Australia

HOT: Dessert evenings with Pierre Roelofs, Cafe Rosamond, Rear 191 Smith St, Fitzroy

April 22, 2010 ⋅ 21 comments

I’ve blogged about dessert maestro Pierre Roelofs before – more precisely, about how disappointed I was to miss out on his brief sojourn presenting dessert evenings at chocolate shop Monsieur Truffe last year. If you were as disappointed as I was, here’s some good news! Pierre has popped up at cute-as-a-button Cafe Rosamond for dessert [...]

HOT: Smart Alec, 71 Smith St, Fitzroy

April 22, 2010 ⋅ 3 comments

Need a smart hat? Let Smart Alec help you. Michael Albert, the owner of Smart Alec, stocks a large assortment of hats, from straw boaters to top hats to the Truffaux panama hats (as seen at the Melbourne Design Market) as well as stylish cufflinks, man-bags, walking sticks and leather gloves – basically all the [...]

HOT: Temperance Hotel, 426 Chapel St, South Yarra

April 21, 2010 ⋅ 10 comments

The Temperance Hotel is a pub dressed up in stiletto heels, fake tan and disco bling. In the heart of Chapel Street South Yarra, it’s frequented by sleekly groomed youngsters who all kind of look the same to me, and hence I’ve never given it a second glance. However if you can look past the [...]

HOT: Portico Balcony, Melbourne Town Hall, Cnr Swanston and Collins St, Melbourne

April 20, 2010 ⋅ 7 comments

It’s been a month since I was married and so I thought it would be a good time to start a series of posts relating to the wedding – basically my review of all the different suppliers we used for our day. I know that when I was researching florists, photographers and cake shops I [...]

HOT: Coffee Darling, 2 Darling Street, South Yarra

April 19, 2010 ⋅ 4 comments

Coffee Darling is the perfect cafe for its location. Firstly, it serves coffee (and other nice things) in a sparkling little spot on Darling Street, South Yarra. Secondly, South Yarra is the kind of suburb where two-syllable words like ‘darling’ get drawled out into four syllables ‘daaaarrrling’, usually accompanied by a couple of mwah mwah [...]

HOT Chat: Fiona Maxwell of Next Wave

April 18, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

Next Wave is a biennial arts event which is Australia’s leading festival for young artists, arts workers and young audiences. The festival features works from artists aged 16 to 30 including dance, theatre, visual arts, performance, new media and literature. I first came across it when I volunteered in 2006 as a gallery guard at [...]

HOT: Ron Mueck, NGV International, 180 St Kilda Rd, Southbank

April 16, 2010 ⋅ 5 comments

I’m a bit late with this post given that the Ron Mueck exhibition at NGV International closes this Sunday – but if you have a chance get down to NGV tonight (it’s open till 9pm) or this weekend to see some really life-like giant people and miniature people. Ron Mueck is a Melbourne-born London-based sculptor [...]

HOT: Pasta Al Giro, Mezzo Bar & Grill, 35 Lt Bourke St, Melbourne

April 15, 2010 ⋅ 4 comments

After three weeks of non-stop Chinese food on our honeymoon, what a nice way to get back into real (Western) life than to sit down to Southern Italian comfort food with Pasta Al Giro. What is Pasta Al Giro? A feast of fresh and filled pasta to share with your table for $45 a head, [...]

HOT: Eco Fashionista AW10 Preview Night, Eco Fashionista showroom, 74 Moor St, Fitzroy

April 14, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

Autumn, my favourite season in Melbourne, has finally arrived. A new season means a new excuse to buy a lovely outfit, so I was thrilled to check out Eco Fashionista‘s preview of the Autumn/Winter 2010 collection at their brand new showroom in Fitzroy. The showroom, which is open for viewing by appointment, is located in [...]

HOT: Friends of the Earth, 312 Smith St, Collingwood

April 14, 2010 ⋅ 11 comments

I’ve previously blogged about the fantastic range of dried goods and produce available at Friends of the Earth, but last week was the first time I sampled some of the vegan/vegetarian food served in the laidback cafe. During the week you can get a mixed salad plate which has a bit of everything heaped on [...]