A strong recommendation from a colleague prompted my first visit.  She went on a week day evening and loved the food.  She likened it to tapas and it is a kind of Yum Char that you order from the menu.

She took a bunch of cards while she was there and distributed them around the office.  We joked that she was getting commission but she said it was that she enjoyed the atmosphere and the food she wanted us to know about it.
The atmosphere is something else – I haven’t experienced it before.  Take a look at these photos.

One of the things I like about Yum Char is seeing the dishes pass-by giving a visual view before you decide to sample.  For this to really work you need to go to a large busy Chinese restaurant where they cater for a large number of people.  Then you get variety and freshly cooked dishes.   A smaller place doesn’t give you the same variety and I think that often dishes go round and round for a couple of hours.

The Red Door is a smaller place.  A strange place when you walk in.  It is full of Chinese antiques.  It is wonderful.  Rather like eating in a relaxed antique shop.

We went for Saturday lunch and we chose to eat at a table in the window.  If we weren’t addicted to people gazing while we talk  we would have had a different experience of being swallowed into a different world by choosing a table in the interior.  Well try that next time.

You can see the Red Door Menu here

We chose Prawn and Crab Dumplings, Vegetarian Jiao Zi, Duck Bean Curd Wrap, Northern Chive & Prawn Dumplings.

Vegetarian Jiao Zi

Prawn & Crab Dumplings

For desert we had Red bean and Custard sweet buns.

These Red Bean sweet buns were delicious.

In fact all the food was good and I thanked my colleague for the recommendation that took us to the Red Door.  We will be back.
Red Door:-
1  McIlwrick Street,(off Chapel Street)
Windsor
Phone 9510 9658

Opening Hours:-
Monday:     Closed
Tuesday:    Dinner only  6pm-10pm
Wednesday to Sunday:  Lunch 12pm-3pm  Dinner 6pm-10pm

Web:-

http://reddooryumcha.com/r/

Getting there: -
Train:-
The Sandringham Line to Windsor Station – McIlwrick Street is opposite the station.
78 Tram:-
This tram runs from St Kilda East to Richmond along Chapel Street.

Related posts:

1. Trash, Treasure or vintage? It is hard to decide in Womango, 47 Chapel Street, Windsor/Prahran.
2. Street Art at the Windsor end of Chapel Street.
3. The Oriental Tea House on Chapel Street, South Yarra – good eating

This notice is in Tarlo & Grahm’s current window display – I hope you can read it.

Tarlo & Graham’s windows are always fascinating to me.  I have written about them before in ” Tarlo & Graham – view their windows”.

I don’t believe anyone else would decorate their window with objects burned in their fire.

This is their second window onto Chapel Street.

Tarlo &  Graham’s windows are one of the best reasons for a walk along Chapel Street, Windsor. They excel themselves with the strange, fun, wacky, ugly, weird, macabre – well you have to see them for yourself.  They never fail to raise a smile, a laugh, or a gasp.  Try to catch these ones before they change again.

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
78 Tram:-
This tram runs from St Kilda East to Richmond along Chapel Street.

Website:-

http://www.tarloandgraham.com

Related posts:

1. Tarlo & Graham – view their windows as you stroll Chapel Street
2. Street Art at the Windsor end of Chapel Street.
3. Chapel Street – They Funky End at Windsor

Brunswick Street, Fitzroy can be hot on summer days.  But even the hot pavements don’t keep us away.   We still flock there to meet, drink coffee, eat, shop and so on.  I often browse  in the weekends and when I wish for a cool breeze or just time out from the hurly-burly of the street I head to the Fitzroy Nursery on the corner of  Brunswick Street and Leicester Street .

This is favourite Melbourne Place of mine to relax, unwind, cool down and drift.   I love the atmosphere, the sound of running water and all the large leafy plants.    I have mentioned these gardens in a previous post here .

On  a  recent visit I was introduced to some new and different metal sculptures.  As I listened to the sound of trickling water and stood under the shade of some large, leafy shrubs and trees I admired these iron sculptured animals.

Grant the Goat

Blind Mouse

The metal animals seen in my previous post are made from recycled corrugated iron and created in New Zealand.  They have moved to new homes and these have taken their place.

