Australia

HOT: Chasing Kitsune, State of Design 2011

July 19, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

Winter in Melbourne can be pretty grey, cold and miserable but it does bring with it some joys – festivals galore! One of my favourite festivals is State of Design, Victoria’s annual design festival. So get ready because from 20-31 July I’ll be bringing you lots of State of Design related blog posts. I’ve got [...]

HOT: Wallis & Ed, 1 Bourke St, Melbourne

July 18, 2011 ⋅ 4 comments

With so many excellent restaurants to choose from in our city, Melbourne never really had a place in its heart for the Hard Rock Cafe. So the American chain’s prime location on the corner of Bourke Street and Spring Street has now been transformed into the chic space known as Wallis & Ed, named after, [...]

HOT: Story In A Cup, Shop 4, 9 Yarra Lane, South Yarra

July 15, 2011 ⋅ 4 comments

I know, I know, it’s hardly ice-cream weather at the moment (but forecast sunny today and tomorrow!). But I for one cannot resist ice-cream any time of year. Especially where you can help yourself! For this post I’m lumping frozen yoghurt in with ice-cream as in my mind they’re much the same, though frozen yoghurt [...]

HOT: Chez Dre, Rear of 285-287 Coventry St, South Melbourne

July 14, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

Happy Bastille Day! While it’s not our national holiday, why not use it as an excuse to pop into new French boulangerie and patisserie Chez Dre? Right near the bustle of South Melbourne Markets and down a bluestone laneway you’ll find a little bit of pastry heaven. Chez Dre is a large space which makes [...]

HOT: Madame Truffles, 12-18 Yarra Place, South Melbourne

July 10, 2011 ⋅ One comment

Melburnians are often tagged as being the shoppers and foodies of Australia, so a pop up shop selling fresh Australian truffles is a most genius idea for our city. Madame Truffles has set up shop Thursday to Sunday 10am-6pm for the whole of July ie prime truffle season. Simon McCrudden and Bernadette Jenner are the [...]

HOT List: Melbourne International Film Festival picks

July 9, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

YAY! It’s the time of year when I can bunker down in dark cinemas for hours on end during the Melbourne International Film Festival. This year RM and I have selected the films for our 10 film mini-pass in a slightly different manner. In one way we’ve been constrained by the fact that we have [...]

HOT: Pillar of Salt, 541 Church St, Richmond

July 7, 2011 ⋅ 3 comments

In The Melbourne Magazine’s recent list of Melbourne’s best cafes, Richmond’s winner was Pillar of Salt. Intrigued by its biblical name, I made a mental note to visit it the next time I was around Richmond. Let me just say at the outset it’s a place worth a trip across town. On a weekday afternoon [...]

HOT: Naked for Satan, 285 Brunswick St, Fitzroy

July 6, 2011 ⋅ One comment

When Naked for Satan first opened in September 2010, it was all about the drinking. The bar infuses its own vodka in a polished metal engine-like contraption and as the wall of wine attests, it’s a gathering place for people to drink and be merry. A year later, the focus seems to have turned to [...]

HOT: Melbourne Sustainability Drinks, Slate Bar, 9 Goldsborough Lane, Melbourne

June 30, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

Melbourne Sustainability Drinks are part of a national networking evening hosted once a month by the Shaper Group with the byline ‘connecting passionate people to create a better world’. In Melbourne it happens on the first Wednesday of every month and is well attended by ‘light to medium green’ types who work in or have [...]

HOT: Melba Mannequins, Melba Restaurant, The Langham Melbourne, 1 Southgate Ave, Southbank

June 28, 2011 ⋅ 3 comments

Melba Mannequins is the twinning of my two loves – fashion and food. The name of the event comes from experiencing lunch at the Melba Restaurant at The Langham while beautiful models parade fashion around the restaurant. Thanks to The Langham, I attend the first sold out Melba Mannequins event which featured the Autumn/Winter collection [...]