The popularity of  lamb shanks inspired us to try a Lamb Shank Pie. There was nothing individualistic about our group and we all ordered the same.  A brief discussion and we thought the meat from the shank should be delicious in a pie.

What arrived was a dinner in a pie.  It was all there the shank, mashed potatoes, carrots and peas.  It was rather fun opening this huge dish and letting out the steam.  It tasted good too. The meat on the shank was tender and tasty and the gravy soaked, deliciously into the mashed potatoes.  The pastry was a nice touch.  Priced at $21.00.

The Local Pub
Bay Street, Port Melbourne
22-24 Bay Street (the Beach end)

Phone:- 9810 0076

Opening hours:-
Daily from 11am

Related posts:

1. Hotel Albion, Port Melbourne – Great Bar-Food and Good Value Nights.
2. Cricket Club Hotel South Melbourne – ideal eating on a cold night
3. Station Hotel, Napier Street, Footscray – lunch in their European-style dining room.

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

It is the the experience of watching the team at Andrews cooking them.  They make it into an art form.

Order your burger from the blackboard menu then hang around and watch. There are a few stools but even if these are taken stay there, don’t wander off.

Watch the crew as they work behind the counter –which is in front of the cooking area. This is a small, narrow shop and space is at a premium.  There is at least four and sometimes five short order cooks working in a space that is no wider than the hallway in a single fronted Victorian terrace house.  They work together like dancers who have had their entire moves choreographed. They don’t back into each other or step on each other’s toes.  They side-step , take orders, place eggs, tomatoes, bacon and onions on the grill, toast the buns, fill the buns and  put the finished product in their greaseproof-lined bags.  There is never a false move.

It is fascinating to watch.  And it is a puzzle to know which cook does what.  Just when you think you have it sussed one of the cooks does a different job and you find you got it all wrong. Then suddenly your name is called and without you realizing it your hamburger has been prepared bagged and ready to go.

It is a beautiful performance so it is not a surprise to find the hamburgers sublime.  Making them is an art and eating them shows how perfection can’t be beaten.

The menu is on the wall and it is extensive but it is of no interest to me.  I always order ‘The lot’ for $9.50.  – Ground beef, egg, bacon, cheese tomato, mayonnaise and a delicious bun spread with tomato sauce.

They have a web site Here.

Where:-
Andrews Hamburgers
144 Bridport Street
Albert Park
Phone:- 9690 2126

Opening Hours:- Monday to Friday 11.30am – 2.30pm, 5.00pm – 9.00pm
Saturday 11.30am – 3.00pm. 5.00pm – 9.00pm
Sunday Closed

Getting there:-
Tram 96 Light Rail to Albert Park Station
Tram no 1 get off at the corner of Bridport and Montague Streets

Related posts:

1. The Good Life, and Good Food at Albert Park Lake
2. Albert Park Lake and a new generation of swans – it has to be spring!
3. Lunch at Hotel Nest – Albert Park

You can see it yourself as you head along Cecil Street away from the South Melbourne Market.

It is wonderful to be able to see such eye catching pieces of art during an every-day shopping excursion or a walk around the local streets.  Frank Malerba was commission by the developer and the commission was approved by the Port Phillip City Council.

He says he drove around South Melbourne for a few days, “To see what it was all about.”

When you look at the art work does it say South Melbourne to you?
It has been up for over a year and looks exactly the same to me now as it did when I first saw it, months ago.  No deterioration.  Frank Malerba knows what materials to use for durability.

I wish more developers would think of the public and how we need visual feasts as we travel around our city.

My thought when I first saw the mural was, “Who is the lucky person who owns it?”

I assume if you own the unit it is attached to, you don’t own the art work.   And that you can’t sell the unit and then pack up the Malerba panels and take them  away with you.

I guess that can’t happen but it makes me ask who does own it and who is responsible for maintaining it?  The Port Phillip City Council?  Or is it the Owners Corporation’s responsibility? Perhaps someone will know.

One thing I do know is that it is wonderful to see such interesting art, by a well-known local artist, for all of us to view.