This is Clara the Cow leading the bunch along Brunswick Street

They are made in Vietnam from recycled and scrap  metal.  I understand that they are made in a community workshop with the money going back into the community.  Check them out – you can do this by walking past.  They are so creative.  I can’t decided whether the colours are the original colours painted on the metal or whether there has been a bit of touch up.  If you look carefully you can see parts of old brand names.  I’m fascinated by their eyes.  I have been trying to work out what those metal circles were used for in their previous life.  Someone may know.

Where:-
Fitzroy Nursery – Artist’s Gardens
390 Brunswick Street
Fitzroy

Opening hours:-
9.00am to 5.30pm weeksdays
9.30am to 5.30pm Weekends and Public Holidays

They change their hours slightly in the winter – may be worth checking.

Phone 9417 3272

Getting there:-
Tram 112

Related posts:

1. Fitzroy Nursery – Garden Oasis in Fitzroy
2. Cooks’ Cottage set in the Fitzroy Gardens takes you back to the 18th century.
3. Guilfoyle’s Volcano in the Royal Botanical Gardens – look into the crater.

Because of its location in suburban Melbourne the address is a sort of secret.  This is so tour parties can collect at a Melbourne hotel and be transported to the house, where the collection is on show, in a bus that belongs to the Johnston Collection. It seems the local residents don’t want people coming and going.  It is that sort of street.

Sadly no photographs are allowed.  This is because of the insurance cover.  However photos can be seen on the Johnston Collection web site

William Johnston’s house is among elegant town houses like these.

This collection is the work of one man, William Johnston.  It  is made up of antiques, curios and quirky pieces that represent the various passions of this astute and charming man who loved beautiful things and collected them. William Johnstone died in 1986 and left his collection, and his houses to the Victoria State Government.

The collection is huge with a large part of it being stored in a warehouse near Government House.

The current exhibition has been arranged by the fashion designer  Akira Isogawa and is called ‘Akira Isogawa Meets Mr Johnston’.

Isogawa had the run of the house and the warehouse to make the choices he wanted to use to give the house his touch and style, and to create his own ambiance in the rooms. This gives some of the rooms an Asian flavour.  However the curator has to work with the wall colours, the window drapes and the floor coverings.

The wall colours are Victorian so besides the Asian influence there is a touch of Victoriana  in every room.

The mood for the tour is set as you arrive through the charming formal garden and into a graceful reception room. You are offered tea or coffee in delicate English tea cups and a piece of home made shortbread.

William Johnston’s life is discussed and his passion for collecting revealed.  His passion began when his grandmother gave him a delicate Minton tea cup that he fell in love with. This cup is on display on a bedside table in this exhibition.

The streets in this part of Melbourne are wide with central nature strips.

If you do get to view the collection make sure you see the courtyard garden.  It is lovely.

I am going to keep the faith and keep the address a secret. It is such a pleasure to be allowed to view these beautiful things that I would hate to spoil it by upsetting any of the locals.

Information:
Akira Isogawa Meets Mr Johnston runs until 20th October 2010

My Cup Runneth Over: Christmas at The Johnston Collection 2010
3rd November – 25th February

A very charming local house.

Visitor Admission:-
Weekday Tour Times:
Guided tours at 10.00 am, 12.00 noon and 2.15 pm.
Weekday Tour Cost:
Adults $22.00
Concession $18.50 (Seniors, Pensioners & Students)

Contact:- Phone 9416 2515

http://www.johnstoncollection.org/index.html

Related posts:

1. Russell House, the oldest residence in Melbourne’s CBD
2. Australian Made: 100 years of Fashion at the Ian Potter Centre, Federation Square
3. John Brack @ the Ian Potter Center, Federation Square, Melbourne CBD

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

Related posts:

1. Tarlo & Graham after the fire
2. Street Art at the Windsor end of Chapel Street.
3. Trash, Treasure or vintage? It is hard to decide in Womango, 47 Chapel Street, Windsor/Prahran.

From the platform you walk into the old, red, brick station building left over from the time when this was a railway line.  It houses railway memorabilia.

Wader around and you get to absorb the experience of travelling along route 96  when the journey was taken by train.
There is much old railway paraphernalia to browse through and also, beautifully resorted and polished pieces of furniture.  Some of the pieces are huge and hidden under smaller things. It takes ages to see what is there.

