2009 July | MEL: HOT OR NOT

HOT: Rebound Sports Physio, 266 Johnston St, Abbotsford

July 8, 2009 ⋅ 2 comments

I’m pretty embarrassed. Today I had to shuffle to Rebound Sports Physio, not because of a sports injury, but because I sneezed too hard and put my lower back out. Damn those core muscles! The last couple of days have been spent pretty much wincing from my latex foam mattress to the Le Corbusier chaise [...]

HOT: Shark Fin House, 131 Little Bourke St, Melbourne

July 5, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

Whoops. Luckily no one important reads this blog, otherwise by now I would have been held to account for my wee defamatory comment on Shark Fin House. Correction: There is no third floor, and the top floor (second floor) doesn’t appear to be a special area for non-Chinese where they serve sub-standard food. Although if [...]

NOT: John Brack, Ian Potter Centre NGV Australia, Federation Square, Melbourne

July 2, 2009 ⋅ 2 comments

I’m afraid that I will be made a pariah but I cannot tell a lie; I really disliked NGV Australia’s John Brack exhibition. I’m Australian, I live in Melbourne and I like to think that I know something about art appreciation. He’s apparently one of Australia’s foremost artists – I’m supposed to like his work. [...]

HOT: Commercial Bakery, Rear 360 Lt Collins St, Melbourne

July 2, 2009 ⋅ One comment

Commercial Bakery is the kind of hidden Tardis-like cafe on which Melbourne thrives. At first I thought it was a tiny establishment selling only what was displayed in its window shelves, but step inside and you see that a large warmly-lit split-level area stretches into the back beyond. Its frontage caught my eye because of [...]

HOT: Cafe Vue, 430 Little Collins Street, Melbourne

July 2, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

I can still remember my visit to Shannon Bennett’s first Carlton restaurant and my initial encounter with multiple courses of wildly fantastical food combinations. Now, when I am asked to name Melbourne’s best restaurant, I invariably answer ‘Vue de Monde’. Since moving to his CBD location, Bennett has expanded his repertoire beyond molecular gastronomy to [...]

HOT: Lucky Country, Palace Como, 299 Toorak Rd, South Yarra

July 1, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

The theatrical distribution company Footprint Films is only releasing four Australian films this year: Samson and Delilah; My Year Without Sex; Lucky Country and Balibo. The first three films couldn’t be any different in location, tone and characterisation – yet a consistent theme is that they all speak to what it means to be Australian. [...]

HOT: Ca De Vin, GPO Melbourne 350 Bourke St, Melbourne

July 1, 2009 ⋅ 2 comments

When I logged into Facebook in the morning, I discovered that my Tokyo-based friend Andrew was in town for a one-night only showing. Whenever I have visitors in town I always try to take them to somewhere in a laneway. Ca de Vin was right near his hairdressing appointment, and a perfect venue as it [...]

HOT: Creative Australia and the Ballets Russes, The Arts Centre, 100 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne

July 1, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

As part of Australian Ballet’s 2009 Ballet Russes season, the Arts Centre is holding a free exhibition called Creative Australia and the Ballet Russes which explores the influence of the Ballet Russes on the art and design scene in Australia, the legacy of the ballet company in Australian dance and its inspiration for three visual [...]