It has been here for a couple of years and although there isn’t much foot traffic it is a busy corner for road traffic.  There is free parking in the local streets and this Op Shop appears to be flourishing.

The shop has become known locally for its stylish windows.  They are ever changing and they display someone’s skill at window dressing.

It’s not quite the Royal Wedding but it is very cute

A recent window as seen from Hotham Street.

I think the prices here are good, too  There have been complaints about the increase in prices charged by the Salvation Army shop now that it is in Carlisle.  See here. I think the prices in Inkerman Street are still reasonable.

For example the charming old dolls in the window display are $10 each.

It is crowded inside but the layout works.  Again someone with some flair has been at work here.

I suppose an increase in prices has become inevitable now that Op Shops have become more main stream – a place where everyone browses.  Real “finds” have become harder to come by.

A spin off from this maybe the enticing window displays.  In this Sacred Heart Op Shop everything in the window is for sale and you can collect your item when the window is dismantled. It is rather like putting a red sticker on a sold piece of art.  You leave your phone number and an assistant will ring you and hold the item until you can collect.

Where:-
Sacred Heart Mission, Inkerman Street Op hop
415 Inkerman Street, St Kilda East

Phone: Shop – 9536 8437
For donations – 9536 8437

Opening hours:-
Monday to Thursday 10.00 to 5.00
Friday            10.00 to 7.00
Saturday & Sunday  10.00 to 5.00

Getting There: -
Trams 3 & 16 take you to the corner of Carlisle Street and Hothman Street and you can walk along Hotham to Inkerman
Driving.  There is one hour street parking locally.

Related posts:

1. Salvos move to Carlisle Street, St Kilda and take on a new look.
2. Carlisle Street in St Kilda East is evolving. Check out the Carlisle Street Bazaar
3. Gattica Restaurant, St Kilda East, is all about atmosphere

Gattica Restaurant, next to the ANZ Bank in Carlisle Street, Balaclava

It is one of the cafes clustered around the Balaclava Railway Station.  The morning I visited was grey, drizzly and dreary.  What did I think?   Well, I would go back for the atmosphere and the coffee.

It is hard to know what creates an atmosphere in a place.  This cafe is long and narrow with one side taken up with the bar.

Does good coffee create an atmosphere? Does the pleasure you get from sipping your coffee give off positive vibes?

I have never been able to answer the atmosphere question.  Let just say that I love the atmosphere at Gattica.   When I entered it felt crowded but there was no trouble getting a table and a paper away from the noise of the coffee machine.  People around me were, reading, chatting and discussing business in a relaxed way.  I ordered coffee and a breakfast I love.  Corn fritters!  Perhaps it was an off day in the kitchen but the fritters were not of a standard I have had at other local eateries.  See Mart Cafe and Hot Honey Cafe. Perhaps I should have followed my friend’s recommendation and chosen the Hash Stack.

Instead I grabbed the chance to have the corn fritters topped with a poached free range egg.  The egg yolk was hard so no chance of a delicious runny yellow liquid to mix with the pancakes which were stodgy and would have been improved with egg yolk.  The best thing was the bacon.  That was delicious.  Keep that in mind if you are there for breakfast you may like to add it to your dish.

The corn fritters were a visual feast – great combination of colours.

Corn fritters come with tomato, basil salsa, bacon, avocado and finished with sweet chilli sour cream and I added a fee range poached egg.  The egg on the menu is fried.  I asked for poached – perhaps that is where the problem lies.

This may have been a bad day for fritters but as I can get better elsewhere I wouldn’t order it again.  However I will go back. As I said, I like the atmosphere.  Next time coffee and the paper and perhaps I’ll try Toasted Turkish Bread with seasoned avocado, fresh tomato and feta.

The cafe has a row of tables on Carlisle Street with gas lamps for the colder weather and it flows through to a courtyard at the back that opens on to Charles Street – a tiny street that finishes under the walkway from Balaclava Station.

There’s a take-a-way window onto Carlisle Street where it does a steady business in take-away coffee.

