Latest news with #GlenWaverley
Daily Mail
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Radio star Lauren Phillips, 37, brags about still fitting into her school uniform after 20 years and her prestigious accolades
Breakfast radio star Lauren Phillips treated fans to a trip down memory lane on Wednesday when she tried on her old school uniform. The 37-year-old Nova 100 host shared a video of herself modelling the purple ensemble, which consisted of a short pleated skirt, shirt and matching blazer. 'Screaming, it actually fits - just,' an amazed Lauren said in the caption, adding, 'Loving myself sick.' The Jase & Lauren show star revealed she had been a prefect and middle school house captain at her old school Wesley College in the Melbourne suburb of Glen Waverley. Posting an image of the blazer and her badges, Lauren said her mother had kept the uniform after 20 years. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Lauren's nostalgic post comes amid a planned stunt by the Nova breakfast team to 'relive' their high school years on Friday. Nova announced on Thursday that co-host Clint Stanaway will join Lauren and Jason 'Jase' Hawkins as they broadcast their show from a bus travelling the Glenn Waverley area. Along the way, the team planned to stop at Clint's old school Glen Waverley High and Lauren's Wesley College. It continues a 'nostalgic kick' by the Nova breakfast team that began in February when the Jase and Lauren Show Instagram account shared a throwback snap of Lauren. Paying tribute to all the children starting school in 2025, the photo showed the radio star looking unrecognisable in junior school at Wesley. The photo showed Lauren flashing the camera quite the cheeky grin as she posed in her school uniform. The future radio star looked cute-as-a-button in the snap, which also showed her adding a pop of colour to her uniform with a purple scrunchie. It wasn't just Lauren that was given the throwback treatment either, with the account also sharing adorable childhood photos of co-hosts Jase Hawkins and Clint Stanaway. Like Lauren, both looked almost unrecognisable in the photos, save for Jase whose cheeky grin was apparent, even as a youngster. Clint too has undergone a bit of a transformation in the ensuing years. His throwback photo showed him sporting a shock of blonde hair - more than a few shades lighter than his current do. The presenter was also sporting freckles across the bridge of his nose and a wry smile. Last year, Lauren revealed that she was left 'broken' after losing her KIIS FM job to Kyle & Jackie O after they landed a $200million expansion deal to broadcast in Melbourne. 'I was gutted. I thought that was the end of my radio career,' she told in July. 'Late last year I was ready to leave the country and move overseas. I was like, "I'm out of here".' When Nova approached the radio duo for a breakfast show opportunity, Lauren revealed she was initially hesitant to get on board and explained she was worried of facing the axe again. 'I had a pretty bad taste in my mouth and I was scared of that happening again,' she said.
The Age
13-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
Tough day at the office? Take out your frustrations at this ‘smashing' city lunch spot
Chinese restaurant Pounding Rice Bowl provides the mortar, pestle, rice and pork and asks diners to smash away. Chinese$$$$ You've ordered food, the kitchen has prepared it, and it's arrived at your table looking lovely. There's only one thing to do: wreck it. Pick up the provided pestle and pound your meal into a mash. That's the concept at Pounding Rice Bowl, a new city restaurant that explains its key activity in its name. Smashing a bowl of rice, minced pork, and soft braised eggplant is a great idea. The broken rice absorbs the juice from the pork, the eggplant becomes almost creamy and the amalgam makes for comforting chopsticked mouthfuls. Macerated screw peppers, a type of twisty green chilli, are served alongside. Other rice bowl toppings include braised pork belly and meatballs, but no matter the garnish, the rice is the star. Premium wuchang rice is imported from Heilongjiang province in north-east China: medium grain and slightly sticky, it's a perfect carrier for bold, savoury flavours. China's south-central province of Hunan is the main inspiration behind these dishes but don't go there and expect to be given a pounding stick whenever you eat out. There is a Hunanese dish of preserved century egg, chilli and eggplant that it's traditional to bash – either in the kitchen, or at the dining table – but Pounding Rice Bowl owner Ben Wen expanded the concept for his Melbourne restaurant, building a whole brand around the idea of self-smashed food. Originally from the famous beer town of Qingdao (home to Tsingtao) in eastern China, Wen is an ever-creative entrepreneur who's opened 70 venues since 2008, including pizza parlours, dumpling houses, barbecue chicken joints and a Peking duck restaurant. His fast-casual smarts and an expansive vision for modern Australian-Chinese food combine in this restaurant, which he plans to expand to Asian hubs Box Hill and Glen Waverley. 'The scallion oil noodles are one of the best sub-$10 lunches in town.' Open from lunch to late (and soon for breakfast), Pounding Rice Bowl is just out of the Chinatown fray. There's cosy seating downstairs near the kitchen, while the first floor is spacious, decorated with custom illustrative artwork by an employee with a background designing Chinese film paraphernalia. Ordering is via QR code, but there's no problem engaging with a waiter if you prefer. Limitless pickles and sweet plum juice are available at help-yourself stations, just one more sign of the hospitality here. The menu is broad and savvy, reflecting a kitchen that employs chefs from all over China, and allows them to showcase their specialties. A range of classic Aussie-Chinese dishes, such as sweet-and-sour pork and honey chicken, keeps nervous guests on-side. The more adventurous – or simply acculturated – go hard on offal and odd-bits such as fried duck head and spicy pork ears. I love the 'fried chicken bone', a whole carcass that is marinated, braised, fried and served with a zingy Sichuan spice salt featuring 21 ingredients. Gloves are provided so you can eat with gusto: crack some bones, nibble their edges, get messy and give yourself extra points for eating the last (delicious) scraps from a product that often hits the bin. You'll also want to try the springy, fresh house-made noodles. To make them, Wen uses the '00' flour he fell in love with during his pizza shop days. He's also a fan of Melbourne water, saying it's not even necessary to add salt to make a wonderful dough. The scallion oil noodles here are one of the best sub-$10 lunches in town, using three different types of onion to create a piquant but sweet dressing for the long noodles. Meanwhile, the dumplings are better than decent. Pork parcels everywhere often include cabbage; these ones smuggle in water chestnut for a more sophisticated crunch, just one more way Pounding Rice Bowl shows a level of detail and care at a keen price point. Smashing may be the activity; smash hit is the result.
