Category Archives: brunswick east

HOT: Hellenic Republic, 434 Lygon St, Brunswick East

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Thanks to great reviews and of course the Masterchef effect, George Calombaris’ casual Greek eatery Hellenic Republic has been humming steadily ever since it opened in 2008 – and I’ve only now managed to get there.

A warning: if you want to eat Sunday lunch at Hellenic Republic, give yourself a good 2 months to ensure that you can get a booking.  Also note that on Sundays (and possibly other days of the week as well) there is a 2 hour turnaround time for tables. Table-turning is a practice that I dislike immensely, especially as I would like to be able to enjoy a leisurely Sunday lunch, but if stuffing myself steadily for 2 hours straight is the only way I get to eat at  Hellenic Republic, then I guess so be it.

Our group of 12 gathered to sample the $55 Trapezi meze sharing menu (which is required for groups of 10 or more). To confirm the booking I was asked to complete a comprehensive list of the guests’ dietary requirements – when they say they cater for all dietary requirements, they really mean it! Gluten and dairy free alternatives were prepared especially for certain guests, and nowhere else have I seen ‘pescatarian’ acknowledged as a dietary requirement.

The Trapezi is a multi-course tour through most of Hellenic Republic‘s menu. I’ve been told it is excellent value for the amount of food you’re served relative to a la carte. It certainly left me full enough that I didn’t need dinner that night.

MEZE — CHEFS SELECTION OF SMALL TASTES
Local and Hellenic olives
Kefalograviera saganaki – a real winner of pan fried salty saganaki balanced with sweet dollops of peppered figs.

Two housemade dips – a rich and smokey eggplant dip and taramasalata without the fake pink food colouring
Seriously moreish warn pita bread
Seasonal salad of cucumber and olives
Rosettes of cured Hellenic meats (oh and the wine is served in shiny red carafes)

Hellenic Republic, 434 Lygon St, Brunswick East

Htapodi – octopus doughnuts!
PSARI — GRILLED FISH
Char grilled fish of the day (ours was swordfish) with latholemono, or a dressing of oil, garlic and lemon
Thalassino youvetsi – braised seafood in a tomato-based sauce with tiny rice-like kritharaki pasta and feta
A super-fresh Cypriot grain salad of freekeh, coriander, almonds, raisins and yoghurt
PSISTARIA — MEAT FROM THE SPIT
As you can see, here the amount of food starts getting a little out of control. Wish I hadn’t had so much pita bread at the beginning….
Succulent marinated lamb and roasted chicken. We couldn’t finish a lot of it so it ended up as home care packages. My takeaway container lasted me for the next three days and was delicious sandwiched in pita bread with the cabbage salad.
Hand cut potatoes cooked in olive oil and oregano, presented in a bowl lined with Greek newspaper, a nice touch.
Tzatziki (cucumber, dill, garlic and yoghurt)
A refreshing Lahanosalata, crunchy shaved cabbage salad with an olive oil and lemon dressing.
Unfortunately at this stage we had to be turfed from our table – but the staff were very understanding and packed up a lot of the leftover meats and salad along with our dessert, a colourful selection of fresh fruit including watermelon and strawberries.

Despite the unceremonious end to our meal, I really loved the convivial atmosphere and massive amounts of food served for lunch at Hellenic Republic. Writing this post has made me hungry all over again, and I can’t wait to return.

Hellenic Republic, 434 Lygon St, Brunswick East +

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HOT Gig List

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CCToday we say hi to my new guest blogger CC, a cool ex-Melburnian who now calls East London home. Skinny jeans aficionado, mosh pit veteran, classical pianist now electric guitarist, CC will be bringing you news of upcoming HOT gigs in Melbourne. Her motto is ‘with great musical wisdom, comes great musical responsibility’ and this girl has cred – I’ve followed in her musical wake at New Young Pony Club, The Cribs, Goldfrapp, Does It Offend You Yeah, Interpol, Turin Brakes, Cajun Dance Party, Broken Social Scene, Kaiser Chiefs, Editors – and Lucky Voice Karaoke in Soho.

If you’d like to become a guest-blogger too, just .

CC’s HOT Gig List – Top 3 HOT gigs for the next 3 months

January 2010

1) Yeah Yeah Yeahs (US) – 3rd Jan, Forum
No one could be HOTTER than Karen O with amazing vocals and crazy outfits! The latest album, ‘‘, has clever, yet heartfelt lyrics and melodies in the league of Maps, perhaps even better.

2) The Horrors – 27th Jan, Corner Hotel
Moody, yet melodic bass lines and guitar distortions. Swoon to Scarlet Fields.

