melbourne cbd

NOT: Noodle Kingdom, 175 Russell St, Melbourne

September 28, 2010 ⋅ 8 comments

Did I miss a trick with Noodle Kingdom? I had read a heap of favourable reviews about this no-nonsense handmade noodle joint, including raves from The Age, Herald Sun, Eat Drink Stagger and Eat My Radish (some of them albeit about the Preston branch) and in need of a quick dinner one night I decided [...]

HOT: Macaron Tasting, Famish’d, 130 Little Collins St, Melbourne

September 27, 2010 ⋅ 17 comments

In case you’ve been hiding under an epicurean rock, macarons are the next big (if not already the big) thing in the world of sweets and pastries. Look – even The Age declared it so. I LOVE macarons. In fact, one of my enduring memories of visiting Geneva was not the lake, the old town [...]

HOT: Bottega, 74 Bourke St, Melbourne

September 24, 2010 ⋅ 3 comments

I haven’t been to Italian restaurant Bottega since their refurbishment in 2007. A glass panel now slices the room in half, with leather booths on one side and longer tables on the other. We sat on the booth side, which for me was a little reminiscent of sitting in an American diner (I later found [...]

HOT: Philip Escoffey, Six More Impossible Things to Do Before Dinner, Arts Centre, 100 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne

September 22, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

YAY for my first show of the Melbourne Fringe Festival – a two and a half week extravaganza of comedy, song, dance, cabaret, art and general wackiness. Philip Escoffey is a well-known performer famous for his mind-reading skills, so I’m not entirely sure whether you’d consider his show Six More Impossible Things to Do Before [...]

HOT: Sichuan Dining Room, Mid City Arcade, Shop 3-5, 194-200 Bourke St, Melbourne

September 17, 2010 ⋅ 3 comments

While I aim to write the decisive guide to Melbourne, sometimes it is very hard to be decisive. As I was writing this post Sichuan Dining Room had me veering from HOT to NOT to HOT to NOT again. As you can see in the end I’ve leaned towards HOT. Mainly because our meal was [...]

HOT Chat: Lee Elizabeth George of A Vintage Affair

September 16, 2010 ⋅ One comment

As you’ve probably worked out by now, I am a huge fan of afternoon tea. Really, what’s not to like? A meal in between ‘proper’ meals consisting of dainty cakes, pastries and sandwiches taken with sips of tea or champagne. Afternoon tea is partly about ambience too and that’s where A Vintage Affair caught my [...]

HOT Chat: Nicholas Aberle from the Environmental Film Festival Melbourne

September 9, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

Today’s HOT Chat is with Nicholas Aberle, the director of the inaugural Environmental Film Festival Melbourne being held at Kino Cinemas next week (16-19 September). A disclaimer – Nicholas is a friend of a friend, but even if he wasn’t the festival is something I want to support – anti-bottled water, food waste and rescue, [...]

HOT: Flexicar

September 8, 2010 ⋅ 10 comments

People are often surprised to discover that I don’t own a car. Well, ever since I moved to Melbourne I’ve never needed one – I’ve always lived in the inner city and worked in the CBD, cycled or caught public transport to get to most destinations, and cabs and rental cars have filled in the [...]

HOT: Melbourne Spring Fashion Week, Designer Series Show 4, Melbourne Town Hall, Swanston St, Melbourne

September 5, 2010 ⋅ 4 comments

Show Four of Melbourne Spring Fashion Week explored the street style of the urban Melbourne palette. So naturally, black. The cliche is true, even for Spring and Summer collections Melbourne designers above., ALPHA60, Carly Hunter, Claude by Claude Maus, FAT, Jack London, Limedrop, Tesla and Trimapee brought us lots of midnight, jet, raven and ebony. The hip and [...]

NOT: Terra Rossa, 87 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

September 3, 2010 ⋅ One comment

We were trying to decide on a pre-movie dinner location and came up with Terra Rossa – mainly because we had a discount Entertainment Card and it was right by the Forum Theatre. Having not heard much about Terra Rossa, I had no expectations of the restaurant, and so was quite surprised by the number [...]