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Time Out
5 hours ago
- Time Out
Major US pizza chain Chuck E. Cheese is finally opening in Australia – but you'll never guess where
Forget Vegas – Australia's about to score its very own 'casino for kids', complete with flashing lights, arcade games and plenty of cheesy pizza on the side. In January 2024, mega American franchise Chuck E. Cheese announced it was heading Down Under – and it's finally revealed where and when! Chuck E. Cheese is just one of a growing number of American fast food giants popping up in Australia, with Wendy's, Wingstop and Auntie Anne's all having opened here in the past 12 months. With almost 600 locations in 18 countries worldwide, this will mark the franchise's first Aussie outpost, with its flagship set to open in Joondalup, Perth, on September 6. Founded in 1977 in California, the family entertainment chain has become a global sensation thanks to its winning combo of cheesy pizza combined with impressive arcades and next-level kids' parties. And its Western Australia venue will be no different. Located 25 minutes north of Perth's CBD, the 1,622-square-metre Joondalup store will be centred around the Adventure Zone – a huge multi-storey indoor playground featuring a six-metre interactive rock climbing wall, ball pit with inflatable boats, spider climb, giant spiral slide and Ninja Warrior-style obstacle course. Australia's first Chuck E. Cheese will also feature a Game Zone, boasting more than 100 arcade games, a light-up dance floor to bust a move and VIP party rooms where kids can score all-you-can-play access – plus surprise appearances from Chuck E. himself. And don't worry, parents – there are dedicated recharge zones just for you. After burning off all that energy, your little ones are bound to work up an appetite. Luckily, there's a full-service restaurant dishing up crispy wings, fresh salads, fruit and veggie platters – and of course, Chuck E. Cheese's signature cheesy pizzas. Really want to raise their sugar levels? Treat them to warm giant cookies, unicorn churros, Dippin' Dots and fully loaded milkshakes, too. Chuck E. Cheese's Australian debut is being brought to us by Royale Hospitality Group, which also franchises burger joint Milky Lane and steakhouse Outback Jacks. The Perth store will open on September 6 at Unit 3/7 Winton Rd, Joondalup. Doors will open daily from 9am, with closing times of 9pm from Sunday to Thursday and 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays. You can find out more here.
Spectator
6 hours ago
- Spectator
A precocious protagonist: Vera, or Faith, by Gary Shteyngart, reviewed
It's impossible not to love Vera Bradford-Shmulkin, the whip-smart Jewish-Korean- American child narrator of Vera, or Faith, Gary Shteyngart's sixth novel, which is a masterclass in the author's sardonicism, set in a frighteningly realistic near future. School is awful and Vera's world is on the brink of imploding because 'Daddy and Anne Mom', her stepmother, aren't getting on, what with Igor's evening 'mar-tiny' habit and crumpling status as a 'leftist intellectual'. The wider American world is in similar turmoil, with an escalating campaign for the Five-Three amendment. This calls for 'exceptional Americans' who can trace their roots to before the Revolutionary War to get added voting weight, heightening tensions. Vera, whose half-brother Dylan would be an exceptional American, is desperate to trace 'Mom Mom', her mysterious birth mother, who she thinks has cancer. It's no wonder Vera's paediatrician and her psychologist think she suffers from intense anxiety, despite presenting as a very bright ten-year-old. Admittedly, this all makes for a precocious and pretentious protagonist, but Shteyngart knows that readers will relate to Vera because 'many of them were Vera', as he told one interviewer. Her 'Things I Still Need to Know Diary' is full of lists of words and phrases such as 'neoliberal frog-march of the damned'. The super-sharp child narrator is a trope beloved by authors who want to look at the world sideways. Miriam Toews uses it in her latest novel Fight Night, which sees nine-year-old Swiv try to track down her missing father, as did Henry James many decades ago in What Maisie Knew. Here, sticking to Vera's close third-person perspective emphasises the crazy geopolitics. The one flaw is that children are repetitive, and so are some of Vera's lines, such as how Igor gets her to check people's bookshelves to see if the spine has been cracked on an enormous book called The Power Broker. The action takes place over a couple of months, mainly in Manhattan, where Vera and Dylan attend a highly selective public school. Given the joy that comes from the girl's unique take on the world, it would be a shame to give too much away in such a slim novel; but Kaspie the AI-powered chess computer and Stella the talking car deserve special mention. Shteyngart apparently wrote the novel in 51 days, and pays homage throughout to Vladimir Nabokov's 1969 novel Ada, or Ardor. It makes an ideal entry point for anyone new to Shteyngart's world because it's all there, from the stand-in for the author himself to prophecies of where the world is headed. An enjoyable if somewhat alarming read.
Daily Mirror
10 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Sofia Carson's My Oxford Year hair hero revealed– the 'everywhere' balm behind her shine
Maybe she's born with it, or maybe it's Jones Road's multi-tasking hero... No spoilers, but if you've seen My Oxford Year, or at the very least some teasers of it on Netflix, you'll know two things: just how devastating the plot it, and just how incredible Sofia Carson looks. Playing the American post-grad student Anna De La Vega, Sofia, 32, has quickly shot up to style icon status thanks to the looks her character served. But away from her preppy knits and expansive winter jacket wardrobe, the actress shone in one other department that had nothing to do with her wardrobe: her hair. We spent the whole 1h53 minutes desperately Googling to find out exactly what was used on Sofia's hair on the set to give her that mirror-like shine, and we finally have the intel. Hair pro Rebekah Forecast, who did the make-up for My Oxford Year, quietly dropped a full list of everything she used on Sofia's hair, and we've pinpointed Jones Road's Everywhere Balm Hippie Stick, £36, as the product behind her shiny tresses. Think of it less as a secret weapon and more as a Swiss army knife. This slip-on-the-go multi-use balm can literally be used from forehead to heels (and yes, hair too). Initially formulated as a barrier-rich hydrator for dry skin, it's a frequent styling fallback for taming flyaways or hydrating ends. With a dab on each finger, the buttery blend smoothes frizz while adding a subtle sheen. Thanks to its rich combo of sunflower seed oil, coconut oil and shea butter, it locks in moisture and softens dry strands without a greasy finish or residue. The formula reads like a nourishing smoothie: sunflower oil to calm and hydrate, beeswax to shield, castor oil and cocoa butter to condition, and a hint of lavender, orange peel and spearmint oils for a botanical kick. These natural emollients smooth over irritation while creating a protective barrier, not just for skin but for fragile hair ends suffering from sun and styling damage. If you're interested in the other product Rebekah used on Sofia, the line-up also included Oribe's Hair Spray, £43. This seriously luxe mist is like gold dust, and sets the hair without making it feel product-heavy or sticky. There's a reason it has a cult celebrity and hair stylist following. As for Sofia's volume, R&Co Rodeo Star Thickening Style Foam, £15.50, was used to raise her roots. For fine to medium hair that could use serious lift and body, this isn't your standard mousse: it adds instant density without stickiness, thanks to a blend of vitamin E for shine, aloe vera to soften and moisturise and kiwi extract to help balance moisture and protect strands. Another product that is definitely premium, but also gives premium results. The fact that Rebekah uses a range of fine sprays and volume-boosting products tells us that Sofia might actually have quite fine hair, which makes the styles she boasted for the Netflix movie all the more impressive. If even fine-haired girls can get shine and volume like that, without strands looking greasy, they're products we want for ourselves.