Sydney Morning Herald
13-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Tough day at the office? Take out your frustrations at this ‘smashing' city lunch spot
Chinese restaurant Pounding Rice Bowl provides the mortar, pestle, rice and pork and asks diners to smash away. Chinese$$$$ You've ordered food, the kitchen has prepared it, and it's arrived at your table looking lovely. There's only one thing to do: wreck it. Pick up the provided pestle and pound your meal into a mash. That's the concept at Pounding Rice Bowl, a new city restaurant that explains its key activity in its name. Smashing a bowl of rice, minced pork, and soft braised eggplant is a great idea. The broken rice absorbs the juice from the pork, the eggplant becomes almost creamy and the amalgam makes for comforting chopsticked mouthfuls. Macerated screw peppers, a type of twisty green chilli, are served alongside. Other rice bowl toppings include braised pork belly and meatballs, but no matter the garnish, the rice is the star. Premium wuchang rice is imported from Heilongjiang province in north-east China: medium grain and slightly sticky, it's a perfect carrier for bold, savoury flavours. China's south-central province of Hunan is the main inspiration behind these dishes but don't go there and expect to be given a pounding stick whenever you eat out. There is a Hunanese dish of preserved century egg, chilli and eggplant that it's traditional to bash – either in the kitchen, or at the dining table – but Pounding Rice Bowl owner Ben Wen expanded the concept for his Melbourne restaurant, building a whole brand around the idea of self-smashed food. Originally from the famous beer town of Qingdao (home to Tsingtao) in eastern China, Wen is an ever-creative entrepreneur who's opened 70 venues since 2008, including pizza parlours, dumpling houses, barbecue chicken joints and a Peking duck restaurant. His fast-casual smarts and an expansive vision for modern Australian-Chinese food combine in this restaurant, which he plans to expand to Asian hubs Box Hill and Glen Waverley. 'The scallion oil noodles are one of the best sub-$10 lunches in town.' Open from lunch to late (and soon for breakfast), Pounding Rice Bowl is just out of the Chinatown fray. There's cosy seating downstairs near the kitchen, while the first floor is spacious, decorated with custom illustrative artwork by an employee with a background designing Chinese film paraphernalia. Ordering is via QR code, but there's no problem engaging with a waiter if you prefer. Limitless pickles and sweet plum juice are available at help-yourself stations, just one more sign of the hospitality here. The menu is broad and savvy, reflecting a kitchen that employs chefs from all over China, and allows them to showcase their specialties. A range of classic Aussie-Chinese dishes, such as sweet-and-sour pork and honey chicken, keeps nervous guests on-side. The more adventurous – or simply acculturated – go hard on offal and odd-bits such as fried duck head and spicy pork ears. I love the 'fried chicken bone', a whole carcass that is marinated, braised, fried and served with a zingy Sichuan spice salt featuring 21 ingredients. Gloves are provided so you can eat with gusto: crack some bones, nibble their edges, get messy and give yourself extra points for eating the last (delicious) scraps from a product that often hits the bin. You'll also want to try the springy, fresh house-made noodles. To make them, Wen uses the '00' flour he fell in love with during his pizza shop days. He's also a fan of Melbourne water, saying it's not even necessary to add salt to make a wonderful dough. The scallion oil noodles here are one of the best sub-$10 lunches in town, using three different types of onion to create a piquant but sweet dressing for the long noodles. Meanwhile, the dumplings are better than decent. Pork parcels everywhere often include cabbage; these ones smuggle in water chestnut for a more sophisticated crunch, just one more way Pounding Rice Bowl shows a level of detail and care at a keen price point. Smashing may be the activity; smash hit is the result.
