Melbourne Places » Chapel Street

Tarlo & Graham – view their windows as you stroll Chapel Street

Melbourne — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 07:46:35 +0000

Tarlo and Graham at the Windsor end of Chapel Street offer a great visual feast with their windows.

Strolling around the Windsor end of Chapel Street is always fun but what draws me back time and time again are the windows of Tarlo and Graham.
I find I’m drawn on a weekly basis just to check them out.

They don’t always change weekly but another view gives another perspective and sometimes I miss something on the first
viewing and even on the second. These objet d’art and the style of the interiors they suggest, are a sort of industrial meets the…. well the
macabre. They may not be everyone’s idea of home sweet home but it is great fun to view.

The windows vary which is what makes them so fascinating. These colourful wool rugs appeared during the cold winter months.

William Tarlo and Philip Graham opened their shop about 6 years ago. They said in a recent interview that their aim was to provide an exciting and stimulating environment focusing on the unusual, exotic and collectable. Check out their website to see what they mean.

Where:-
Tarlo & Graham
60 Chapel Street
Windsor – phone 9521 2221

Opening hours:-
Monday to Saturday 12pm – 6pm
Sunday 12pm to 4pm
Of course their windows are open for viewing 24/7

Getting there: -
Train:-
The Sandringham Line to Windsor Station They are opposite – on the corner of Chapel and Mcilwrick Street
79 Tram:-
This tram runs from St Kilda East to Richmond along Chapel Street.

Website:-

http://www.tarloandgraham.com/home.html

The Oriental Tea House on Chapel Street, South Yarra – good eating

Melbourne — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:20:14 +0000

The Oriental Tea House is something different.

The Oriental Tea house in Chapel Street was once a pub

Yum Cha on Sunday is something I enjoy – watching the trolleys come past, studying the food and deciding ‘yes’ or ‘no’. The frustrating part is that when I have eaten enough I see something new appear from the kitchen, glide past me and I am temped all over again.

At the Oriental Tea House there is none of this. You order your Yum Cha from the menu. It is rather like a ‘Chinese Tapas’.

You can pop in at any time during the day order a tea and a Yum Cha snack.

I ate at the Oriental Tea House on Chapel Street for the first time before we attended a gold class session of ‘Sex and the City 2’ at the Jam Factory.

We went early to give us time to talk, relax and to get into the mood for the glamour and style we were to see on the screen. It was a good choice.

The good thing about the Oriental Tea House is that it severs the same food all the time so we could create our own stylish early dinner.

The name ‘ The Oriental Tea House’ appeals to me. Just the sound is relaxing. The clean white open space when you enter, with the store of interesting teas and other merchandise including Chinese herbs in the front and then the restaurant at the rear, is welcoming and soothing.

I like the emphasis on tea but as we were preparing to watch over-the-top glamour on the screen we decided bubbles were appropriate.

This is what we ordered:-

Spinach Seafood Soup

Won Ton Soup

Vegetarian Buckweat Dumplings with Chilli

Delux Basket (nine different pieces of dumplings steamed in a large basket).

Calamari in Spicy Salt

The dishes appeared haphazardly with the squid coming a distant last. It occurs to me now that each dish may travel from the kitchen as soon as it is cooked – something to think about when you order. If you order soup it is nice to both get your soup at the same time.

The dumplings are delicious. The best I have had recently. As I write this I am still thinking about them and plan to pop in for one of their teas and a ‘variety basket’ of dumplings. At $6.90 it is excellent value

We didn’t try the Tea-Tails – cocktails made with tea blends. The idea of a tea based cocktail served in a teapot is a whimsy that brings a smile to the face – it has to be worth a try.
Here is an example of some that are available:-

Campari Treasure 8.5
Bitter sweet with a hint of orange Campari.
+ Calm & Concentration TEA served on ice

Russian Spy in Shanghai 8.5
This one really packs a punch with Vodka
+ Gun Powder TEA served with fresh lime

Baileys Kiss 8.5
Spicy with a tasty kick of Baileys & milk
+ Chai TEA served over ice

Luck of the Irish 8.5
One to really help you unwind with a warm blend of Irish Whisky
+ Relaxing TEA

Where:-
The Oriental Tea House
455 Chapel Street
South Yarra (opposite Bridie O’Reilly’s)

Phone:-Restaurant 9826 0168

Web site:-

http://www.orientalteahouse.com.au/chapel-street/w1/i1001202/

Opening Hours:-
10am until late – every day.

