Category Archives: bars, clubs and pubs

HOT: Marquis of Lorne, 411 George St, Fitzroy

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I stepped into Marquis of Lorne and the word that came immediately to mind was ‘lair’.

The tri-level street corner boozer just has an insouciant air of 70s rock and roll about it. It might have been the Rolling Stones covers that the pub band was playing on a Sunday afternoon, maybe the luxurious Sergeant Pepper moustache sported by our skinny-hipped waiter or the bizarre grotto rock cut-out in the dining room. Certainly the vinyl dining chairs and squishy brown couches housed in the sun-filled loft area (leading to a narrow roof terrace) are a throwback to that era.

The menu fortunately is not from the 70s.  Pub classics such as chicken parma and fish and chips do feature, alongside more modern fare like soft-shelled crab and arancini. The menu covers bar snacks, generous-sized mains right through to comfort-food desserts.

We decided to try both the parma ($19) and the beer-battered blue grenadier, salad and chips ($19) as they seemed like a good benchmark for judging the quality of the kitchen’s pub grub. RM went a little more adventurous with pork loin wrapped in prosciutto, pumpkin cake and roasted pear ($25).

The chicken parma was rated highly as the chicken breast had not been overcooked, it had been wrapped in prosciutto and there was a good balance in the rest of toppings – not too cheesy, not too tomato-ey. Tick.

The batter on my fish was suitably crisp and light with no visible pool of oil, the huge mound of fat chips were all fluffy on the inside and I was impressed by the good quality tartare sauce. Another tick.

The pork loin was a strange beast. As you can see, it comprised three knobs of pork and some very sweet pears – and when they said ‘cake’ they really did mean an actual slice of cake, complete with crunchy walnuts. The kind of thing I’d expect to be served with a side of ice cream. Anyway, the pork was juicy enough but with the prosciutto the flavour balance was tipped a little too much on the salty side. While I could understand the need to cut through the saltiness with a contrasting flavour, the other super-sweet accompaniments frankly made the whole plate a little bit too weird for my taste.

Early on a Sunday night we were the only diners but we didn’t feel like our conversation was reverberating around an empty cavernous space. The service was friendly and the whole ambience of the pub is relaxed. It’s the kind of place that you can imagine spending a good couple of hours on a weekend with some mates.

For more good food at local pubs in the area, try the Napier Hotel and the Fox Hotel.

Marquis of Lorne, 411 George St, Fitzroy +

Marquis of Lorne on Urbanspoon

HOT Chat: Alyssa Milton of Lyssy May

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I recently received a wallet made from an old Melways map (it covers the area of the CBD) and I was so thrilled with it that I contacted the maker, Alyssa Milton. Alyssa runs a craft label called Lyssy May from a studio in Kensington and today’s HOT chat is with her. Thanks Alyssa!

Alyssa, tell me a bit more about your background and how you came to start your label Lyssy May?

I have always been interested in crafts and started selling things I had made from the age of 17 at local markets which I continued to do as a hobby for a number of years. After studying business and working in marketing I travelled and lived in London for a couple of years and whilst living overseas I was inspired to start creating handbags.

Upon my return to Australia I started to make bags using vintage fabrics I collected. They proved popular with friends and colleagues which eventually built to the point where I owned and operated my own store in Brisbane selling my designs and other handmade goods. I moved to Melbourne 2 years ago to soak up the local fashion scene and to expand my business.

Your bags and accessories are all produced using distinctive fabrics and papers. Where do you source your materials?

Everywhere! I am always on the look out both when out and about and also online. I have hundreds of fabrics I have collected over the years and often use basics like denim or corduroy which I team with special prints. I have also been collaborating with a textile designer for my latest range which features natural fibres.

Where do you turn for art and craft inspiration?

Vintage stores are a favourite haunt for inspiration. I also have a huge library of craft books dating back to the 1950’s which was passed on to me by my Grandmother. This is a real treasure trove of ideas for me.

What has been the most challenging thing you’ve faced in starting up your own business? What advice would you give to a small business owner?

I think the most challenging thing is to continue to look at the bigger picture as day to day there can be many disappointments and lots of exciting moments which can be very draining. So over time I have learnt that things generally even out as long as you keep working hard and being focussed. Holidays are also a hard thing to manage but you need to try and make time to rest and recharge (although that is often easier said than done).

What are your next plans for Lyssy May?

