Masak Masak has carved out a niche on restaurant-heavy Smith Street with its take on Malaysian hawker food.

As soon as you walk into the bright and funky restaurant you’ll notice the charcoal barbeque front and centre. My (Asian) parents were very impressed with this piece of equipment as it’s rare for them to see satays cooked in such an authentic fashion in Australia.

The three of us tried out several dishes from their good value $10 lunch menu (you can have a meal + fresh coconut for $15).

To start, a mix of beef and chicken satays, nicely smokey and charred with a spicy homemade peanut sauce and cubes of rice and cucumber, another authentic touch.

The roti john ($9) was like a cartoon hot dog – a sweet brioche bun with an egg omelette and a slab of beef jerky wedged inside. Again parents were impressed by the obviously home-made jerky, which takes a lot of work and tastes completely different to the highly processed nuclear stuff you buy from Asian supermarkets.

The highlight was the Beef Rendang and the amazingly flaky, almost filo-pastry-like roti. Beef Rendang is one of those dishes I usually avoid as my taste buds have been dulled by too many studenty one-pot meals of gristly chuck steak stewed with packet spice mix. Masak Masak‘s Beef Rendang is the opposite end of the spectrum – complex, elegantly layered spice with chunky, fall-apart meat.

Mop it up with possibly the best roti canai I’ve had in Melbourne – quite unlike a lot of the overly chewy, doughy offerings around town. In fact, I’m so excited by this roti that I’d advise ordering a serve separately (it’s not on the menu but it’s $4) and using it to accompany all the food rather than eating boring old steamed rice.

I’ve also ordered takeaway from Masak Masak and while the food is still good sadly I don’t think it transports well compared to eating in. In one of my takeaway orders I tried the charcoal grilled beef ribs with sambal oelek ($19). These aren’t American-style ribs that require a bit of Neanderthal-style gnawing and tearing – the bone unsheaths cleanly from the meat, no cutlery required! It’s sticky, salty and the sambal has some serious mouth-burning heat to it. A highlight dish.

I’m encouraged by my dip into Masak Masak’s menu and am keen to try more of their dishes, especially the grilled stingray, a rarity in Melbourne.

To read reviews of other parts of Masak Masak‘s (dinner) menu, check out I’m so hungree.

Masak Masak, 230 Smith Street, Collingwood +61 3 9417 4510

Mon-Sat 11.30am – 2.30pm, 6pm – 10pm

Sun 9am-3pm

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The 15th program of annual the Melbourne International Jazz Festival is kicking off this winter from Friday 31 May to Friday 9 June. There’s something for everyone, from gigs for first-time visitors to MIJF to concerts to jazz aficionados to family-friendly free concerts.

Giveaway! Thanks to Melbourne International Jazz Festival I have 2 x Premium tickets to each of the following shows:

• Opening Night Gala: Everybody Wants to Rule the World on Friday 31 May 8pm at Palais Theatre - vocalist/pianist Sarah McKenzie, jazz vocalist and improviser, Michelle Nicolle, and special guest Mahalia Barnes reinterpreting iconic rock songs and pop anthems in an Australian premiere and festival exclusive event; and

• Chucho Valdés & the Afro-Cuban Messengers (CUBA) on Saturday 8 June 8pm at Hamer Hall – renowned Cuban pianist, composer and bandleader Chucho Valdés and his band the the Afro-Cuban Messengers are bringing their irresistibly exuberant music to the newly-refurbished Hamer Hall.

To win just leave a comment saying whether you’d like tickets to GALA or CHUCHO and the winners will be drawn randomly on Friday 24 May. Good luck!

If you want to learn about, eat and share chocolate then make sure you don’t miss Melt: Chocolate Festival on next Sunday 26 May 11am – 4pm at the Immigration Museum.

At Melt: Chocolate Festival, you will get to meet members of Victoria’s chocolate-loving Portuguese-speaking, Belgian, and Mexican communities to explore the role of chocolate in cuisine, culture and commerce. There will be exhibitions, talks about topics such as the origins of cacao in ancient Mexico to ethics and sustainability in local and global industries, performances from Mariachi bands and of course lots of chocolate food and drinks to buy and sample. You can even buy a Top Chocs showbag which includes chocolates from festival chocolatier.

I was invited to visit a preview of the festival and to meet with people from these communities. The preview included samples of some of the food that you’ll find at the festival, such as the unmissable Mexican champurrado (thick hot chocolate made with milk, water, chocolate and cornflour) and warm cinnamon-crusted Mexican sweet bread. I went back for seconds :–)

Also try the chocolates and truffles made by Belgian chocolatier Stefaan Van Nunen using Callebaut chocolate and a whole variety of super-sweet Brazilian Brigadeiros (chocolate truffles) which were first made to support the political campaign of a brigadier in 1946. Now you can even eat them as a topping on cakes – apparently popular for kids’ birthday parties in Brazil.

During the festival you will have the chance to make make Brazilian Brigadeiros or decorate a Mexican chocolate skull like those which are used in the Day of the Dead celebrations. Here’s my attempt…

I suspect that Melt: Chocolate Festival will be a very popular event, especially in this cold wintery weather we’re having. So I highly recommend you purchase festival entry, workshop and chocolate show bag tickets in advance online to avoid queues and disappointment or book by phone on 13 11 02 or at the Immigration Museum daily from 10am – 5pm. Bon appetit!

Melt: Chocolate Festival, Immigration Museum, 400 Flinders St, Melbourne
Sunday 26 May 2013, 11am – 4pm
Adult $10, children and concession FREE (workshops and chocolate showbags extra)

I have to admit that I am a bit skeptical when it comes to gallery or concert hall restaurants.

I feel that when a building’s main purpose is not to be a restaurant then there’s no real incentive to serve good food. Add to that the fact that they are  catering for a captive audience of hungry patrons (some of them tourists who won’t be revisiting the venue any time soon) and you have a recipe for soggy bain marie dishes and uninspiring sandwiches.

Happily, Persimmon at NGV International proves my prejudice wrong. Persimmon is the high end restaurant inside the gallery, a glass box which overlooks the beautiful Grollo Equiset outdoor sculpture garden on three sides. I have attended weddings in the garden and at the restaurant and it is one of Melbourne’s loveliest and most restful places to dine.

For lunch Persimmon offer a la carte menu or for better value, a more limited set menu of 2 courses with a glass of wine for $45 (you can add sides for a hefty $9) or a 4 course market lunch which changes weekly for $81 or $101 with matching wines.

I treated myself to the Member’s Lunch on the opening day of NGV’s winter blockbuster exhibition of Monet’s Garden when Persimmon served a special menu which included some of the dishes from its regular lunch menu. (NGV members get 10% off the bill at Persimmon).

I decided to go with main + dessert, starting with a tender confit duck leg nestled in a cocoon of creamy celeriac puree, stalks of delicate white asparagus, and some salty flakes of black potato with the texture of nori seaweed. It was a beautifully presented dish and the combination of autumnal flavours was a perfect match for the weather outside.

For dessert I chose the chocolate tart with chocolate sorbet. The description belied the work of art which was presented to me – a triangular of luxurious dark chocolate ganache tart, edible petals, giggle-inducing chocolate popping candy and a sharp bitter/sweet tang of sorbet.

In conjunction with Monet’s Garden Persimmon are offering a French inspired two course lunch with a glass of wine, coffee or tea and an exhibition ticket for $71 – saving you from the ignominious anticlimax of queuing up at the ticket office after your luxurious lunch.

Persimmon is a well-presented restaurant located in one of the quiet, hidden spaces of Melbourne and if you are visiting NGV International I highly recommend capping off your artistic experience with lunch there, then taking a digestive stroll through the outdoor sculpture gallery. It’s a quintessentially Melbourne experience.

For more special dining events related to Monet’s Garden click here.

Persimmon, Ground Level NGV International, 180 St Kilda Rd, Southbank +61 3 8620 2434 

Open 11am–4pm (lunch served until 2.30pm)

Closed Tuesdays 

Have you ever tried to find a taxi in Melbourne on a Friday afternoon? It can be a frustrating experience.

Let Uber come to your rescue. Uber is like a premium taxi service – their tagline is ’everyone’s private driver’ – and if you’ve ever wanted to feel like a celeb using a stylish Uber to arrive to your destination is the first step!

The service started in San Francisco and has now spread worldwide, landing in Melbourne a few months ago (there’s also Uber Sydney and soon to be Uber Brisbane). I used the service for the first time recently and was very impressed.

All you have to do is download the Uber iPhone and Android apps or use your smartphone to go to m.uber.com to sign up with your information and credit card details. If you’re in their red-zoned area you can request a car at any time to take you anywhere (including outside of the red zone) – note you can’t pre-book, the cars are on-demand only.

You will receive an indication of how long your nearest car is from your pick up point and once your request is booked you can watch the car on screen as it crawl up towards you like a miniature ant. To make it easier to spot your Uber you are told the registration number of your car, the driver’s name and the driver’s phone number in case you need to contact them.

The whole booking process is easy and I’ve found that cars are generally no more than 15 minutes away if you’re in the CBD or inner city, even during times of higher demand.

The cars themselves are luxurious black sedans and it feels like you’re being whisked away in a fancy limo rather than a scummy taxi. We were even offered mints by one driver!

When you arrive at your destination your registered credit card is automatically charged so there’s no need to tip or scrounge around looking for your wallet – the door is just held open for you and you can sail out.  Within minutes you’re automatically emailed a detailed tax invoice of your journey with a breakdown of costs and your driver’s details.

Uber is more expensive for a standard taxi (about double the cost), but it is a much smoother and pleasant experience and particularly useful if you’re needing transport during peak hours or if you’re going to the airport (which costs a flat rate of $80/$95). What I do is follow Uber on Twitter @Uber_Melbourne to find out when they have special promotions – sometimes it’s free rides, sometimes it’s a discount code.