Getting there:-
No 8 Tram to Toorak. Get off at the corner of Toorak Road and Chapel Street.
No 78 Tram – this tram runs along Chapel Street from St Kilda to Richmond.

Cakes and coffee at the Special Cake Shop – Chapel Street, Prahran

Melbourne — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 07:54:34 +0000

The Special Cake Shop at 207 Chapel Street, Prahran is an institution in the area.

Over the years Prahran cafes and food outlets have come and gone but not the Special Cake Shop. It just keeps on keeping on. It was opened in the mid 1950s by a Greek Immigrant and then bought in 1976 by its current owner George Seherlis.

The Special Cake shop is in one of these charming old buildings that are fast disappearing from along Chapel Street

The shop has stayed the same. The inside, which hasn’t changed since I have been buying from it, looks a bit retro but I think it is one of those places that fashion has gone the full circle and is back with it.

The inside is divided into two parts with a wide opening between them. As you enter there is seating to the left, the retail counter to your right and the kitchen straight ahead. The windows are full of cakes and biscuits. They are not all Greek cakes. You can get an English sponge roll and lamingtons. There are some wonderful double chocolate biscuits.

I’m told that they are still making coffee in their 1960’s coffee machine. I haven’t checked this out. I have had coffee there. It was good but not the best I have had.

I usually buy and head for home. The Baklava is good – solid hearty Baklava with lots of nuts. Great for desert.

A few years ago they introduced a spinach and feta scone – if you think of ’scone’ in an English sense you’ll look for the wrong thing. This scone is about the size of a saucer and oozes spinach, onion and feta. They are usually in the window but you can buy them warm from the pie-warmer or if you arrive at the right time – late morning – they are warm from the oven.

This scone is my weakness. Every few weeks I begin to crave one and I need to have my fix.

The Special Cake Shop is a friendly place with family members working there. They are always helpful, pleasant and quick. Many of the customers are regulars and appear to be friends. It would be easy to fit into this companionable vibe. They also serve pies, sausage rolls, filled rolls and gourmet sandwiches.

Where:-
Special Cakes, 207 Chapel Street, Prahran Phone 9510 7689

Opening hours:-
Open every day from 7.00am to 6.00pm

Getting there:
Tram No 78 runs along Chapel Street to Richmond. Tram 6 to Glen Iris leaves from the CBD, get off at the corner of High Street and Chapel Street and walk North.

Trains the Sandringham Line to either Prahran Station or Windsor Station

Prahran Market –the food lovers market in South Yarra

Melbourne — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 23:16:25 +0000

The Prahran Market is a foodies market. It is all about food, preparing it, cooking it and eating it. If that sounds like you The Prahran Market is the place to explore. Take your recipes and search out those unusual ingredients.

I think it is best on Saturday. The produce seems to be fresher as if it was whisked from the soil or picked from the tree that very morning. It is also the day when the market is flooded with locals doing their weekly shopping – a great ambiance that is unique to this market.

Shopping before the Saturday crowds.

It’s good to be there early on Saturday and miss some of the crowd but on the other hand from about 10.30 onwards the place is full of free nibbles – you can lunch your way around the stalls eating a bit here and there. If you watch the shoppers you can see them sampling and snacking as they weave from stall to stall.

This is a produce market. There is a hardware stall but it is about food: fruit and veg, meat fish and poultry, delicatessens, coffee, flowers and a very popular organic stall (Ripe the Organic Grocer), selling everything including wine and cakes made with organic ingredients. It is not a market for clothes and bric-a-brac.

A good place to start is Cleo’s. It has an entrance off Commercial Road and a window full of bread. You can wander through the delicatessen and straight into the market.

From Cleo’s I head to stall 108, MJ Mow Gourmet Potatoes. Every variety of potato is available including the increasingly popular kipfler and one I had never heard of before, Purple Congo. This is good to mash and because of its colour good to use as a decoration. There is a flier available that lists 17 varieties of potatoes and their different uses. It is fun to experiment and I do but I love my old favourite the King Edward.

Stall 116 is Damian Pike the Wild Mushroom Specialist. Wild mushrooms are those that come up in a field after rain and have the best taste ever. There not always available – it doesn’t always rain. The stall is interesting not only because of the selection of mushrooms but for unusual seasonal items like flat peaches from China which they say they stock. I have never seen them but I believe they exist!

