Melbourne, Australia: 8 of my Favourite Brunch Spots

THE EIGHT I ATE: 8 OF MY FAVOURITE 
BRUNCH SPOTS IN MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

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If there ever was a hill to die on, it would be the Melbourne food scene. And what a delicious hill. Melbourne cafe culture is some of the best in the world - for that, you can thank the Italian community and their love of coffee - and extremely competitive, to boot. The best meal of the day in Melbourne is arguably brunch, which Melburnians have elevated into an art form: from ridiculously photogenic superfood platters heaving with berries, grains, and seeds; to experiments with international flavours (2017 was the year of Korean-flavoured everything), to the hangover-friendly classic comforts of smashed avo on toast. I spent 3 weeks attempting to eat my way across the city and the suburbs, and although I hardly made a dent in the culinary offerings of Melbourne (I did say it was a hill to happily die on...), I can confidently recommend these 8 Brunch Spots in Melbourne that you must try the next time you are in town.

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THIS POST IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY MY FAVOURITE CHINESE SAYING “THE EYES ARE BIGGER THAN THE STOMACH”. I DON’T THINK I’VE EVER HAD THESE MANY FOOD COMAS IN SUCH A SHORT SPACE OF TIME...

May 08, 2018

Melbourne, Australia: 8 of my Favourite Brunch Spots

THE EIGHT I ATE: 8 OF MY FAVOURITE  BRUNCH SPOTS IN MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA 😋😋 😋😋 😋 If there ever was a hill to die...

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The Great Ocean Road, Australia: Beating the daytrippers at The Twelve Apostles

OR: AN EASY 6-STEP PHOTOSHOP TUTORIAL ON HOW TO OVERCOME THE CHALLENGE OF BEING STUCK BETWEEN CROWDS AND A HARD PLACE

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There’s only one thing that could potentially kill a relationship faster than a trip to IKEA* and that’s travelling with your beloved. Make it a day trip with an arduous 6 hour-round trip-drive to a much beloved tourist hotspot on the weekend, starring the immovable object (my boyfriend, the crowds) vs. the unstoppable force (me and my ardent desire to nail the perfect souvenir shot), and you’ve got a recipe for a nuclear breakup. But then again, I like a challenge and we love having adventures together, which is why we spent a Saturday driving from Melbourne along the Great Ocean Road to see the Twelve Apostles. Of course, everyone else also got the memo, which made getting that perfect “picture to remember” a challenge - but if there ever was a time to apply the only useful skill I learnt from 3 years at Central St. Martin’s, this would be it. Read on to learn how to overcome the challenge of crowds at famous travel destinations by blending two photographs in Photoshop to create the perfect scene.

 

*Unless, of course, you go in there with the following strategy: Do all the actual browsing online, make a shopping list and print it out to bring to IKEA. When you and your other half arrive, head first to the cafe for meatballs to stave of any hanger (that’s right, hunger + anger pangs). Bypass the black hole that is the Showroom and go straight to Marketplace to pick the small items. Then use the in-store picking service (this is where the shopping list comes in handy - just hand it to the staff and let them do the work) and arrange for next-day delivery AND assembly. Reward yourself with a dollar hotdog that tastes vaguely like plastic.You’re welcome.

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INSPIRED BY THIS MONTH’S #TRAVELLINKUP: TRAVEL CHALLENGES

May 02, 2018

The Great Ocean Road, Australia: Beating the daytrippers at The Twelve Apostles

OR : AN EASY 6-STEP PHOTOSHOP TUTORIAL ON HOW TO OVERCOME THE CHALLENGE OF BEING STUCK BETWEEN CROWDS AND A HARD PLACE 🇦🇺🇦...

