More Melbourne
More photoblogging and hotspot reviewing.
It may look like a random nondescript hole in the wall but it's much more than that. It's Sweet Mama's cafe on Bourke St (ground floor of the Commonwealth Bank building, opposite the Village Centre, between Surf Dive N Ski and RMIT Business) and it has one of the best long machiatti in Melbourne. In addition, they also have fantastic omlettes, great yoghurt-fruit-muesli combos, amazing soups (that the office works totally lap up at lunchtime) and awesome sandwiches. Run by a bunch of Greek guys (who are still celebrating the Euro Championship victory from 2004 if you look at their walls), this place is a true hidden gem (because none of the papers, food guides or whatever seem to give it a writeup). If you want some good sandwiches or soups, better get here before 1pm because the food literally runs out the door at lunhtime. Otherwise, settle in for a good coffee, omlette or yoghurt...
This is a pic of Tattersals Lane, a pretty atypical Chinatown laneway, these laneways have plenty of hidden gems. This particular laneway has the Shanghai Dumpling institution mentioned in the previous blogpost. It also has a not half-bad Indian restaurant amusingly titled "Gaylords" (which was blasting Bollywood music on Saturday afternoon, interesting...) and another similar Northern Chinese restaurant called "Shanghai Noodle House" (not quite as good as the other but still not half bad and similarly economical).
As is more and more typical of Melbourne, this same laneway also now has a trendy bar called "Section 8: Countainer Bar". The bar is enclosed by none-too-friendly looking cage fencing, and the alcohol bar itself (the one behind which the staff stand behind and you place your order) is encased in an old shipping container. The seating consists of a mishmash of random boxes, crates and old couches. The "walls" (formed by the outsides of neighbouring shopfronts) are covered in graffiti, vines/leaves and other randomness. Note in the above photos, the presence of red lanterns as an obvious nod to the "Chinatown" location of the bar. It all works perfectly because the place is damn nice to chill in on a lazy (good weathered) afternoon or a balmy night. The music varies, usually I hear it playing house but last weekend (when I went for Fiona's birthday), the DJ was spinning chilled out reggae-dubbish type music. The place was also full of hippies (and a very bemused toddler), and apparently it was the DJ's first gig... he did pretty well. So Section 8 is a mixed bag, check it out, who knows what you might find.
Well that's it from me. Next time I shall like to mention Pay-The-Time@Lounge, which is something I've been going to every damn week since getting back... On another note, I recently finished reading the latest Bret Easton Ellis (of American Psycho fame) novel "Lunar Park" and it was suitably disturbingly violent, dark and misogynistic with dropping of random pop culture references and fashion labels... but not as much so as his other novels. And it was a lot more horror-vibe. Check it out. Now simultaneously reading Jung Chang's biography of Mao and "A History of the Arab Peoples", both of which tie in to subjects I'm doing in school. :)
Labels: food+drink, literature, melbourne
posted by LX @ 1:26 AM
Comments: 8
