Sydney

Move over, New York: America's top celebrity chefs see the world as their oyster, with global culinary hotspots like Sydney, London, and Montreal ripe with opportunity. This morning, Wolfgang Puck announced his inaugural European venture, a restaurant in London's sleek 45 Park Lane hotel, with contemporary steakhouse offerings.

Meanwhile, Gordon Ramsay announced he'll be taking ownership of Rotisserie Laurier BBQ, a barbecue restaurant in Montreal — the celebrity chef's first-ever foray into Canada. And rumors are abuzz that David Chang has signed a deal for Momofuku to land in Sydney.

As diners begin to open up their wallets again, American celebrity chef restaurateurs have begun considering expansions beyond stateside meccas like Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

For years, Ramsay has been "heavily considering" putting his stamp on Canada, and Puck describes London as being one of the "biggest cities for dining in the Western world right now." As for Chang? He's "infatuated" with Australia, describing it as "a place [he] could move to."

Will our country's top chefs fare in a city where they don't share the same clout as they do in America? Only time will tell.

I'm not quite sure what makes Pygmy Hippopotamuses so cute — their small size or seriously squinty expressions. Take Kambiri, for example, she's giving the camera the stink eye like the man behind it is about to steal her leaf . . . that's also bigger than her head. Don't worry, lil girl, all eyes are on you, not the foliage!
Born in Sydney's Taronga Zoo — also the home to that superstar pygmy hippo named Monifa in 2008 — Kambiri is the first babe being raised by her birth mama in over 20 years!

See more cuteness of Kambiri and Petre when you read more

An iPad is already an Internet browser, a mobile movie theater, a photo album, and a compass — so why not make it a menu, too? Well, that's the idea at the Global Mundo Tapas restaurant in North Sydney, Australia.

The restaurant, which is based in the Rydges North Sydney Hotel, recently created a special application for the iPad that eliminates the need for printed menus. Using the application on the iPad, diners will be able to browse the menu, view images and descriptions of the food and drinks, learn recommended wine pairings, and make special requests — all with the swipe of a finger. Although it won't do away with a waitstaff, the new technology does help process menu requests and tracks inventory, eliminating options from the menu if they are sold out.

I could see this idea taking off in establishments looking to speed up service. Could you?

Tunes can be very soothing for pets, and dogs especially have amazing hearing. To play into this, Australia hosted the world premiere of a special concert as part of the Vivid LIVE festival at the Sydney Opera House forecourt over the weekend — it was made up of music for dogs!

Nearly all of the 20-minute piece, consisting of whale calls and high-pitched electronic sounds, was inaudible to the two-legged set, but from these wagging tails, I think the pups enjoyed it quite a bit.

Check out a bunch of dogs and their humans coming to listen in the gallery when you read more

To celebrate the 30th birthday of its signature furniture piece, Ikea lined up 30 of its red Billy Bookcases ($60) on Sydney's popular Bondi Beach on Sunday, effectively forming the world's longest outdoor bookcase. The Swedish retailer filled the cases with beach reads for surfers, swimmers, and sunbathers to swap with one of their own or make a gold coin donation to buy, with proceeds going to the Australian Literacy & Numeracy Foundation. The bookcases were fastened to thick sheets of wood to keep them steady in the sand. The Billy Bookcase is a classic, streamlined design that's been used to store everything from pantry items to novels in homes all over the world, but it's rare to see it used in a public space; how fun! I only wish this outdoor library would remain up all year-round. But then again, particleboard isn't exactly made to withstand the elements.

See the rest of these gorgeous photos when you read more

These lil babes don't look much like Taz twinsies, but they are the real Tasmanian Devil deals! As the world's largest meat-eating marsupials, the famed cartoon character was inspired by the actual animals' ravenous appetites.

The babes are getting health checks, paternity tests and microchipped at Sydney's Taronga Zoo in hopes of protecting and checking up on this endangered species in the wild. The joeys look rather expressive (and so squirmy!) — what handfuls!

See more pictures of all four when you read more

A soccer playing elephant?! Now I've heard of everything. Although his version is more of a dribble, dribble, smush, Luk Chai looks rather cute no matter what he's doing.

This baby Asian Elephant was born last month at Sydney's Taronga Zoo — home to another adoro pachyderm, hippo Monifa — and is already drawing quite the crowds. Keepers have equipped the babe with this ginormous soccer ball, but he needs a bit more practice to get the hang of the game. World Cup 2010 for Australia, perhaps?

Check out his kicking and climbing skills, along with bonus rope work and flower snacks, when you read more