And if you’re interested in trying out Uber now sign up using the promo code ‘cnoub’ and receive $10 off your first Uber ride.

Plus this Sunday is Mother’s Day and you can give your Mum $30 off her first Uber ride to be used any time between now and the end of May. Just sign your Mum up to Uber and enter the code “Mum2013″.

Ride on!

Every year Melbourne Museum hosts a special winter international exhibition and this year’s showcase Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures is from the National Museum of Kabul.

If you’re visiting the exhibition (or even if you’re not) you may not be aware that just outside the entrance is a pop up cafe that serves tastes of the region. I was invited to try some of the Afghani menu and as I have no previous experience of food from that region I can’t comment on the authenticity of the food – I can only vouch for its tastiness!

My favourite dish turns out to be Afghanistan’s national dish Qabili Pilau ($12.50). It’s a generous serving of fluffy pilaf rice studded with raisins and nuts which hides a gently spicy slow-cooked lamb stew buried at the bottom of the bowl.

The Mourgh Delight (chicken) is also a hearty meal and good value for two pieces of sticky roasted chicken maryland for $9.80, though I think the orange-infused spicy sauce could have been punchier. It comes with two hunks of bread to mop up the remains in the terracotta ramekin.

The big seller at the cafe is Afghanistani bread stuffed with cumin lamb ($12.50) or leek and lentils ($9), both served with yoghurt on the side ($9). It’s essentially a fancy toastie but is enjoyable nonetheless, with the fluffy homemade bread similar in texture to a bagel, served crisp from the sandwich press and melted feta oozing out the seams.

For vegetarians there’s the Sabzee vegetarian filo which is chock-full of spicy roasted vegetables ($9.80). I found the filo pastry chewy rather than flaky, a shame as I think it was probably reheated via a microwave given the lack of proper kitchen facilities in the pop up space.

If you’re after a lighter option you might try the salad of chicken and orange segments. It was pleasant enough and the chicken was very moist but I couldn’t discern any of the advertised saffron vinaigrette in the mix ($9).

I highly recommend you try some of the cake, all of which are served with a pot of sweet yoghurt ($5.90). My favourite was the Halwa and Zardak pudding which was like a moist, spiced carrot cake with nuts and raisins fragranced with rosewater and cardamom. I thought I’d prefer the rosewater and orange curd tart but I felt the pastry was chalky and heavy-handed, a shame given that the curd itself was fragrant and silky.

There’s no special Afghani drinks served at the cafe but I highly recommend the spicy, creamy chai ($4) with a side of Sheer Payra Fudge, a large cube of cardamom scented fudge sprinkled with crushed pistachios which is usually served on festive occasions ($4.50).

The Afghanistan Pop Up cafe is open for the duration of Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures (until 28 July) from 10am – 4:30pm. I think it’s a great choice for lunch or morning/afternoon tea, even if you’re not visiting Melbourne Museum -  just duck down the escalators on the right of the foyer, without going through the ticket office. If you’re in the area it’s a chance to sample some Afghani food, the service is fast and most dishes are under $10.

Plus if you purchase a ticket to Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures you can receive a free ticket for your friend until 21 July (of equal or lesser value). Just mention Gold Treasures when you purchase tickets over the phone or at the Ticket Desk (not online).

Afghanistan Pop Up cafe, Melbourne Museum, Nicholson St, Carlton 
Every day 10am – 4:30pm until 28 July

I love a good pop up as much as the next Melburnian, but a pop up one-night-only dinner that I found out about via Twitter? I had to get myself to The Drifter’s Table!

The Drifter’s Table is a project by Zac Nicholson, Robbie Bell and Keelan Gallogly – three chefs with experience from Quay, Rockpool Bar and Grill Melbourne and The Fat Duck – who decided to start hosting pop up dinners in Melbourne at the beginning of this year. Their team inhabit the kitchens of cafes and restaurants around town, bringing normally daytime-only venues to nocturnal life with their Mod Oz/British/European influenced food and friendly service.

For each event they have a set menu of four courses for an amazing price of $65 a head or you can choose to match each course with a sparkling wine and three wines for $100. I reckon you can’t get a better deal than that in inner city Melbourne at the moment! The constantly changing location and one-night-only menu adds to the mystique of the whole experience.

I attended their third pop up dinner and their first at Small Block cafe in Brunswick East. We arrived earlier than their allotted start time of 7:30pm so had a quick drink at The Alderman a few doors down (which by the way is an awesome little local bar). I didn’t realise at the time of booking but while they state that dinner starts at 7:30pm you can actually book for whatever time you like – some tables were only starting their first courses as we were leaving.

The menu for our dinner started with an amuse bouche of pressed ham hock, pease pudding and a pornographically positioned cornichon. The dish was much more substantial than a traditional amuse bouche which I’d normally expect to be just a tiny taste to get the taste buds kickstarted. I didn’t love or hate the dish, other than noting that the terrine was too firmly pressed in my view, but that’s a matter of personal preference.

The entree was a perfectly poached silken fillet of blue eye with black olives, red capsicum, samphire and pine nuts. It was my favourite dish of the night as it showed real finesse in cooking technique and the combination of flavours, with the hard-hitting olives not overpowering the delicacy of the seafood. I know it’s a bit faddy but I loved the textural contrast of the crispy twist of fish skin cracker as well.

The main course was a huge serving of rotisserie lamb – fillet and cutlets, I felt like a nomadic hunter! It was served with a bulb of roasted garlic, perfect smeared onto the meat, a bed of cavolo nero with its bitterness cutting through the fattiness of the meat and an equally huge side of mixed roast vegetables – spuds, heirloom carrots and onions.

The dish was comfort food at its best – warming, weighty and wafting juicy robust flavours. Even though our stomachs were bursting to capacity I simply could not leave a single skerrick on the plate.

…but of course there’s always room for dessert! After stuffing us like a turducken for three courses I was amazed by the size of the chocolate, salted caramel and peanut tart. It was the size of a small saucer! Nevertheless we managed to clear our plates as the thin chocolate crust held together a wonderfully oozy caramel filling that was so sweet that you really couldn’t resist licking each spoonful clean. Good idea balancing all that sugar with a hit of salt as well and I liked the presentation with the crunchy praline reaching like a waterfall towards the sphere of ice cream.

The Drifter’s Table next event will also be at Small Block and is on Friday 24 May. The menu will be as follows:

• Chicory, Blue Cheese and Walnut Salad
• Roast Quail with Muscat Grapes and Chestnut
• Red-wine Braised Beef, Carrots, Bone Marrow Toast
• Pumpkin Pie

I’m not sure how they go with dietary requests so best to ask on booking. The menu will continue to be four courses for $65 per person and local wine and beer will be available on the night. Seating is limited so send an email to thedrifterstable@hotmail.com to make a booking (and if you miss out on this event watch for future announcements on Twitter and Facebook). You’ll love it!

The Drifter’s Table, Small Block, 130 Lygon St, Brunswick East

Just in time for Mother’s Day, the InterContinental Melbourne hotel, located in the heritage listed Rialto on Collins Street, has just launched High Coffee, available every afternoon from 2-5pm for $55 per person.

I was invited to try tidbits from the classic three-tiered afternoon tea set along with the coffee blends from Espresso di Manfredi, including ‘Audacia’, a blend from Sumatran and Indian Arabicas with a touch of Kenyan and ‘Chiaro’ a blend primarily featuring beans from Papua New Guinea. Not being a coffee drinker, I roped in my three-coffees-a-day friend to help imbibe the double doses of caffeine!

On arrival you’re offered a deeply rich Espresso martini along with an impressive range of savoury and sweet treats on a silver three-tiered tray. Non coffee drinkers can request a classic martini, soft drinks or a choice of Ronnefeldt ’Teastar’ collection teas.

On the top tier were teeny tiny sandwiches – a twist on the classic smoked salmon poppy seed bagel with the cream cheese replaced with lemon myrtle marscapone, delicate roasted chicken and avocado sandwiches with a bush tomato relish and a Wagyu beef mini panini with a tart cucumber relish and sprigs of baby watercress.

The pretty plate of sweet treats included a dense chocolate and macadamia slice, a mini-pav of sugary meringue, cream and fresh berries and my favourite, a delicate bite of pistachio macaron with a chocolate ganache filling. The least successful sweet was the vanilla pannacotta topped with a raspberry coulis – while I love the presentation of using doll-sized preserving jars and carved wooden spoons, I found the pannacotta a bit watery in texture so it was more soupy than solid.

No afternoon tea would be complete without scones and the InterContinental serve plain and raisin scones warmed, nested in a thick linen napkin to keep the scones at the right temperature, with double cream and strawberry jam.

An unexpected surprise in addition to the traditional three-tiered selection was a fourth plate of hot savoury hor d’oeuvres – flaky miniature, boeuf bourgignon pies, prosciutto and asparagus quiches and warm feta and olive muffins – plus a refreshing palate cleanser of raspberry sorbet.

As you work your way through the savouries a Bodum espresso glass of Café Freddo (iced coffee) arrives and with the sweets you’re given a choice of another coffee or an intense Café Corretto (espresso with a shot of grappa) to really get the party started.

Market Lane Bar has a full wine and alcoholic beverage selection (including one of Melbourne’s most extensive whiskey collections) so your afternoon tea can easily segue into a night on the town.

In an extra touch of luxury you can choose to partake in High Coffee while sinking into the plush leather couches of the elegant Market Lane Bar or take your coffee and treats the tea in your room’s private balcony overlooking the grand central atrium of the hotel created from two adjoining buildings of Victorian gothic architecture.

From each Balcony Room you can also hear the free jazz concerts that are held on the last Friday of every month from 5pm to late, providing you with a private box experience combined with the comfort of your own five-star hotel room.