Getting there:-

Trams:-
No 3 and 16 from the CBD stop outside Las Chicas
No 78/79 from Richmond stop at the corner of Carlisle and Chapel Streets.

Trains:-
The Sandringham Line to Balaclava Station

Related posts:

1. Batch for Breakfast? Head to Clarlisle Street East St Kilda
2. Las Chicas, Balaclava, for breakfast still great eating in Melbourne
3. Hot Honey cafe in Armstrong Street, Middle Park, serves one of my favourite breakfasts.

Pictures of last years market in the early evening  The Market is from 5 to 10pm

This year the market runs for another three Thursdays – March, 10th, 17th, 24th

My first visit this year will be on Thursday, that is 10th March – I’ll report back.

Getting there:
Trams 96 and 16 to St Kilda – Follow the smell of food. Last year the food was wonderful.

Opening Hours:-
5pm to 10 pm

Related posts:

1. St Kilda Night Market 2011–hang-out there during the last Thursdays in March.
2. St Kilda Beach Night Market – Thursdays
3. The Esplanade Market, St Kilda is worth a visit

Outside Lau’s Family Kitchen, Acland Street

For me the restaurant has lost its edge.  The service was amazing and the staff very knowledgeable and helpful but the place looks tired.  The wall opposite where I sat was covered in black scuff marks – rather like the inside of a wardrobe.  I wondered how they got there – no one throws shoes at the wall and these marks show above the couch which won’t have caused the marks – interesting.  There is another wall that is quite beautiful that is covered in a large wall hanging of Asian fabrics.

This is not your cheap Asian cafe that you find in Richmond.  This is classy dining and I believe a view of scuffs marks is unacceptable. I wanted to get up and paint them out.

I remember a visit for dinner not long after it opened.   The food was expensive but special.  This wasn’t the case at lunch.  The food is still on the pricey side but not out of the ordinary.

One of the entree specials was a New Zealand whitebait omelette. My eyes lit up and I started with this.  It is sometime since I had New Zealand whitebait.  I was disappointment but I think this could have been my expectations.  The whitebait resided in a rather thick egg mixture.  Whitebait are delicate; you could almost say tasteless creatures.  They need to be lightly bound together so their flavour can dominate.  I think the word omelette should have warned me so probably this dish did represent the description on the menu.

After the whitebait entree things began to look up.

Yu Heung

Yu Heung,  a special on the menu, is described as  a tradition Szechuan dish of braised eggplant and minced pork with a touch of spice, served with steamed rice.  This was pronounced to be delicious by those who ordered it.

Steamed seasonal vegetables

The seared beef  with steamed seasonal vegetables was thought to be just right by my companion who is very limited in what she can eat.

Singapore noodles

My Singapore noodles were good; dry with some noodles crispy.  I like that.  At $24.00 they could have had added a few more prawns and barbecued Pork.

We didn’t have dessert.  All in all it was a pleasant lunch with good food but not brilliant food.

I believe the lunch menu is different from the dinner one.   If you wish to eat here dinner could be more interesting.  Most of the reviews -check some here – are for dinner.   I hope someone gets busy with a paint brush.  The toilet door could do with a couple of coats of paint, too.

Where:-
Lau’s Family Kitchen Restaurant
4 Acland Street
St Kilda

Phone 8598 9880

Opening hours:
Monday to Friday and Sunday
12.00pm – 3.00pm 6.00pm – 10.00pm
Saturday
6.00- 8.00pm
The evening is divided into two sitting 6 – 8pm and 8 – 10pm

Getting there:
The restaurant is at the Fitzroy Street end of Acland Street
Trams:-
16 and 96 get off at the beach end of Fitzroy Street

Related posts:

1. Cafe Saigon, Victoria Avenue, Albert Park
2. Green Field -cheap and cheerful Vietnamese, Sydney Road, Brunswick
3. Acland Street, St Kilda, buzzes when the rest of Melbourne is on holiday

Acland Street is  a street alive with people and activity.  When you’re in Acland Street the vibes are positive and you know that the world is still revolving.  Acland Street is a street that brings you alive.  That’s how I feel about Acland Street.