The first thing is to make it through to Christmas as this is always my busiest time of year when the sewing machines are going nearly around the clock. The longer term plans are to continue to develop a reputation as delivering quality handmade Australian products and to one day open a concept store.

Finally, where are your HOT places to visit or things to do in Melbourne?

My studio is based in Kensington and I just love the community vibe of the suburb. The Luncheonette (173 Rankins Road, Kensington)  is a lovely little spot for coffee and Tonik (524 Macaulay Rd, Kensington +) is perfect for a meal with friends.

In Richmond I love go to Bridge Road Florist (597-599 Bridge Rd, Richmond +) who I rely on to always have fresh flowers in my house and the Bridge Hotel (642 Bridge Road, Richmond +) is a great place to take advantage of the local specials on a weeknight when catching up with friends.

Fridays at the Mountain Goat brewery (North St & Clark St, Richmond +) is also a great time to grab a sample tray of their beers.

HOT: Fox Hotel, 351 Wellington St, Collingwood

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The Fox Hotel is an old-school boozer which outwardly looks more ‘pub’ than ‘gastro-pub’. The venue is an eclectic conglomeration of sticky-carpet-esque spaces, including the high-stooled front bar, the dimly lit dining area, squishy couches, a small outdoor space and a separate pool room. There’s even a rooftop deck which I didn’t have a chance to explore.

However, what attracted me to the Fox Hotel was its reputation for food. Specifically, I’d read on Where’s the Beef that they had an extensive vegetarian menu, quite unusual for a pub. So it was a great destination for (vegetarian) Miss Kish and I to catch up.

As we sat down in the front bar to inspect the menu, Kish remarked “Wow, normally I have no trouble choosing something because there’s only ever two token vegetarian options. This is great!” And if you flip over the page, there’s a whole page for non-vegetarians as well. Very impressive.

We started out with five homemade mushroom and tofu gyozas with dipping sauce ($10). On its arrival I had my doubts – the gyozas looked a little emaciated. Well, looks can be deceiving, as these dumplings were juicy and wrapped in skins of good consistency. In fact I think if they’ve been plumped up with more filling the whole thing could have been too soggy, what with mushrooms generally sweating water when cooked.

For our mains we shared two generous plates – whole field mushroom lasagne with three cheeses and spinach served with chips and salad ($17) and marinated tofu steak with wasabi mayo and a black sesame crust with asian greens, sticky rice and a ginger soy sauce ($17).

I think of the two dishes the lasagne was more successful. It was a cheesy, oozy slab of mushroom, spinach and pasta sheets, an excellent retort to people who insist that they just can’t get full on vegetables. The accompanying salad was crisp and fresh and the chips were great for mopping up the cheese.

There was no hint of wasabi mayo in our tofu steak and the black sesame crust was more of a garnish than a crust. I also didn’t particularly like the sticky rice – it felt more like glugginess of overcooked rice than the elasticity of glutinous rice. Not a bad dish overall, but really outshone by the lasagne.

Though only a weeknight, the pub was full of diners and drinkers and a seemingly popular hangout with locals. Even if you’re not a local, I think that the Fox Hotel is well worth a special trip.

For a pub meal at the other end of the spectrum, check out my review of the meat-tastic Napier Hotel.

  • Fox Hotel, 351 Wellington St, Collingwood +

The Fox Hotel on Urbanspoon

HOT: Underground Cinema Speakeasy Prohibition Party, Red Bennies, 373 Chapel St, South Yarra

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J: “I’m going to a movie this Saturday. I don’t know what the movie is or where it’s screening, but do you want to come with me?”

K: “Umm…ok. I don’t really get it but it sounds intriguing…”

Intrigue is the key to the success of Underground Cinema. The premise is this  – you buy a movie ticket ($35). At the time of booking all you’re told is the theme of the movie – you don’t know the name of the film.  The location of the screening is also undisclosed (but generally inner-city Melbourne). You plan your dress-up outfit and a few days before the show you’re told where to meet. Turn up, enjoy the entertainment – and all is revealed when the opening credits start.

So why would you want to buy a ticket for an unknown film? Because Underground Cinema is not just about the movie, it’s about the overall experience. The sold-out screening that I attended had a 1920s/gangster theme and from 4:30pm Chapel Street was lined with red-lipped flappers in slinky dresses and feather boas, escorted by dapper men in tuxedos and trench coats. We entered the glamorous Red Bennies to the sounds of The Cairo Club Orchestra bopping out jazz tunes and big band numbers and admired the frantic swing dancers from Swing Patrol.

