2010 September | MEL: HOT OR NOT

Ask the Doctor: Musical Date

September 30, 2010 ⋅ One comment

Help me Doctor!: Dear Dr, I’m hoping to make a favourable impression on a very cultured girl who enjoys classical music. Have you got any good suggestions on where I can take her in Melbourne? – Michael Your prescription: Hi Michael, it’s great to hear that you’re doing your research in your quest to impress [...]

HOT: STREAT Food Cart, Federation Square

September 29, 2010 ⋅ 4 comments

STREAT is new Melbourne-based social enterprise providing homeless youth with their first start into the hospitality industry. Regular readers will know that I’m a big fan of social enterprise and it’s great to see that we can help ‘stop homelessness the delicious way’ (according to STREAT‘s motto). STREAT currently operates two food carts in the [...]

NOT: Noodle Kingdom, 175 Russell St, Melbourne

September 28, 2010 ⋅ 8 comments

Did I miss a trick with Noodle Kingdom? I had read a heap of favourable reviews about this no-nonsense handmade noodle joint, including raves from The Age, Herald Sun, Eat Drink Stagger and Eat My Radish (some of them albeit about the Preston branch) and in need of a quick dinner one night I decided [...]

HOT: Macaron Tasting, Famish’d, 130 Little Collins St, Melbourne

September 27, 2010 ⋅ 17 comments

In case you’ve been hiding under an epicurean rock, macarons are the next big (if not already the big) thing in the world of sweets and pastries. Look – even The Age declared it so. I LOVE macarons. In fact, one of my enduring memories of visiting Geneva was not the lake, the old town [...]

HOT: Bottega, 74 Bourke St, Melbourne

September 24, 2010 ⋅ 3 comments

I haven’t been to Italian restaurant Bottega since their refurbishment in 2007. A glass panel now slices the room in half, with leather booths on one side and longer tables on the other. We sat on the booth side, which for me was a little reminiscent of sitting in an American diner (I later found [...]

HOT Chat: Emmy Heikamp from Dutch Cargo Bike

September 23, 2010 ⋅ One comment

By now you would have realised (a) I love bikes; and (b) I’m about to have a baby. So naturally I am very interested in baby-related bike stuff these days! Today’s HOT Chat is with Emmy Heikamp, one half of the husband-and-wife team behind Dutch Cargo Bike, a Melbourne-based company which has just started importing [...]

HOT: Philip Escoffey, Six More Impossible Things to Do Before Dinner, Arts Centre, 100 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne

September 22, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

YAY for my first show of the Melbourne Fringe Festival – a two and a half week extravaganza of comedy, song, dance, cabaret, art and general wackiness. Philip Escoffey is a well-known performer famous for his mind-reading skills, so I’m not entirely sure whether you’d consider his show Six More Impossible Things to Do Before [...]

HOT: La Niche, 67 Smith St, Fitzroy

September 21, 2010 ⋅ One comment

No one expects the Spanish Inquisition. Similarly, no one expects to experience an amazing burger at a French restaurant. So La Niche was certainly a surprise for me. A firmly French affair, with tinkling jazz and French pop in the background and an affable French host manning the coffee machine, it’s a lovely place to [...]

NOT: Kiwi Fish and Chips, Tribeca Apartments, 412- 442 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne

September 20, 2010 ⋅ 20 comments

I’d heard much positive feedback about Kiwi Fush and Chups – mainly about the quality of their produce and the fact they fried in relatively healthy canola oil. I’m certainly willing to pay more for ‘posh’ fish and chips if it’s good. On a rainy Saturday, RM and I were in the mood for a [...]

HOT: Sichuan Dining Room, Mid City Arcade, Shop 3-5, 194-200 Bourke St, Melbourne

September 17, 2010 ⋅ 3 comments

While I aim to write the decisive guide to Melbourne, sometimes it is very hard to be decisive. As I was writing this post Sichuan Dining Room had me veering from HOT to NOT to HOT to NOT again. As you can see in the end I’ve leaned towards HOT. Mainly because our meal was [...]