After a Roman holiday, Rhonda has reinvented herself and you won’t believe how transformative her facelift is until you see it with your own eyes. We’re talking about the much-loved Terrigal bar Rhonda’s, which has reopened after a dramatic renovation, magically morphing from a late-night neon den into a light, bright and airy family-friendly Italian

Coastie Masterchef Julie Goodwin knows how to create the perfect Christmas feast. On Christmas day, her table is a smorgasbord of prawns, pineapple-glazed ham,  shellfish-stuffed salmon and salads including caprese and potato. Another tradition is reserved for Christmas Eve – a hot dinner with turkey, pork and all the trimmings. While food is important, Julie, who

Sydneysiders have long been travelling north to escape the city and get away from it all. Even in the 1900s when there were hardly any roads, city-slickers flocked to Woy Woy – known as the Venice of Australia – on the train and then onto Hardys Bay via ferry to immerse themselves in pristine nature.

With its white-washed walls, sunflower-striped awnings and a rusty old ship’s wheel, Coast 175 is like a bright and happy slice of the Mediterranean on the Coast’s Peninsula. Inside the corner street cafe, a glass float hangs on the wall like a misty half-fallen tear drop, pineapples lie in a beautiful wooden boat and a

Standing behind one of several rows of stainless steel benches, armed with chopping boards, knives and a formidable Westinghouse cook top, we get a sense of how the contestants must feel on Masterchef. But Coastie cook Julie Goodwin, who knows all about pressure tests after taking out the inaugural television cooking competition in 2009, instantly puts us

Long weekends are made for long lunches and that’s exactly how we’re spending our Queen’s birthday Sunday. At 1pm sharp we take our place at one of two long tables in the light-filled Pavilion at The Entrance Hotel and settle in for a feast, fit for a Queen. Located on the edge of the lake,

The first thing that strikes us when we approach Common Ground early on a Saturday evening is the sound. There is a lively chatter emanating from the sidewalk where half a dozen or so white-clothed tables are filled with people merrily nattering away as they embark on a degustation dinner. It’s a cool night in

It has been raining non-stop for days but we have an anniversary to celebrate – our first year on the Coast – so we rug up and brave the wet. As we slush through puddles en route to Terrigal, the sun suddenly comes out and blue sky emerges from under the grey. By the time