2010 April | MEL: HOT OR NOT

NOT: Rich Maha, Shop 9, 343 Equitable Place, Melbourne

April 30, 2010 ⋅ 10 comments

I had my doubts about Rich Maha as soon as I saw their menu. Indian, Malaysian, Tandoori, Sri Lankan and Singaporean all in one place? Any restaurant which purports to serve all those cuisines at the same time is bound for trouble. Rich Maha does seem to be very popular with the lunch time crowds [...]

HOT: Red Door Antiques and Yum Cha Cafe, 1-3 McIlwrick St, Windsor

April 29, 2010 ⋅ 3 comments

I haven’t had dim sum in Melbourne other than at Shark Fin House for years. However, I was sufficiently intrigued by Red Door Antiques and Yum Cha Cafe to stray from my faithful yum cha restaurant and cycle across town to check it out. Red Door offers a small selection of dim sum in rather [...]

HOT: Wood Spoon Kitchen, 88 Smith St, Collingwood

April 28, 2010 ⋅ 16 comments

I just can’t get enough of Japanese food, and it seems the residents of Smith Street feel the same way. Across the road from Peko Peko and sandwiched between the excellent Wabi Sabi Salon and yet-to-be-reviewed Tokushima is the cute Wood Spoon Kitchen. I was convinced to eat at this restaurant after the excellent rating [...]

HOT: Dainty Sichuan, 176 Toorak Rd, South Yarra

April 27, 2010 ⋅ 4 comments

The serene entrance area of Dainty Sichuan, adorned with a small rock and water feature, gold fish and carved mahogany screen, belies the sweating and gasping going on in the dining room. For this place serves Sichuan food with the gloves off – chilli so potent that you can smell it in the air as [...]

HOT: The European, 161 Spring Street, Melbourne

April 26, 2010 ⋅ 7 comments

So, a pesky volcano in Iceland means that you can’t make it to Europe anytime soon. The solution? Get your dose of la dolce vita at The European. The European is a restaurant that embodies my most romantic dreams of the Continent. The glass doors, dark wood interior and black and white chequered floor transport [...]

HOT Chat: Sophia Brous of Melbourne International Jazz Festival

April 25, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

The Melbourne International Jazz Festival is an annual event showcasing international jazz musicians in Melbourne and it’s starting in a week’s time, from 1 to 8 May. During the week Melbourne’s streets, concert halls, clubs, bars and galleries will host to world’s leading modern masters of jazz, including Charles Lloyd, Ahmad Jamal, Mulatu Estatke and [...]

HOT: Date Night

April 24, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

Today our resident film guru Yalin brings us his view on the new comedy Date Night. Thanks Yalin! Never, ever, take someone else’s restaurant reservation. One little white lie can take your life off the rails. That is pretty much the premise behind the new comedy from Levy, Date Night. Starring the poster children of [...]

HOT: Dessert evenings with Pierre Roelofs, Cafe Rosamond, Rear 191 Smith St, Fitzroy

April 22, 2010 ⋅ 21 comments

I’ve blogged about dessert maestro Pierre Roelofs before – more precisely, about how disappointed I was to miss out on his brief sojourn presenting dessert evenings at chocolate shop Monsieur Truffe last year. If you were as disappointed as I was, here’s some good news! Pierre has popped up at cute-as-a-button Cafe Rosamond for dessert [...]

HOT: Smart Alec, 71 Smith St, Fitzroy

April 22, 2010 ⋅ 3 comments

Need a smart hat? Let Smart Alec help you. Michael Albert, the owner of Smart Alec, stocks a large assortment of hats, from straw boaters to top hats to the Truffaux panama hats (as seen at the Melbourne Design Market) as well as stylish cufflinks, man-bags, walking sticks and leather gloves – basically all the [...]

HOT: Temperance Hotel, 426 Chapel St, South Yarra

April 21, 2010 ⋅ 10 comments

The Temperance Hotel is a pub dressed up in stiletto heels, fake tan and disco bling. In the heart of Chapel Street South Yarra, it’s frequented by sleekly groomed youngsters who all kind of look the same to me, and hence I’ve never given it a second glance. However if you can look past the [...]