My first visit to Acland Street was about 10 years ago.  I was a tourist and like so many tourists to Melbourne I made a pilgrimage to St Kilda.  The day was perfect, the sea was calm, it was ideal for exploring Acland Street and eating a cake with coffee.  The place was alive.

That was the time of the  ‘Secret Life of Us’ on TV  and St Kilda had an aura of excitement and expectation.  It was a place where anything could happen.  I still see it like that – alive to possibilities.

Acland Street has changed in those 10 years.  I read articles where lovers of the area lament the changes but to me this is part of life – everything evolves.

However some things have stayed the same.  The cake shops are still there as they have been for decades and I can’t see that the cakes themselves have changed – the same recipes.    Hairroom the hair salon with the wonderful roof – top decoration where once I had my hair styled by a New Zealand hairdresser from Palmerston North has stayed.  The book shop still hums but it is now Readings and not Cosmos.

This sculpture is on the roof of Hairroom

Remember to look up!  This roof sculpture is opposite Hairroom.

What time does Acland Street wind down? I ‘m not sure but at some time the place quietens and in the early mornings it takes a while to wake up.  This photo of the palm trees was taken  on the Readings/ANZ corner at 8.ooam

By the mid morning the cafes are  full.    Some like Vibe and Big Mouth I remember from ten years ago.   Others are new.  The ice cream shops have multiplied ( and I see there is another about to open)  Sheherazade has gone and so has La Porchetta.  La Porchetta is a place I miss.  The first Pizza I ate in Melbourne came from there.    The Vineyard, after a number of battles with council, is still there.

During the quiet and peaceful time in the surrounding suburban street over the Christmas and the New Year break Acland Street has shown that world is still humming.  I walked down there to check this out and the vibes  can still make me think I am in the centre of the world and there is nowhere else to be.

Acland Street is worth visiting again and again – this is a place to feel alive and to feel that you are part of the pulsating world of action.  It give us the chance to rejoice in being a  city dweller.  And it keeps on keeping on.  If one business goes another takes its place – the street stays alive.

Getting there:-
Trams:- 16 and 96 and No. 3 in the weekends

Related posts:

1. Cafe Racer, St Kilda Beach
2. St Kilda and Sunday with the Busking Festival at the Sea Baths
3. St Kilda Night Market Thursday 10th March 2011 -O’Donnell Gardens

I was with a vegetarian  friend who was visiting  from overseas and I  wanted to give her a experience of fine dining –something more than the  average vegetarian fare which often seems to include beans or Dahl.  Actually I quite like Dahl but I don’t see it as fine dining.  A work colleague suggested Shakarahri.

We dined well.   The evening and the food were a great success.

This year an old friend suggested Shakahari for a pre-Christmas  catch-up lunch.  I was excited and I wondered why I had left it so long between visits.

The outside of the restaurant is the same. A cute cottage painted yellow.  It opens up inside and flows through to the right, which takes you into the next door house and to the courtyard.

The inside is still the same orange colour and still furnished with a few Indian/Asian  artifacts.  It is comforting to find something you remember with affection is still the same.

However the menu had changed since my last visit so it was like a new adventure.  No change in the wine list and we ordered the Richmond Organic Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, that I remember,  to sip on while we chatted and discussed food.  I have always been wary of organic wines but this is a good Sauvignon Blanc.  $8.00 per glass.

There is a touch of romance to the menu.  For example ‘Scent of a green papaya’ in the entrees.  How could you go past a dish with a name like that – as you read it the scent seems to waft around you? You immediately want to taste  it. $14.50

Scent of a green papaya

This is how the menu describes the salad  -” Northern Territory green papaya (high medicinal qualities) lightly crushed and tossed with green beans, cherry tomatoes,cashew nuts and seaweed tofu crisps. Dressed with a sourish tamarind palm sugar chilli sauce”.

We also chose Croquettes de Chine.

Croquettes de Chine

This dish is described as;  “Crunchy patties of steamed mashed yam, potatoes, roasted macadamia nuts, pickled turnips and diced vegetables. Served with herbal oil, tossed greens, kim chee and a mild black bean ginger sauce”.  $19.5

We shared these dishes and thought them good choices for lunch.  The papaya salad was especially interesting.  The taste was light and different,  possibly like the scent of a green papaya.  We would order it again.  The Croquettes were filled with a subtle flavour.  I remember them from last time but I think they had something different served with them.