Developers:-  how about more of this?

To view Frank Malerba’s urban art on the corner of Cecil and Dorcas Street:-
Tram 96:-  (light rail)  to the South Melbourne Station.  Head for the Market.  Cecil Street runs from the  roundabout.

Tram 1:- get off at the corner of Cecil and Park Street and head to the market. – check out Dorcas Street when you cross over it.

Related posts:

1. South Melbourne Market – the best fruit bread in Melbourne
2. Red Star Cafe right opposite The South Melbourne Market, Clarendon Street
3. The Wayside Inn Hotel South Melbourne – good eating – with a new cook and new management.

As a by-product of local advertising I found myself there on a cold winter night because a friend reads the back of her super market dockets.  A deal gave two meals for the price of one.  She suggested we “give it a go”.  In view of the wintery weather a pub meal seemed like a good idea.

The Cricket club hotel has been in operation at the Albert Park end of the Clarenden Street since 1870. I’m told it is the nearest pub to Albert Park but I haven’t checked this out. It has had many face-lifts since 1870 and I understand that the most recent was in 2007.
The two for one meal is obviously trying to drum up custom.  This could mean anything and we prepared ourselves for hot food on a cold night but without any great expectations of quality.

We arrived at 6pm and found our way through two bars, one with a large TV screen and the other with a charming nook for a bit of time out.

We were first in the dining room and they turned on the heat and settled us by the fire.

There is small menu of standard fare.  M ordered corned beef and I had a chicken parmigiana.

Chicken parmigiana

Corned beef

This food was excellent M said it was the best corned beef she had.  I said the same about my parmigiana.  It was delicious.  Not as big as some servings are but quality.

This part of the meal was so good it was a pity the choice of wines by the glass was so limited.  I had a glass of Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2007.  The 2008 is on sale for $10.00 in my local bottle shop.

The desserts weren’t of the same standard as the main course.  A sticky date pudding was okay but the rhubarb and pear crumble served in a ramekin lacked the crumble.  The thin oat mixture on the top was soft and lacking flavour. I look for a crisp crumble that has a rocky road surface.

The dining room filled and warmed up.  The service was friendly and attentive.  I was grateful for having a friend who reads the back of the super market dockets and suggested she kept reading them.  We will back.  We may give the dessert a miss but the main course even at the full price is good value.  Prices are the usual pub prices.

Where:-
The Cricket Club Hotel
435 Clarendon Street
South Melbourne
Phone 9690 5941

Opening Hours:-
The dining room is open every day
Lunch 12.00 to 3.00
Dinner 5.30 to 9.00

Getting There:-
Tram no 112 travels along Clarendon Street and turns into Albert Road.
Get off at the stop before Albert Road
Stop no. 130
Tram no 1. Get off at the corner of Clarendon and Park Streets.
Continue walking along Clarendon Street towards Albert Park the Cricket Club Hotel is on you left.

Related posts:

1. The Wayside Inn Hotel South Melbourne – good eating – with a new cook and new management.
2. The Wayside Inn Hotel South Melbourne – an up-date
3. Lunch at Hotel Nest – Albert Park

The people with me have been to Cafe Saigon several times and knew exactly what they were going to eat. I was new to the cafe and I expected Vietnamese.

I have seen the restaurant many times before.  I used to work not far away and I have admired the building – all that bluestone makes for an attractive facade.  It was nice to get a chance to eat there.

Walk through the entrance and there is a small shrine to Buddha that creates an immediate ease to the day’s tensions.

On your left is the bar and to your right the large dining room.  It has a decor that  is cool and minimal with bricks and concrete.  It represents no particular style and somehow this makes it easy to feel comfortable and at home.

As I said I was surprised to find the menu covered dishes from other Asian countries including Grilled Teriyaki Chicken and Pad Thai Rice Noodles.

We ordered a serving of Vietnamese spring rolls and also Vietnamese vegetarian rice paper rolls.

Spring rolls

Vegetarian rice paper roll

Of the two dishes the rice paper rolls were far the superior and had a sauce that owed a lot to Hoi Sin Sauce.  The waiter told us that the sauces were all made on the premises.

