melbourne cbd

HOT: In Search of the Perfect Mince Pies

December 22, 2009 ⋅ 5 comments

In our own personal advent calendar, Lin, Billy and I went on a trip around Melbourne’s CBD in search of the perfect mince pie. “On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me….12 mince pies and 2 macarons in a pear tree.” Joyce: We had optimistically planned 12 tastings in keeping with [...]

HOT: Nicolangela, Level 1, Shop F174, Melbourne’s GPO, 350 Bourke St, Melbourne

December 21, 2009 ⋅ 8 comments

When I was a young grad, fresh out of uni, I used to do walk up to Nicolangela’s delightful Greville Street shop (which is no longer) and peer inside longingly, just like Holly Golightly drinking her coffee outside Tiffany’s. The store was a treasure chest of beautiful dresses designed and made in Melbourne, from sleek [...]

HOT: A Very Nuffnang Christmas, Terra Rossa, 87 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

December 20, 2009 ⋅ 2 comments

I really think that unless you’re a blogger, it’s very hard to understand the dedication, discipline, nay obsession, that blogging can become in your life. Hardly anyone makes any money out of this time-consuming hobby, but we all do it for the love. So big thanks to Nuffnang for bringing fellow obsessives together by organising [...]

HOT: Eco Innovators Showcase, Cnr Little Collins and Swanston St, Melbourne

December 17, 2009 ⋅ 2 comments

Melbourne is riding a pop up store wave and the Eco Innovators Showcase is about as ‘pop up’ as a pop up shop can get. In the morning: one unremarkable, poster-plastered news stand pillar standing innocently on Swanston Street. In the afternoon: the pillar has been transformed, Tardis-like, into a shop stocking over 25 Melbourne [...]

NOT: Trunk Bar & Restaurant, 275 Exhibition St Melbourne

December 12, 2009 ⋅ 6 comments

The twinkling lights in the busy courtyard entrance of Trunk Bar & Restaurant boded good things for our Friday night dinner. Inside the dimly lit, high-ceilinged restaurant, the crowd was just as bustling and everyone appeared to be enjoying their food and wine in the relaxed surroundings. We had high hopes for Trunk’s Italian-influenced menu. [...]

HOT: Melbourne Design Market, Federation Square carpark, Melbourne

December 11, 2009 ⋅ 11 comments

One of my favourite entries in Melbourne’s design market calendar is the twice-yearly Melbourne Design Market held in the unprepossessing carpark of Federation Square. While some of the stalls remain the same every time, I still like to go because there’s always something new to see and buy. Here are some of the stalls that [...]

HOT: Coco Rice, 10 Manchester Lane, Melbourne

December 9, 2009 ⋅ 7 comments

Coco Rice is one of the classier cheap-dish-with-rice joints in the CBD. As its name suggests, it specialises in coconut rice and Indonesian food in general and the small, brightly-lit restaurant is located in swish Manchester Lane, well away from the harsh flourescent lights and dumpster aromas of Chinatown. Most of the lunch workers and [...]

HOT: Baker D Chirico Pop Up store, 24 Crossley St, Melbourne

December 8, 2009 ⋅ 15 comments

Stop Press: Baker D Chirico is re-opening Tuesday 9 February Wednesday 10 February until Thursday 1 April (before Good Friday). Tuesday to Fridays, 8am-6pm. Hurrah! A baked goods bomb has just exploded in Crossley Street. That was my first impression when I stepped inside Baker D Chirico’s Alice in Wonderland inspired pop up store, the [...]

HOT: A Very Eco Christmas, insert name here, Shop 5, Georges on Collins, 195 Collins St, Melbourne

December 7, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

This year, instead of wishing for a White Christmas, how about making it a Green Christmas? For one night only, online fashion retailer Eco Fashionista, jewellery designer Joolz and designer and speaker PK Walker collaborated on a fashion event ‘A Very Eco Christmas‘ in the pop-up store <insert name here>. Joining them were current residents [...]

HOT Alert: Week of 7 December 2009

December 6, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

You know those crazy spinning Frankenstein heads? That’s what I feel like right now. It’s definitely the silly season! In the diary this week: Preview of new French hit film ‘French Kissers’ at Palace Como on Tuesday 8 December; Aesop shopping night at their QV store on Wednesday 9 December. Join them for some wine [...]