food and wine

HOT: Plumm Wine Glass Experience, Taste of Melbourne 2012, Royal Exhibition Building, 9 Nicholson St, Carlton

September 18, 2011 ⋅ One comment

Did you visit Taste of Melbourne this weekend? The exhibition can be pretty overwhelming, what with the huge crowds of people and the number of exhibitors and restaurants participating. So this year I restricted myself to a quick whip around the stalls that I was interested in (such as Yarra Valley Dairy, Gundowring, Enni) and [...]

Chapman Hill Giveway!

August 26, 2011 ⋅ 48 comments

It’s Friday! So why not time for a giveaway? Chapman Hill is a Victorian family-run olive grove just outside of Melbourne and I first tasted their olive oils at my local providores, Key Ingredients in Clifton Hill. Then I started seeing them pop up in other places I visited – such as Coin Laundry and [...]

HOT: Cupcake Central, Level 2 Melbourne Central Dining Hall, cnr Swanston and Latrobe Sts, Melbourne

July 25, 2011 ⋅ 6 comments

What would you do if you lost your job tomorrow? Sheryl Thai used to be an IT consultant. Then during the GFC two years ago, she was told that she no longer had a job. Not one to cry into her keyboard, Sheryl decided that it was time to fulfil her dream of owning a [...]

HOT: Design Made Trade, Royal Exhibition Building, 9 Nicholson St, Carlton

July 21, 2011 ⋅ One comment

My favourite event during State of Design is Design : Made : Trade. It’s a showcase and market for small manufacturers and designer / makers, some local and some from interstate. Lighting, furniture, jewellery, stationery, ceramics, household goods – it’s all there. Some of my highlights this year: Karton. Living with a cardboard box never [...]

HOT: Chez Dre, Rear of 285-287 Coventry St, South Melbourne

July 14, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

Happy Bastille Day! While it’s not our national holiday, why not use it as an excuse to pop into new French boulangerie and patisserie Chez Dre? Right near the bustle of South Melbourne Markets and down a bluestone laneway you’ll find a little bit of pastry heaven. Chez Dre is a large space which makes [...]

HOT: Madame Truffles, 12-18 Yarra Place, South Melbourne

July 10, 2011 ⋅ One comment

Melburnians are often tagged as being the shoppers and foodies of Australia, so a pop up shop selling fresh Australian truffles is a most genius idea for our city. Madame Truffles has set up shop Thursday to Sunday 10am-6pm for the whole of July ie prime truffle season. Simon McCrudden and Bernadette Jenner are the [...]

HOT: La Parisienne Pates, 290 Lygon St, Carlton

June 16, 2011 ⋅ One comment

In the middle of Italianate Lygon Street is a Francophile foodie paradise. Charcuterie La Parisienne Pates is a white, bright storefront housing a long refrigerated counter full of smallgoods made by the owner/charcutier Stephane Langois. The shelves are also groaning with stocks of French food items like mustard, vinegars, jams and teas. There is a [...]

HOT: LuxBite, 38 Toorak Rd, South Yarra

May 31, 2011 ⋅ 8 comments

A few months ago I lost my head at a charity auction for Twestival and placed an outrageous winning bid on a macaron tower by LuxBite. Fifty macarons, all to myself! *mwah-ha-ha-ha* There’s been a lot of hoo-hah about macarons in Melbourne and the consensus from the blogosphere seems to be that South Yarra dessert [...]

HOT: Fitzroy Market, Fitzroy Primary School, cnr Napier & Chapel Sts, Fitzroy

May 11, 2011 ⋅ One comment

As if Fitzroy didn’t have enough markets already, on the first Saturday of every month the carpark of Fitzroy Primary School sprouts the Fitzroy Market. What makes this market special? Well, it is small enough to enable dedicated browsing at every store and it has a lovely chirpy community feel to it. The market also [...]

HOT: Fatto a Mano, 228 Gertrude St, Fitzroy

April 21, 2011 ⋅ 7 comments

Every year around this time I do a little taste-run of hot cross buns in Melbourne. Ostensibly it’s to provide blog readers with information but really it’s just an excuse to eat a lot of fruity, spicy, sticky bread (I’m a purist – chocolate chips should not be found in hot cross buns!). Sadly this [...]