You can grab good coffee or dine on something more substantial in the Market Square which is partly covered and has a play ground for the kids.

Coffee in the Market Square.

Information:-

Damian Pike Wild Mushroom specialist Phone 0411 438 465

MJ Mow Gourmet Potatoes Phone 0417 382 354

Market Web site

Address:-

163 Commercial Road, South Yarra

Opening Hours:-
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday – dawn to 5pm
Friday Dawn to 6pm
Sunday 10am to 3.00pm

Closed:-

Monday and Wednesday

Getting there:-

Tram:- 72 and get off at Stop 30

Train:- Take the Sandringham Line to Prahran Station and walk to Commercial Road. It’s about 2 minutes walk

Trash, Treasure or vintage? It is hard to decide in Womango, 47 Chapel Street, Windsor/Prahran.

Melbourne — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:50:50 +0000

The Windsor end of Chapel Street is know as the funky end of Chapel Street, Prahran To me it is the fun end. I often pass Womango and I can never resist the window. It’s a ’stop and stare and stare some more and chat to your friend’ sort of window. It’s a collectors paradise.

Womango’s Window –
Inside it is as crammed with goods as the window. The old saying ‘there is nowhere to put a pin down’ is spot on.

At the entrance there is a notice saying ‘No Big Bags’ and you can see why. Even without a big bag you have to be careful not to send some of the treasures flying.

There’s a yellow and green jug in the window that I like and I can spend ages gazing at the rings that are in a case inside and then there is something about those long white evening gloves of the fifties. What romance they conjure up. Yesterday there was an old wooden ladder in very good condition filling up some of the entrance space.

If you are a visiting Chapel Street for vintage, retro, antiques and treasures from the recent past , I’d start here.
If you are a collector and looking for something in particular the owner knows her stock – that’s a feat in itself. She is knowledgeable and is happy to talk. She is also happy for you to spend as long as you like exploring this visual feast.
Note the opening hours – they are unusual for the area:-
Closed Monday and Tuesday. Open Wednesday to Sunday from 12.00pm to 6.00pm.

You can ring the owner if you need to make contact at other times – 9533 6650 or 0410 750 310

Getting there

Take the Sandringham Line Train to Windsor Station. Come out of the Windsor Station and you are there. Womango is more or less opposite Syber’s Book Shop, by the pedestrian crossing.

Trams 78 and 79 run the full length of Chapel Street between St Kilda and Richmond.

If you are coming from the CBD by tram you need a tram number 8 or 6 or 72. These trams intersect with Chapel Street at some point.

Window shopping in Greville Street, Prahran

Melbourne — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 11:55:16 +0000

Greville Street, Prahran is a favourite street of mine. My first encounter was a few years ago when I walked from the Prahran Railway Station along Greville Street on my way to Chapel Street

The late afternoon sun gave an orange glow and a touch of magic to this unique street. I feel in love.

I fell in love with the funky edgy designer shops, the retro and second hand and places. There was a feeling of being outside the mainstream – a place where exciting, new and experimental things were happening. I felt it strongly then and I still do

The street has changed over the years. Less funky and ‘out-there’ but the magic is still there. Where else in Melbourne would you see a window mannequin wearing a purple dress with fuchsia tights and a pair of yellow Doc Martin boots.

A couple of my favourite shops have closed and disappeared but Palm Beads is still there as it was on my first visit and the Greville Street Bookstore gives personal service as it has for over 20 years. Greville Records has been there for ever and although other shops have come and gone the vibes have re-adjusted themselves and evolved as everything evolves with the time. The street is still one of Melbourne Places that is unique.

This a pictorial stroll showing you what caught my eye during a recent visit.

Greville Street, Prahran is a great place to be from midday onwards and in the weekend. Cafes do open early to catch the morning-workers trade and many have regulars who come at the same time every day. However many of the shops don’t open until 10am or 11am.
Coffee and food is good at most places and people-watching is a fascinating past-time in Greville Street.

Getting there

Train: The Sandringham Line to the Prahran Station and you are there.

Trams: The 72 from the CBD crosses Malvern Road and Chapel Street, get off at that junction and head north. Greville Street is on your left by the Stonnington Town Hall.

The 78 Tram runs along Chapel Street from East St Kilda and Richmond.

