casual

HOT: Supermaxi, 305 St Georges Rd, Fitzroy North

February 28, 2011 ⋅ One comment

Melburnians love their gourmet pizzas and Supermaxi is the one of the newest kids on the block. However, the team behind Supermaxi comes with a lot of experience – namely, the head chef is Rita Macali, one of the original owners of Ladro in Fitzroy and arguably partly responsible for kick-starting the trend about 5 [...]

HOT Chat: Braeden Lord of Aussie Farmers Direct

February 25, 2011 ⋅ One comment

Bizarre as it sounds, one of my hobbies is grocery shopping. I’m not talking about trawling the fluorescent aisles of a mega-supermarket, but rather poking around farmers markets, ethnic grocery stores and fancy providores. However, given my recent lack of mobility due to pregnancy and a newborn baby, I’ve fully embraced the concept of online grocery delivery. [...]

HOT: The Estelle Bar & Kitchen, 243 High St, Northcote

February 16, 2011 ⋅ 5 comments

Some people have strange hobbies. And I came across a particularly strange hobby when I visited The Estelle and discovered that one of the owner’s family friends knits smallgoods. As in, create objects d’art like sausages and a leg of lamb from knitting needles and wool! The Estelle is a quirky bar/cafe in the vintage shop-baby [...]

HOT: Johnston Street Foodstore, 256 Johnston St, Fitzroy

February 9, 2011 ⋅ One comment

As human beings, we all have our strange little foibles, don’t we? My friend R will eat tomatoes, but only if they’re on pizza. RM likes strawberry jam, but won’t eat strawberries. I don’t drink coffee, but I’m a sucker for tiramisu. Weird, I know. Which leads me to the housemade tiramisu at Johnston Street [...]

NOT: Misuzu’s, 7 Victoria Ave, Albert Park

February 8, 2011 ⋅ 9 comments

I wanted to like Misuzu’s, I really did. Out of all the cafes and restaurants in the Victoria Avenue strip, I thought that Misuzu’s sizeable crowd of alfresco diners signalled that the kitchen must be producing something good. Also, the restaurant was rated second on Urbanspoon for the best Albert Park restaurants. On entering, I [...]

HOT: Hausfrau, 123 Bridport St, Albert Park

February 3, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

Albert Park is surely the ultimate suburb to find glossy blonde ladies-who-lunch, so what better place to set up a cafe called Hausfrau? Hausfrau Albert Park is the sister cafe to the original Hausfrau in Yarraville and it opened two weeks ago. The cafes look similar with their quaint tea salon decor, except that the [...]

HOT: Noisette, 84 Bay St, Port Melbourne

February 2, 2011 ⋅ One comment

Noisette is reknowned for its French-style cakes and pastries and no doubt you would have eaten its products at many of Melbourne’s restaurants and cafes (such as Coin Laundry and Hausfrau). Their cafe and retail store is located in villagey Bay Street and attracts a steady clientele of pastry fanciers and coffee drinkers. By the [...]

HOT: Mixed Business, 486 Queens Pde, Clifton Hill

January 27, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

After what seemed like endless weeks of packing, I’ve finally moved into a new house. As we boxed up our worldly goods, I cursed RM’s penchant for book-buying and RM banned me from buying any more kitchen gadgets. So even though I spotted a waffle maker for $20 recently, I resisted temptation. Which is a [...]

HOT: Babycino’s Garden Cafe, Northampton Place, South Yarra

January 18, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

While I don’t yet have kids, there is a baby boom happening with my friends and acquaintances such that I increasingly have to consider whether or not a venue is kid-friendly when I suggest meeting up. If you’re in a similar situation, then I highly recommend Babycino’s. Nestled in the back streets of South Yarra [...]

HOT: Arcadia, 193 Gertrude St, Fitzroy

January 13, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

With so many great cafes on Gertrude Street, both old and new, it can be difficult to choose where to go. My advice? Just start from one end and work your way down :–) That way, at some stage you’ll make your way to the pine-tree stencilled windows of the excellent Arcadia. Arcadia ticks all [...]