Melbourne adventures

Okey dokey - it's now been a few weeks since I got back from the Melbourne trip and high time I told you about some of those new + cool Melbourne finds I've been promising... These were some of my favourite new discoveries, as well as a few old faves that never fail to make a Melbourne visit memorable:

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1000 Pound Bend
361 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne

 

You know that feeling you get when you walk into somewhere for the first time, and everything about it just ticks all your "I love this place" boxes? Well, 1000 Pound Bend was just such a place for me. So much so that I visited several times, and took loads of photos, and ate $5 spaghetti jaffles twice in a row. And an almond croissant. And several lattes.

Yes, it's a cafe, but I especially like how Three Thousand describes it so eloquently: "it's a cafe on Little Lonsdale Street. When I say cafe, I mean GIANT HOLY CRAP WAREHOUSE." Um, yeh, indeed.

The website That's Melbourne is a little more sedate with its description: "1000 £ Bend is a hybrid venue which houses a café, gallery and cinema space. The café serves delicious homemade meals and snacks for under $12, from 8am to 8pm. Free wifi makes lounging around especially enticing. Lightboxes showcasing artworks on the building’s Little Lonsdale Street frontage offer passersby a taste of what’s inside this warehouse-sized space. The multi-disciplinary gallery space has a rotating roster of exhibitions, performances, launch parties, film screenings, fashion shows and workshops, while a specialty cinema is being developed in the mezzanine level in early 2010."

Oh yes, this place is goooooooood. A must, must, must visit.

(Georgi Lewis, if you haven't already discovered this place, you must get yourself down there immediately! And have a spaghetti jaffle for me. But wait for it to cool a bit before attempting to bite into it. Trust me on that one.)

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Journal
Ground floor, 253-265 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

This is one of those fave cafes that I always make a beeline to, and not just because it's 10 steps away from the hostel on Flinders Lane where I usually stay, but because it's a darn nice spot for a coffee, a bite to eat, and a moment to read through all the Melbourne brochures picked up between the airport and the aforementioned hostel. And I love the ambience of Journal - it's got that nice mix of bustle and intimacy, chatter and solitude, it's warm but chilled. And decor that looks like it could have been time-warped from the 50s or 60s (and I really like vintage...)

And as an added bonus, Journal shares its floor space with the City Library (and I really like libraries...).

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Mr Tulk
State Library of Victoria, 304 Swanston Street, Melbourne

 
^ past the Library's seagull-infested front lawn, past the foreboding statues that guard the entrance, out of the rain and through into the warm timbered and book-lined interior of Mr Tulk. Bliss.

Speaking of libraries, this little cafe gem also finds itself somewhat attached to one, this time the State Library of Victoria. Referred to on the website as "the Library's handsome onsite cafe", Mr Tulk is located within the heritage-listed 19th-century wing of the Library and is named after Mr Augustus Henry Tulk, the Library's first chief librarian from way back in 1856.

All that history stuff aside, Mr Tulk is a very fine place for a hearty Saturday breakfast of porridge and steaming hot latte, and for reading the newspaper while avoiding the drizzling cold rain outside. I know this because that was my Mr Tulk experience, and I highly rated it. Best way to spend a wet weekend morning in Melbourne's CBD, I reckon.

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Two Fingers
27 Russell Street, Melbourne

An accidental find - I just happened to be wandering past, snapping photos, and wishing for a bit of a caffeine hit, when I came across this teeny little place on Russell St. Two Fingers is all about dark and moody, with loads of interesting little details to gaze around at. It's cosy, but I like that in a cafe.

I downed my coffee and ran, but will definitely be back again next time, as there were some very tempting sweet treats that I need to return for...

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Movida Next Door
1 Hosier Lane, Melbourne

 

Ahhh, MoVida, you are one of those seriously elusive places that I seem to NEVER be able to get to visit for all the times I've been to Melbourne, for any variety of reasons. Even this trip, I had to be content with sampling your little sidekick: MoVida Next Door. What gives?

But anyway, DD and I had our half-hour of MoVida-ish glory, drinking beer and supping on a variety of gourmet tapas (moorish lamb skewers, delectable olives, and some cornbread thing that we can't recall the name of). It was all frightfully expensive, but indisputably yummy. 

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Camy Shanghai Dumpling House
23-25 Tattersalls Lane, Melbourne

 

I have the shake-it function on my Urbanspoon app to thank for introducing me to this incredibly popular and incredibly cheap eating establishment. It's hidden down one of the lanes off Chinatown's main drag, and if the online reviews are anything to go by, it has a truely divided following - you either love it or you hate it. 

As the name suggests, Camy Shanghai Dumpling House is mostly about the cheap + quick plates of potstickers - my meal cost me a tiny $8 and I was in and out in under 15mins.

The downside(s) though would have to be the queueing, the rude service, the terrible music, the awful decor, the watery excuse for free "green tea", and the no-frills tableware (plastic cups/plates/chopsticks anyone?), but all things considered, it made for an interesting dining experience...

