News24 | HELLO WEEKEND | Nightlife reimagined: Fine dining meets electrifying evenings at Zioux

Hello Weekend, 3 August 2024.

The latest edition of News24’s weekly digital weekend magazine is stuffed full of interviews, reviews, excerpts, and in-depth stories. Enjoy the read.

A fusion of flavours and style: Sandton’s Zioux enters new Roaring Asian era

By: Kaunda Selisho

Zioux has transformed into a premiere nightlife hotspot with a new “Roaring Asian” theme, featuring a revamped menu and décor that promises an elevated dining experience with diverse Asian flavours.

The transformation is led by Chef Katsuhiko Miyamoto, who brings his expertise and a nurturing approach to the kitchen, ensuring a memorable and personal dining experience with dishes like sushi, tempuras, and dim sum. The restaurant enhances its nightlife appeal with a chic décor and resident DJs from Thursday to Saturday, creating an enchanting nocturnal rhythm that complements its sophisticated dining experience.

Inside the V&A Waterfront’s iconic Cape Grace Hotel and Bascule Bar after major refurbishments

By: Andrew Thompson

I’ve not been sitting for more than 15 minutes in the speakeasy-style Bascule Bar when the door opening from the Waterfront’s most exclusive, hidden-in-plain-sight private marina swings open. “You’re open again! Lekker. We’ll be back for a whiskey soon,” a man behind me promises before disappearing into the dusk outside.  Moments later, another slips through the same entrance and shares a similar, equally audible sentiment with the crew of bartenders shaking cocktails and piercing olives and doing what bartenders do to look busy. He slides into a plush high-top and orders a double. 

‘There’s a fearlessness to it now’: Elaine teases new sounds on upcoming visual album

By: Constance Gaanakgomo

R&B singer and songwriter Elaine has come a long way since she debuted her Elements EP, and her single You’re The One shot her to fame, fast becoming a chart-topper. She disrupted the R&B genre as an independent artist who was not signed to any major record label at the time. It seemed her rise to fame was quick, but the singer had been putting work behind the scenes while juggling her studies. 

Friday marked a significant moment for the singer with the release of her single Waiting on You. She expressed that this song offers listeners a preview of what to expect from her upcoming album, which she revealed will be a visual album.

The truth about regeneration: Spier launches new Farmer Angus Organic Wine Range

By: Daléne Fourie

Angus McIntosh made an intriguing statement at the launch event of Spier’s organic wine range the other day. He said he’s banned the use of the word ‘sustainable’ at Spier because the word implies that existing sustainable farming methods can make enough of an impact on climate change, animal welfare, nutrient density, and food availability when, in fact, they require regeneration.  

While some people will grumble at the buzzword, the truth is becoming increasingly apparent. The future of farming and our very survival is linked to a return to natural processes, understanding that everything is connected, and our need to create monocultures and enforce our practices onto the land is futile at best.

Stuart Johnston | High-style Volvo: Meet the classic, drop-dead gorgeous P1800

By: Stuart Johnston

Mention the nameplate Volvo; most people think “sensible”, “solid” and, perhaps, somewhat stolid. It hasn’t always been the case, and thinking back to the mid-’90s, there were turbocharged 5-cylinder Volvo wagons that could raise the hair on your neck from just a tickle on the throttle pedal. But that was mainly due to the high-horse engine, not the chunky looks.

By and large, though, Volvos have been seen across the decades as the sensible choice. For high style, you’d probably go Italian, French, German, and British. Only then may you cast your net a bit wider but probably still give the archipelagos around southwestern Sweden a cursory swish.

EXTRACT | ‘Memories scattered’: Atef Abu Saif’s heart-wrenching diary of the days of hell in Gaza

By: Atef Abu Saif

Ata Abu Saif, Minister of Culture for the Palestinian Authority, arrived in Gaza for an International Heritage Day event just days before Israel’s overwhelming assault began. Israel was responding to the attack by Hamas on 7 October 2023 in which more than 1 000 people died; nearly 10 months later, Israel’s assault on Gaza continues, with nearly 40 000 people dead, more than 90 000 injured, a million or more homeless, and much of Gaza reduced to rubble. It is recognised as genocide.

Saif’s diary of the first two and a half months of the Israeli assault has now been published in South Africa.

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