Now whenever there’s a dress-up party I’m normally the party-pooper who doesn’t turn up in costume. But in this case I did make a little effort and I’m glad that I did – because 99% of the crowd did get dressed up and it really added to the decadent Great Gatsby-esque atmosphere of the event. I really felt like I’d been transported back into the Jazz Age, minus the cigarette fog. Some people who paid more sat in booths and were served sparking by Moulin Rouge waitresses in feather head-dresses. I loved people-watching for the hour or so before the movie started and the fun foot-tapping music was right up my alley (though no Charleston for this pregnant lady).

And the movie? It was 1931 film Little Caesar starring Edward G. Robinson and Douglas Fairbanks Jnr. As you’d expect from an old black and white Hollywood film (even one nominated as culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant by the Library of Congress) the acting was a bit forced and the gangster accents were almost unintelligible.  I think most of the crowd gave up watching the film and just drank and chatted, occasionally popping a party popper or blowing a straw whistle. So be warned if you’re a diehard cinephile – if you go to Underground Cinema you’ll find it difficult to concentrate on the film and will spend a lot of time trying to shush people.

The Prohibition Speakeasy party was the last screening for 2010 but with the regular sell-out success of Underground Cinema I suggest you get on the mailing list to receive information about the 2011 screenings. It’s a really fun experience that is very far removed from your average sterile cinemaplex.

For more fabulous photos from the event, check our their .

  • Underground Cinema Prohibition Speakeasy Party, Red Bennies, 373 Chapel St, South Yarra +

HOT: Melbourne Bikefest Opening Party, 1000 £ Bend, 361 Lt Lonsdale St, Melbourne

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As you’ve no doubt noticed from the blog, I like parties and I like bikes. So there was no way that I was going to miss the opening party of Melbourne Bikefest, Melbourne’s celebration all things bike-related for the next 4 days based at 1000 £ Bend (note that my business CycleStyle is also a sponsor of Bikefest, but even if this wasn’t the case this is so my thing).

Bike valet parking – a great idea thanks to Crumpler for when you have that many bikes all congregating in one place. Look how many more bikes you can fit in the same space in a carpark.

Crazy bike riding antics in the carpark!

Hear a story and/or share your story about your experience with bikes at Bike Story. Stories collected at Bikefest will be posted at the conclusion of the festival.

Some of CycleStyle‘s products on display (and for sale) in the Bike Shop – colourful bells and skirt garters.

More Cyclestyle goodness – French bike satchel, reflective legwarmers, floral helmet and all sized bags for fitting on your bike.

Two of my VIP guests for the evening, Cheryl from Business Chic and Kealey from Thelma Magazine.

Cute Bikefest badges – I like the presentation too, using an old wheel.

There is so much more stuff happening in the next 4 days that I can’t list or describe them all here – so I suggest you go check out the program for yourself. And if you don’t ride a bike, no big deal – there’s something for everyone at the Bikefest. To read an interview with Pip Carroll, the director of Melbourne Bikefest, click here.

HOT: Napier Hotel, 210 Napier St, Fitzroy

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In a bid to remain semi-healthy in my eating-out diet, once in a while I suggest to RM that we should go eat a vegetarian restaurant. It’s become a running joke that he always counters with ‘well if you’re going to have vegetarian food, I’m going to the Napier to have a Bogan Burger.’

I’ve been threatened with this Bogan Burger for many years now but it was only with the advent of long sunny summer evenings that I had a chance to visit the Napier Hotel.

The Napier Hotel is a smallish pub sitting on a quiet roundabout in the back streets of Fitzroy. The wooden indoor part of the pub (decked out in Fitzroy Football Club memorabilia) hides a really pleasant decked outdoor area. As you can imagine, it’s super-popular over summer but we were lucky to find a spot for a late-ish dinner on a weeknight.

The menu is heavy with protein and fried food pub standards with a few more palate-stretching dishes in the form of a Moroccan tagine ($17) and house smoked roo salad ($18).

