fine dining

HOT: Persimmon, Ground Level NGV International, 180 St Kilda Rd, Southbank

May 13, 2013 ⋅ Post a comment

I have to admit that I am a bit skeptical when it comes to gallery or concert hall restaurants. I feel that when a building’s main purpose is not to be a restaurant then there’s no real incentive to serve good food. Add to that the fact that they are catering for a captive audience of hungry [...]

HOT: Moon Under Water, Builders Arms Hotel, 211 Gertrude St, Fitzroy

January 14, 2013 ⋅ One comment

For the first time in my memory food critic John Lethlean from The Weekend Australian magazine awards a restaurant 5/5 stars. And given it’s only a hop, skip and jump from my home it would be remiss of me not to visit Moon Under Water, the fine dining side of the revamped boozer Builders Arms [...]

HOT: Bottega, 74 Bourke St, Melbourne

May 7, 2012 ⋅ One comment

You know how there are some restaurants which are your go-to destinations? The default choice for a first date, the default choice for a family gathering, the default choice for Sunday brunch? Well, before I got married Bottega was my default location for introducing boyfriends to my parents for the first time! I knew that [...]

HOT: Esposito, 162 Elgin St, Carlton

April 23, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment

In a recent article in the New York Times, a journo went in search of a fun Melbourne weekend for $100. The author noted that while I am privileged to live the most livable city in the world, Melbourne is also one of the world’s most expensive cities (Japan, Switzerland, then Australia rank highly. Gulp.). Which is [...]

HOT: Pei Modern, 45 Collins St, Melbourne

April 3, 2012 ⋅ One comment

Pei Modern is a two-faced affair. The old post office has been gutted and transformed into a Mark Best (Marque), Peter Bartholomew and David Mackintosh (MoVida) project. On stage right is the fine-dining area which is very relaxed in its outlook – no starched tablecloths, no gilded chandeliers. On the other side is a café/bar offering [...]

HOT: Bento Lunch, Taxi Dining Room, Level 1 Transport Hotel, Federation Square, Melbourne

November 13, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

Out of all the dining venues in Federation Square, my favourite is the Transport/Taxi/Transit complex. Transport is great for a quiet riverside drink (though it can get rowdier on weekends), I often take visitors to experience the slick food and expansive Yarra views at the high-end Taxi restaurant and we even arranged our post-wedding drinks [...]

HOT: The Wine Bar Restaurant, Yering Station, 38 Melba Hwy, Yarra Glen

September 30, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

Fancy a day out in the country? In just 45 minutes from the city you can be out in the vineyards of the Yarra Valley. One of the most popular wineries in the Yarra Valley is Yering Station. It’s the first winery established in Victoria and is definitely worth a stop for the cellar door/art [...]

HOT: Victoria in a Bento Box, Matteo’s Restaurant, 533 Brunswick St, North Fitzroy

September 20, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival doesn’t just run events for two weeks in March – the rest of the year they promote food and wine with themes and events such as the Spring Graze. The Spring Graze is a gathering of more than 60 events throughout September across Victoria, all with the theme of [...]

HOT: Melba Mannequins, Melba Restaurant, The Langham Melbourne, 1 Southgate Ave, Southbank

June 28, 2011 ⋅ 3 comments

Melba Mannequins is the twinning of my two loves – fashion and food. The name of the event comes from experiencing lunch at the Melba Restaurant at The Langham while beautiful models parade fashion around the restaurant. Thanks to The Langham, I attend the first sold out Melba Mannequins event which featured the Autumn/Winter collection [...]

HOT: Shanghai Dynasty, 206 Bourke Street, Melbourne

April 27, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

Whenever my parents are in town I try to make the most of their Chinese language skills and food expertise by steering them towards meals at Chinese restaurants. Our latest trip was to Shanghai Dynasty for lunch, after I read a review of the restaurant at Addictive & Consuming. Since Jeroxie’s review in January the [...]

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