Two of us travelled south from Vietnam and ordered Singapore noodles.  Good choice.  The dish had just the right amount of heat for me and I got the other diner’s serving of prawns.

Singapore noodles with extra prawns

The sizzling beef and vegetables was a tried and true favourite for my other table companion.  She suggested the restaurant so she could eat this dish.  It came to the table really sizzling and smelling delicious.

Sizzling beef and vegetables

The service was wonderful, friendly, efficient and careful.  That sounds a silly word to use but we felt  we were cared for and our pleasure was their priority.

The restaurant has been there for a long time and appears to have built up a following with the locals.

The food was good but not exceptional and the prices on the high side for Asian food but then we are in Albert Park just up from the beach so it is unfair to compare prices with prices in Victoria Street, Richmond.

I’d eat there again.  It’s a Melbourne Place that is worth going to.

There is a take away menu here. I can’t see that it is very different from the cafe Menu.

Cafe Saigon:-
159 161 Victoria Avenue
Albert Park
Phone 9696 3388

Opening Hours:-
Lunch 11.30 to 3.00 every day except Saturday
Dinner 5.30 to 10.00pm every day except Thursday Friday and Saturday when it stays open until 11.00pm

Getting there:-
It is just up from the South Melbourne Beach.
Tram No 1 to South Melbourne Beach it terminates at the beach at the end of Victoria Avenue
Get off at the second to last stop.

Related posts:

1. Lunch at Hotel Nest – Albert Park
2. Antarctica on display in the Foyer of Gasworks Park Theatre – Albert Park
3. Asia on Victoria Street in Richmond

Chimmys was the place to grab a coffee before racing to a meeting or a training course.  The Head Office moved and I forgot about Chimmys until recently when I was in Park Street and wanted a coffee.  I remember it always being busy on those work-day mornings and it was busy on the recent Sunday when I popped in.

The flat white doesn’t have any pretty designs but it has the silkiest milk I’ve tasted for a while and the coffee is the best.

To me the cafe has a French feel, and the man who makes the coffee a Gallic charm – you need to experience this charm for yourself.  Perhaps it is just European ambience and charm but I like to think of it as French. The filled baguettes reinforce the French ambience .

The interior says, “It’s all about the food!”  That is, it is not decorated.  There are two large rooms with a wide doorway between them, dark brown tables, pale cream walls and sort of  orange/brown lino tiles on the floor. Relaxing?  Not particularly.  The best place to be is outside under the veranda .

Most of the first room is taken up with display cases and one end is given over to the ovens with a row of tables along the remaining wall.   The second room is the cafe area with tables spaced so you feel separate from your fellow coffee drinkers.

The cafe is popular with locals. This is a breakfast and lunch place.  By mid afternoon most of the food has been sold.  This is a good thing because you know everything is made the day you buy it. The baguettes with egg and bacon are just as good at breakfast as they are for lunch and if you just want a coffee try a raspberry shortbread with it.  Delicious.

Then there is the bread.  I bought some  bread ‘pain de campagne’ and I will be back for more and I’m told the ’seven grain’ bread is delicious.

For a Francophile this tiny area of Park Street, South Melbourne is a good place to hang out.  Manon is at 294 Park Street and then further towards Clarendon Street on the other side there is Le Metro,  Byoux et Accessories, at 231 Park Street. The shop is a French experience. Check it out here

Getting there:-

The number 1 tram goes past Chimmys on its way to the South Melbourne Beach.  You can get off, buy a filled baguette and a pastry and perhaps a take away coffee, get on the next tram and picnic at the beach.

Chimmys info and opening hours:-

They serve a cooked breakfast from Wednesday through to Sunday.

They open from 7am every day of the week.  In the weekend they close at 3pm and during the week 4pm.

You can confirm hours etc:- Chimmys phone 9696 7418

Related posts:

1. Red Star Cafe right opposite The South Melbourne Market, Clarendon Street
2. Gas Eateries and Supply Cafe – South Melbourne
3. South Melbourne Market – the best fruit bread in Melbourne

This photo of penguins in Antarctic by Lisa Davidson is on display in the Foyer of the Gasworks Theatre, Albert Park.