We  had intended to have dessert and we had talked about their ‘Black Rice and Sago Pudding’ as we headed to the restaurant only to find it was one of those things removed from the menu.

Another disappointment was the change in the seating. It was a calm warm day with some sun and we wanted to sit in the courtyard but there were no tables only benches for seating.   We asked about a table but we were told the manager, who wasn’t there, had wanted it that way.   I hope he has a change of heart and puts tables and chairs out there again.

Friendly service, fine vegetarian dining.  The restaurant has been operating for about 20 years so they must be doing something right.  For me it is the different slant on the usual vegetarian fare giving the meal a touch of lightness, that is often the romance of food.  In the winter a gas fire  looks cheerful and welcoming– try for a table near it.

The menu is labeled for gluten free, non dairy and vegan dishes see here. If you plan a visit have a look at the menu on line before you go.  It will help you work out what you want to eat.

Where:- Shakarahi Vegetarian Restaurant
201/203 Faraday Street
Carlton
Phone:- 9347 3848

Opening times:- Monday to Thursday Midday  to 3.30pm then 6.00pm to 9.30
Friday to Saturday Midday to 3.30pm then 6.00pm to 10.30pm
Sunday 6.00pm to 9.30pm

Getting there:- All trams that travel north along Swanston Street eg, 3, 6, 12,1, 8, 67.  Get off at the University stop and walk along Faraday Street to Lygon Street.  The restaurant is just over Lygon Street.

Related posts:

1. Rocco Pantaleo – La Porchetta North Carlton
2. Green Field -cheap and cheerful Vietnamese, Sydney Road, Brunswick
3. “Little Italy” – Lygon Street – Carlton

When a cafe has been operating for a few years it may seem a waste of time reviewing it – others have done so before – but I believe Melbourne Places needs to visit and talk about the old favourites.  Not everyone knows these places.  Not every well known cafe lives up to its original high standard.

Las Chicas has been its position, by the Balaclava train station, for a number of years.

Las Chicas has expended over the years and now occupies two narrow spaces with large doorways between and a courtyard at the rear.  The courtyard is roomy and you can catch the rumble of trains at Balaclava Station – adds to the atmosphere.

Carlisle Street is busy in the weekends.  It has become a Melbourne place ‘to be’.  Las Chicas is one of the places to eat.

We went early on Sunday morning about 9.15am.   By mid morning there is often a queue waiting for seats and even at 9.15am the place was filling up.    We wanted to sit in the courtyard but the only seats available were next a heavy smoker which is probably why they were available.

We grabbed two free seats at the window bar.  Not quiet as good as the courtyard but in my opinion a pretty good place to be.

My flat white coffee and my friend’s lemon tea came quickly.

The coffee was good but it could have been hotter.  I like to begin the day with a hot coffee – no complaints about the strength and flavour.  No criticism of the lemon tea.

The menu at Las Chicas is extensive – you could even say too extensive – spoilt for choice, something like that.  There are daily specials in the front, a blackboard with more specials and a large vegetarian section before we get to the main section.

My choice was the Bikini Blowout Benedict (BBB), Avocado, bacon, poached egg , bagel toasted and hollandaise sauce – $17.50.  This is a great breakfast if you’re hungry.  I love Eggs Benedict but I always hate the way hollandaise looks poured over something – too yellow perhaps – but the taste was delicious and the bacon crispy – no grease.  I would order this again if I was hungry.

Bikini Blowout Benedict (BBB)

My friend had a special; sourdough multi grain toast, avocado, balsamic roasted tomatoes, crumbled feta and she added smoked salmon – $14.50, salmon extra.  All was pronounced delicious except the smoked salmon.  She didn’t think the dish needed this and she didn’t think it was very good smoked salmon.

A Special Breakfast

I’m told the Baked Bean Brekky in the vegetarian section is delicious and I will try this next time.  It sounds good; house baked pumpkin and polenta loaf toasted, topped with baked beans, spinach and a poached egg.

