Today, I had tea at The Coffee Club (250, Chapel St, Prahran). I ordered a Caesar Salad, and was totally blown away by the fact that there were anchovies, a poached egg and some lemon pepper calamari. Totally impressive, for about $15. I used to think Degraves St. was the best place to get this, but clearly, The Coffee Club has trumped it.

Beer? There’s quite a bit, but most are bottled (like my Leffe Blonde). I should have probably tried the amazing range of coffees available (including ice-blended ones), maybe next time.

Service? They mention its full table service, but its definitely under-staffed. Sitting outside, it was almost impossible to get the attention of the waiter. A friend had a pizza, which was a base, with lots of topping - impressive, if a little different.

Will I be going back? Definitely. They bring a unique twist to the food served. Service can be improved, but maybe I should try it during lunch or dinner.

Putting “beer” in the name of a venue is always going to attract punters. A couple of weeks ago while walking around Fed Square, I saw a sign for Beer DeLuxe and thought why not try it. The venue is split into a beer garden, hamburger grill, espresso cafe, and an inside dining area. I chose the beer garden / hamburger grill and got myself the DeLuxe Burger ($15) and a Sam Adams beer. A friend ordered up the cheeseburger.

The Verdict?
Pretty crap. For $15, you would expect some kind of decent burger. Hell, for $15 you can get a Bogan burger from the Napier or a Wagyu beef burger from Rockpool. The burgers were about the same standard you would get from a fish and chip shop. The food didn’t come with a plate and was served in a takeaway box.

Burgers aside, the beer garden is quite nice as it is at the very inside of the square away from the crowds and there are not many places serving Sam Adams, so that’s definitely points in my book. Although I haven’t tried any of the food inside, if you can’t make a burger then there is little chance the food inside will be any better. Go for the beers and avoid the burgers.

Beer DeLuxe
Federation Square
link

Picture by Michael Blamey (who has a different Melbourne photo on his site every day)

Technorati Tags: Melbourne, Australia, Federation Square, Beer DeLuxe

You will probably have no idea what I am talking about unless you go (or have recently gone) to Melbourne Uni or live in the Carlton-ish area.

Intersection Cafe is a souvlaki/pizza/fried food cafe located in Carlton on the corner of Lygon and Elgin street. It is an institution to Melbourne Uni students as the place to eat after the pub. In previous years, they offered half price pizzas on Thursdays causing huge lines for food and even opened a bar upstairs. Sadly, the man behind the operation, Alex or Smiley to locals is leaving the business.

Currently on Facebook, there is a group called the “Smiley’s (intersection cafe) appreciation society” with a massive 288 members. On there you can post your best Smiley deal; the most amount of food for the least amount of money. Throughout the years, many people, myself included have gotten some great late night deals. Once I even got some pizza for free.

Sadly, all good things have to come to an end. Just as Naughton’s is missed by locals, Smiley will go down as a Carlton and Melbourne Uni legend.

Facebook: Smiley’s (intersection cafe) appreciation society

Picture by Jude Newton

Technorati Tags: Melbourne, Australia, Souvlaki, Smiley, Intersection Cafe

I’ve found my poison and its called Norsiah’s Kitchen. Located opposite Lincoln Square, in Carlton, it is close to Melbourne Uni, a stone’s throw away from the Royal Women’s Hospital.

They serve authentic Malaysian cuisine, cooked in a home-styled manner. My favourite dishes are the curry chicken dishes, nasi lemak as well as the roti prata. Especially on cold wintery nights, the spicy nature of the food keeps me warm.

The kitchen is sparse but clean; grab your own utensils and water from the fridge but the food is the reason why people (mainly students) keep going back. Average price of a meal is around $6.50 - $7.50.

What’s your poison?

Address:
Norsiah’s Kitchen
604 Swanston Street
Carlton 3053
Victoria

Part of the Melbourne Conversation, where the research was into the Transnational & Temporary, was the use of public space. Why is it that malls like Melbourne Central or QV were much more populated, as opposed to parks like Lincoln Square, the State Library (when there was grass), and so forth.

I think many doing the study, haven’t actually studied foreign geography closely enough. Where do the 37% (or 50% if looking at the northern fringes - does this include Melbourne Central/QV? Where exactly does this fringe end? - if Figure 1 was online, its safe to assume the area around RMIT (Latrobe) to UniMelb) of students from overseas come from? Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, mainly (going from memory, afaik - I’m sure there are more, but the major classification stated by the researchers seemed to be these).

Is there a park culture in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong or Vietnam? Having been to four out of the five countries in that list, I can assure you that nobody hangs out in parks. The idea of sitting down on the greens, in the humid sweltering heat, is just not fun. You hit up malls and shopping strips. Air-conditioning is good (same can be said for the heating, here, I guess).

