2009 November | MEL: HOT OR NOT

HOT: Goshen, 189 Smith St, Fitzroy

November 30, 2009 ⋅ 2 comments

I heart heart heart heart Goshen. Authentic hot and spicy Korean food, lovely presentation, a calming interior of dark wood and delicate stencils on green-tea walls and super-friendly smiley staff. It’s easily my favourite cheap eat in Melbourne and the sole (Seoul – guffaw) reason I want to visit Korea. I could just leave the [...]

HOT: The Pantry, 1 Church St, Brighton

November 29, 2009 ⋅ 4 comments

Heading to the beachside suburbs of Melbourne is now a day-trip for my northside self. But not only is it geographically distant, it’s almost a foreign land compared to my local hood (which centers around the Un-Safeway of Smith Street). This is a land where fake boobs bob perkily above skinny soy decaf lattes, where [...]

HOT: Markets in the Garden, Royal Botanical Gardens, Birdwood Avenue, South Yarraf

November 28, 2009 ⋅ 3 comments

The Garden Markets is a small market held over summer which is held near the Observatory of the Royal Botanical Gardens. The grassy spot is lovely for a stroll amongst the 100 or so stallholders, none of whom I’d seen before (and I go to a lot of markets). The products ranged from jewellery, fashion, [...]

NOT: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Cinema Nova, 380 Lygon St, Carlton

November 27, 2009 ⋅ 3 comments

Before you all gasp at my audacity in giving a NOT to Heath Ledger’s final work, let me preface my review by saying that visually, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is very imaginative and enjoyable. All the actors, including Heath, looked like they were having a lot of fun making this fantastical roller-coaster of a [...]

NOT: Authentic Thai Taste, 92-94 Johnston St, Collingwood

November 26, 2009 ⋅ 19 comments

Authentic Thai Taste is renowned for being one of the best Thai restaurants in Melbourne – the full house of Thai people on a weeknight is evidence of that. So where did we go wrong? We’ve had two attempts at weekday takeway from Authentic Thai Taste now and neither of the experiences have really encouraged [...]

HOT: Auction Rooms, 103-107 Errol St, North Melbourne

November 25, 2009 ⋅ 10 comments

Auction Rooms is a casual cafe/restaurant set inside the old WB Ellis auction house in North Melbourne. In fact, the long wooden floorboards, exposed beams, distressed brickwork and high ceilings hoisting a series of whirring fans reminded me a lot of the interior of an airy Queenslander home. It seems like the kind of place [...]

NOT: Antichrist

November 25, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

Lars Von Trier’s latest film Antichrist is opening in Australia tomorrow and is showing exclusively in Melbourne at Cinema Nova. I haven’t been able to confirm as yet whether this release has been edited from the full version. [Update: The Age confirmed that the full version is showing.] The film has certainly divided audiences – [...]

HOT: Tony Wheeler, The Hive, Collins Quarter, 86A Collins St, Melbourne

November 24, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

The Hive closed off 2009 with a bang as Tony Wheeler addressed over 200 eager listeners with the story of his journey and his passions as one of the founders of Lonely Planet. In fact, interest was so huge that the event had to be moved to bigger premises at Collins Quarter. Tony was a [...]

HOT: Lady Melbourne party for Peppermint Magazine, Shop 5, Georges on Collins, 162-168 Collins St, Melbourne

November 24, 2009 ⋅ 2 comments

It’s not every day that you have the chance to meet a member of royalty. So I was delighted to accompany Alex (Eco Fashionista) and her sister to a very special occasion – an afternoon tea party hosted by renowned fashion blogger, Lady Melbourne (aka Phoebe Montague). The celebration: Lady Melbourne’s debut as the covergirl [...]

HOT: Thread Den Market, Lithuanian Club, 44 Errol St, North Melbourne

November 23, 2009 ⋅ 2 comments

I LOVE markets. I will even travel across town for an hour on public transport on a Sunday morning to get to a market if it’s being organised by the lovely ladies of Thread Den. I’ve written about sewing lounge Thread Den before, and they’ve now have expanded their little empire to encompass an occasional [...]