If you like your coffee (and even if you don’t) I think High Coffee for $55 a head is great value relative to other afternoon teas I’ve tried around Melbourne, especially when weekend rates at some establishments can stretch to $60+. The classics-with-a-twist menu is interesting and there’s plenty of food to share, the surroundings are cosy and glamorous at the same time…and for coffee fiends you’ll drink enough caffeine to keep you buzzing all night!

High Coffee, Market Lane Bar, lobby level InterContinental Melbourne The Rialto, 495 Collins Street, Melbourne +61 3 8627 1568
Cost: $55 a head, includes Espresso Martini, iced coffee and choice of coffee/cafe corretto, savoury and sweet bites
Served daily 2pm – 5pm

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By the looks of the ceaseless stream of people waiting to eat at Fonda Mexican on a weeknight, Melbourne can’t get enough of this Mexican wave we’re riding.

So much so that Fonda Mexican has branched out from its small Richmond digs to skip across the river to Prahran. The second Fonda Mexican is bigger, brighter and bolder than its little sister, while the menu remains mostly the same. The Prahran outpost has also recently opened up a clubby attic bar called Atico as a holding pen for the buzzing restaurant below (which doesn’t take bookings).

Don’t shiver in the Chapel Street wind tunnel, climb the vertiginous stairs and cosy up with a sharp little wine list, some tequila or the best priced cocktails in town ($12-$16) until you receive that text message telling you ‘ping’ your table is ready. I recommend the La Paloma with Tromba Blanco tequila, grapefruit soda, lime ($12) and a twist on the classic margarita with Tromba Blanco tequila, freshly squeezed lime juice, agave nectar ($16).

Just be very careful when you head back downstairs, the stairs are narrow, carpeted and steep – I’d even recommend a sideways parallel descent so you don’t slip!

As for the food at Fonda Mexican, it’s what I’d call Mexican for the masses. It’s quick, filling, tasty and consists of the kind of Mexican cuisine that most of us are familiar with – tacos, burritos, quesadillas, plus a few snacks and sides.

We tried a cob of charred corn, super sweet with a hit of heat in the chipotle aioli ($4). It was good but dare I say not of the same knock-your-socks-off amazing as that other Mexican joint starting with ‘M’. I would have preferred more charring on the kernels – perhaps this was a function of the fact that the corn arrived quick as a flash after I placed my order at the counter.

Of the soft-shelled taco selection my favourite was the fish taco, a nugget of sweet rockling nestled with shards of cabbage and pickled carrot and onion, with that chipotle aioli making another appearance ($6 for one). If you’re not a fish fan then try the braised pork dripping with juice and tucked into the taco with some scrapings of fresh pineapple, slivers of onion and coriander ($6 for one).

Pork is also the star ingredient in the pulled pork quesadilla, an extremely filling cheese and meat melt with smoked chipotle and tomato ($13). This is a dish to be shared as four quadrants of the quesadilla will be too much for most appetites. It also benefits from a dose of house made hot sauce to cut through all that cheesiness. Jane Fonda is the mild(er) bottle while F**k you has a good kick of heat without breaking you out into an uncontrollable sweat.

The least successful dish was the grilled chicken burrito. While it’s impressive that the tortilla dough is prepared daily and the tortillas are pressed to order, we found the quinoa, corn, queso fresco and cabbage filling to be too dry and frankly just too much with every mouthful ($14).

If you’ve had enough of the alcoholic drinks from Atico try the non-alcoholic options in the restaurant. The huge jam jar of horchata made from a traditional Mexican family recipe of rice, water, cinnamon, vanilla and evaporated milk, is my new favourite drink ($4.50). And don’t be dismayed by the pond water appearance of the pineapple, young ginger and mint ($4 or have it with tequila for $12) as it’s sweet and refreshing and will go down well with all that chilli.

Fonda Mexican has obviously hit on a winning formula of Mexican food with flair that’s not too ‘out there’. Combined with the buzzy atmosphere and smart interior (love the light fittings referencing the iconic Acapulco chair), it  provides a dining experience that’s cool without being cooler-than-thou and which is very reasonable on the wallet.

Atico and Fonda Mexican, 144 Chapel Street, Windsor +61 3 9521 2660
Mon to Sun 5:00 pm – 12:00 am

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If you like fashion, design, movies or movie stars, do not miss ACMI’s Winter Masterpiece exhibition this year, Hollywood Costume which explores the role costume design plays in cinema.

It comes to Melbourne via the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and it’s one of the best curated exhibitions I’ve visited recently. It doesn’t just consist of a few garments from B-grade movies you’ve never heard of – it’s a true blockbuster show, with iconic costumes from movies from the 30s right to present day. Set aside at least 2 hours to see everything.

While the clothing is on mannequins the exhibition doesn’t feel too static as in some cases the heads of the mannequins have been replaced with screen shots (sometimes gently moving) of the actor who played the character. This is genius, as some of the most famous movie characters are difficult to divorce from a specific actor – so Dorothy’s blue gingham pinafore is topped by Judy Garland’s smile and Givenchy’s LBD for Breakfast at Tiffany’s opening scene has Audrey Hepburn’s face with it.

The captions that accompany each garment often highlight details that you probably never noticed when you watched the film. Nothing that appears on screen is casual or incidental. For instance there’s a reason that the capes in the Harry Potter films are lined with bright colours – to bring life to the Great Hall scenes when all the students sit in black together.

Don’t worry it’s not just all pretty frocks – there’s plenty to impress the menfolk too, such as Bruce Willis’ outfit from Die Hard, Robert de Niro’s boxing attire from Raging Bull and a Brioni suit worn by Daniel Craig as James Bond. Look upwards so you don’t miss the superhero costumes hanging from the ceiling and the walls – Superman, Batman, Spiderman and Catwoman. Did you know that they made 20 Superman suits of different weights depending on whether the cape was flying or waving in the breeze?

Interspersed with the mannequins are looping interviews with directors, actors and costume designers talking about the importance of costume to building a character and a story. It’s well worth watching these short videos to gain a deeper experience of the works you’re seeing, especially the ones with Meryl Streep and Robert de Niro.

Given the amount of reading/listening that’s required to appreciate the exhibition fully, I don’t recommend bringing young children to the exhibition who don’t have the patience to watch the videos (as you won’t have a chance to watch them either) and definitely don’t bring kids who need a pram, as the crowds are large and you will just annoy others if you block the walkways and prevent people from getting close enough to view the captions and screens. Also note that there are no seats in the exhibition so wear comfortable shoes.

I predict that Hollywood Costume will be very popular so if you can to attend on a weekday rather than weekend and arrive early in the morning. When you enter, begin from the end of the exhibition and work towards the start to avoid the masses of people jostling their way from start to finish. You won’t be disadvantaged by going against the flow as it’s not essential you view the exhibition sequentially.

I also recommend buying your tickets in advance to save lining up, note that entrances are timed every hour, on the hour.

Finally there are loads of events that are being held in conjunction with Hollywood Costume - check out the list of movies, talks, workshops and entertainments here. I recommend taking a free curator tour as ACMI guides take you through exhibition.

Hollywood Costume, ACMI, Federation Square

Wednesday 24 April – Sunday 18 Aug 2013
Open daily 10am – 5pm (Thursdays until 9pm)
Full $19.50 Concession $15.50 ACMI Member $13.50

Child (4-15 years) $10

Family (2 adults, 3 children) $50 ACMI Member Family $40
Unlimited entry*: Full $48 Concession $38 ACMI Member $32
School and group bookings also available

For an inner city suburb, I think that East Melbourne is strangely devoid of good eateries.

Maybe because it’s sandwiched by the abundance of excellent choices in Fitzroy/Collingwood, Richmond and the CBD but my impression of the area is that it’s filled with very wealthy people who like to dine at home in the leafy quietness of their neighbourhood.

For those who live and work in East Melbourne and would prefer not to travel outside of it to eat well, I think that GG will be a welcome addition. I was invited to sample their menu and everything I tried was of full of flavour using squeaky fresh ingredients and beautifully presented. It’s simple yet classy food done really, really well.

GG is housed underneath the apartment building at 150 Clarendon Street which used to be part of the Mercy Hospital. When I first click-clacked my way through the bistro/bar space on one side and wine store/bottle shop on the other side, I wondered how they would fill the vast, shiny space reminiscent of a five-star hotel lobby. The restaurant is not in an entertainment or shopping strip and is surrounded by office buildings and hospitals – there’s not much foot traffic around and the dark tinted windows means you’re unlikely to stumble across it.

And then I realised – GG is really close to the MCG and Fitzroy Gardens. Which means you can now enjoy a fantastic meal before or after the football (you can make bookings, yay!), thus avoiding the need to eat anything stewing in a bain marie, or cater your garden wedding in an sophisticated indoors space.

And if you’re lucky enough to live in 150 Clarendon Street there’s a private entrance for residents into GG plus the restaurant is floating the idea of taking room service up to the apartments. Genius!

The menu is Euro-focused, with a choice of small, medium and large dishes (which can be shared) plus salads, pasta and pizza from the wood-fired oven.

The highlight of the kitchen is a rotisserie which turns out a daily selection of roasted meats and seafood. The rotisserie is powered by coal with a hint of redgum wood smoke which lends the meat a particular flavour.

Our lunch started with a selection of their small dishes – plump fried green olives lounging in some gremolata mayo ($6.90), fancy pants chicken nuggets in the form of deboned crumbed chicken wings with a smokey almond vinaigrette ($9.90) and fat crunchy arancini filled with oozy mozzarella and parmesan with the platter dotted with peas and the clever addition of toasted sunflower seeds($6.90).

Each of the dishes were faultless and the variations on bites with crusty, fried textures means that they would all pair perfectly with a beer at the bar. Which by the way is a beautiful, shiny centrepiece of the dining area – doesn’t its extravagance remind you of Renoir’s painting ‘A Bar at the Folies-Bergere‘?