3) Passion Pit – 25th Jan, Corner Hotel (supporting act – Love of Diagrams)
Uplifting, bubblegummy, fun, electro band from US. It was mentioned somewhere that the . ‘Sleepyhead’ was on my MySpace for quite some time. Great supporting act from Melbourne.

Also check out:

Andrew Bird – 1 Jan, The Hifi
Grizzly Bear – 4 Jan, Corner Hotel
Calvin Harris – 25th Jan, Prince Bandroom
Peaches – 27 Jan, The Hifi

February 2010

1) The xx – 3rd Feb, Corner Hotel
The xx are four young teenagers from south west London, who , and have now had sold out shows all over London. The album is sad, yet uplifting and inspiring at the same time.

2) The Cribs – 17th Feb, Billboard Nightclub
Awesome band (which Jetsetting Joyce and I saw twice in London!). (of The Smiths and Modest Mouse).  Watch out for the crazy antics of Ryan Jarman.

3) Florence and the Machine – 3rd Feb, Palace Theatre
Listed as “one of the breakthrough acts in the UK for 2009”. , who has been compared to the likes of Kate Bush, PJ Harvey and even Fergie (the Duchess, not the one from Black Eyed Peas). She used to sing at funerals too. Expect angry lyrics and maybe some harp playing.

Also check out:

The Pains of Being Pure at heart – 17 and 18 Feb, East Brunswick Club

March 2010

1) The Big Pink – 5th Mar, Billboard Nightclub
Definitely HOT gig pick for March.  .

2) Lady GaGa – 23rd and 24th Mar, Rod Laver Arena
Now, this lady, she’s HOT! . I’ve been learning those dance moves, and someone please dare me to get inked with the cursive text of some random philosophical quote on my arm.

3) La Roux – 19th Mar, Festival Hall
Weird hair, weird look but catchy songs!

Looking tickets for gigs in Melbourne? Check out the MelbourneTix Posse store.

HOT: I Heart Hiroshima, East Brunswick Club, 280 Lygon St, Brunswick

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I think I’m a bit in denial about reaching my third decade. I can yank out those white hairs, dab eye cream religiously and hit the gym for Body Pump workouts. But whereas I used to have an almost weekly gig habit, even on school nights, I have to acknowledge that I find it very hard to maintain the momentum to do 11:20pm gigs these days. My nightlife mostly now consists of watching a movie or reading a book and heading to bed at 10:30pm for my beauty sleep.

Triple J described I Heart Hiroshima as the best band to come out of Brisbane since the Go-Betweens. For their gig at the intimate East Brunswick Club, the three piece (two guitarists and a drummer) played songs from their first and upcoming albums. Their music was good fun – a kind of spiky, humorous, shouty, catchy drum-driven indie rock, but it wasn’t exactly ground-breaking or innovative stuff. To be honest they sounded like a spawn of the UK guitar sound produced by many other Norfern bands I heard in London.

Nevertheless, being there, feeling the drum beats ricocheting in my chest, reminded me about why I enjoyed going to see live music. So, I’m going to aim to go to a gig a month before I really turn into a white-haired, wrinkled and housebound housewife.

Need tickets for gigs in Melbourne? Check out the MelbourneTix Posse store.

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HOT: Thaila Thai, 82 Lygon St, Brunswick

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For some reason this week I’ve lost my cooking mojo (except for cupcake baking), so I’ve fallen into relying on cheap Asian eats. Thaila Thai is the second of Melbourne’s Asian takeaway institutions I’ve tried this week, and as everyone knows, it’s fantastic – tasty, filling and cheap.

8:15pm, Friday night: Hopeful diners lined up almost out to the door. A steady stream of takeaway orders being yelled out over the orchestra of clanging woks and hissing steam. Frantic and mildly distracted uni students carrying huge plates of stir fry. And a sense of achievement when you finally get seated at a just-cleared, unwiped table and are given a sticky purple-laminated menu to peruse.

‘Victoria’s butterflies’ ($6) caught our eye as they seemed like a house speciality. Bah bom. Strategic error there, as what came out was effectively deep-fried air, with a dab of inspid bottled sweet chilli sauce. Better stick with the satays next time.

Thaila Thai 82 Lygon St Brunswick

On the other hand our mains were delicious. In my experience the danger with pad thai is that the noodles can be overcooked into a gluggy clump, the taste of fish sauce can be overwhelming and I’ve even had the dish cooked with tomato ketchup! Thaila Thai’s version with prawns ($17) was just right – properly chewy noodles with a subtle balance of flavours. The peanut curry with chicken ($12) was also fragrant and appetising, and we eagerly ladled the creamy peanut sauce over generous chunks of chicken and vegetables and steamed rice ($3). Checking out the other diner’s options, I think we made a good choice to stick with the curries – the stir fries, whilst enormous, looked unrefined with everything drowning in oyster sauce.

  • Thaila Thai, +

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