Melbourne Patron

Heading towards the Palais for a Neil Finn/Paul Kelly concert, we wanted to grab a bite to eat in St Kilda first. Being somewhat broke, I wanted somewhere near the theatre, cheap and filling. A quick Google search revealed the convenient proximity of Joe's (formerly Greasy Joe's) - a St Kilda institution that I'd never been to. Joe's Bar and Diner  (64-66 Acland Street, St Kilda - near the McDonald's!) was rebranded from "Greasy Joe's" just recently, and now seems to be aiming for a clean, fun, American vibe. Burgers are a large feature of the menu and, happily, they hover around the $13 mark. Between 4.30 and 6.30pm is special time: any beer and any burger for $15 - apparently served with chips, as seemed to be the case when we were there. I don't drink beer so couldn't really take advantage of the deal, but I think my chips were thrown in as a gesture (or by accident). I went for something different: the "Lady of St Kilda...

I've been in Melbourne for four years. Sister Bella  (22 Drewery Place, Melbourne) was one of the first laneway bars I heard about - possibly because it had just opened - and I visited it several times in my first year or two here. Then I heard a rumour that its food licence was illegal and that it was stealing internet from Myer. I don't know where I heard that, who from, or why it influenced me, but for some reason I thought Sister Bella had closed (and no, I'm not confusing it with its former sibling, St Jerome's). And so, I haven't been back for the last two years. Until recently. Sister Bella is notoriously difficult to find. If you come to the intersection of Swanston and Lonsdale Streets, then find Drewery Place (a laneway off Lonsdale, sort of towards Melbourne Central), Sister Bella is down another (unmarked) laneway that comes off Drewery Place - right at the end, behind a gazillion bins. When you find the doorway, you will figure you're in the r...

An annual homage to Vietnamese culture, the Lunar New Year Festival takes place on Victoria Street, Richmond towards the end of January. It is a colourful mish-mash of stalls, music, performance, food, and people. This year celebrated the new Year of the Snake on Sunday 27 January 2013. Highlights for me were fresh coconut juice, excited kids, lots of colour and life, and the contrasts between East and West, traditional and modern, and gaudy stalls and the faded, peeling building fronts behind them. Parade Game stall Fresh coconut juice Flowered oranges Market stall Traditional dance Modern meets traditional Did you look twice, too? Hidden Accountants Tree of tradition Food on sticks Preparing for performance Kids get Bad Lucky apples. Is that a Playboy pic on the left? Tilted ride

This bar reminds me a lot of Sydney. I realise to native Melburnians, that is no praise at all. BUT, it is really cool - actually a favourite of mine - and the only reason it reminds me of Sydney is because it is completely surrounded by water. There are so many bars in Sydney with water views - bugger it, so many of EVERYTHING with water views - that it becomes ingrained. I was so used to the space, the air, the freshness, and the movement of water, that no matter how many awesome laneway or rooftop or hidden Melbourne bars I visit, there is something in me that always breathes a sigh of relief when I sit waterfront, nestling a beverage. But Ponyfish Island (under the Yarra Pedestrian Footbridge, between Flinders Street Station and Southbank - enter via the stairs) is cool in many other ways, too. And when I say 'cool', I mean full-on, hipster-y, so-hot-right-now-even-though-it's-been-around-for-a-while, we-don't-serve-wine-in-wine-glasses cool. Here are some of t...