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Melbourne, Australia: 8 Reasons Why I'm Moving to Melbourne, and Why You Should Visit

THE 8 SOLID REASONS WHY I'LL MOVE TO MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

(ALTERNATIVELY, 8 REASONS FOR YOU TO VISIT AND A MONTH'S WORTH OF THINGS TO DO)

Like rain clouds on a Bank Holiday weekend in the UK, the questions came rolling in thick and fast on Instagram messages: “Have you moved to Australia?!” Well, I could see how a month of Stories of me decorating and furnishing a new home from scratch could give off that impression. Melbourne is certainly a city I’ve grown up with: although I was born in Kuala Lumpur and spent my adult life in London, I spent much of my childhood visiting extended family there. From Box Hill to Toorak, the suburbs of Melbourne have been my stomping grounds for the best parts of three decades - if there was a city I could easily set up a base in, Melbourne would be it.

But the long and short of it is: No, I am not moving to Melbourne. At least, not on a full time basis in the near future. Although I have built a nest for two out of blood (his), sweat (ours), but no tears (working under pressure is our forte); and although I’ve grown incredibly attached to an apartment that was suppose to be just a flip, my heart (and my Permanent Residence) belongs to the UK. That said, the prospect of making Melbourne my third home is incredibly tantalising. Melbs, this is why - to quote a famous Aussie - 🎶 “I just can’t get you out of my head...” 🎶

INSPIRED BY THIS MONTH’S TRAVEL LINKUP:
“PLACES WE CAN’T GET OUT OF OUR HEADS”

April 01, 2018

Melbourne, Australia: 8 Reasons Why I'm Moving to Melbourne, and Why You Should Visit

THE 8 SOLID REASONS WHY I'LL  MOVE TO MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (ALTERNATIVELY, 8 REASONS FOR YOU TO VISIT AND A M...

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Melbourne, Australia: 10 Things You Must Do In Melbourne

Oh Melbourne, what a ride you've been. Between eating my way senseless around your endless gastronomical offerings to riding the stomach-churning rollercoasters in St Kilda (in that order, too!) it was an amazing 10 days of coffee, culture, and sweet, sweet lovin'. Melbourne is a city that's rather dear to me because of family and other reasons close to my heart, but even for those without physical and emotional ties to the city there is a smogasbord of offerings that don't involve being punched by kangaroos or getting a lift from bike gangs (if you get the reference, let's be friends). Whether or not you are staying for 3 weeks or 3 days, here are 10 Things You Must Do In Melbourne.

May 12, 2017

Melbourne, Australia: 10 Things You Must Do In Melbourne

Oh Melbourne, what a ride you've been. Between eating my way senseless around your endless gastronomical offer...

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Melbourne, Australia: Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

What goes around comes around. That must be how it looked for a Londoner to travel across the world to Australia, only to find herself in the Melbourne outpost of Dinner by Heston Blumenthal. Heston Blumenthal is the Willy Wonka of British gastronomy whose name conjures visuals of snail porridge, feeding frenzies at Waitrose for his fancy Christmas puddings, and outrageously fabulous history-themed feasts. So obviously when the second (and only other branch) of the original Dinner by Heston in London opens in Melbourne, the city's collective foodies - especially the ones who missed out on the Fat Duck pop up - got excited. Some even declared it Melbourne's best dining experience. Like hell I was going to let that slip under my nose, or rather past my tongue, especially when the menu featured dishes with an Australian twist created especially for Dinner by Heston Melbourne.
    

DINNER BY HESTON • CROWN TOWERS, 8 WHITEMAN STREET

SAUCE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 22

May 10, 2017

Melbourne, Australia: Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

What goes around comes around. That must be how it looked for a Londoner to travel across the world to Australia, only to fin...