A work colleague gave a warning about the muffins.  You can see them in a display case as you walk in.  They look great but when you order the wait-staff heat them.  She says it makes them impossible to eat.  Her raspberry and apple muffin crumbled so much she had to eat it with a spoon. They served it with butter but it was impossible to spread the crumbs.  Her advice ask them not to heat it and it will be great.

Las Chicas Cafe Carlisle Street, Balaclava

The cafe has a window that opens to the rail ramp and there is a take away window also on the ramp side.

Where :-
Las Chicas
203 Carlisle Street
Balaclava
It is on the corner of Carlisle Street and the walk-way to platform 1 at the Balaclava train station.
Phone 9531 3699

Opening times:-
7am to 5pm
Breakfast is served all day.

Trams:-
No 3 and 16 from the CBD stop outside Las Chicas
No 78/79 from Richmond stop at the corner of Carlisle and Chapel Streets.

Trains:-
The Sandringham line to Balaclava Station

Related posts:

1. Gattica Restaurant, St Kilda East, is all about atmosphere
2. Batch for Breakfast? Head to Clarlisle Street East St Kilda
3. Eastern European Flavours in East St Kilda

Batch!  Why do  people chose the names they do for their businesses- I’m always curious about that?

Batch in Carlisle Street, East St Kilda !

When Batch was first mentioned to me and I heard that the owner was a New Zealander and that he uses a sort of Kiwiana  decor I immediately thought of New Zealand’s basic, comfortable and often charming holiday cottage called a Bach and pronounced ‘batch’.  I imagine it is possible to confuse the pronunciation with the composer Johann Sebastian Bach pronounced ‘bark’.  Perhaps this lead to Batch – no confusion!  On the other hand the owner may have had a completely different reason for Batch. The cafe has the comfortable relaxed feel of a New Zealand ‘bach’

Batch in Carlisle Street is a place for especially good  food and great coffee.  It holds it’s own along this thriving strip of cafes, restaurants and takeaways in Balaclava.

Sunday morning is my ideal time for a cafe breakfast.  We head down there about 9.30 to find all the tables full but after a short wait we are seated at the window-bar watching the passersby.  We ordered coffee.  Coffee of Batch’s usual high standard arrived with that lovely flower design on top of my flat white.  The pleasure of the design is partly why I order flat white.

Dogs and their owners occupied the tables outside – this a very dog friendly area and we watched the entertainment as we sipped our coffee and waited for our food.

The menu has an immediate charm.  How can you resist lavender yoghurt or rose water salsa?  We couldn’t.

We ordered:-

Fresh seasonal fruits with lavender yoghurt + almond maple crunch $9.00

Buttermilk pancakes with watermelon + strawberry + mint + rosewater salsa with maple syrup. $12.50

Batch has been around for a few years – see an early review from Matt Preston in The Melbourne Age.

You can see why it is still thriving and bursting with people.  The food lived up to our mouth watering expectations.  The yoghurt was fused with a touch of lavender.  The pancakes were the lightest and fluffiest I have had for a while.  Too often they can be a bit soggy.  The touch of mint was just right with the salsa.

They also have Kedgeree on the menu for $14. And with pickled cabbage $15.50. Now, when did you last see Kegeree on a menu?

There are always flowers in Batch. At the moment they poke their heads out of this bright yellow  re-cycled notice.

Where:-
Batch
1/320 Carlisle Street
St Kilda East.

Opening Hours:-
Daily from 7am to 5pm
Coffee from 7am and breakfast from 8am
Dinner Friday only 5pm to 10pm

Phone:- 9530 3550

Getting there:-
Train – Sandringham Line to Balaclava Station
Trams – 3 & 16 Get off at the Balaclava Station stop

Related posts:

1. Gattica Restaurant, St Kilda East, is all about atmosphere
2. Las Chicas, Balaclava, for breakfast still great eating in Melbourne
3. Eastern European Flavours in East St Kilda

The entrance to the Stokehouse.

