suburb

Frying Colours

Table

In mid-January my parents came over for a brief visit. Unlike their usual 4-6 week stays, on this occasion it was only for a week. They were meant to have a relative with them, and I was tasked with organising a restaurant for dinner, with the usual ‘just book anything, anything is fine’. At the last minute our relative pulled out of the trip, but mum and dad ended up coming anyway.

I had booked a table at Frying Colours in Kensington Village. When Ma arrived, she asked me where I’d booked, saying suspiciously: “It’s not Chinese, is it?”

“No, it’s Korean.”

“Okay good.” (Yes, my Chinese mother doesn’t like Chinese food, something that she feels the need to remind me, not like I would forget being her daughter and all.) Then this was followed up by: “It’s not Korean bbq, is it? I don’t like bbq.”

Sometimes finding a place to eat out can be very trying!

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Don’t Tell Charles

Don't Tell Charles

I found out about Don’t Tell Charles thanks to a bicycle.

Really, a bicycle.

Normal signage is so pervasive that it’s easy to ignore. But Don’t Tell Charles (DTC) advertised themselves on a bicycle propped on a lamp post – and it totally worked!

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Ascot Food Store

Ascot Food Store

In October, Alastair and I will have been living in our place for ten years.

Ten years!

When we first moved in, the cafe scene around this area wasn’t particularly amazing (though to be fair, I can barely remember what I did before Xmas, so maybe it’s just my memory playing tricks on me) however that’s changed in the past few years with some great cafes opening up.

Despite this, we seem to keep going back to the same places rather than seeking out new ones. I do try and push us out of our rut every now and again, and just before Xmas this meant we ended up having breakfast at Ascot Food Store.

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Jerry’s Burgers ‘n’ Shakes

Burgers and fries

It’s not just me who’s pretty much stopped going to fine dining, right? Food trends have become much more casual over the past couple of years, haven’t they?

Or am I just being lazy? Because I seem to be frequenting much more casual places – for example, burger eateries – than before.

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The Social Kitchen + a giveaway

The Social Kitchen

Disclosure: I attended courtesy of The Fisher & Paykel Social Kitchen & Q Strategies

The other week I headed down to Queen Victoria Market – and not to shop, as most people do.

Instead, I was there for a cooking class at The Fisher & Paykel Social Kitchen, a new venture that’s a dedicated, hands on cooking school located in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Queen Victoria Market.

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Black Caviar: Crown Golden Ale Caulfield Cup 2014 preview

Beer

I attended the Crown Golden Ale Caulfield Cup preview dinner courtesy of Melbourne Racing Club and Haystac.

Well. Hello! My month’s absence was mostly an unintended hiatus. I can’t even really say that I was busy? We returned home from our holiday, I hung out at home for a bit, went back to work, and blogging just went on the backburner (much like editing holiday photos oyyyyy).

However, one thing I did do in the past month was this dinner at Caulfield Racecourse.

Now I do have a confession to make. 10+ years in Melbourne, and despite living not particularly far from the Flemington Racecourse, I have never yet been to the races. But that is changing this year. Thanks to Haystac I’m heading to the Caulfield Cup next weekend, and I also attended this preview dinner for the Black Caviar restaurant at Caulfield Racecourse.

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8bit

Yoda

8bit is the latest (only?) gourmet burger joint in Footscray, and in the few short months since it’s been open it’s already received a lot of attention online. The place is themed around old school video games (hence 8bit), with the decor similarly inspired, a playable arcade machine inside, and all the burgers and hot dogs named after various titles from what some would say is the golden age of video gaming. There’s nothing like a bit of nostalgia, hey? 🙂

Alastair and I stopped by for lunch one weekend and they were doing a roaring trade, with plenty of people waiting for takeaway. They were pretty busy but we didn’t have a problem finding a seat inside, with customers eating and moving on pretty quickly.

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Crown: Colours of Cuba

Nobu cocktails

Disclosure: I attended Colours of Cuba courtesy of Crown.

I’m currently in Canada, but a couple of Mondays ago I was in Cuba.

Actually, that is a total and blatant untruth. I was actually at Crown for the kick off for their Colours of Cuba fiesta.

Colours of Cuba is running over four weeks (so there’s a couple of weeks left) and all venues within Crown are interpreting the theme in their own way with special drinks and food.

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DuNord

Cocktail

Disclosure: My meal was courtesy of DuNord.

You have to love Melbourne.

Pretty much whatever cuisine tickles your fancy – you can find it.

Feel like – oh, I don’t know – Nordic cuisine? Because if that’s what you’d like, trot on down to DuNord on Little Bourke Street, where they serve Nordic-inspired cuisine and cocktails.

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