The two girls had the relatively light ‘Suburban steak sandwich’ with thick sliced white bread sandwiching a normal-sized-single-portion 200g Black Angus rump piled with smoked bacon, grilled onions, cheddar, tomato chutney, rocket, roast garlic aioli with fries and salad ($17). One of the guys had the ridiculously large 500g aged Black Angus porterhouse steak with a choice of sauce which came with fries and a garden salad ($20).

RM tackled the infamous Bogan Burger. Read this and tell me it doesn’t make you break out in a fat sweat: steak, chicken schnitzel, caramelised onions, cheese, pineapple, beetroot, egg, potato cake, bacon, lettuce, tomato with wedges and salad. All that protein and fat held together by a jaunty cocktail umbrella and for the bargain price of $17.50.

As you can see from the pictures, each of the servings was huge. In fact, I would have been quite happy to share the steak sandwich instead of having one to myself. The steak was a little chewy for my liking but the cushion of salad ingredients, cheese and bacon made this a caveman (or cavewoman) satisfying meal. B said that his porterhouse was cooked just right at medium rare.

As for the Bogan Burger, I’m not sure that RM enjoyed it as I suspect he ordered it just so I could take a picture! He gave up about halfway through and looking again at the photo I find it hard to believe that anyone would want to eat that much meat in one sitting. I have a huge appetite but even I think I’d need to bring a personal defibrillator to jolt my heart back into action after this meat-shock. In fact, between us we only knew one person to ever finish the burger – RM’s brother who is uber-fit and pays hockey for the national team.

For a person who doesn’t enjoy eating large piles of meat, the Napier Hotel‘s menu is definitely  ‘sometimes food’. But if you’re after a hearty huge dishes at a bargain price, then this relaxed neighbourhood pub is the place to go.

Napier Hotel 210 Napier Street, Fitzroy +
Napier Hotel on Urbanspoon

HOT Chat: Natasha Skunca of Make Me Iconic

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I’ve been compiling my Christmas presents cupboard recently (yes I’m very organised when it comes to gift-giving) when I came across the Skipping Girl mug and tea-towel I bought from Make Me Iconic Iconic back at the Magnolia Square Market back in August. A business about Melbourne, based in Melbourne – perfect for the blog don’t you think? So today’s HOT Chat is with Natasha Skunca of Make Me Iconic. Thanks Natasha!

Natasha, tell me a bit more about your background and how you came to start your business Make Me Iconic?

My background is marketing and branding. I worked in London as a marketing communications manager and brand manager for 10 years, after which we returned home to Melbourne at the end of 2008. We immediately we fell in love with the city again – Melbourne has so much to offer that is unique, stylish and contemporary and we wanted something in our home that brought those elements to life. Sadly, there was nothing to be found.

We knew we weren’t the only ones that love this city and guessed that we weren’t the only ones that wanted to take a part of it home. So the seed was sown. We decided to find the best young, local designers to help us represent some of the unsung icons of the city. We also decided to educate ourselves and our customers about the history of each icon and give them facts about what makes the icons unique.

So with unsung icons and urban education in mind – Make Me Iconic was born, launching our first range of products in December 2009.

What do you think is unique about Make Me Iconic compared to other designer homewares and souvenir companies?

For sure it’s a saturated designer homewears market out there and I guess because of my marketing background I knew if I was going to produce something it had to have a unique selling point.

When I first came home and I was buying homewares myself, I noticed that everything had European inspired designs. Which is great but I had just come back from London with my own European homewares and I wanted something with Melbourne on it. There was nothing on the market and there was nothing which suited my sense of style so I immediately saw a gap in the marketplace.

Our products are designed for locals and tourists alike – our range of products capture the essence of the city and give it the style and sophistication it deserves.  We think they’re great for gifts, homesick expats or just a treat for yourself  as our products offer something truly unique and, of course, iconic.

You have chosen to work with young, local designers when producing your range. Where do you find these designers and how do you choose them?

We wanted to give talented, young designers a chance to get their first break, so we recruit all of our designers from local universities and feature them on our website and marketing information to give them exposure.

Basically I posted adverts up on student websites such as RMIT and Swinburne and asked them to send in their CV and a pdf of their folio, and then had an informal chat over coffee to see whether they’d fit our business. We now have a great team of designers who have edge and skill, rather than experience.

Where do you turn for art inspiration?

Basically the city of Melbourne keeps me inspired. It feels so good to be home and it’s like discovering a whole new city all over again. I love all the quirky shops and the hidden alleyways. When I get time I love just walking around the city and taking photos. I also keep a scrap book of idea from things I have seen in magazines or photos.

