food and wine

HOT: TOFWD The Organic Food and Wine Deli, 28 Degraves St Melbourne

November 3, 2009 ⋅ 3 comments

TOFWD is a mouthful of a name, but at least there’s no second-guessing what’s on offer at a place called The Organic Food and Wine Deli. This Degraves Street café and mini-health food shop serves organic food to the lunch masses, with pies, rolls, sandwiches, bowl food and sweet things on offer. I had a [...]

HOT: Shocolate, 3/296 Brunswick St, Fitzroy

October 31, 2009 ⋅ 12 comments

It appears that Melbourne’s appetite for artisan chocolate just keeps expanding – Shocolate is a shiny new chocolatier that has just opened in my hood, near the corner of Brunswick and Johnston Streets. On a steaming hot Saturday the outdoor tables in the teeny front area where all occupied, but anyway we wanted to escape [...]

HOT: T2 Tea Too, 340 Brunswick St, Fitzroy

October 28, 2009 ⋅ 4 comments

As my regular readers will know, I’m getting married soon – and as a Chinese bride it is traditional to have a Chinese tea ceremony. So, another thing to tick off the wedding to-do list was to find a tea set. I wanted something that was vaguely Oriental, without any gaudy gold leaf or dragon/phoenix [...]

HOT: Friends of the Earth, 312 Smith St, Collingwood

October 26, 2009 ⋅ One comment

Like a Depression-era wife, my cupboards are slowly accumulating a mountain of used jars, plastic containers and paper bags. It’s all for a good cause though – I’m a Friend of the Earth. Friends of the Earth Melbourne is a cafe, bookstore, clothing store and food co-op rolled into one hippie-smelling establishment. The lunch plates of [...]

HOT: Richmond Hill and Larder, 48 Bridge Rd, Richmond

October 25, 2009 ⋅ One comment

So I went into Richmond Hill Cafe & Larder for a pre-hairdressing appointment snack and accidentally found myself indulging in a berry and ricotta sponge cake ($9.50). I can’t explain why I sometimes go into these sugar-eating trances, where all I want to do is eat cake morning, noon and night. This gorgeously girly cake [...]

HOT: Julie & Julia, Hoyts Melbourne Central, Cnr Swanston and Latrobe Sts, Melbourne

October 21, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

Of course I enjoyed Julie & Julia. I love to eat, I love to cook, I love to blog. I have a very understanding partner. I work in an office and I’m a Francophile. The only difference is that I’ve never lived in Paris or New York City and I’ve never deboned a duck. Julie [...]

HOT: Shop and Cook Tour, William Angliss Institute, 555 Latrobe St, Melbourne

October 10, 2009 ⋅ 8 comments

When it comes to Christmas and birthdays, I’m a pretty easy person to buy for. Anything food related, travel related, art related or music related is a sure bet. So big hugs and thank you to my high school girlfriends, who gifted me the perfect Jetsetting Joyce experience – a foodie shopping and cooking day. [...]

HOT Alert: Week of 5 October

October 5, 2009 ⋅ 2 comments

This week’s it’s all about Fringe, Fringe, Fringe: Melbourne Fringe Festival #5 – Opening night of the drama She’s My Baby, billed as “Two Monologues, One Couple, Sixteen Years Apart” and showing at the Trades Hall on Tuesday 6 October; Melbourne Fringe Festival #6 Comedy show 21 – ‘Cause you’ll only turn it once (probably a [...]

Ask the Doctor: French restaurant for my mum

October 2, 2009 ⋅ 8 comments

Help me Doctor!: Where can I take my mother for her birthday? She likes French and I took her to France Soir last time. – Huy L Your prescription: Huy, evidently your mum and I are kindred spirits, as my favourite cuisine is French! As soon as I received your question my mind pinged with [...]

HOT: Crust, 350 Smith St, Fitzroy

September 23, 2009 ⋅ 2 comments

Is it possible for a pizza to be healthy and tasty? Gourmet pizza makers Crust have started selling a range of pizzas called ‘Healthier choice‘. It’s not just a meaningless euphemism for ‘vegetarian’ or ‘fewer toppings’ – the freshly made pizzas have literally been given the National Heart Foundation tick of approval, which means that [...]