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Grill'd
Level 2, QV Square, Swanston Street, Melbourne

 
^ Loved the decor: esp the wall panel collages of recycled timbers

A surprise pick for our early Sunday lunch, admittedly because we couldn't find breakfast in any of the places we tried before walking through QV Square out of hungry desperation (Degraves St cafes all booked out, 1000 Pound Bend closed, Pushka's breakfast foods not yet arrived...so frustrating!).

A burger joint is not somewhere I'd normally gravitate towards, but it was DD's pick and he LOVES gourmet burgers like nothing else (and I was near starvation), so burgers for brunch it was.

I've got to admit, Grill'd does a damn fine burger. DD even said (and I quote), it was "the best burger he's ever had in Melbourne. Ever".

Befittingly, I had the 'Mighty Melbourne' burger - my logic being that its inclusion of bacon and egg made it feel somewhat more 'breakfasty'. And it was incredibly good. And filling. And kept me well-fuelled for our day's adventures to Northcote...

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Northcote meanderings

Hearing there were some good things happening out past Fitzroy, and in keeping with our "discover something new" travel policy, we set aside a whole Sunday for exploring the delightful Melbourne suburb of Northcote (and a little bit of Thornbury and Westgarth too). Certainly an excellent way to celebrate Valentines Day :)

I've been a long-time reader of Yvette's blog Vetti: Live in Northcote (lots of great tips, pics, and local knowledge), so it was great to finally get to see the area in person, to wander in and out of the shops, stop for a coffee and a bit of live music, explore the streets and snap some photos of details discovered along the way.

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Club 303
303 High St, Northcote

Topping Vetti's list of Northcote hot-spots, Club 303 is a real gem, and the perfect place to chill on a Sunday afternoon - for us this meant a caffeine fix and a spot of reading the newly purchased Melbourne Design Guide while listening to the live music tunes drifting in from the band playing out the back. This bar/cafe/venue is very groovy, as you can no-doubt gather from the photos. We loved that they use an old fridge and kids' magnetic letters to advertise upcoming music gigs, and we of course loved the retro furniture + fit-out. Definitely our kind of place :)

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Pizza Farro
608 High Street, Thornbury

 

A super-excellent tip-off from my friend Nadia (who happens to also be an ex-Northcote resident), Pizza Farro quite simply rocks!

Nadia's recommendation was to try the Chocolate Pizza (or calzone as it turned out to be) . Admittedly she recommended it as a dessert option, but we figured it'd be perfect for Valentines dinner, and oh boy, was it ever so sensationally good! Lucky we were sharing it - there's a whole lotta melted chocolate inside one of these things!

Nadia told me that when there I was to pay particularly attention to the clever interior design of Pizza Farro - Not to be disappointed, we were to find a ceiling full of rolling pins, shiny green watering cans, and various other dangly items spotted about the place. Lovely patchworked curtains softened the brick walls. Mis-matched country-style furniture was all painted a cohesive warm white. And a happy ambience made this place feel extra special.

While I can't mention much about the menu beyond the Choc Calzone, Nadia did also say that they do a mean woodfired pizza (and specialise in Spelt and Gluten free too). I know where we're heading for a pizza meal next visit to Melbourne...!

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A couple of other Northcote finds of note

Being a Sunday, not everything was open, but these were some of the other places we enjoyed or happened upon during our adventuring:

- In The Woods (246 High St) - tiny little store selling lots of cute+quirky things

- I Dream A Highway (259 High St) - ditto above, but more clothing and not as tiny

- Brown & Bunting (237 High St) - sweet secondhand bookstore

- The Estelle cafe (243 High St) - lovely Art Deco decor

- Joes Shoe Store bar (233 High St) - Vetti rates this place highly indeed!

- Joe Green cafe (2a Mitchell St) - tucked up around the corner. Big & airy.

- Retro Active (307 High St) - Modernist antiques

- Northcote Bowerbird (283 High St)

- Old Hat Antiques (226 High St)

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Ah yes, I've already slated Northcote as the suburb of choice for when we move to Melbourne. Not that that's happening anytime soon, but if it does... this is the kind of neighbourhood I'd be happy to find myself living in :)

Keep up the great blog Vetti, and thanks for all your inspiration!

Michelle
x

P.S. If anyone takes me up on any of the above recommendations, please feel free to add a comment to this post. I'd love to hear about your experiences/feedback.

Comments

[Georgina Lewis]

WOW! Who needs the design guide to Melbourne when you have Michelle? I actually went into Sticky yesterday and I love Corky St. Clair. I just LOVE Melbourne, have found my tribe. X

[Vettiliveinnorthcote.wordpress.com]

hi Michelle - looks like you had a lovely time! Your pics are fabulous, and thank you so much for the shoutouts! Heading to Bar 303 tonight, stay tuned for more updates on my favourite suburb x

[Alisa]

Thanks for the confirmation Michelle, that's the burb I had my eye on too! : )

[Chester]

Your photos are cool! Thank you for your information, I will try them all!

[Traveler]

Interesting places... Great photos! Thanks for sharing.