restaurants and cafes

HOT: The Brasserie, 8 Whiteman St, Crown Entertainment Complex, Southbank

August 5, 2010 ⋅ 8 comments

French food is my favourite cuisine so I have no idea why it’s taken me this long to get to The Brasserie. I suspect it’s probably because it’s at Crown. Call me a boring repetitive food-blogging snob but I still have trouble in my mind distinguishing between the two sides to Crown- the sea of [...]

HOT: Chocolate Buddha giveaway winners!

July 30, 2010 ⋅ One comment

Thank you to everyone for your entries for the Chocolate Buddha giveaway! I’ve dipped into the Kitchenaid of Fortune and here are our two winners of a $50 voucher each to dine at Chocolate Buddha: Gem (Eat Drink Stagger) Vivian Please send your postal address to joyce@melhotornot.com to collect your prize and have a great [...]

HOT: Singapore Chom Chom, 188 Bourke St, Melbourne

July 29, 2010 ⋅ 8 comments

One advantage of living in a multicultural urban centre like Melbourne is the myriad of opportunities for trying out new cuisine with friends of different ethnic backgrounds who can guide you through the menu maze. On my first visit to Singapore Chom Chom, I was glad that S, a Singaporean, was on hand to explain [...]

HOT: Stellini Bar, 198 Little Collins St, Melbourne

July 28, 2010 ⋅ 5 comments

Stellini Bar is small, buzzy and crowded eatery dropped in straight from Milano and filled with office workers and uni students alike. As you’d expect from the owners of The Mess Hall, it serves ready-made sandwiches, piadinas, calzone and easy Italian favourites, 7 days a week from breakfast till late. There is also an unexpectedly [...]

HOT: Chocolate Buddha, Federation Square, Melbourne

July 23, 2010 ⋅ 39 comments

Sponsored by Nuffnang When Federation Square first opened back in 2002, Chocolate Buddha was the hottest place to eat and drink. It was the first of the communal Japanese dining halls in Melbourne (before the advent of places like Wagamama) and at night there were queues for the rows of communal tables and bar area. [...]

NOT: Crown Metropol, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank

July 22, 2010 ⋅ 2 comments

Today we have a guest post from Foo of the Melbourne-based blog Frugal Foo, which is all about finding great value in food, travel, shopping or anything. Really quite invaluable information, and my favourite posts are Melbourne’s Food Court Underbelly and Where to eat in Melbourne for under $30 a day. Foo has written up [...]

HOT: Liaison Cafe, Monaco House, 22 Ridgway Place, Melbourne

July 21, 2010 ⋅ 4 comments

I must be the only food blogger, nay the only Melburnian, who doesn’t drink coffee. Sometimes it can really hinder the completeness of my reviews, especially when I go to a place that specialises in coffee, like Liasion. Liasion is the sixth cafe run by Danny Colls of Cafe Racer fame, and from what I [...]

HOT: Ladro, 224 Gertrude St, Fitzroy

July 20, 2010 ⋅ 3 comments

Ladro was one of the restaurants at the forefront of the designer pizza craze that swept through Melbourne about 5 years ago. It’s still going strong despite the departure of one of the original owners/chefs Rita Macali (who’s sprouted another pizza joint called Supermaxi in North Fitzroy), expanding to a new outpost in Prahran recently. [...]

HOT Chat: Bec van der Sluys of Curious Kate

July 16, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

Some of you may already know Curious Kate, but for those who don’t it’s a sweet weekly newsletter headed by Bec van der Sluys about all that’s cool, interesting, and of course curious about Melbourne for the week. I think it’s a little Michi, a bit ThreeThousand. Thanks Bec! Bec, tell me a bit more about [...]

HOT: The Cupcake Bakery, Cnr Flinders Lane and Elizabeth St, Melbourne

July 13, 2010 ⋅ 9 comments

Where can one find the best cupcakes in Melbourne? This is a question which seems to occupy a lot of space on places like the Vogue forums, and the opinions are wide-ranging and strongly held. I don’t really have anything to contribute to the debate as frankly, I think the best cupcakes in Melbourne come [...]