakes, and oven-roasted lobster accented with anchovy, garlic and olive butter.

The signature dish is shredded braised lamb shanks wrapped in lettuce girolles, shallots and merlot sauce.

The resort has also restructured The Beach Club, which now offers a more casual setting for guests.

With “no shoes required” as the overall concept, the beachside restaurant serves three meals a day featuring Caribbean fare such as callaloo soup and jerk pork tenderloin. The Beach Club has also introduced a Happy Hour with local beer on tap, a pool table, dartboard, Bocce ball and horseshoes. Live Calypso island-inspired music will be offered on Friday nights.

For more information, call 877-657-ROCK or visit www.rockresorts.com

The new Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek, surrounded by Walt Disney World on three sides, is offering complimentary breakfast and dinner at Harvest Bistro just for kids.

The American bistro offers a daily Breakfast Chef’s Table from 7 to 11 a.m. Kids 12 and under eat free with the purchase of each adult entrée and can enjoy a menu designed just for them.

Harvest Bistro is also open for lunch and families can enjoy dining indoors or under the outdoor covered veranda, overlooking Hilton Bonnet Creek’s signature lazy river and pool.

For more information, call 407-597-3600 or visit www.hiltonbonnetcreek.com

The Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas will host its Second Annual Spring Wine & Jazz Fest, March 26 to 28.

The three-day festival brings together consumers, winemakers and winery owners with poolside receptions, wine tastings, barrel and bottle samplings, cuisine pairings, and a live wine auction.

The event will feature more than 250 wines from around the West Coast.

Registration is $235, but guests who book in advance can lock in the discounted ticket price of $199. Each event can also be purchased separately for full price on the day of the event.

Events include a poolside champagne and wine reception with winemakers, owners and fellow wine enthusiasts and live smooth jazz at The Tank, the property’s pool and shark aquarium;

the Grand Tasting, where guests will sample wines from more than 50 wineries, with live jazz and food from the hotel’s chefs; and the champagne and jazz brunch with live jazz and sparkling wines from Domaine Chandon, Roederer Estates and Domaine Carneros.

In conjunction with the three-day festival, the property is also hosting four add-on events — a five-course wine dinner hosted by Pat Kuleto, celebrity chef, restaurant designer and winery owner;

blind tastings at Next, Vic & Anthony’s Steakhouse; and the Oregon vs. California Pinot Noir Showdown, featuring 10 Pinot Noir’s from Oregon and California’s best known appellations.

For more information, call 866-946-5336 or visit www.goldennugget.com

MGM Mirage is offering a Las Vegas Values program during February.

At Luxor (877-386-4658, www.luxor.com ), a three-course dinner at Tender Steak & Seafood is priced at $39 per person. At Mandalay Bay (877-632-7800, www.mandalaybay.com ), Lupo by Wolfgang Puck is offering a four-course menu at $55 per person. L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon at the MGM Grand (877-880-0880, www.mgmgrand.com ) is offering a L’Unique menu, priced at $39, with three courses served simultaneously in a bento box. The menu changes weekly and includes a variety of French bistro-style selections.

The Spa at New York-New York (866-815-4365, www.nynyhotelcasino.com ) is offering a 25-, 50- or 75-minute Sweet Embrace massage, starting at $70 per person.

The 45-minute Organic SpaRitual for Hands at Vdara (866-745-7767, www.vdara.com ) Health & Beauty is priced at $45 and uses micro-algae and mineral salt infused with Indonesian ginger. At Salon Bellagio (888-987-6667, www.bellagio.com ), a $40 Traditional Shave for men starts with a facial massage followed by a traditional straight razor shave and an after-shave balm.

For weddings, Excalibur’s (877-750-5464, www.excalibur.com ) Canterbury Wedding Chapel is offering a Vegas Wedding, priced at $254 excluding tax. Included are a seasonal bouquet and boutonniere, 30 minutes of chapel time, a minister and a photographer. At Circus Circus’ (800-634-3450, www.circuscircus.com )

Chapel of the Fountain, the Traditional Wedding, priced at $281, includes a garter and bouquet for the bride, a boutonniere for the groom, 30 minutes of chapel time, a minister, a photographer and 10 4-by-6-inch photos.

At Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage (800-374-9000, www.mirage.com ), the Trainer for a Day program provides participants with the chance to work side by side with animal care experts and a family of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins for a 10 percent discount off the regular price of $550 during February.

Three Michelin-starred Chef Pierre Gagnaire will be taking his global culinary journey to the ANA InterContinental Tokyo. Opening in mid-March 2010,

ANA InterContinental Tokyo will be home to the highest Pierre Gagnaire restaurant in the world. Pierre Gagnaire’s only restaurant in Tokyo will be located on the 36th floor of the ANA InterContinental, which is situated in the Akasaka area.

The restaurant overlooks the heart of Tokyo city — with a view that includes the Tokyo Tower — and the renovated contemporary décor will provide the setting for Gagnaire’s hallmark cuisine.

American Airlines First and Business Class customers traveling to and from Tokyo can savor a new, enhanced menu that artfully blends the deep traditions of Japanese cuisine with the flavors of Western fare. Sam Choy, celebrity consulting chef for American, has created new Asian-fusion entrees to augment the American Airlines premium cabin in-flight experience.

The new dishes include roasted garlic edamame hummus with pita chips; gingered scallops with lobster sauce; ginger-marinated scallops with lobster sauce served over penne pasta with sauteed carrots, red peppers, and zucchini; and grilled beef filet with mushroom medley, served with mushroom bread pudding, sauteed broccoli, carrots and red peppers.

For more information, visit www.aa.com/specialmeals