From the medium plates we tried silky slices of smoked ocean trout dressed with paper-thin slices of cucumber, apple and sesame wafers ($24.90).

If you like raw or smoked fish this is a standout example of how delicious something so simple can be – the fish was extremely fresh, fatty on the tongue and so sweet that it almost suggested that it’d been cured with sugar.

Vegetarians can try the haloumi charred on the grill pan and offset with the mild sourness of the courgette pickle and a hint of mint ($16.90). Actually, it’s such an accomplished combination of simple flavours that meat-eaters might enjoy it too!

From the large dishes we tried the fish of the day, in this case a perfectly pan-seared piece of Tasmanian salmon with a creamy fennel puree, a hunk of caramelised baby fennel and bisque sauce.

The highlight of the mains was definitely the rotisserie chicken, with the fragrant shreds of charred yet juicy meat accompanied by calorie-laden duck fat potatoes,  a crisp shaved cabbage salad to cut through the fat and the Renaissance still life of a tomato salad.

The chicken was as good as the excellent rotisserie meat I’ve had frequently at Kew’s St Katherine’s and no wonder – chef Paul Dunlop was formerly head chef at St Katherine’s.

Dessert was again beautifully presented – we had a chef’s selection of berry soup with an elderflower foam, a cornetto filled with blood orange curd, a crema catalana/brulee and a miniature lemon cake with a thyme meringue. Like the rest of the menu the sweets demonstrated a sophisticated hand, though it wasn’t of the same wow standard the savoury dishes as I found the pastry a bit chalky and the foamy/soupy combination not very appealing.

Regardless of what the result is at the nearby ‘G, GG is a winner and its food is an exciting alternative to a soggy footy pie. Pop down for their weekday lunch special of shared small and medium plates followed by rotisserie meat and salad, excellent value for $19.50 per person. I’d also return to try their house made pastas and wood-fired pizzas – given the high standard of the food I tried I have high hopes for the rest of GG‘s menu.

GG, 150 Clarendon St, East Melbourne +61 3 8415 0411

Mon-Fri 11am – late

Sat-Sun 7am -late (breakfast 7am – 11am)

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Sunny Sundays are meant for enjoying tea and scones I think and the latest afternoon tea offering in Melbourne is by Bursaria Fine Foods at Abbotsford Convent.

‘A Touch Of…’ is billed as a vintage-inspired afternoon tea and I was invited to sample their first event.

On arrival guests were presented with a flute of sparkling or their special lemonade mixture made with rosewater, vanilla-infused sugar syrup and lemons. People trickled into the sunny courtyard from the 2pm start time and mingled and chatted in the sun but we weren’t allowed into Rosina Function Space space to sit down until around 3pm – by which time I was impatient and starving. I’m not sure whether this timing was intentional or not but if an event with food is slated to be 2-4pm I’d expect to be seated by 2:30pm at the latest. Luckily it was sunny as if it had been raining and cold there really wouldn’t have been enough room for everyone to take shelter under the eaves.

Once we were able to go inside it was beautiful. The tables were more pitchers of the addictive sweet lemonade with pretty dessert platters already set up. As the savoury food had to come out in waves due to the number of tables my growling hunger demanded that I attack the sweet things first. I’m not sure why you wouldn’t reverse the order and have the savoury food on the tables and then carry out the desserts – perhaps because the canapes needed to be kept heated?

Anyway, we’ll talk about the food in the traditional savoury-sweet order. On the wooden board were five different nibbles, with a separate plate of herb and citrus prawn skewers fried with vermicelli noodles. The prawns were juicy and the crunchiness of the outer coating was perfectly countered by the creamy lemon aioli. I would have happily had more of these and I think they were best savoury dish of them all.

Of the other canapes I also enjoyed the honey-cured salmon on tiny blinis and the shot of heavily scented cream of mushroom soup with truffle oil, though the other selections were equally moreish. I am very particular about the bread of crustless sandwiches so it was good to see that even though the poached chicken sandwiches had been mass produced they were obviously fresh as the white bread was still soft.

The desserts were mostly excellent and looked spectacular en masse. I particularly enjoyed the luxurious organic chocolate pots with a shard of salted caramel toffee  and second place winner being the fluffy miniature scones and jam. My only disappointment was with the custard of the creme brulee (lightly scented with lavender) and the pannacotta (vanilla and rose) as after numerous tastings I still couldn’t discern the difference in flavour between them.

The tea and coffee is served in poured from large jugs by the waiters so there be warned tea/coffee snobs there is no tea selection or individual teapots as you’d expect from other high teas.

As I’ve said before Rosina Function Space is a stunning venue and is the kind of space I’d have my wedding. And like a wedding everyone is seated in tables of ten so unless you fill up a table you will be seated with strangers. This can be slightly awkward if you don’t feel like making conversation with people you don’t know as you have to pretend that they’re invisible! On the positive side if you’re sitting with people with small appetites you get to have seconds (ask for a takeaway container and you can take home the  leftovers!).

Also towards the end more roving food was brought out from the kitchen and served by a spectacularly dressed performer from Bravo Darling, so you definitely won’t go home hungry.

Overall it was a successful launch but given it was their first go there were some uneven moments which I hope will be ironed out by their next showing.

‘A Touch Of…’ will be held on the third Sunday of every month until September (19 May,  16 June,  21 July,  18 August,  15 September). They are also holding a morning tea and afternoon tea on Mothers Day Sunday 12 May in conjunction with A Vintage Affair - a great gift for mum I think.

Bookings for all events are $55 a head and can be booked through bookings@bursaria.com.au or 9417 7771.

‘A Touch Of…’ Bursaria Fine Foods, Rosina Function Space, Abbotsford Convent, 1 Helier St, Abbotsford

Melbourne Museum is opening up next Thursday night for its popular adults-only Smartbar, with a theme for this event being Retro Futurism.

Along with the museum’s experts you can explore vintage machines, including CSIRAC  the only intact first-generation computer surviving in the world, retro technologies, the future of 3D printing technology and the origins of electronic music. Food and drink is available for purchase on the night, or walk to nearby Fitzroy and check out some great eateries.

Tickets are $18 for adults, $16 concession/MV members – buy tickets here or call 131102. Get in quick as previous events have sold out.

Giveaway! Thanks to Melbourne Museum I have 2 x double passes to give away to attend Smartbar on Thursday 2 May 6-9pm. To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment and the two winners will be drawn randomly on Monday 29 May. Good luck!

So today I say – get thee to Bayte (bay-tee)!

Bayte is a casual cafe/restaurant serving home-style Lebanese cuisine inspired by the chef’s grandmother’s recipes and childhood dishes.

It’s at the unfashionable side of Johnston Street in Collingwood and hence I don’t think it’s received as much love as some of the hip hotspots around the corner on Smith Street. I think that locals have discovered it and love it – but actually I believe it’s worth crossing town for.

The space is a tight split-level affair, with a sunny front communal table, smaller tables up by the kitchen and a graffitied courtyard. Bayte means ‘home’ in Arabic and the atmosphere is welcoming and warm with subtle Middle Eastern touches such as beautiful jewelled pendant lights and shimmering copper plates mounted onto the walls.

Breakfast is served all day from a menu which includes traditional breakfast items (eggs, muesli, pancakes) with a Lebanese touch. The lunch menu contains some filling and good value wraps (the most expensive is $11.50)  and a mezze selection perfect for sharing, so go with a group.

Don’t miss trying the fresh-out-of-the-oven flatbread – a lightly charred, stretchy yet flaky vessel for scooping up the smokey homemade babaganoush ($8). Our party of three polished it off in record time and mopped the dish meticulously clean.

Another excellent dish was the Soubih el Sit – long cigars stuffed with minced lamb, onions, pine nuts and with unexpected hints of sweetness from pomegranate molasses. The filo pastry was a wonder – incredibly flaky layers with a delightfully light crunch and not at all soggy despite the juicy filling. A serve of the Soubih el Sit normally has two cigars ($9) so they happily accommodated us with 1.5 serves so we could have one each.

The falafel were not balls but in fact flat broad bean and chickpea patties topped prettily with freshly blended almond taratour still containing nut chunks, a thin slice of radish and sprinkling of dill ($8.5). It was a solid dish, perhaps not as awe-inspiring as the Soubih el Sit but still full of authentic flavour and interesting textures. Again we ordered 1.5 serves.

Of the larger meze we tried the Kafta Meshwi – lamb kafta skewers of mince and a generous grab bag of herbs, each bearing grill marks on the outside yet pink the middle ($12.5 for two). I loved these until I bit into the juicy chargrilled fillets of the Djaj Mishwi bi Toum mà Rebb el Ruman– fat grilled chicken skewers glazed with pomegranate molasses served with slices of barbecued potato and garlic sauce ($12.50). This was the finger-lickin’ dish that turned my developing love for Bayte into absolute adoration and it’s not to be missed.

To counter all that meatiness or if you’re vegetarian I recommend trying the Moghrabieh bi Khoudra mà Jibeen ($10.50). It contains two of my favourite Middle Eastern ingredients – chewy giant couscous and sweet pops of pomegranate seeds – combined with a generous amount of roasted vegetables and sprinkled with Lebanese cheese.

To finish off, try some homemade baklava ($3). It features that amazing filo pastry again and the filling is a nutty mixture, not too syrupy, fragranced with the heady scent of rosewater. A beautiful end to a fantastic meal.

We left Bayte happily sated and enthusiastic about returning soon. I look forward to discovering other dishes when their dinner service starts Friday 17 May.

Bayte, 56 Johnston St, Collingwood +61 3 9415 8818

Mon and Tue closed
Wed, Thur, and Friday – 11.30am till 11.00pm
Sat and Sun – 9am till 11.00pm

My local council City of Yarra doesn’t really like food trucks, so when one is actually approved to come to my neighbourhood I get disproportionately excited.