Eastern European Flavours in East St Kilda

Melbourne — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 14:14:41 +0000

Carlisle Street in East St Kilda was the Melbourne Place I got to know well when I first came to Melbourne. It was here I became familiar with Russian and Eastern European food for the first time.

The St Kilda Library in Carlisle Street has a large selection of Polish and Russian books in their foreign language section. The Hungarian section is smaller but it doesn’t matter because the Hungarian flavour is outside on the street. When you walk out of the library you can step into a café called Hearty Hungarian food. It’s next door.

This is more a takeaway cafe but they do have a window bench if you wish to eat there. The food is cheap and filling – ideal winter fare. All meals consist of a main and two side dishes. Last week they were advertising freshly made cherry strudel.

Over Chapel Street the Eastern European theme continues . It is here that you can wander into a Russian delicatessen and if you are very adventurous buy tins labeled completely in Russian. You can ask what’s in them but sometimes it is fun to take a punt and a good guess. Once I bought a jar of cherry jam with a label written in Polish from Lorgen International Delicatessen 236 Carlisle Street – not very adventurous I know but the jam was delicious.

Meat is on the menu in Carlisle Street, East St Kilda. It is amazing how much meat. There are two supermarkets selling meat and two flourishing butchers/ delicatessen. Both butchers/delicatessens cater for their Eastern European clientele.

I like the larger of the two with the uninspiring name of “Fresh Food Corner” It’s on the corner of Woodstock and Carlisle. It’s like stepping into another country. Peer into the deep freezer and study the tradition Russian pasta filled with such delights as cheese and cabbage, Siberian Beef and Pork, or Cherries. There are a myriad of sausages, imported cheeses, offal and a mind boggling array of meats and chicken. The counter is cluttered with tins of imported goodies. A recent arrival is tins of chestnuts.

Window Display at Fresh Food Corner. They also have an extensive array of marinated kebabs.

The other butcher Leon’s Small Goods is at 262 Carlisle and has the best selection of locally produced ham in the area. They have ducks, whole Porterhouse steaks, whole fillets of beef as well as more cheeses and sausages.

Then there is Baker in the Rye, opposite Lorgen International Deli, selling wonderful sough dough bread and black, very black and heavy rye bread, various Russian cakes, some with that wonderful poppy seed paste. Try their cherry or cheese ‘Danish’ pastries. If you are lucky they will be warm from the oven.

The area has a number of Melbourne style cafes and you can buy coffee at Baker in the Rye. And while you are in St Kilda East check out some of the architecture. These buildings were constructed when there was time and money to be frivolous.

To experience the Eastern European and Russian flavour of Carlisle Street, St Kilda East or Balaclava as it is sometimes called, take the Sandringham line train to Balaclava Station or the number 3 or 12 Tram to Kew. This will take you along Carlisle Street. You want to get off at the corner of Chapel and Carlisle – just after the library.

Chapel Street – They Funky End at Windsor

Melbourne — Sun, 10 May 2009 02:27:53 +0000

The funky end of Chapel Street – that is the end by the Windsor Station and Dandenong Road – is one of the first places in Melbourne that I explored. It was different from any place I’d seen and it is still different. Over the years places have come and gone and some have stayed the same.

You can buy designer clothes, designed by local designers. You can get fashionable shoes for huge feet at Rosenberg’s Shoes. You can prowl various op shops and you can buy second hand books from Syber’s Book Shop.

It was the cats I first feel in love with at Syber’s Book Shop, the books came later.

Syber’s Book Shop is a treasure trove of books including rare and out of print books. The wonderful thing is that they know what they have and where to find it. I wanted a book by the German writer H.H. Kirst. Often when I ask I get a blank stare. Not this time.

“Oh. Yes,” said Penny Sieber getting up from her desk and putting her hand on a book by Kirst.

The chairs at Syber’s Book Shop give an atmosphere to shop but you may have to compete with one of the three cats for the most comfortable one.

Syber’s Book Shop is a good place while away some time if you are into books and of course there are the cats to meet.

This is also the retro end of Chapel Street and even the Op Shops go in for presentation and stylish window dressing.

The best way to get to this funky end of Chapel Street is to take the Sandringham Line Train to Windsor Station. Come out of the Windsor Station and you are there.

Trams 78 and 79 run the full length of Chapel Street between St Kilda and Richmond. If you are coming from the CBD by tram you need a tram number 8 or 6 or 72. These trams intersect with Chapel Street at some point.