st kilda

HOT Chat: Carley Andrews of Ujamaa Hostel

July 9, 2010 ⋅ 2 comments

Today’s HOT Chat is the first time I’m interviewing a Melburnian who actually no longer lives in Melbourne. Melbourne-born Carley Andrews now lives in Tanzania with her husband, running a hostel focusing on providing volunteer work opportunities. I was inspired to interview her after reading about her new project, a childrens’ home, which she has [...]

HOT: Lau’s Family Kitchen, 4 Acland St, St Kilda

June 9, 2010 ⋅ 4 comments

The Jetsetting Parents were in town and as usual, I’d planned an eating itinerary for their stay. While I was contemplating where to take them, I remembered Lau’s Family Kitchen, a Cantonese restaurant in St Kilda that I’d always meant to try but being south of the river, had never really made the effort. It [...]

HOT: Menu from My Mother’s Kitchen, Mirka at Tolarno Hotel, 42 Fitzroy St, St Kilda

June 7, 2010 ⋅ One comment

On Sundays lots of people like to relax by sleeping in, lounging around with the Sunday paper and maybe going for a stroll. On the other hand, I tend to have a lot of get-up-and-go on Sundays (my body just refuses to sleep in) but my one concession to slowing down is to enjoy a [...]

HOT Chat: Chris Howatson of tropicalhowie

April 11, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

Do you know about Springwise? It’s a great website that scans the world for cool business ideas and it’s how I found out about tropicalhowie. The company’s unique, limited-edition laptop covers were featured recently and I was excited to discover that they were designed and sold right here in Melbourne. Well, of course I had [...]

HOT Chat: Dave Carswell of Melbourne By Foot

January 10, 2010 ⋅ One comment

Today’s HOT Chat is with Dave Carswell, the brains and legs behind Melbourne By Foot. I think that Melbourne is particularly conducive to exploration by foot but all those dark and smelly alleyways can be a bit daunting for a newbie. Melbourne By Foot takes you by the hand (foot?) to help you discover the [...]

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 Alert: Week of 23 November 2009

November 22, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

This coming week is filled with travel, rock, films, shopping, food and parties! Tony Wheeler, the co-founder of Lonely Planet, is speaking at The Hive at The Order of Melbourne on Tuesday 24 November. Read my review of a previous The Hive event here; The Rockwiz Christmas special is coming to The Palais, St Kilda, on [...]

HOT Chat: Gretha Oost of 321 Water

October 26, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

As many of you know, I have a real penchant for water bottles and a real beef against bottled water. Now there’s a stylish Melbourne-designed bottle which is aiming to encouraging us to drink tap water and preserve a precious resource. Did you know that it takes three litres of water to manufacture one litre [...]

HOT: Australia’s Top 100: Competition Session 3, St Kilda Film Festival, Palace George Cinemas, 135 Fitzroy St, St Kilda

May 28, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

Another diverse collection of drama, action, animation and documentary short films. All interesting but overall not as strong as some of the films in Session 2. Of note was the cute plasticised animated style used in Mutt, a story about a farmer, his cow and his dog who just wants to play fetch, and the [...]

HOT: Australia’s Top 100: Competition Session 2, St Kilda Film Festival, Palace George Cinemas, 135 Fitzroy St, St Kilda

May 28, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

My pick from the five films on show in competition session 2 was the elegiac Trampoline. The story was about a little girl, a silent social outcast who harbours a dream to fly. Through her tentative friendship with the new kid at school, who also doesn’t quite fit in, she discovers that she really can [...]