And when I found out that Mr Burger was going to be pulling up down the street I was like a kid within earshot of the tinkling of Greensleeves, chasing it down on my bike to buy the perfect rainy Sunday night dinner.

I like a place that focuses its efforts on a simple menu and Mr Burger serves just three burgers and two sizes of chips.
We tried the Mr Burger – a traditional beef, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle combo ($9) and the Mr Meat which is much the same (sans tomato) and adds bacon, barbecue sauce and caramelised onions ($10).

 Both burgers were made with a squishy sesame-seed sprinkled brioche bun and the meat patties were good, but not as thick and juicy as I usually like. Both RM and I preferred the more interesting flavours of the Mr Meat and I reckon it’s worth the extra dollar.

The chips ($3-$5) were pretty standard specimens except that they were noticeably over-seasoned. RM loves salty chips and even these were too salty for him and my lips tingled for some time afterwards from the stinging quantity of salt.

After a bit of deliberation I’ve decided to give Mr Burger a NOT – not because they served bad burgers or bad chips, but because I failed to get excited by their food. The burgers and chips were pretty standard fare and I don’t think particularly worth chasing down, which is half the fun of following the food truck trail. If I was at home and craved a takeaway burger then I’d prefer to hit up what I consider to be Melbourne’s gold standard burger joint instead. 

This year for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival I decided to do things a little differently.

Rather than going to see a packed timetable of international stand up comics (my usual modus operandi) I watched a film instead. Ever heard of ‘Night of the Lepus‘? Me either.

Night of the Lepus is an unintentionally funny sci-fi horror film from the 70s about giant carnivorous killer rabbits (!) and it was presented (on Good Friday – ha ha!) by Cinema Fiasco – a Melbourne comedy duo who show bad movies on the big screen and overlay it with hilarious commentary.

Geoff Wallis and Janet A McLeod do a great job introducing the film, giving us some background about why such a terrible film could be made, telling us about the actors – including Janet Leigh of Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’ fame – which scenes to look out for and details to note (stripes stripes stripes everywhere). With judicious use of a laser pointer they highlight thematic incongruencies, bad acting and crappy special effects. In this case they included bad closeups of fluffy bunnies, lots of torn clothing with red paint thrown on them and long boring shots of helicopters flying.

For $20 a ticket and a choc top you’re guaranteed two hours of almost constant laugh-out-loud hilarity – pretty good odds considering some of the dire comedy shows I’ve paid to attend before.

Cinema Fiasco is a unique movie-going and comedy experience and the only time I’ll be happy that there’s someone talking the cinema. They are normally at home at the Astor Theatre but during the Melbourne International Comedy Festival they will be screening at Cinema Nova for a limited season. Don’t miss it!

The partnership of Remo Nicollini, restauranteur, and Lino Maglione, master pizza maker, have recently opened a new casual Italian eatery called Itali.co in St Kilda. The two previously owned award winning pizzerias +39 and one of my CBD pizza haunts Espressino, then moved away to build the original Itali.co in Sorrento and start Docklands favourite Non Solo Pasta.

I was invited to sample selected dishes from Itali.co‘s current and incoming Autumn menu and my meal highlighted that the kitchen of Itali.co does everything with care and consideration under head chef Piero Roldo, previously of South Yarra stalwart Da Noi and his Sardinian assistants.

While it’s time consuming, the pastas are made in house, even down to the squid ink used in the tagliolini which will be appearing in the new menu with a large shell of Moreton Bay bug and a generous melange snapper, calamari and prawns in a simple tomato sauce.

The charcuterie and cheeses are mostly imported from Italy, all presented impressively as a decorative feature in a cold fridge.

The wine list is a mix of Australian and imported and bottles are similarly lined in a glass feature wall by the bar.

For entertainment value watch the pizza makers at work. Lino comes from a long line of Neapolitan pizza makers and his recipe is simple – a mix of Italian and Australian flour, very cold water, Italian salt.

The bases are ‘opened’ on the Carrara marble bench with a few deft circles as the orders come reeling in – he doesn’t believe in lining up bases ready to go as it affects the taste and texture. Bases are smeared with homemade sugo of tomato, olive oil, salt before toppings are added. Simple.

The pizzas are then lifted off the bench onto an aluminium shovel with a sieve (so loose flour doesn’t burn in the oven or on the pizza base) and slid immediately into the mouth of an impressive piece of machinery – a $50,000 Marana pizza oven which combines the smokeyness and flavour of wood grill with the consistency of a gas oven. The oven has a unique rotating plate with air circulating through a honeycomb structure in the stone that allows a single pizza maker to perfectly cook up to 18 pizzas at a time in about 2 minutes!

The end result is quite amazing. A paper-thin base charred to a perfect crispness and with an impressive strength in holding the weight of toppings. Nothing slides off! Definitely one of the best pizza bases I’ve had in Melbourne and enhanced by quality of ingredients such as in the simple Regina Margherita – tomato, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and extra virgin Ligurian olive oil ($15).

The must-try pizza is the one recently crowned best pizza by The Age Good Food Under $30 guide. It’s called ‘Bunga Bunga’ ($18.50), so named after the nickname of notorious Italian politician Silvio Berlusconi because it contains Italian sausage! Add to that smoked scamorza, friarielli (Neapolitan broccoli) and a little bit of a pick-me-up in the form of the fresh chilli oil offered at every table and it’s a winner in my book too.

Of the non-pizza dishes highlights include the fat nuggets of seared scallop paired with large quenelles of creamy cauliflower ‘pannacotta’ and slow cooked boneless rack of rabbit filled with sun-dried tomatoes, olives and basil served with a surprisingly delicious flaky red cabbage strudel ($16.50), both from the starters section.

If you’re not in the mood for pizza or want to pair it with other dishes then there’s a selection of meat and fish main courses as well. My recommendation goes to a very juicy piece of pan-fried crispy skinned barramundi served with a jumble of eggplant caponata and fleshy mussels.

For dessert the house specialty is the cassata ($11). It’s not the ice cream and glace fruit dessert I expect but the Sicilian version of the sweet, which is a combination of sponge, the freshest ricotta, fruit and nuts. Itali.co serves it with some strawberries and a cartoonish splash of dark chocolate fondue.

The space can get noisy as the sound bounces from the black and white Escher pattern tiling to the stone floors and the ceramic table tops. If the weather’s balmy you can sup under the small terrace instead.

With excellent food at prices like these, I predict Itali.co will do extremely well. Andiamo!

Itali.co, 1/173-177 Barkly Street, St Kilda +61 3 9537 5300

5pm till late 7 days a week

Every year my quest for Melbourne’s best hot cross buns starts the day after Shrove Tuesday. I don’t give anything up for Lent – instead I start eating a lot of fruit and spice bread products.

Rather than write a long-winded post about all the good, bad and ugly hot cross buns I’ve eaten (it’s been done before here, here and here), I’ll lead you straight to my #1 pick. And the Oscar goes to….Baker D Chirico.

For me their buns have the right combination of lots of juicy moist fruit, a lightly spiced sourdough base and not too much sticky glaze on top. They’re not gluey or stodgy and are just as good eaten fresh (my preference) or toasted. They are on the expensive side being $3.20 each (or 6 for $18) but I think worth the extra couple of cents for the quality of the product.

Of course Baker D Chirico aren’t just notable for their hot cross buns. Every visit to St Kilda involved a buying frenzy at their tiny store and I raved about their products, packaging and service before in their city pop up store a few years ago.

In 2011 a second shop finally opened northside in Carlton and I’m a semi-regular customer. It’s a beautiful place. The back wall displays snug loaves of bread among the ebbs and flows of curved plywood that creep up to the ceiling, creating an interior like a modern concert hall. The front counter echoes the linear design and groans with tiers of baked goodies to tempt the most ardent Atkins dieter.

The staff are warm and welcoming, helping with prams and doors and parcels.

I recommend buying their pastries, glazed fruit buns and particularly the genius combination of pistachio and chocolate in a flaky croissant.

And of course the sourdough bread shouldn’t be missed. Crusty, hand-shaped, not too sour.

I make special trips at Easter for their hot cross buns and at Christmas for their best-in-show mince pies and preservative free, buttery and studded with fruit panettone (which I’ve transported as hand luggage interstate before, cos you know, you just can’t buy the same amazingness in Queensland!).

Baker D Chirico, 178 Faraday St, Carlton +61 3 93493445

Tue to Sat 7:00 am – 5:00 pm

Sun 8:00am – 5:00 pm

I have been a fan of Cupcake Central‘s cupcakes ever since I sampled their wares at an event almost two years ago. In fact, every time I visit Melbourne Central I can’t resist popping into their store for a sweet treat.

This week I had another reason to visit – because instead of buying chocolate for my family (and let’s face it, for myself) I thought I’d be a little bit different this year and celebrate Easter with Easter cupcakes! These little cuties popped up in my Facebook feed and I just knew I had to try them.

Cupcake Central have ‘hatched’ some limited edition babycakes ie miniature cupcakes in four flavours and the dozen ‘eggs’ are packaged up in a cute Cupcake Central egg carton. The flavours – choc cookie crumble, choc coconut, choc caramel and oreo crumb - are all equally delicious and use either a chocolate or vanilla base. The cake has the excellent lightness and moistness I expect from their cupcakes. They also each have a molten centre just like those Cadbury Caramel Eggs of my childhood. I guarantee that you won’t be able to stop at one!

You can order the Easter babycakes online or purchase from any of their three stores (Hawthorn, Melbourne Central and Highpoint) until Easter Monday. Hop to it!