A nice touch, as you walk up the concrete ramp from Canterbury Road into the quaint red brick building, is the ticket dispenser still holding those old cardboard tickets.  It is as if you should take a ticket to continue your journey though the building.

Some of my favourite pieces:-

Station clock.

Station trolley

A small back door from the store leads onto the light rail platform and the other end of the long narrow building becomes a coffee shop.  This is a relaxed and friendly place. The word homely could describe it.

It is an odd cafe to find in sophisticated Albert Park.  It is like wandering into someone’s kitchen and asking for a snack.

The kitchen runs behind the counter and if you arrive at the right time you can see the cook cum barista cum waitress taking a cake from the oven.  She makes all the food. The menu is simple, toasted sandwiches, cakes, biscuits, some large and beautiful meringues served with cream.

The coffee is good and the baked cheese cake one of the best around, there are papers and magazines to read, an open courtyard with more railway artefacts and the sound of the light rain swishing past to let you know that this is a station.

Coffee at Albert Park Station – Tram route 96

The Railway antiques are open daily 9.30 to 5.00pm

The coffee shop is closed on Mondays

Getting there:-
Ride the 96 tram to the Albert Park Station stop

Related posts:

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

The Carlisle Street Bazaar opened just before Christmas adding another retail experience to shopping in the piece of Carlisle Street around the Balaclava Rail Station.
This Carlisle Street Bazaar replaces a store where I often browsed.  It was one of those stores that covered an eclectic range merchandise – clothes, furniture, home ware, jewelery, gifts.    All this appeared to be individually chosen to give a cohesion to the store.  This space has now morphed into the Carlisle Street Bazaar.  It is as if the original store has re-invented itself and presented a new face to the world, the cohesion has gone but the atmosphere has livened up.

To me it is an improvement.  For one thing the space is lighter and brighter.   I found the old space rather gloomy.  The variety is better and it is more fun to browse.

Stock moves too.  There was a hand created metal pig and sheep when I first walked into the Bazaar and a few days later they had gone.  “Snapped up,” I was told.  They still have smaller roosters from the same artist.  They are the sort of patio/garden object that lift your spirits and cause you to smile.

So far the Carlisle Street Bazaar have been a constantly changing visual feast – new clothes, new displays, new bric-a-brac.

At this point the venture looks successful and it will be interesting to watch it evolve. I like the original art and would like to see more creative works for sale.

To discuss hiring space: – phone   0411598411.
Opening hours: -

Monday to Saturday 10.00am to 6.00pm.  The Bazaar closes at 5.00pm on Sunday.

Getting there:

Trams – 12, 3, going along Carlisle Street, first stop past St Kilda Road. 67 Tram get off at the corner of Carlisle and St Kilda Road  or a 78 that runs from Richmond to the St Kilda East end of Chapel Street.

Train – Sandringham line to Balaclava Stration

Related posts:

1. Salvos move to Carlisle Street, St Kilda and take on a new look.
2. Sacred Heart Mission’s Inkerman Street Op Shop adds new interest to East St Kilda
3. Eastern European Flavours in East St Kilda

I was browsing  there the other day and rummaged right into the depths of the shop – the depths of Books for Cooks is a sort of back room tucked away on the left hand side of the shop.

It was there I had one of those great nostalgic moments that come occasionally – a sort of arrow shot from the blue that takes you back in time.  I discovered the Books for Cooks collection of the Time Life Series of ‘Foods of the World’.

I was immediately flung back to a basic eat-in kitchen of  years ago and the magic a couple of these books brought to our quiet traditional suburban lives. It was a time when we ate meat, potatoes and two vegetables for the main meal of the day.

Pomegranate and Coffee

The first book I ever saw was ‘Cooking of the Middle East’ and it opened a whole other world to us. The cover features a picture a pomegranate.  I had never seen one of these  and at that time at least half of the ingredients used in the recipes were unobtainable where I lived. This prevented us from experimenting with many of the recipes.  ‘The Cooking of Italy’ was of more use to us.

The Cooking of Italy

We knew about spaghetti.  We ate it from a can and we bought macaroni which we could substitute for the unavailable pastas.  The cheeses in the photos looked mouth-watering but were not readily available so our dishes had a distinct cheddar flavour.

