melbourne cbd

HOT: Nelayan Indonesian Restaurant, 265-267 Swanston St, Melbourne

December 13, 2010 ⋅ 3 comments

In the second of my recent forays into Indonesian food, I was pointed to Nelayan by Sally, an Indonesian student. Out of all of the cheap Asian eats on Swanston Street, Nelayan seems to be one of the more popular. Very early on a weekday evening, the tables were doing a quick turnover of heading-home [...]

NOT: Chilli Padi, Shop OE7, Menzies Alley, Melbourne Central, Melbourne

December 7, 2010 ⋅ 7 comments

After reading some positive reviews of Chilli Padi online, I thought maybe I’d found a great restaurant in Melbourne Central with which I could bribe RM to come Christmas shopping with me. Unfortunately, our experience was a case of generally good food marred by comically bad service. Read on…. On arrival on a Wednesday night [...]

HOT: Blok M, 380 Little Bourke St, Melbourne

November 30, 2010 ⋅ 5 comments

I met an Indonesian girl recently at the Social Media Club breakfast and after we talked about her studies and my work, the conversation turned to food. Specifically, where to find authentic Indonesian food in inner-city Melbourne. Sally told me that in fact she eats a lot more Singaporean/Malaysian food in Australia given the paucity [...]

HOT Chat: Joana Calado of The Beauty Club

November 26, 2010 ⋅ One comment

If you walk into my bathroom, you can immediately tell that I have an obsession with Aesop. I love the functionality and aesthetics of their products and I think I own the majority of their skincare range! This obsession can be a rather expensive habit so I was interested to discover The Beauty Club, a [...]

HOT: Melbourne Bikefest Opening Party, 1000 £ Bend, 361 Lt Lonsdale St, Melbourne

November 25, 2010 ⋅ 5 comments

As you’ve no doubt noticed from the blog, I like parties and I like bikes. So there was no way that I was going to miss the opening party of Melbourne Bikefest, Melbourne’s celebration all things bike-related for the next 4 days based at 1000 £ Bend (note that my business CycleStyle is also a [...]

NOT: Number 8 Restaurant and Wine Bar, Crown Melbourne, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank

November 18, 2010 ⋅ 5 comments

It’s sad when an old favourite falls from favour. Such is the case with my recent visit to Number 8. Before I start, I should emphasise that I spent a lot of time thinking about whether to give it a HOT or NOT. It seemed unduly harsh to NOT it given that our meal wasn’t [...]

HOT: kit cosmetics, Myer Bourke Street Mall, Melbourne

November 17, 2010 ⋅ 2 comments

Thanks for my frankie subscription this month, I popped down to kit cosmetics for a 45 minute complementary makeover (normally $45). kit is from the same stable of cosmetics companies as Mecca Cosmetica and while it has a similar strategy of sourcing niche international skincare and cosmetics brands, it’s aimed towards a younger market and [...]

HOT: Kim Chi Tray, Shop 2, 294 Flinders St Melbourne

November 16, 2010 ⋅ 4 comments

One of the best things about blogging a lot about food is that’s opened up a whole new social life for me. I’ve met lots of interesting foodies and food bloggers, discovered new places to eat and drink and learnt so much about ingredients, produce and the cuisine of different cultures. I’ve had lunch with [...]

HOT: STREAT Graduation, Donkey Wheel House, 673 Bourke St, Melbourne

November 11, 2010 ⋅ 5 comments

Remember my previous post about STREAT, the social enterprise providing homeless youth with training in hospitality? Well, the first intake of eight kids who were selected to participate in the 6 month traineeship have just graduated. I was honoured to be invited to their graduation at STREAT‘s offices at Donkey Wheel House, a heritage building [...]

HOT: The Little Mule Company & Cafe, 19 Somerset Place, Melbourne

November 10, 2010 ⋅ 9 comments

Melbourne’s love affair with coffee and bikes continues with the new kid on the (laneway) block, The Little Mule Company & Cafe. The Little Mule Company make colourful custom-made fixies in their small workshop and the bikes also provide eye-catching wall hangings for the airy warehouse aesthetic of their small adjoining cafe. For bike and [...]