Cupcake Central, Level 2 Melbourne Central Dining Hall, cnr Swanston and Latrobe Sts, Melbourne

Mon – Thurs 10:00am – 6:30pm, Fri 10:00am – 9:00pm Sat – Sun 10:00am – 6:00pm

Dancers have provided inspiration for artists for centuries. I think it’s a dancer’s constant search for the perfect line and form and the potential expressiveness and passion of the human body which fascinates photographers, painters and sculptors.

Sydney based artist Lisa Tomasetti currently has a free exhibition of photographs she took for the Australian Ballet over a number of years which takes audiences ‘behind the scenes’. Not so much behind the scenes in terms of viewing rehearsals, watching from the wings or access into dressing rooms, but rather taking the dancers off the stage and onto the street during their international tours to Tokyo, New York and Paris.

The large scale works pose ballerinas in their classical costumes performing amazing dance feats and juxtaposed against recognisable urban environments – the faceless black-clad commuters of a Tokyo subway station, next to a cop car on the streets of Manhattan or in front of a metro sign in Paris. Some of the pairings are so incongruous that it’s as if the dancers have been photoshopped into their background, particularly when they’re captured while suspended in mid-air.

My top three favourite images all come from New York.

The first is of Amy Harris on Brooklyn Bridge. I love that bridge as a piece of architecture and the lines of wire and wood and the spaces created between them are echoed in the sculptural style of the ballerina’s concertina tutu from Divertimento which is also constructed from a traditional building material – air conditioning pipes (the tutu is currently on display at NGV as part of their Ballet and Fashion exhibition). Amy also looks like she’s spontaneously leaping for joy!

My second favourite picture is of Reiko Hombo arching into a leap in front of a neon American flag. I like that it’s contemporary and modern without speaking specifically of a particular time or place (it was taken in Times Square). And the form in that jete is so graceful yet powerfully explosive at the same time, with her hair flying tightly around her head.

Similarly I love the Amber Scott in ‘The Highline’. Again I like the fact that it’s an urban landscape at first glance and only with more attention does it become clear that it’s the skyline of Manhattan, with the Empire State Building peeking out on the left. I like how Amber seems to be ecstatically enraptured by the expanse of the city.

Fans of dance and photography shouldn’t miss this exhibition and limited edition prints of each of the works are available for sale in a large or small format from James Makin Gallery. To view more images click here.

 Lisa Tomasetti “Behind the Scenes: The Australian Ballet on the International Stage”, James Makin Gallery, 67 Cambridge St, Collingwood +61 3 9416 3966

7th – 30th March 2013

Tuesday – Sunday 11am – 5pm, Sunday – Monday by appointment

Join the busloads of grannies this weekend and check out the 18th Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, which has taken over Carlton Gardens until Sunday 24 March.

I have a habit of regularly killing potted herbs (the extent of my gardening) and I enjoyed wondering around the beautiful displays and exhibits of Australia’s biggest flower and garden show. It’s an event that will appeal to lovers of architecture, design and art, even if you’re not into gardening.

The Royal Exhibition Building has been transformed into the Great Hall of Flowers and inside you’ll find a small flower retail stall and a general showcase of beautiful floristry, from designer shop windows to flower arrangements to student-designed dining centrepieces and ‘living’ fashion by RMIT fashion students.

>My eye gravitated towards more modern, sculptural aesthetics rather than traditional posies, but I still appreciated the abundance of creativity.

Once you get outside make your first stop the awesome Kids Under Cover 2013 Cubby House Challenge display.

Then wander down the ‘Avenue of Achievable Gardens’ (achievable for whom? Not for me!) where my favourite display was called ‘Grey to Green’ as it looks like a better version of my own backyard and to my mind is quintessentially Melbourne – cobblestone laneway, bike, tram roll and Skipping Girl Vinegar.

Check out the winning entries for the Landscape design competition, including gold medal winner Cube-Ism by Philip Withers, Semken Landscaping and Garden World.

The rest of Carlton Gardens is mainly taken up with gardening-related retailers. Personally I avoided all the turf, mulch, tool and seed merchants but a couple of displays did catch my eye. One guaranteed way to stop foot traffic is to install a robotic dinosaur in your display!

The entry fee is a bit pricey ($25) I think the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show is worth visiting (especially in this lovely weather) even if you’re not a green thumb. I didn’t participate in any activities or do any shopping and still managed to spend a couple of hours there.

Just don’t have lunch at the show – avoid the overpriced fast food and bad coffee, get a pass out and take refuge at Cantina della Casa or Sonido on nearby Gertrude Street.

Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, Carlton Gardens & Royal Exhibition Building, 9 Nicholson St, Carlton

Wednesday 20th March to Sunday, 24th March 9-5pm

– Adults: $25.00
– Family (2 adults & 2 children): $55.00
– Concessions#: $19.00
– Child (6-16 years): $10.00
– Child (5 and under): Free entry

- Group (10 or more): $19.00 per person

I was walking along Brunswick Street a few weeks ago when I noticed that the ill-fated Brix restaurant had been resurrected into a cafe called Hammer & Tong 412 with a vaguely Communist looking logo on its doorstep. I made a mental note to visit and have only had the opportunity to go this week.

I went for lunch on a weekday and found it to be good. Really good. Hooray, another great cafe to add to a list of great cafes in the area!

My favourite feature is not just the ubiquitous cafe roller door graffiti, but the fact that you can actually sit behind the roller door and still access fresh air and people-watch. Genius! Add to that brushed metallic tables, a huge old fashioned scale on which the day’s newspapers rest (held down by a vintage iron as a paperweight, more genius), a couple of overflowing hanging pot plants softening the edges and it’s a designer home away from home.

The menu is short but interesting. I seem to remember freekah and fritters featuring but I didn’t even bother reading the rest of the list when my eye caught the words ‘soft-shelled crab’ ‘burger’ ‘sriracha’ ($15). All in one dish!

When it arrived I almost swooned at the amazing combination of aromas of deep fried seafood and toasted brioche bun. I loved the fact that crab tentacles poked up jauntily from under the bread as if the whole thing was about to take itself for a walk!

Once I figured out how to eat it (forget the cutlery, squash the thing in your hands) it was a taste sensation. Salty and crunchy crab, a big handful of fresh coriander as salad, dripping with sriracha mayonnaise (not sure whether the black sesame added anything to the mix in terms of flavour or texture other than necessitating a teeth-checking glance in a mirror).

I eased the lingering heat of the chilli with sips from the house made orangina soft drink ($4). It’s made from their Soda Stream machine (what fun!) and poured from vintage Soda Stream glasses from the 50s. Coffee is made with Dukes Coffee beans on a Kees van der Westen “Spirit” espresso machine.

Finally, a note about the service. When my baby started crying upon waking one of the owners who was working front-of-house asked me whether I wanted the music turned down for the bub. I didn’t need it done and wasn’t expecting it done, but I have never been offered the choice until now.

So my excellent lunch Hammer & Tong 412 was capped off by a little kindness for which they get my loyal custom. It just demonstrates that small details and gestures can make a world of difference in hospitality.

Hammer & Tong 412 are planning to start dinner service from 4 April with a menu which was described to me as ‘like the lunch menu but fancier’. I look forward to seeing what they come up with.

Hammer & Tong 412, Rear 412 Brunswick St (enter from Westgarth St), Fitzroy +61 3 9041 6033
Tuesday-Friday, 7am-4pm
Saturday & Sunday 8am-5pm

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I think playing in cubby houses is a game universally enjoyed by children and even some adults! Most grown-ups still retain fun memories of building cubby houses under dining tables, in trees and on bunk beds – but the ones I saw at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show are in a whole other league!

Five cubbies designed by leading architects and designers are being displayed and auctioned off at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show this weekend as part of the 2013 Cubby House Challenge.

The five designer cubbies include drool-worthy details such as a rectractable roof, mezzanine levels, chalkboard walls, miniature fireplaces and rope ladders. Not sure if any of the miniature (Eames) furniture is included but I want to move in!

The cubbies are on display (and available for exploring if you’re small enough to climb inside) for the duration of the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show (Wednesday 20  March to Sunday 24 March) and will be auctioned off on Sunday 24 March at 3pm. You can make an online bid for any of the five cubbies or purchase a raffle ticket to win another amazing cubby house designed by Better Homes and Garden valued at $10,000! The money raised from the auction and the sale of raffle tickets will go towards Kids Under Cover, a charity that supports homeless and at-risk youth.

I’ve bought my raffle tickets and am crossing my fingers – I have nowhere to actually put a cubby house but we’ll deal with that problem if by chance I win!

Kids Under Cover 2013 Cubby House Challenge, Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, Carlton Gardens, Carlton

Wednesday 20 March to Sunday 24 March 9am – 5pm

Tickets $25 adult, $19 concession, $10 children 6-16 years, free for children under 5, $55 family 2 adults 2 children

The small shop next door to Casa Ciuccio has been given a bright white makeover with unobstrusive smatterings of Latino flavour. One wall is dominated by a wine fridge and shelved bottles of local and imported wines. Facing it is a glass counter with a tempting selection of fresh salads, cheeses and house made charcuterie.

You can also choose to eat there and tuck into a super-sized meat or vegeatrian boccadillo (which are normally bite-sized morsels) or a freshly baked meat or vegetarian empanada or Spanish tortilla.

If you are eating in my advice is to sit outside if the weather is mild – the window bench is ridiculously  narrow (the width of a dinner plate) so you have to spread your phone and handbag horizontally on the counter and there’s definitely no room to open a newspaper. I imagine it would get quite uncomfortable if you had to perch on a high stool with a stranger edged under your armpit.

I decided to try an empanada ($10) with a couscous side salad ($6) as well as a slice of tortilla ($8) (‘are you very hungry?’ asked the waiter just in case!). The empanada had a delicious flaky pastry and was amply filled with chorizo and provolone – I particularly liked the rough handmade look of it and if you’re not very hungry it could easily be shared between two with some salad.