Its location has to be one of the best in Melbourne.  The view from upstairs is spectacular as I discovered during a couple of office Christmas lunches.  So good in fact that I wonder sometimes if it is worth asking a prospective employer where they have their Christmas party and grab the job if it is the Stokehouse.

However the view from the downstairs Beach Bar and Grill can be spectacular too.   Here you can choose to be part of the beach action and sit outside on the edge of the boardwalk.

A view from the Beach Bar and Grill downstairs at the Sokehouse

A friend and I indulge ourselves at the Beach Bar and Grill a few times a year.  It has become our favourite weekend lunch place.

Outside at the Stokehouse Beach Bar and Grill

Our recent visit coincided with a sudden cold snap.  We planned to sit with our feet on the edge of the boardwalk, a chilled white in our hands and a beatific smile as we watched the passing parade.  Instead we sat inside near the open fire.  This was good,  not as good, but good.  If you angle your chair correctly you can see the cold choppy sea and the passersby bundled against the cold and at the same time get the heat from the fire.

If you go for lunch and want a special seat get there at noon when it opens.  It fills up quickly.  Of course there is no need to eat you can just call in for a drink but be warned The Bar is a popular spot.

I have found the food consistently good.  The menu changes often and on this visit we missed the polenta chips which had proved a great hit last time we were there.  However the steak sandwich, the special was good; the steak tasty and tender the aioli sauce delicious and the chips were crisp and golden.  We washed this down with a carafe of Riesling.  I like the size of their carafes.

A lunch special – Steak sandwich with aioli

The Beach Bar and Grill downstairs at the Stokehouse is a good place to check out the bayside  ambiance.  If you take the location and the pleasure of dining on the edge of the beach into consideration it is good value.

View from the Stokehouse to the St Kilda Pier

Lunch is my favourite time to go but if you go in the evening you can watch the sun set as you relax, eat and sip your wine.

Where:-
The Stokehouse
30 Jack Blvd
St Kilda
Phone 9525 555

Opening Hours:-
Beach Bar and Grill
Noon until late.
Food is served all day.

Getting there:-
Trams:,96,16,3 to Acland Street, then walk to the beach.
Car: There is a public car park opposite. It is pay and display.

Related posts:

1. West Beach Reserve St Kilda – great for taking the air on a winter’s day
2. Cafe Racer, St Kilda Beach
3. St Kilda Beach Night Market – Thursdays

They look very much at home and secure as they fly to the statue and settle on their nest to keep their eggs warm.

I haven’t seen many of these little magpie–larks in the gardens.  You can hear the shrill, piping voice of one or two of them occasionally.  So I think these must the ones I heard piping and shrilling away during the winter and I like to think they see the gardens as their home.

The Rainman is rather a forlorn figure these days.  His pond is almost empty and his base is exposed so he no longer looks as if he is standing on water.

The Magpie-larks have chosen a secure and friendly place to bring their family into the world.  No four legged-predators can get across the muddy pond and disturb them.  When it rains the Rainman is there to shelter them.

The magpie-larks build round nests that are quite small.  They make them of grass, plant material then plaster all this together with mud and then line the nest with feathers, soft grass and fur.

I like the thought of the three of them; the Rainman and prospective Mum and Dad settling down together every evening.

These two small black and white birds don’t appear nervous of being watched and photographed and they are happy to potter around in the muddy edge.

Magpie-lark or as it is sometimes called mud-lark at the St Kilda Botanical Garden

Getting there:-
96 Tram to the terminus at the end of Acland Street. Walk up Blessington Street – on your left.
Trams 67, 3 or 16 to the corner of Brighton Road and Carlisle Street and walk along Blessington Street – Blessington Street is on your right when you get off  the tram.
Opening Hours:-
Between sunrise and sunset seven days a week and the conservatory is open between 10.30am and 3.30pm week days and 1.00pm and 4.30pm Saturday to Sunday and public holidays.

Related posts:

1. Chess at St Kilda Botanical Gardens – St Kilda
2. St Kilda Botanical Gardens – a winter view
3. Alister Clark Rose Garden St Kilda Botanical Gardens – they have names, now