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Melbourne, Australia: 11 Restaurants, Bars, & Cafes to Try

There are some wars you just don't wage - don't even get me started on the Sydney vs. Melbourne debate - including taking on the Melbourne foodie machine. It's a fight not even the most expansive of appetites would win; what with Michelin star restaurants, too-cool-for-school (and bookings too, judging from some of the queues) brunch spots, and all-round excellent eateries that proliferate the city faster than you can say "pop up hole-in-the-wall matcha dessert bar*". Conquering Melbourne's culinary offerings is at best an uphill struggle - I'm not just talking about climbing up Hosier Lane, post-food coma, in heels - and everyone will have different, passionate opinions about where and what to eat in the city. I did the best I could during my stay despite some hiccups like not making reservations** and recovering from surgery. Here are 11 Melbourne Restaurants, Bars, and Cafes I Tried and Loved.

*no, I'm not thinking of a specific place but I'm sure one has already existed in recent Melbourne history... 

**the ones that got away: Movida Next Door, Naked for Satan, Naked in The Sky, and Vue de Monde. Sob.

May 08, 2017

Melbourne, Australia: 11 Restaurants, Bars, & Cafes to Try

There are some wars you just don't wage - don't even get me started on the Sydney vs. Melbourne debate - inclu...

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Melbourne, Australia: St Kilda, Matcha Mylkbar, Luna Park, & more

With family living in Melbourne including an aunt who lives in St Kilda, it’s a given that I spent many a childhood summer there. During my recent visit to the seaside suburb, which ensued in an observation of characters best described as straight out of a Ginsberg poem, the extend of a parents’ ability to shelter their children became apparent. 

   

For beyond the Victorian mansions and fairy penguin-watching of my childhood, St Kilda is what Lonely Planet dubs “Melbourne's slightly tattered bohemian heart” - an amalgamation of families, punks, drunks, and hipsters.  

A jumble of contrasting architecture styles - Moorish apartments clash with Art Deco theatres while colonial houses that line leafy residential streets almost seem to disapprove - dot the landscape of what started life as a 19th century seaside resort. A crusty junkie wanders out of a seedy side street to jump in on a ladies' Zumba class on the promenade before being chased away to the nearest crumbling pub. Instagram-worthy vegan cafés and Pinterest-perfect wine bars with their perfect culinary creations threaten to break the internet. Buses and trams spit out tourists, day tripping families, and teenagers on dates into the open mouth of Mr Moon, where the hordes will descend upon the creaking rollercoasters of Luna Park. It’s brash, it’s bohemian, it’s as chaotic as the gigs a young Nick Cave played at what was once the Crystal Ballroom (now the George Snakepit).  St Kilda is the best of the Mediterranean, Brighton, and Venice Beach - it’s all of these things and yet none of them, but rather a one-of-a-kind enclave with a thousand faces that inspired many a pop culture creation and captured countless imaginations.

May 07, 2017

Melbourne, Australia: St Kilda, Matcha Mylkbar, Luna Park, & more

With family living in Melbourne including an aunt who lives in St Kilda , it’s a given that I spent many a childhood sum...

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Melbourne, Australia: 5 Ways To Get The Best & Highest Views of the City

Soaring to new heights - I find 5 ways to rise above it all in Melbourne to get the best views (and the best #humblebrag photos!) of the city.

What it is about humans and heights? Is it a leftover primal instinct from days of evading sabretooth tigers and surveying prey (mmm, wooly mammoth stew) from the tops of trees? Or is it a more recent urge, as a single drop in a convoluted sea of urban overpopulation, to seek space and solitude from the tangled mess on ground level? Whatever it is, as a species many of us are keen to rise above it all - whether from helicopters or in snazzy rooftop bars. I am no exception. I arrived in Melbourne from Sydney and made a beeline for my new digs - a 2 bedroom apartment on the top floor - all the while humming in my head “Started from the bottom now we here...”. There’s no better way to get your bearings in a new city than from a bird’s eye view nor a more impressive perspective to get the Instagram photo that says “I’ve arrived!” so here are my 5 Ways To Get The Highest and Best Views in Melbourne.

May 03, 2017

Melbourne, Australia: 5 Ways To Get The Best & Highest Views of the City

Soaring to new heights - I find 5 ways to rise above it all in Melbourne to get the best views (and the best #humblebrag pho...

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