It is here that the City of Port Phillip are nurturing some of the indigenous plants of  the area .  This strip between St Kilda Pier and Fraser Street has all the right conditions for these plants to grow.  There is Scrub, Grassland and Saltmarsh, everything these indigenous plants need.

Most of the plantings are fairly recent as you can see and it is to be hoped that they take root and find that this piece of beach is where they want to live and multiply.

This one of my favourites.  It is a little silvery, springy type of bush and I am keeping watch to see just how it will take and how big it will grow.

Port Phillip City Council have constructed a walkway through the area and it is a very pleasant place to be on a sunny winter morning.  The path winds through the vegetation and there are seats so you can take in the view.

On a clear day the view is spectacular but even on an overcast day the colours can be interesting.

Getting there:-
Tram 96,16 or 3  to St Kilda . Then stroll along Beaconsfield Parade towards Port Melbourne.

Related posts:

1. The Beach Bar and Grill at The Stokehouse on St Kilda Beach is a feel good experience.
2. Cafe Racer, St Kilda Beach
3. Autumn at St Kilda Beach

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

One of my favourite breakfasts in Melbourne is at Hot Honey in Armstrong Street, Middle Park.  I eat breakfast there about three or four times a year and I always choose the same thing. I never eat anything else.

Recently we were there again and thought we needed to  study the menu and move on.  We told each other that ordering the same thing every time we walked through the door was boring.   We studied the menu.  We discussed various options.  We looked at the plates on the tables near us.  We mentioned to our waiter that we thinking of trying something different and told him what we usually ate.

He said, “Why don’t you try it with a poached egg?  When I eat it that’s the way I have it.”

That decided us.  So once again we ordered,  ‘House made corn bread with grilled bacon, fresh avocado and tomato salsa and sour cream’ and then we added, “With a poached egg”.

We smiled at each other  “That’s different” we both said at once.

Why be adventurous when you know what you want?

House made corn bread etc with a poached egg.

This is an example of what we could have had if we had moved away from the ‘tried and loved’.

‘Beetroot and sunflower loaf topped with smashed roast pumpkin and ricotta and balsamic beetroot reduction’.

For something more spicy; ‘Middle Eastern Eggs: two poached eggs in a rich Napoli sauce with chickpeas, Dukka, and a mint coriander and green chilli salsa’

Anything with poached eggs would be good their poached eggs were cooked, perfectly.

Where:-
Hot Honey
40 Armstrong Street
Middle Park

Phone:-
9696 1900

Hours:-
7.30am to 5.00pm seven days a week.

Getting there:-
96 Tram – you get off at the Mart Cafe where the food is delicious and the atmosphere unique so drag yourself past that and cross Canterbury Road and head into Armstrong Street.

Find out more about Hot Honey from their web site.

Related posts:

1. Mart Cafe – Tram route 96 Stop 130 Middle Park
2. Gattica Restaurant, St Kilda East, is all about atmosphere
3. Cafe Racer, St Kilda Beach

There is something about looking at a rose and knowing its name.  It adds an extra pleasure.  With no names it’s like a never ending sea of flowers. There is no way to distinguish one from the other.  I like to isolate the individual. I have mentioned the lack of names before see here. And see Ester’s comment.  I hope it has been a labour of love and my thanks to Ester.

It is also fun to see the names the rose breeders have come up with;  Dolly Parton for example.   Would you have guessed the name by looking at the rose?

Then there is Apricot Passion – it sounds like a wallow in a mango.

Reading the names as I did the other morning, showed how many of the roses had been propagated by rose breeder David Austin.

Then there are those attributed to Alister Clark and of course it is his rose garden.  This name of his is a puzzle.

I thank the ‘Rose Namer’.  It is lovely to become acquainted with these roses  – it’s a pity the prickles prevent a handshake.

Where:-
St Kilda Botanical Gardens
The gardens are open from sunrise to sunset (from dawn until dusk) seven days a week.

Getting there:-
96 Tram to the terminus the end of Acland Street. Walk up Blessington Street – on your left.
67 Tram to the corner of Brighton Road and Carlisle Street and walk along Blessington Street -on the right off  Brighton Road.

Related posts:

1. Alister Clark Rose Garden – Botanical Gardens St Kilda.
2. Alister Clark’s Rose Garden in Full Bloom
3. St Kilda Botanical Gardens – a winter view

Zum Zum serves Middle Eastern food and more particularly Lebanese.  It is a few weeks since I have had Lebanese food and after lunch at Zum Zum I won’t leave it so long between indulging again.

We arrived about noon for lunch and grabbed a table that was outside and partly shaded, sipped a wine while we thought of food.

The wine was a generous pour.

There is a special lunch menu with very reasonable prices and we chose from that. I photographed it.  I hope you are able to check it out from this image.

We chose Silver beet rolls with chickpeas, rice, tomatoes and spices to share.  These are something like dolmates but more flavoursome than the ones I am used to.

Silver beet rolls with chickpeas, rice, tomato and spices

For mains we made an individual selection.

Fatteh – warm chickpea salad mixed with yogurt & tahini sauce

Lahmi B ajeen – filo pastry stuffed with lamb pinenuts and pomegranate essence

Both of us agreed that we liked our selection and we would order them again.  Perhaps that is unlikely as the menu is so interesting at another lunch we would probably try something different.

Zum Zum is definitely a place to return for lunch although too much of this delicious Lebanese influenced food and you could start to have withdrawal symptoms. And it is great value for money.

Inside dining

I haven’t tried dinner at Zum Zum but someone may be able to comment on that.

Where:-
Cafe Zum Zum
645 Rathdowne St
Carlton North 3054 VIC

Phone 9348 0455

Getting there:-
Tram 96 to East Brunswick.
It runs along Nicholson Street. Get off at Newry Road and walk left, through to Rathdowne Street.

Parking:-
There is two hour parking in the surrounding streets

Related posts:

1. Rocco Pantaleo – La Porchetta North Carlton
2. Motorbikes at La Porchetta Carlton North
3. “Little Italy” – Lygon Street – Carlton

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

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

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