restaurants and cafes

HOT: Gastronomica Slow Food Quiz, Collins Quarter, 86A Collins St, Melbourne

February 22, 2010 ⋅ 7 comments

I’m known as a bit of a foodie amongst my friends. However, at food quiz Gastronomica I discovered that my small font of knowledge was nothing compared to the food nerdiness displayed by the rest of Team Phat Preston, including food bloggers Tummyrumbles, Melbourne Gastronome, Tomato, Eating with Jack, Essjay Eats and Eatnik. In fact, [...]

HOT: Mamma’s Boy, 13 Little Collins St, Melbourne

February 19, 2010 ⋅ 3 comments

I’m not sure who ‘Mamma’s Boy’ refers to, but for me the name of this cafe’s name conjures up images of mothers all around the world urging their sons to ‘Eat up!’ ‘Mange!’ ‘Chī fàn!’. Certainly their cabinet selection of fresh-looking pre-made sandwiches, appetising sit-down lunch menu and cartoon recipe blackboard encourages you to get [...]

HOT: Ramen Ya, Shop 25G Melbourne’s GPO, 350 Bourke St, Melbourne

February 17, 2010 ⋅ 10 comments

After the success of the inaugural Dumplings Fest, a bunch of food bloggers/tweeps gathered for the next [Insert Food] fest – this time in honour of ramen. Sadly, good ramen joints are hard to find in Melbourne (although I’m predicting that they’re the next big dining trend, after izakayas and gastropubs have their time in [...]

HOT: Grace Darling Hotel, 114 Smith St, Collingwood‎

February 15, 2010 ⋅ 12 comments

There was a time when the grungy Grace Darling was the kind of pub which you’d cross the road to avoid. Now the pretty brick and stone building has been given a good clean-up and on a sunny day you’ll find the pub full of youngsters spilling out on the pavement tables and filling up [...]

HOT: Trippy Taco, 48 Smith St, Collingwood

February 11, 2010 ⋅ 16 comments

You want HOT? You got HOT! At hippy Trippy Taco, you can get XXX HOT. Just pour some of the XXXtra HOT chilli sauce that’s provided at each table on top of your quesadilla, taco, taquito, burrito or nachos. It delivers nose-sniffling, mouth-numbing heat and is the perfect antidote for the drooping summer swelter. Trippy [...]

HOT: Shoya Japanese Restaurant (Part 2), 25 Market Ln, Melbourne

February 9, 2010 ⋅ 5 comments

After my previous post on dinner at the high-end Japanese restaurant Shoya, many people recommended that I try their more affordable but equally delicious lunch menu. So, to take advantage of a quiet day at the office, I joined my friends J and A for the $28 Shoya lunch set. You get a LOT of [...]

HOT: Beatbox Kitchen, around Melbourne

February 8, 2010 ⋅ 18 comments

Mobile food vans are nothing new. But a mobile food van that looks like a big stereo is pretty cool. Raph owns the Beatbox Kitchen and serves up burgers and fries in locations trackable only via Twitter. He pulled up in front of the Lamington Drive gallery opening of Risographica! on a wet evening and [...]

HOT: Launch of MEL: Heat Map

February 6, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

For those of you who may not have noticed yet, there’s a new little button on the top menu of MEL: HOT OR NOT - MEL: Heat Map. What’s that, you ask? Well, I have been spending my waking hours putting every review on MEL: HOT OR NOT onto a single map. So that means [...]

HOT: Charcoal Lane, 136 Gertrude St, Fitzroy

February 5, 2010 ⋅ 12 comments

You know that Charcoal Lane is a different sort of restaurant as soon as you walk through the handsome heavy black doors. At the entrance these words mark the wall: You are part of a unique and exciting program of Mission Australia, in partnership with the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service, William Angliss Institute and employers. [...]

HOT: Roundhouse Roti, 220 Gertude St, Fitzroy

February 3, 2010 ⋅ 12 comments

Roti is the flavour of the month for me (see my review of Old Town Kopitiam Mamak) so I was delighted to discover a Malaysian style roti joint close to home. Roundhouse Roti has been open for a couple of months and is run by a young Fitzroy local Lee Chong (his mum runs the [...]