There are two galleries in the Gasworks Theatre.  The foyer of the theatre is used for exhibitions and then there is the Angela Robarts-Bird Gallery.

The exhibitions in the foyer rotate regularly usually about every two  weeks so it is easy to miss something on the other hand there is always something new to see. The ones in the Robarts-Bird Gallery often last longer. The exhibition at the moment is called Nordic Ecolog, interesting but not as striking as Lisa Davidson’s photos.

Lisa Davidson’s  photos were taken on a recent trip to the Antarctic.  She traveled there with her mother after her father died of cancer to honour his memory.  He had worked as an engineer in that frozen continent in 1970.

The photos fill the theater foyer and are wonderful;  evocative of the area and reflect a certain magic which must have been part of the photographer’s experience.

The photos are framed and can be bought framed or unframed with the proceeds going to the cancer foundation.

I particularly liked the way some of them are framed – those I have displayed.  The weathered wood some stained and some natural enhances the natural beauty of  that  untamed  environment.

Lisa Davidson has a charming business card featuring a seal – lisadavidson82@gmail.com is a contact for her.

Opening hours 9am to 5pm daily

For gallery contact – Sarah Rainbird
Visual Arts Manager
t: 03 8606 4206
e: sarah@gasworks.org.au

Getting there:

The Number 1 Tram, going to South Melbourne Beach. Get off at the corner of Richardson Street and Victoria Ave, that’s at the Avenue Cafe. Face the beach and walk to your right along Richardson and you’ll be at Gasworks Park in a couple of minutes. To get to the gallery you need to walk to the otherside of the park that is on Graham Street.

Graham Street runs through  from Victoria Avenue but only for foot traffic – if you are driving you have to use Pickles or Richardson Street

Related posts:

1. Gasworks Art Park, Port Melbourne
2. Lunch at Hotel Nest – Albert Park
3. Cafe Saigon, Victoria Avenue, Albert Park

It’s an old Pub on the corner of Victoria and Page Streets that like so many pubs in the area has taken on a new lease of life.  It has taken on a new name too.  It is no longer the Red Eagle but the Hotel Nest with a rather charming logo. It’s on their glasses.

It’s close to the beach and on a calm morning you can take a walk along the beach, breath in the ozone, watch the locals with their dogs and then wander along Victoria Street to Hotel Nest for lunch.

When you arrive head for the Greenhouse room although somehow it is more a garden room with garden paraphernalia hanging from the walls and pots of flourishing Olive trees.

The room is stunning and worth the trip just to see it.  It’s all white and light with a glass roof that retracts.  Yes like the Telstra Dome and now Wimbledon.  Push a button and some of the glass roof move aside – very classy.  The whole make-over is stylish and sophisticated.  I loved it.

The food is described as Modern Australian and priced about right for this type of venue.  We ate what is described on the menu as Nest Wagyu Beef Burger with blue cheese and fries advertised as a Nest classic.  The Wagyu beef was divine but the blue cheese was missing and the chips were McDonald’s.  The egg was a nice touch a reminder that’s it’s Aussie cuisine.   For $20 it would have been nice to have had hand cut fries and enough blue cheese to get the flavour.

The wine was good.  A Glass of  Tarrawarra Estate Chardonnay glass at $9.00 was good drinking.

Hotel Nest is a lovely old traditional building and some of the bygone ambiance is retained in the main dining room, the bar and the function rooms.  But it’s the Greenhouse that gob smacks.  As I said it is worth the trip just to look at it.

Take the Number 1 tram from the city going to South Melbourne and either stay on until you reach the beach or get off at the stop 31, the stop after Richardson Street.  Hotel Nest is on the corner you have just past.

Related posts:

1. Station Hotel, Napier Street, Footscray – lunch in their European-style dining room.
2. Cafe Saigon, Victoria Avenue, Albert Park
3. Cricket Club Hotel South Melbourne – ideal eating on a cold night