Grosvenor Hotel

We arrived shortly after 6pm and for a good three quarters of an hour we had the Bistro to ourselves and the waiter’s full attention.  We needed this attention.  The Bistro has an Italian flavour and lacking knowledge of the Italian language we found some of the expressions and words on the menu confusing.   The waiter who had memorised the daunting number of specials was able to explain what we needed to know.   It makes for secure dining when your waiter knows what the food is all about.

Bistro – Grosvenor Hotel

One of the group chose ‘Durum wheat fusilli, almond, chilly and parsley pesto from Trapani with pecorino pepato’ This was listed under pasta and that, of course, is what it was.

Durum wheat fusilli

My other companion and I ordered ‘Kid goat slowly roasted in wood fire oven with peas, potato and five herbs’.  This was much the better choice.  It was delicious and the meat just fell off the bones.

Kid goat slowly roasted in wood fire oven

My friend who had the pasta felt it was a little bland and wasn’t hot enough.  She believes that they served it early and kept it waiting.  When she mentioned that she would have liked it hotter it was explained that was how it should be – something to do with the cheese.  So if you like your pasta steaming hot this isn’t the dish for you.

There is an array of desserts.  Our table had ‘Tiramisu al Fruiti Di Bosco’ which tasted good but unlike your average Tiramisu but none the worse for that.

Tiramisu al Fruiti Di Bosco

And ‘Buffalo Panna Cotta with cantucci crumble, orange and vin santo syrup’,

Buffalo Panna Cotta

We shared a bottle of Merlot Çhurchview ‘Silverleaf’ Margaret River $26.00.  Very good drinking especially with the goat.

Seven o’clock appears to the magic hour for dining in St Kilda and when the clock hit seven the restaurant began to fill up.
The food was interesting with the goat being outstanding  for a cold winter’s night.

We plan to return and try the bar food menu.  It is opens for lunch so that could be an option.

The menus are available on line here and I suggest you have a look at it before you go.  That would have served us well.  We could have given more attention to the specials and with so much to ponder I missed an entree that I later wished I had tried ‘stuffed zucchini flowers with ricotta and pecorino pepato mousse, fregola salade’.

The wines on the wine list are all available in the drive through bottle store at $10.00 less than the wine menu price. So if you liked your choice you can grab a bottle on your way out, knock $10.00 off the price and drink more at home.

The menu identifies dishes that are gluten free and vegetarian.

Where:-
Grosvenor Hotel
10 Brighton Road
St Kilda East.
Phone: 9531 1542
Web: http://www.grosvenorhotel.com.au/

Opening Hours:-
The Bistro opens for dinner from 6pm
The Wine Bar is open all day from 12 noon.

Getting there:-
Tram : 67 tram stops out side
Car: There is a  parking space behind the hotel with the entrance off Grosvenor Street and street parking in the side streets – try Brunning Street

Related posts:

1. Lunch at Hotel Nest – Albert Park
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.

Brighten up a grey winter morning and take in the Graf Art  as you stroll  along Chapel Street, Windsor.  Of course it doesn’t have to be the morning, anytime during the day will do.  But the  in-your-face colours gives a me lift on a grey morning.

The corner of McIlwrick  and Chapel Streets (at Tarlo and Graham)

Most of the art is just around the corner off Chapel Street where there are big flat walls to the sides of the shops.

A lane way off  Duke Street 5 meters from Chapel Street

On a cold winter morning it is a flash of colour to lift the spirits.  Take a look next time you are in Windsor – that is the strip of Chapel Street from the Windsor Railway Station to High Street.

As seen from Chapel Street

It is hard to know what to call this art.  I have heard it called Graf Art, Street Art, Urban Art and I rather like the idea of it being Public Art; that is art that is available for us see as we go about our daily business.  We have the chance to admire, criticize, discuss it and ignore it as we  walk on by.

Corner of Union Street and Chapel Street.

My only wish is that it could be changed more often – like a shop window.  However vivid the piece, you stop seeing it after a while and it becomes part of the background.   I want to be startled out of my morning-fog with something new.

There is also this in the way of public art. Check here I always enjoy this on my way to the South Melbourne Market.

Getting there:-
Windsor end of Chapel Street

Tram
78 runs from St Kilda along Chapel Street into Church Street and then to Richmond.
6 from CBD to Glen Iris runs along High Street cross Chapel Street.

Trains
Sandringham Line to Windsor Station

Related posts:

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

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

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.

I know this happens all the time but it came as a shock to me when I found a place I knew well was to change.

Yesterday I drove past a corner I used to live near.  As I waited at the red traffic light I saw this new notice attached to a charming old house.

” Construction begins soon,”  ‘they’ say. I always liked this house especially since it was painted black.

This is a corner in St Kilda where Inkerman Street crosses Barkly Street and becomes Grey Street.
You may recognize the corner because of this block.

The old uncared for houses opposite the building have wonderful concrete decorations on the second stories.

The notice of construction suggests more modern sleek units will pop up and the old pretty decorated houses will vanish.  In time we will forget they were there and we will forget what we have lost.

I want to remember this Melbourne Place as it is now. That is why I am posting the photos;  to keep a record of what was on this corner in 2011.

The corner is a bit of a show place of old houses displaying the frivolous and labour intensive concrete decorations of the past.

I suggest if you go through this area look up and check out the beautiful upper stories of these building.  Better still take time at a red light to click a memory-photo.

Strangely, the corner milk-bar/laundry appears to be invincible.

I used to do my laundry here every Sunday morning while I read the papers.  It has stayed exactly the same! It even has the same ice cream ads on the windows as it did then.  Will it be next to go?

This is the corner of Grey Street, Inkerman and Barkly Streets, St Kilda.

There are some interesting and long-term shops here too;

“The Bitch is Back” features 20th century modern interiors.

“Surround” features contemporary and often cutting-edge-furniture.  They have they have some of the most stunning window displays in Melbourne.

“Liquid Snow Tours” at the moment they are collecting used and new warm snow gear for the victims of the Japanese Earthquake.

Several eating places including “Mr Wolf”. – It is a great corner.

To get there by tram:-
Catch the 67 to the corner of Inkerman Street and St Kilda Road
Turn right and wander up Inkerman Street until you get to the corner with Barkly Street.    It is an interesting stretch of road.

Related posts:

1. Sacred Heart Mission’s Inkerman Street Op Shop adds new interest to East St Kilda
2. Salvos move to Carlisle Street, St Kilda and take on a new look.
3. Gattica Restaurant, St Kilda East, is all about atmosphere

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