I don’t normally get very excited by salad but this one was a revelation – it tasted like Barbecue Shapes! I don’t know what magical seasoning they tossed through the couscous or the cashews and pistachios but the smokey/salty/spicy combination was so good that I would happily have eaten it as a meal.

The picture above looks like a beer and apple pie but it was actually a slice of the tortilla, with large chunks of potato cemented by a fluffy egg mixture and served with a liberal ladle of creamy aioli. I had it with a glass of iced tea – it’s not on the drinks menu but if you ask nicely a staff member may be able to make one up for you. And they’ve had so many requests for iced tea that it may end up on the menu in future.

As I’d eaten the equivalent of two lunch dishes I didn’t have room to try the sweets but the counter is currently stocking a fig and almond torta, some small Spanish-style petit fours to go with your coffee or non-Spanish brownie.

Apparently Cantina della Casa will be providing takeaway meals as soon as next week if the kitchen is comfortable with the current output, so I look forward to sampling more of their delicious, well-priced food. In the meantime, I guess I’ll have to perch myself on that size zero window bench.

Cantina della Casa, 13 Gertrude St, Fitzroy +61 3 9090 7870

Mon-Fri 9am-7pm, Sat-Sun 10am-5pm

Melbourne doesn’t look like it’s going to be ending its love affair with burgers any time soon.

Even fine dining restaurants are getting into the act and starting today Monday 18 March for a limited time, glamorous Middle Eastern restaurant Maha will be opening up its bar and courtyard to offer possibly the best value burger lunch in town – a burger and a bottle of imported Efes beer for only $15.

The deal is starting off with chef Shane Delia’s award-winning lamb burger and flavours will be switched up over time according to his whim (when I chatted to him he was floating the idea of goat or soft shelled crab). Shane has been appearing on Channel 9′s Mornings Battle of the Chefs and recently won a burger challenge against Lyndey Milan with the exact same recipe.

I was invited to Maha to have a sneak peak (or sneak taste) at this lamb burger and I reckon it’s one of the the most amazing burgers you’re going to get in this burger-mad town.

The thick lamb patty is cooked to order on a smoking hot grill, to the perfect level of medium rare (I saw the chef stick his knife into the meat and then hold it to his chin – apparently if it’s warm then it’s at medium rare. Neat trick).

At the same time the brioche buns are buttered and toasted on the pan until the edges are crispy. The burger is then layered with house made spicy tomato relish, proscuitto, crunchy miniature onion rings, baby watercress, a skirt of kewpie mayonnaise mixed with dehydrated olives and freshly grated cheese.

Eschew the cutlery, there is no way to eat this burger elegantly. Just grab it with both hands and dig in!

While the burger itself is very filling you can choose have it with a selection of interesting sides for an extra $6.50 – barbecue corn and smoked almond salad, ancient grain salad with quinoa, berries and currants, fatouche salad and the closest you’ll get to fries, a bowl of spiced potato gems with onion mayonnaise. I chose the latter and it’s not just fried potato – coriander, flaked almonds, aleppo pepper and a squeeze of lemon make up this dish. Extremely moreish.

I predict that Maha’s Best Burger + Beer offer will be very popular, so it might pay to book ahead though you can still take your chances and walk in. It’s available Monday to Friday 12-3pm. You can also take the burger away sans beers for $13.50 and there’s a vegetarian option with a falafel patty. Get in while it lasts!

Best Burger + Beer, Maha Bar and Grill, 21 Bond St, Melbourne +61 3 9629 5900

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How do you convince a non-coffee drinker to drink coffee? Wrap it up in some fancy science and serve it with a smile.

Regular readers of this blog will know that I don’t drink coffee. It’s one of my few weirdly inconsistent food habits – I will happily eat coffee cake and coffee ice cream, but I’ve never wanted to have a cup of the stuff.

Being a non-coffee drinker presents some gaps and challenges when I visit establishments which are shrines to the bean. So what did Industry Beans do differently to convince me to try their coffee?

Brothers Trevor and Steve Simmons from Penny Farthing Espresso take their coffee very seriously – they select their beans from around the world, batch roast them on site in Fitzroy and prepare the brew using a Synesso machine, using a pour-over filter or cold-drip. On every table there’s a tome to coffee with explanations about the different beans and brewing methods. Aeropress, filter,  espresso and cold drip all mean nothing to me but flick the back of the guide and you can choose to have your coffee as an Aeropress Jelly, coffee pearls, coffee caviar and coffee toffee ($3 each), all made within the science lab aka kitchen cool room.

Always tempted by food with unusual textures I decided to try all four. The coffee pearls and coffee caviar were both made using by coating cold drip coffee with a thin jelly membrane using a technique called reverse spherification, whereby you submerge a liquid in calcium lactate in a bath of sodium alginate. The result is a curious sack of suspended fluid and the experience is just like eating caviar – you pop the whole sphere into your mouth, bite down and a squirt of cold drip coffee bursts into your mouth.

I also really liked the crunchy shards of coffee toffee but liked the jelly the least out of the four. It’s made by making coffee using an Aeropress and then putting gelatine into the brew before it cools down. The resulting jelly has an intense flavour and even the addition of panela didn’t make it enjoyable for me after a few tiny spoonfuls.

The four unusual coffee treatments were really fun to explore and together added up to about half a cup of coffee – just enough caffeine for someone as sensitive to the substance as me.

Now to the food. The breakfast and lunch menu is a departure from the poached-eggs-smashed-avocado-French toast triumvirate. Don’t get me wrong, I like all those dishes but I don’t get too excited by them when they appear on every cafe menu and when I can make a decent version at home. On the other hand, Industry Beans’ menu inspires much excitement – so many interesting choices!

I settled on beetroot rostis topped with smoked eel, tarragon, watercress and crisp samphire ($18.50) as it was firmly in the ‘won’t make it at home’ camp. The stack was beautifully presented and contained an addictive mix of salty, smokey and crispy in every mouthful. My only issue was that overall it was almost a bit too dry for me and I think it would have benefited from maybe some of the tarragon mayonnaise that comes with their vegetable crisps on the lunch menu.

I also tried the creamed lemon tofu breakfast brulee ($14) – a breakfast dessert so to speak. The dish didn’t have the traditional hard sugar crust I was expecting and I’m not sure whether it was supposed to be like that or that it wasn’t possible to create a hard crust given the nature of tofu. To be honest it wasn’t very pleasant having a sticky undercaramelised toffee skin stuck to my teeth. That aside, the set tofu underneath was silky smooth and only faintly tasted of lavendar or lemon. In fact, it reminded me of one of my favourite Chinese desserts, tofu fa, without the sugar syrup. The dish came presented with blueberries and caramelised rosemary.

I suspect word about Industry Beans has already started spreading around the neighbourhood. I was there at 8am on a wet and rainy Sunday and there were a steady trickle of customers from that early start. The space is industrial warehouse chic in the literal sense of the word – you can actually sit amongst shelves of warehoused coffee and wooden pallets painted in black form a feature above the counter and on the ceiling, with echoes of the slats in the outdoor/indoor area out the front.

For more raves about Industry Beans, with reviews of other parts of the breakfast menu, read Poppet’s Window.

Industry Beans, Warehouse 3, Cnr Rose St & Fitzroy St, Fitzroy
Mon – Fri 7 -5
Sat & Sun 8 – 5

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The Australian Ballet opens its 2013 season with a classic ballet from the company’s repertoire – Don Quixote, as interpreted by Rudolf Nureyev for The Australian Ballet back in 1970.

Though I’ve been going to the ballet for decades, for whatever reason Don Quixote has passed me by until now so I had to brush up on the plot before I attended the opening night performance as a guest of the ballet.

Thanks to my pre-reading I was prepared for a convoluted storyline based on the Cervantes novel, but I wasn’t quite prepared for the farcical and ridiculous tone. On the one hand you could view the slapstick as lighthearted and cheery (as my date did). On the other hand I thought that the flounce-and-bounce, while comical at times, meant that the ballet lacked the emotional charge that you would find in say Romeo and Juliet or even Swan Lake, which arguably also has an outlandish plot.

Fortunately, the excellent dancing made up for the lack of dramatic engagement. There were a few mishaps on the first night, with wobbles, dropped props and an obviously missed lift front and centre of the stage, but overall I was impressed by the performances by the principal leads Daniel Gaudiello and Lana Jones as the two young lovers, Basilio and Kitri and as always, by the energy of my favourite male soloist Chengwu Guo.

Gaudiello was a joy to watch, with the incredible lightness of his footwork and as he floated through the air in his jumps it was as if he was suspended by wire. The beautiful Jones produced moments of impressive technical brilliance, with pirouettes and fouettes turns galore.

As for the company the most enjoyable part for me was in Scene 2 Act 2 which had the corps de ballet displaying graceful balanced lines and perfect unison. It was enjoyable purely for the aesthetics of its choreography and I liked the classically moulded tutus much more than the flouncy dresses and bell-shaped skirts worn by the women in the other acts.

After my first taste of Don Quixote I can honestly say it’s not my favourite ballet. But I think it is a fun night for a dance fan if you just want to sit back and enjoy a performance that’s not too emotionally taxing. Its light-hearted antics and vibrant costumes also might mean that it’s a performance especially suitable for children who have the stamina to sit through a 2.5 hour performance.

Don Quixote is only showing until 26 March and you can get a sneak preview of highlights here.  Also if you own an Entertainment Book then you can currently buy 1 get 1 free Adult ticket (A, B or C-Reserve) until 5pm Monday 18 March and the offer is valid for performances on 19. 20 and 21 March.

Don Quixote, The Australian Ballet, State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne, 100 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne
15 – 26 March (13 performances)
Bookings australianballet.com.au | 1300 369 741

St Ali North is a cafe that ticks all the boxes for me.