Italian Cheese numbered and discussed

There are two books in the package.  A coffee-table-size full of stunning photos,  the  history of the food and wines of the country,  useful information and some recipes.  An A5 ring binder gives most of the recipes and is easy to use on the bench.   Books for Cooks are selling them separately.

Italian wines numbered and discussed

These books have stood the test of time although some of the fashion in the photos is a bit retro. It surprises me that the books haven’t been revised and re-published.   I was astounded to find there are 27 titles,  and they cover such little known traditional food-styles as  American Creole,  Acadian  Cooking and Cooking of the Caribbean Islands?

I’m heading back to Books to Cooks for another bit of nostalgia and to add to my growing collection of  the Time Life Series of ‘Foods of the World’.     I think I will be the person who buys Acadian Cooking.  It’s the cooking of the French-speakers who live in the French-speaking areas of Atlantic Canada.  They like to use one pot for everything which is appealing.

Books for Cooks is at 233-235 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy – just around the corner from Smith Street.
Phone 8415 1415
Opening hours: 10.00 to 6.00 Monday to Saturday, 11.00 to 5.00 Sundays

Getting there:-

Take the 86 or the 95 tram from the city
There is metered parking in Gertrude Street

Related posts:

1. Books for Cooks Gertrude Street – Fitzroy
2. Cooks’ Cottage set in the Fitzroy Gardens takes you back to the 18th century.
3. Fitzroy Nursery – Artist’s Gardens on Brunswick Street. Fitzroy

In Victoria Street, Richmond the Two Dollar Bargain and Gift Shops are different.

They can look the same outside. A collection of brooms and door mats and so on parked on the pavement but inside they are a treasure trove.  You step into another world.  I sometimes go to Richmond just to browse through them.  It’s an outing all on its own.  I wander over there just to gaze, buy a few things  and to  remind myself of exciting and happy visits to Hong Kong and  Ho Chi Minh City.

This area is unique in Melbourne and if you were whisked there from outer space you could be forgiven for thinking that you had arrived in Hong Kong, or Ho Chi Minh City.

There would be a moment of disorientation. Only a moment – it is quiet on Victoria Street compared with either of those vibrant cities but the ambiance is the same.    The Bargain Shops say it all.  There is much to experience.

One of my favourite purchases is this tea pot and mug bought from different shops at a total cost of Just over $18.00.  A good bargain.

The tea pot has a strainer inside – the first time I have seen that. I like leaf tea and I can make a pot of tea when I wake up and then drink it as I get ready for work without it stewing and getting that bitter taste that stewed tea can get when the leaves sit in it too long.

It’s my favourite pot for green tea too but I drink that from this lovely yellow chrysanthemum mug.

I keep looking for a tea pot to match the mug.  No luck so far.  If you see one let me know.

I haven’t bought a lucky tree yet but I fancy one for the front porch especially at Chinese New Year.

Voices in my head tell me if I bought one of these colourful trees it may bring me luck.   The same voice tells me that if I bought a lucky a cat with his paw up and waving my fortunes would improve. A more prosaic voice tells me we make our own luck.  But there is no harm in giving luck a helping hand.   Luck overflows in the Bargain Shops along Victoria Street Richmond.  And I am going to buy a lucky tree next Chinese New Year.

Remember to let me know if you see a beautiful chrysanthemum mug – perhaps there is another place in Melbourne I could try.

Getting There:.– Victoria Street Richmond
The 109 Tram from Port Melbourne goes along Collins Street – through the CBD and then along Victoria Street in Richmond.
The 78 Tram runs the full length of Chapel Street from the St Kilda East, through Prahran into Church Street and terminates at the corner of Church Street and Victoria Street, Richmond. This is a great tram if you live along the route.

There’s one hour meter parking in Victoria Street.

Related posts:

1. Have fun at the Minh Phat Asian Supermarket, Richmond -
2. Asia on Victoria Street in Richmond
3. The best place to buy a fresh (that is dead) duck in Melbourne

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.

Related posts:

1. Trash, Treasure or vintage? It is hard to decide in Womango, 47 Chapel Street, Windsor/Prahran.
2. Street Art at the Windsor end of Chapel Street.
3. Tarlo & Graham – view their windows as you stroll Chapel Street