Melbourne Places

Get the flavour of East Timor at the Gallery in the St Kilda Town Hall – enter from Carlisle Street.  The gallery is opposite the cashier in the foyer.  You can check out the gallery when you pay for parking permits, rates or other council fees, or just pop  in and take a look.
The current [...]

Degraves Street, Hardware Lane, ACDC Lane, Centre Place, Crossley Street, Hosier Lane, Myers Place and Degraves Street.
This is a list of some of the more well-know laneways in Melbourne’s CBD. I have begun and finished with Degraves Street because it’s my favourite laneway.   I like its grunginess and dinginess.  Its vibe and its people.  I [...]

The Albion Hotel is  alive and well.
I visited this Port Melbourne Pub first in January 2010.  (See here)   To find that some good things stay the same is very comforting. The decor is the same, the fires still burn and the people are still there.

These days I often head off to some-place and find [...]

I visited the Red Door in Windsor about eighteen months ago (see here) and had lunch with a friend.  The Red Door was relaxed and peaceful.  Even though there were a number of customers the feeling was one of intimacy.

Last Saturday evening I returned with a group of ten people for an evening out.  Fortunately [...]

The Red Door has been operating in the same space for number years.  I have seen the red door and the beautiful street art on the side of the wall but never visited until now.  I’m not sure why.

A strong recommendation from a colleague prompted my first visit.  She went on a week day evening [...]

St Kilda Night Market up-date.
This popular market was put on hold at the end of last year because of  problems with the organizers’  negotiations with the Port Phillip City Council.  Things have changed and I found on my return to Melbourne from holiday that this wonderful market was again operating.   If you don’t know the [...]

I lunched recently with friends at Lau’s Family Kitchen.

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 [...]

The smell of food cooking leads you to the Suzuki Night Market.   The smell is delicious with the main ingredient being the aroma of barbecuing.  This is strange because when you get into the market there is an incredible selection foods – a chance to eat your way around the world with food from many [...]

My first visit to Shakarhari, the vegetarian restaurant at 201/203 Faraday Street  in Carlton, was a few years ago.
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.  [...]

A wet cold lunch time in Brunswick and where do you eat?  I’m sure there are hundreds of places but we happened to be more or less outside the Vietnamese cafe, Green Field Asia Restaurant.

If you want ambiance and decor then the Green Field Asia Restaurant is not for you.  This lack of atmosphere makes [...]