In fact, it’s almost as if they gathered a focus group of one (me) and asked what I wanted from a cafe. Let’s see now…an easy distance from my house via public transport or bike, an interesting menu using good quality produce, friendly helpful service, early opening hours (they open at 6am and serve breakfast from 7am), bike parking and kid-friendly facilities. Tick, tick, tick.

They get special bonus points for having a convenient bike-through where you can draw up your treadlie at the window to grab a drink, a sweet or a quick bite to eat. Oh, and if your bike needs some attention you can get some free air from Velo Cycles or book your repairs at their workshop.

AND if you have kids the outdoor seating area segues seamlessly into a patch of lawn overlooking a (council) playground where the rugrats can run riot.

I’ve been there several times and been impressed with every visit. The large rectangular space is light and comfortable, with seating of all shapes and sizes to accommodate singles or a group just as comfortably. When the weather’s warm the prime location is actually on the grass by the bike path I think, otherwise the bench seats by the communal tables provide just as good a view of passing traffic with the benefit of shelter.

I don’t usually order porridge when I’m out as I tend to make my own, but I couldn’t go past ‘War of the Roses’ –  thick and creamy organic rolled oats decorated with a pretty drizzle of strawberry and rosewater compote and sprinkles of hazelnut praline for sweetness and textural crunch ($14).

Another sweet breakfast option is ‘Sweet 16 and Never Been Kissed’ with brioche topped with pan-fried peaches and bacon ice cream ($17.50). I was expecting the ice cream to be like a Heston Blumenthal-esque bacon-flavoured ice cream but it is in fact a rich vanilla bean ice cream topped with a sprinkle of bacon bits. So it’s a little less avant garde – I was disappointed but those with more cautious palates may not feel the same way. For that price I would also have hoped for more than one slice of brioche.

If you’re looking for something more filling I recommend the St Ali Breakfast Sandwich, a hefty handful of meaty pork terrine topped with a fried egg and with that richness offset by a picalilli relish and a crunchy walnut and green apple salad ($16.50). You can always finish off your savoury dish with one of the delectable sweets made onsite in prime position tempting customers at the cashier.

As you’d expect from a cafe headed by coffee maestro Salvatore Malatesta there is a strong focus on high quality coffee (they even roast their beans in house), though being a non-coffee drinker I also recommend their iced and hot chocolates ($4).

While the prices are a couple of dollars higher than the usual cafe prices I think the overall dining experience is worth the extra money for the occasional visit. The food is creative, the mood is relaxed and there’s plenty to keep you busy, whether it’s people-watching, paper-reading or keeping an eye on the kids at the playground.  Bike down and linger for a long stay.

St Ali North, 815 Nicholson St, Carlton North +61 3 9380 5455
Every day 6:00 am – 6:00 pm

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The Commoner is one of my favourite restaurants in Melbourne. It is unpretentious, friendly, cosy and the thoughtful food has a strong focus on local and seasonal produce. Everything they do demonstrates care and a passion in the hard work of their producers and chefs.  It’s a restaurant with heart.

For the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival this year they hosted deluxe Rioja wine producer Bodegas Roda and matched the red wines with a multi-course lunch with a paddock-to-plate ethos. I was invited to share lunch amongst friendly food-and-wine-loving strangers at one of the communal tables.

The wines of Bodegas Roda are unique because all of the fruit comes from old vines ie over 30 years old (and some up to 80 years old). The vines are grown organically and the wine is neither filtered nor fined.

During the meal the background and tasting notes of each wine was explained by one of Bodegas Roda‘s winemakers who was visiting from Spain along with the owner of The Spanish Acquisition, a specialist importer of Spanish and Portugese wine, spirits and beer based in Melbourne.

To start, freshly baked potato and rye bread with hand-churned butter from The Butter Factory or dipped in the creamy mellow flavours of Roda’s extra virgin olive oil Daruo. I could not get enough of the oil and apparently it is selling gangbusters in China – so maybe it appeals particularly to an Asian palate?

We were then offered freshly shucked oysters from the clean waters of Tasmania’s St Helens, served atop a bed of foraged seaweed as well as the usual rock salt. The oysters were very fresh and quite mild in flavour, so I enjoyed their brininess without the traditional mignonette that accompanied them.

Out of the seafood options I particularly liked the freshness of the the fleshy slices of cured kingfish topped with foraged, slightly crunchy coastal herbs which I didn’t recognise.

The starters continued with a delicate choux pastry puff filled with a creamy chicken liver parfait and an unexpected pop of sweetness in the form of a splodge of cherry vinegar jelly. My neighbour opened up his pastry and slathered the inside onto bread – a great idea.

Vegetables were given star billing in the platter of pickled vegetables, all bottled by visiting chefs to The Commoner’s kitchen since August 2012. Pickles are not normally my thing but who could resist this picturesque rainbow assortment of beetroot, radish, carrots and other baby vegetables I couldn’t identify.

The pickles were a refreshing interlude between the richness of the parfait and the best looking charcuterie plate I’ve ever seen. All of the charcuterie was made and hung at the restaurant and included thin slices of Greenvale pork salami with fennel pollen, bresaola made with grass-fed Warialda beef, a knobbly, rich black pudding and a partridge and pistachio ballotine. With all that cured milk I loved the refreshing hit of sour cherry, cantalope and Gentleman’s Relish on the plate as well. Give me a hunk of bread and some of that delicious olive oil and I could have happily feasted on nothing but charcuterie for lunch. The charcuterie plate was matched with the Roda Sela 2009, a wine not actually made with old vines but made for an earlier market release and appealing to a younger target market.

For the main course each table shared Plains Paddock hogget forequarters slow cooked in milk, creamy steamed kipfler potatoes sprinkled with crispy salt bush, wild foraged mushrooms from Macedon sauteed in butter and just-picked salad greens.

Plains Paddock raise Dorper sheep which is a South African meat-producing animal with a high fat content and this translated to a succulent and rich braise. I don’t think I’ve ever had hoggett before and in fact did not know what it was until this meal. Basically it’s like the ‘teenager’ of lamb – about 14 months old so with the heightened flavour of mature meat but without the toughness of mutton. I’m very enthusiastic about trying to buy it now as my first tasting of the meat is that its the perfect confluence of tenderness and flavour.

The wines that were chosen to match were the Roda Reserva 2008 and Roda 1 Reserva 2007. Interestingly the two very distinctive wines are produced by the same grapes when they’re red and when they’re blue-black.

Roda’s Cirsion 2009, a vineyard project and produced in miniscule volumes, was matched with a cheese plate of Holy Goat‘s organic, hand-made and multi-award winning goats cheeses – the La Luna min and a Skyla log. Not being much of a goats’ cheese eater I preferred the milder flavour of the La Luna which had been house-smoked by The Commoner.

Finally, dessert. A tart of buttery biscuit base holding a light baked custard with uncommonly purple-hued roasted peaches and a drizzle of cherry. To die for!

As I left the restaurant, I noticed what had been chalked over the main dining room ‘From the Earth good things come’. I believe they’re words which guide the work of both The Commoner and Roda.

It’s the last week of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival so check out the remaining events in the program here.

Roda en camino, Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2013, The Commoner, 122 Johnston St, Fitzroy +61 3 9415 6876

It’s my third post in as many days about scones! What can I say, I have a sweet tooth :–)

As part of this year’s Melbourne Food and Wine Festival The Tea Room at NGV International is holding a special high tea called La Terre Sucree (The Sweet Earth) with food inspired by the festival’s theme of ‘earth’ and the art which surrounds the restaurant.

I was invited by Peter Rowland Catering to sample their menu which pays homage to the Neo-Impressionist artists who are currently on display as part of NGV International’s Radiance exhibition.

For $55 your afternoon tea starts with a glass of Paul Louis Sparkling before you’re presented with a triple tier of sweet and savoury delicacies to accompany your tea or coffee. I’m not sure about the quality of the coffee but the tea menu is extensive and covers black, green, white, herbal and flowering tea varieties.

The highlight was the fairy-tale like edible garden and it drew gasps of delight and lots of curious stares from fellow diners. The whole of the top tier was an awe-inspiring arrangement of rich crumbly chocolate cake ‘earth’ dotted with popping candy (surely the most fun dessert decoration ever), fruit jelly cubes, rocks deceptively made of chocolate and honey, chocolate wafer logs,  fruit mousse encased in a white chocolate ‘fruit’, cake pops of chocolate cake, rosewater-scented vanilla sponge and decorated with sugared lavender petals, sticky ponds of caramel and peach coulis in which you’re supposed to dip your cake pops (too much sweetness in one mouthful I think) and overly-crunchy meringue mushrooms. Australian Womens Weekly birthday cakes, eat your heart out!

Afternoon tea would not be complete without scones and each person received one savoury cheese scone and one sweet scone, the former accompanied by a cute miniature terracotta pot of herb butter and the latter with more plant pots of strawberry jam and cream. The scones were warm and fluffy, with a crunchy exterior crust just the way I like them.

Instead of traditional ribbon sandwiches the savoury dishes were a crusty oxtail and parsnip pie, a ‘garden snail’ comprising choux pastry filled with finely chopped mushrooms, onions, shallots and herbs (you can’t see the tiny little microherb antennaes in the photo!) and an edible wafer pot of mousse made of zucchini which was surprisingly fresh and spring pea-like in colour and flavour. The least successful morsel was a rather insipid hunk of poached chicken sandwiched with a slick of creamed corn.

The artistry of the La Terre Sucree High Tea exceeded my expectations and I was particularly enraptured by the attention to detail in the edible garden. It’s a much better offering than my less-than-impressive previous outing to the Tea Room so I encourage you to visit now while the afternoon tea is still available during the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.

La Terre Sucree High Tea, The Tea Room, Level 1 NGV International,180 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne +61 3 8620 2431

Daily 10am-5pm (except Tuesdays) until 17 March, Bookings preferred.