suburb

Hargreaves Hill Brewing Company

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Beer paddle

There’s something nice about getting out of Melbourne for a drive and lunch – even if it’s only down to the Mornington Peninsula or to the Yarra Valley.

When you go with friends it’s even better: you can sing along to cheesy songs (stop right now, thank you very much / the vengabus is coming / we are titaniuuuuuuuuum) and do some llama llama llama! spotting.

A wee while ago, Shellie organised a group of us on a trip to the Yarra Valley with lunch at Hargreaves Hill Brewing Company. Hargreaves Hill is a micro brewery, and the restaurant is in a very attractive former National Bank building.

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Hannah

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Coffee

Hannah is sweet.

This Hannah is probably the sweetest Hannah of all Hannahs in the entire world (sorry to all other Hannahs, it’s truth) but unfortunately she’s on the other side of the world. Much closer to me is cafe Hannah, located down the St Kilda end of Chapel Street. It’s not quite as sweet, but sweet enough.

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Taste of Melbourne 2013 preview at Burch & Purchese + giveaway

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Burch and Purchese

Disclosure: I attended courtesy of Taste of Melbourne, B&P and Hothouse Media.

Hello and happy end of October! November is rolling in quickly.

November means (hopefully) – warmer weather, more sunlight and also Taste of Melbourne, which is returning to Albert Park on Thursday 14 November – Sunday 17 November. The other week I headed to Burch & Purchese Sweet Studio for a preview event.

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Bomba

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Bomba rooftop

Disclosure: I dined courtesy of Bomba.

Lots of things in life seem to be cyclical. Food wise, one of the trends lately is for more informal, cheaper dining, with most of the new restaurants opening lately being of a more casual nature. I’ve personally succumbed to this trend – you may have noticed a lack of fine dining on this blog this year.

In line with the more casual theme, The Aylesbury in Lonsdale Street recently closed and has been revamped as Bomba, a Spanish style bar and restaurant.

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Twenty & Six Espresso

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Twenty and Six

Do you want to hear something dumb?

I (occasionally and only when Alastair and I are alone) burst into spontaneous jingles narrating whatever I might be doing at the time.

At the supermarket buying snacks? “Buying all the snacks, buying all the snacks, I’m at the supermarket buying all the snacks.”

You get the idea.

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Miss Katie’s Crab Shack

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Mallet

Fried chicken. Crab boil. Corn bread. Chilli dog. Crab burger.

If that sounds good to you, I suggest going to the front room of The Public Bar for Miss Katie’s Crab Shack for a potentially messy but delicious meal. I visited with Thanh and Alastair last weekend for an early dinner and we made a MESS. Fortunately – as you’ll be able to see from the photos – the tables are covered in newspaper, and for good reason.

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Mr Nice Guy

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Mr Nice Guy

Disclosure: I dined courtesy of Mr Nice Guy and Zilla & Brook.

Mr Nice Guy could be run by two of the nicest people in hospitality. Owned by the same people behind Middle Fish – Pla Liamthong and David Holtum – Mr Nice Guy came from a desire to do a night time trade, something that Middle Fish was restricted from for a long time.

Where Middle Fish serves more traditional Thai food, Mr Nice Guy’s focus is a bit more fusion – incorporating Thai flavours with more modern cooking techniques.

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The Quiet Man

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Guinness

There’s no quiet in the Quiet Man.

There is Guinness on tap, some pretty good pub meals, but there’s definitely no quiet.

The Guinness is a clue to the background of The Quiet Man: it’s an Irish pub on Racecourse Road in Flemington. Alastair and I have eaten there several times, and the food is generally pretty good. The menu is quite large, covering classics like fish and chips, chicken parma, and steak, plus other dishes with an Irish twist.

Several months ago, Alastair and I had an impromptu dinner there. We were lucky to get a table – I recommend booking on Friday or Saturday nights as they do get quite busy.

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Queen Victoria Market: Foodies Dream Tour

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QVM

I attended the QVM tour courtesy of Queen Vic Market and Little Big Marketing.

I always like to get to a market whenever we go overseas (see here, here, here, here, and here) because I’m such a food nerd that it’s my idea of a good time. (Sorry Alastair!).

Recently I did a tour of the Queen Victoria Market. I met my group and our guide, Cleve, at the tour office. It was a particularly cold and wet day, so we stayed in the shelter of the office while Cleve gave us a brief history of the Market.

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Union Food and Wine

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Union

Union Food and Wine, on Union Street in Ascot Vale, opened recently and one morning Alastair and I were free and decided to visit for breakfast. After we had been seated for a few minutes, I realised that we had been there before. It had been a bistro or restaurant that was obviously forgettable, however I did recognise the room since the skeleton had been kept and just spruced up. It was a good space with the corner location, large windows, and the bright airiness, and it remains so.

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