What has been the most challenging thing you’ve faced in starting up your own business? What advice would you give to a small business owner?

The hardest thing is actually just starting and putting a “stake-in-the-ground”. Sometimes you get so caught up in the developing of the idea and how you are going to do it – and just need to press the button and go for it.

The best advice I can give someone is to just make sure you product is differentiated from your competitors, always deliver great customer service no matter who they are and get to know who your customers actually are.

What are your next plans for Make Me Iconic?

Make Me Iconic is transforming the unsung icons of the city into stylish and contemporary home wears and souvenirs.  Of course we chose Melboune first (because we live there) but it’s only natural for me to then do Sydney range which I hope will be out by the end of the year. We are also launching into kids traditional wood toys which is also pretty exciting.

Finally, where are your HOT places to visit or things to do in Melbourne?

Melbourne Museum – the kids explore and play area is amazing and the Bugs exhibition is fantastic to view creepy crawlies not to mention the dinosaurs!

Bernards Magic Shop (211 Elizabeth St, Melbourne +) This old-fashioned magic shop has not changed since I was little girl and is great for fake vomit and exploding peanut cans!

Seamstress Restaurant and Bar (1st/113 Lonsdale St, Melbourne +) Great food, great service and great atmosphere. I think Joost Bakker may have done the downstairs bar area and I am a big fan of his work.

Der Raum (438 Church St, Richmond +) The most interesting cocktails in town.

T2 on Brunswick Street (340 Brunswick St, Fitzroy ‎) I get all my tea supplies from T2. I am a bit of tea junkie.

HOT Chat: Owen Thomas of Hipside Guides

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I liked the idea of Hipside Guides as soon as I heard about them – a city guide written by a local to help visitors and locals find the the cool, hidden places of Melbourne. Kind of like MEL: HOT OR NOT, in map form! Today’s HOT Chat is with Owen Thomas of Hipside Guides – thanks Owen!

Owen, tell me a bit more about your background and how you came to start Hipside Guides?

I’m a relative newcomer to Melbourne, originally coming from London. I married an Australian and we moved here four years ago. One of the first things I looked for when we arrived (after an umbrella and sunglasses) was a guidemap, but none of the ones available met my requirements. So I decided to create my own.

It’s been a really fun way to get to know my new home city and I’m hoping it will also help other visitors and settlers, as well as any locals who want to explore beyond their usual neighbourhoods. It’s easy to take a place for granted when you’ve lived in it all your life, so a fresh perspective can never hurt.

In my previous life, I was a programmer and artist working on computer games, but strangely, map-making does seem to run in the family. One of my father’s first jobs was analysing aerial photographs for the air force and my brother is also a cartographer, mapping everything from wildlife to landmines.

What makes Hipside Guides different from other tourist maps or guides available about Melbourne?

There are mainly excellent books on Melbourne, but these days, who really has the time to read them? A good guidemap can give you an overview of a city in a fraction of the time and you also get a better impression of how everything fits together.

The Hipside Guides Melbourne Guidemap has a slightly hand-drawn look, making it visually very different from other maps that are available, but I’d say the main distinction is in its scope and level of detail. Most tourist maps cover just the CBD or a specific suburb, and don’t actually tell you much more than the location of the major museums and landmarks. At best, a few provide superficial ‘top ten’ type lists of the most popular bars, shops and restaurants. And of course, the free maps are either sponsored by the featured businesses or by local government, which has to affect impartiality to some degree.

The Hipside Guides Melbourne Guidemap covers the CBD, as well as a large part of the surrounding area. It features over 350 businesses and institutions, selected purely on merit. Alongside the usual, well-known destinations, I’ve made a point of including as many of the smaller, quirkier places as possible.

This isn’t a guidemap just about shopping and dining. Melbourne has a really fascinating history, which is clearly visible in its architecture and public artworks, so I’ve picked out the better examples and peppered the map with interesting facts, anecdotes and background stories.

With all its laneway hidey-holes, Melbourne is a city which really rewards those with the curiosity to explore, and that’s something I’ve tried to reflect in the guidemap. The intention was to create a deliberately sprawling and information-overloaded map, designed to be pored over and explored just like the city itself.

There are a lot of places on the map! How did you go about selecting which places to include in your guide?