Its only normal that if you’ve grown up spending time in malls, you’d do the same when you go overseas. The park is foreign, as a culture.

Is the solution having little seats below a shady tree? (suggested last night) I don’t think so. Will the use of open public space like parks make them more community members? Or should change be embraced, in where we head for a mall culture?

Years ago (and this was not long ago - 5 years is a good bet), Melbourne didn’t know of Starbucks, Gloria Jeans, or Coffee Bean. Coffee, was to be had at small corner cafes. Now, does anyone want to count the density of coffee joints on Swanston St., for example? Changing culture, has led to a new, more commercialized coffee culture.

Any guesses as to why we have such changing culture? You guessed right, it came from the mall culture that the overseas students brought with them. Businesses recognize this - change is the only constant, and we’re all in it to make a profit. However, some people are still holding on tightly to the past.

If you live in Melbourne, my advise is: don’t even bother. I have tried to curb my caffeine intake 3 times in two years. Each time I can last for a month or two, but living in an area densely populated with cafes obviously dowa not help. And coupled with my so-very weak will-power, every attempt to cut coffee out of my life was infertile.

So, here I am, plunging back to the coffee pool for the third time. And I have made some pretty good discoveries with the help of Melbourne Coffee Review!

Image taken by toolmantim on flickr

Noticed today that Lamb’s on Commerical Road, South Yarra is all boarded up. A group of lads filled a skip with bricks two skips from the drycleaners.

No more delicious late night souvas to soak up all that drink or give you that extra boost before you pass out on some flat, preferably soft surface.

Mind you, in my old age - I’ve found that consuming a full souva at 3am a little too much.

So my late night fav has been the deconstructed chicken souv, a mid sized foil container crammed with melt in your mouth, freshly shaved chicken pieces dripping with jus and a generous squeeze of fresh lemon; a round of toasted pide, conveniently cut into quarters and a tub of garlic sauce. Mmmmmmmm

I know, I know, protein and carbs - not the most balanced meal - but in the early hours the salad just doesn’t do it for me…..

Seems to be a bit of action on Chapel ole Windsor way.

Building opposite Husk (?) cafe - I’m an Orange gal - is up for lease. Think it’s zoned for retail…….Mulatto has a strong following.

Looks like Prahan/Windsor is up for a makeover.

Fingers crossed the amazing shoe man, that all good Melbournian gals who love their shoes swear by, doesn’t get booted out!

neomien has been kicking round the city, dealing with life offline. Not much of an excuse, but you know how it goes.

One of the most wonderful things about melbourne is the food glorious food.

Literally.

The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is coming to a close, replete with well satisfied swollen bellies and tastebuds tantalised.

An aunt of mine was in town recently and I took her on a mini tour of my favorite spots, eating and drinking that is. Yes, I’m a bit of a f**die - I suspect most of us are…..it’s a melbourne thing.

We’re spoilt for choice, so spoilt.

And the beauty of it is that it doesn’t matter what your budget is, you’re bound to find something delish to suit……and no, fastfood does NOT count…….unless you count a quick fresh soft shelled crab hand roll from Kenzan @ GPO or a reviving lamb souv dripping with garlic sauce in the early hours from Stalactites.

In my next couple of posts I’m going to reveal a few of my favs for all occasions……I’d love for you to share your favs with me too……cause there’s nothing I love more than finding a new haunt.

ps. The above pic is taken from the kitchen table of ole skool establishment Pelligrini’s Espresso Bar, home of killer coffee - the good stuff and pasta just like nonna makes.

Your opinions please.

There is a group of us currently at Joe’s Garage in Brunswick. Mediocre fries, smelly pizza & a smoothie which apparently “tastes like someone ate a watermelon & threw it up”.

My vote goes to Brown Sugar in Block Place, in the CBD. They have the best coffee I’ve tasted in Melbourne & great food (especially the bruschetta with basil & tomato, & the sticky date pudding).

I am not 100% sure if this falls into the blog local objective, but it seems this shall happen in Melbourne:

Next Thursday, March 15th, plan on stopping by your local Starbucks between 10am and 12 noon. During that time, Starbucks will be holding is 2nd annual Coffee Break. All company-operated and licensed Starbucks stores in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Greater China will be giving away free Tall (12-ounce) cups of coffee to anyone who drops by. Starbucks Coffee Masters clad in black aprons will be present during each of the coffee breaks to kick off the company’s spring brewing sale and to answer any questions you might have about the coffee or coffee brewing. Last year, many stores used the coffee break period to sample some of their pastries out to customers waiting in line, as well.

(Via Slashfood.)

I don’t often visit a Starbucks but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to check it out for a chance of getting a cup of free coffee!