Blogsherpa

Chapman Hill Giveway!

August 26, 2011 ⋅ 48 comments

It’s Friday! So why not time for a giveaway? Chapman Hill is a Victorian family-run olive grove just outside of Melbourne and I first tasted their olive oils at my local providores, Key Ingredients in Clifton Hill. Then I started seeing them pop up in other places I visited – such as Coin Laundry and [...]

NOT: Miss Marmalade, 126 Union St, Brunswick

August 25, 2011 ⋅ 3 comments

This is how much I expected to love Miss Marmalade. Monday. I borrow a car to drive through choc-a-block traffic on Alexandra Parade to meet my friend A there. On arrival, my baby vomits copiously on herself and on me. The mess is so bad that I have to drive home straight away without any [...]

HOT: The Duldig Studio, 92 Burke Rd, Malvern East

August 24, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

The Duldig Studio is a most unusual museum – because it’s housed in…a house. From the outside it looks like any other residence on a residential street in Malvern. Go beyond the gates and you’ll find the building filled with artwork and antique furniture, a most restful and interesting sculpture garden at the back and [...]

HOT List: Bike-friendly cafes in Melbourne

August 23, 2011 ⋅ One comment

How are you enjoying the beautiful weather this week? I’m going to ride my bike and enjoy some lunch. The Wheeler, a quarterly magazine about cycling culture in Melbourne, recently compiled a comprehensive list of bike-friendly cafes in Melbourne. Being a cycling and cafe fan (though not of the road racing lycra-clad variety), I thought [...]

HOT: Orchestra Victoria, NGV International, Great Hall, 180 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne

August 22, 2011 ⋅ One comment

For those of you lucky enough not to work on a Friday, did you know you can give yourself a dose of classical music with your art every few months at NGV International? Orchestra Victoria, the orchestra which accompanies Opera Australia and the Australian Ballet is presenting a series of free lunchtime concerts every few months [...]

HOT: Tokyo Bike Shop Melbourne, 5 Peel Street, Collingwood

August 18, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

The newest addition to the Fitzroy/Collingwood bike shop enclave is Tokyo Bike, a small independent bike brand hailing all the way from Yanaka, Japan via Sydney. I’ve previously written about Tokyo Bike’s Sydney store on The Design Files and now husband-and-wife team Fuyuki and Yuki Sagahara have headed south to bring their colourful steeds to [...]

HOT: Green Refectory, 115 Sydney Rd, Brunswick

August 18, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

There are certain cafes that are the perfect weekend haunts for nursing a hangover. The requisite criteria? Huge servings of hearty breakfast, lashings of coffee, nothing too fancy or complicated and good value for money. I think one of the places that does ‘hangover food’ really well is Green Refectory – and judging by the [...]

HOT: Wet and Wendy Pop Up Umbrella Shoppe, Cnr Swanston and Lonsdale St, Melbourne

August 16, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

Melbourne weather forecast for Wednesday – Rain at times. Windy. 12-15 degrees. In Melbourne it seems that we’re in store for yet more rain. But don’t let the drizzle stop you from getting out and about, because local label Wet and Wendy have taken over one of the city’s round disused news stands, and like the Eco [...]

HOT: Golden Dragon Palace, 363 Manningham Rd, Lower Templestowe

August 16, 2011 ⋅ 7 comments

I don’t shy away from being decisive on this blog so I’m going to make bold claim. Golden Dragon Palace has the best yum cha in Melbourne. So. I’ve put it out there now. Of course, I haven’t eaten at every single yum cha restaurant in Melbourne. It’s possible that there are places that do [...]

HOT: Salford Lads Club, 1 Fennell Street, Port Melbourne

August 15, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

Hip hangouts can be found everywhere in Melbourne and Salford Lads Club fits in the bill in the most unlikeliest of areas – the nether-regions of industrial Port Melbourne. Ex-industrial factory space – check. Stripped back brickwork and exposed beams – check. Wood, lots of it – check. Cool bikes – check. Young and hip [...]