I began with lots and lots and lots of walking. Then I walked some more. In Melbourne, you have to explore even the grottiest of laneways, because they often contain the best surprises. I try to never pass an open doorway or a shop without exploring inside and I’m sure I’ve sampled far more drinks and meals than is probably healthy. Yes, it’s a tough job, but someone has to do it!

I’ve looked for places that are exceptional or at least unusual. It’s easy to forgive a few rough edges if a place has a unique charm or is offering something out of the ordinary.

Of course, all guides are ultimately subjective, but I’ve done my best to keep its appeal as broad as possible. It isn’t a guide just for tourists or hipsters or any other single group, but for anyone who wants to get an understanding of the city as a whole. I personally may have no interest in poetry bookshops (Collected Works) or spice merchants (Gewürzhaus), but they’re all part of what makes up Melbourne and I find it wonderful that such places exist.

What has been the most challenging thing you’ve faced in starting up your own business? What advice would you give to a small business owner?

I think any independent publisher will tell you that one of the biggest challenges is getting exposure, so opportunities like this interview are really important.

Getting distribution into shops is also difficult, but at least people are getting more used to buying over the internet these days (you can get your copy from www.hipsideguides.com for $12.95 including free delivery).

As for advice to other business owners, I don’t think I’m qualified to give any just yet. Ask me again when I’ve sold my first million!

What are your next plans for Hipside Guides?

As soon as time allows, I want to expand the Hipside Guides website with more interactive features, more updates and maybe even a blog. And, in the long run, I’d like to apply Hipside Guides to other cities.

Finally, where are your HOT places to visit or things to do in Melbourne – maybe an entry that couldn’t fit into Hipside Guides?

The Butterfly Club is one of my favourite spots (204 Bank Street, South Melbourne +). It’s a great little cabaret venue, but it’s also worth visiting just for a drink. From the outside it’s just another respectable-looking old house, but when you venture inside you find every available surface jam-packed with super-kitsch memorabilia. It’s one of the few places in Melbourne that can make even Madame Brussels look a bit on the timid side.

As far as shops go, Lost and Found is hard to beat (12 Smith St, Collingwood +). It’s a real treasure trove of retro clothes, furniture, art and bric-a-brac. It’s a huge place – more of an indoor market than an individual store really – and it’s easy to lose a few hours searching through the all the racks and piles. You do tend to feel your age, though, when you discover your old toys in a vintage store.

One place that I couldn’t quite squeeze on to the map was New York Tomato (24/2-6 New St, Richmond +). It’s a fantastic café, but it tends to be forgotten because it’s a little out of the way and simply because it’s no longer the new kid on the block.

If you really want to impress an overseas visitor, though, just take them to see the flying fox colony at the Bellbird Picnic Area in Yarra Bend Park. Australians barely notice their own wildlife, but to many foreigners a bat is a rare, mouse-sized creature that flits past in the dark and is gone, so the sight of 10,000 monster bats hanging out in broad daylight is quite mind-blowing.

Ask the Doctor: Melbourne Top 10

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One of the most oft-asked questions for the doctor is a list of must-dos for a weekend trip to Melbourne.

When answering, I assume that most visitors are either aware of or have done the usual ‘touristy’ stuff. So here are my Melbourne Top 10 to do/eat/see suggestions which are slightly more hidden, in no particular order. Most of them I’ve reviewed before so you can find further info on the site.

1. Eat at Italy 1, MoVida Aqui, Cutler & Co, Grossi Florentino Grill, The European. You may need to book…

2. Wander down Centre Place, between Flinders Lane and Collins St then Degraves St. I recommend the almond chicken baguettes and crepes at Aix, the lunch food at Jungle Juice, Hell’s Kitchen for drinks, Body for subtle, Melbourne-esque clothing. Further on try Journal Cafe at the City Library or Journal Canteen (Rosa’s Kitchen) next door. Oh, and have a waffle at Waffle On for dessert.

3. Do the Characters and Spaces free guided walk, which covers a similar area to 2. You’ll appreciate new views of Melbourne that even the locals miss.

4. Do a free guided tour at NGV International. Guildford Lane has 2 independent galleries worth checking out – Utopian Slumps and Guildford Lane Gallery.

