Australia

HOT Chat: Shannon Heitmann of The Rabbit and the Duck

October 14, 2010 ⋅ One comment

I first met Shannon Heitmann when I came across her cushions, wallets and notebook covers, sold under the label The Rabbit & the Duck, at the Magnolia Square Market back in August. If you were at Finders Keepers market last weekend you may have seen Shannon’s stall as well. Today’s HOT Chat is about Shannon [...]

HOT: Diamonds Exchange, Level 7, 267 Collins Street, Melbourne

October 13, 2010 ⋅ 17 comments

**Please note that my HOT was based on my experience in February 2010. It seems that things have gone very downhill since then and the company has gone into administration. Read the comments below for more information.** I’ve never been one for wearing rings – in fact, I find them quite uncomfortable (I think it’s [...]

HOT: Mecca Cosmetica, 150 Little Collins Street, Melbourne

October 12, 2010 ⋅ 6 comments

I’m pretty low-key with my makeup – every day I brush on some mineral foundation, swish some neutral eyeshadow and blush and if I’m not eating straight away, a slick of lipstick. Takes about 2 minutes from whoa to go. My super-speedy routine is ok for most days. Actually, even for black-tie events and weddings [...]

HOT: Tokuya, Basement 236 Bourke St, Melbourne

October 11, 2010 ⋅ 3 comments

Whenever I visit Tokyo I have a couple of places on my shopping must-go list (1) La Foret for six floors of cute designer fashion (2) graniph tshirt store for RM; and (3) Tokyu Hands department store for all manner of useful and cute Japanese household goods. I don’t think that I’m going to have [...]

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

October 8, 2010 ⋅ 4 comments

After my post about macaron tasting at city café Famish’d, I had a heap of people tell me about their great lunches. So I made a goal to try out them out for the food on which they’ve based their core business – fresh, light and healthy breakfast and lunch options. Every day Famish’d make [...]

HOT Chat: Jacqui Vidal of Signed and Numbered

October 7, 2010 ⋅ One comment

Earlier this year I blogged about a piece of Melbourne artwork by Delicate Mayhem that RM and I commissioned for our wall and our wedding invitations. I’m still on Delicate Mayhem‘s mailing list, so I was quite excited to discover that some works from this London artist are now stocked exclusively in Australia, right here [...]

HOT: Cruzao Arepa Bar, 365 Brunswick St, Fitzroy

October 6, 2010 ⋅ 10 comments

“Let’s have dinner at Cruzao Arepa Bar.” “Areeba Bar? Huh?” “No no, arepa. They’re some kind of South American street food.” “Oh. Not Mexican then?” “Nope. Venezuelan to be precise.” Melbourne seems to have discovered a taste for Mexican street food recently thanks to the heaving Mamasita and the STREAT food cart in Federation Square, [...]

HOT: Yamato, 28 Corrs Lane, Melbourne

October 5, 2010 ⋅ 8 comments

In a city full of hidden laneway restaurants, Yamato is the lane-ist of them all. You head down narrow Little Bourke Street, where you can hardly have two people walking abreast as they cross. Then turn down Corrs Lane, a cobblestone path smelling of various rubbishy odours intermingled with the aromas of different cuisines emanating [...]

NOT: Retro Cafe, 413 Brunswick St, Fitzroy

October 4, 2010 ⋅ 8 comments

THIS BUSINESS IS NOW CLOSED. ITS NEW INCARNATION IS EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN. Despite living close to Brunswick Street, it’s actually been a while since I went for a weekend stroll down the strip. So when a friend visiting from interstate suggested we have lunch there on a sunny Sunday, I couldn’t think of anywhere [...]

HOT: Kartel, 500 Collins St, Melbourne

October 1, 2010 ⋅ 2 comments

Much like cheap Chinese restaurants, my approach to cafeterias catering for office workers is to avoid unless armed with a recommendation. After our trip to Sichuan Dining Room, Kat from Spatula, Spoon and Sunday suggested that we next go to Kartel, a café close to her work which she frequents often. I rarely get past [...]