5. Shop at GPO, Flinders Lane, Lt Collins St, Brunswick St, Smith St, Gertrude St.

6. Walk in any of the parks. My favourite is Fawkner Park in South Yarra.

7. Poke around Queen Vic Markets (or any of Melbourne’s food markets), maybe buy some food for a night in.

8. See a movie at old-fashioned Astor in Windsor or The Sun in Yarraville. Lots of shopping/eating around those areas too – Windsor end of Chapel St in particular has great vintage and designer shops.

9. Have dinner one night along Southbank and ask for a table with a river view. I recommend Walter’s Wine Bar, Tutto Bene, Rockpool, Nobu, The Brasserie and Number 8. Also heard Bistro Guillaume is very good.

10. Lunch at St Kilda on a Sunday…Donovans and The Stokehouse are institutions by the water. Otherwise head to St Kilda East which is very cool and an eclectic Eastern European/Jewish area.

There’s so much more! What are your Melbourne must-dos for visitors?

HOT: The Toff in Town, Curtin House, 2/252 Swanston St, Melbourne

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I’ve written about The Toff in Town before but since that post the restaurant’s menu has completely changed focus, so I thought it was worthwhile to do another post on our recent experience at The Toff In Town, this time with pictures.

What’s remained the same is the glamorous colonial-era faux train carriage booths, complete with red leather upholstery, bamboo screen doors for privacy and a call button for service. Speaking of service, it’s still super-friendly, a far cry from the couldn’t-care-less attitude from the waitstaff from its compatriot at Curtin House, Cookie.

What has changed is that now The Toff In Town offers small, Asian-inspired eats. I never realised that the same kitchen had always serviced Cookie and The Toff In Town, and the owners decided that it made more sense to utilise the best skills of the Thai chefs for both venues. The table decor has changed a little too, as the kitsch red checked tableclothes, paper doilies and cutlery-in-a-plastic-basket pastiche of Cookie has been transplanted into Victorian-era train carriages.

I went to The Toff In Town with K and V, two vegetarians, so it was a meat-free meal except for the solo betel leaf that I ordered. The menu of appetisers, salads, skewers, grill and mains is about 80% meat and fish, so there’s just enough choice for about 3 vegetarian diners to sample a good variety of dishes – as everything on the menu is meant to be shared.

To start, sweet potato and cashew dumplings with chilli soy ($12.50). This was similar in texture to a yum cha favourite ham sui gok, meaning a wafer-thin crisp fried shell encasing a soft interior interspersed with crunchy nuts. A definite winner.

In contrast, the green papaya, green beans and tomato salad (sans dried shrimp for us) ($10.50) was a bit blah for my taste. To me it was a bog-standard coleslaw attempting to don an Asian disguise. I much preferred the smoked eggplant, tomato and banana chilli salad with mint and dried shallots ($11.50) with its Greek-Thai play of textures and flavours.

For our mains we shared the yellow curry with tofu and mushroom dumplings ($11.50) and a baked radish cake with mushrooms, bean shoots, chilli and mint ($10.50). As you can tell by the price, the curry is actually quite a small serving and is probably more suited as a dish for one, as the three of us ended up with about a tablespoon of rice each. The curry sauce was full of flavour without the dooming heaviness of excessive coconut cream and the dumplings were meaty mashed balls, their relatively bland texture a fitting counterpoint for the sauce.

The other main was my favourite dish – cubes of pan-fried radish cake heaped with a jumble of shiitake mushrooms and bean shoots with a subtle kick of chilli to transform it from Chinese to Thai flavours.

For dessert K and V had the chocolate mousse with brandy snaps ($10.50) whereas I doubled back to the appetisers for a single betel leaf topped with salmon, crab and pomelo salad ($5.50). I think both of these dishes were the least successful of the night.

I found the mousse to be grainy, as if either they’d used cocoa powder to make it (ugh) or hadn’t sufficiently whisked in the sugar. As for my appetiser, I’ve never seen ‘betel leaf’ transformed into ‘iceberg lettuce’. The ill-formed sheet of lettuce was completely the wrong presentation, texture and taste for dish, as the leaf’s waterlogged crunch overwhelmed the delicate balance in the filling.

While I’m quite nostalgic for The Toff In Town‘s previous Mediterranean food, the new menu is worth exploring. I’ve always been a fan of Cookie‘s kitchen, and now I can eat its food in the fabulously decadent surroundings of The Toff In Town.

  • The Toff In Town, Curtin House, The Toff In Town, 2/252 Swanston St, Melbourne +

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