Melbourne Patron

Some friends wanted to try the new Korean fusion joint Anju Restaurant + Bar (18 Little La Trobe Street, Melbourne), so I happily joined them for an early Friday dinner. Not having eaten much Korean food previously, I'm still learning about what constitutes 'traditional' Korean fare, so I was interested to see how this place did 'fusion'. Owner Young Choi went from a retail background to opening a completely fusion restaurant (combining Spanish, Mexican and Japanese), before adapting to patrons' requests for more the more traditional foods of his native background. The result is a schmick, modern restaurant/bar down a dodgy-looking CBD street, and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Let me break it down for you... The style Anju has a warm industrial feel with traditional accents. Wooden floorboards, tables and decorative features (like planter boxes and wooden toy trucks hanging overhead) are interspersed with hard industrial surfaces like ...

I think of Fitzroy as my 'hood, and as such, I have travelled Brunswick Street many, many times. There is a point just south of Johnston Street where the shops start to dwindle away; things seem quieter. On the corner of Bell Street is a charming, olde-world-looking restaurant called Madame Sousou  (231 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy), with neatly arranged footpath tables and chairs facing the street - just like how they do it in Europe. It looks warm, inviting, traditional and European - many of my favourite things! But it was only recently that I tried it for the first time. My best friend happened to have an Entertainment Book voucher for Madame Sousou, so we thought we'd give it a try. I'd like to point out here that both my friend and I are seasoned diners, and have been happy to pay exorbitant prices for meals, many times in the past. The Entertainment Book seemed a good way to try venues we hadn't been to, and at a saving - and who doesn't like to save a ...

Birthday celebration no. 2 came in the form of a "surprise" evening organised by one of my dear friends. She picked me up from home and we trammed it into le city, alighting at the promising Paris end of Collins Street, and landing at the foot of the infamous 101 Collins building. (I'm not sure if this building is infamous due to some titillating history, its art, architecture and design, or merely because the nearest tram stop is named after its address. In trying to find this out, it turns out the building has its very own website and Wikipedia entry , neither of which sheds much light on the matter.) Walk through the spacious, immaculate foyer, past a gazillion banks of elevators, and you will find, neatly tucked in one corner, The Italian . No, this is (sadly) not a tall, dark, handsome man with an alluring accent, wandering eyes and curly hair, but its restaurant equivalent - though maybe without the wandering eyes. The Italian is generally regarded as a prestig...

On the Sunday of a long weekend in Adelaide's CBD, there's not much open. And when you're a caffeine addict like me, that is a terrible, terrible thing. Fortunately (well, unfortunately for her), my little sister has been privvy to my state when I have not been caffeinated in a timely manner before. So she used that clever technomalogical thingy called Googler or iCall or something to locate a cafe within walking distance for our breakfast and all-important caffeination. It was called Jam The Bistro  (112-114 Wright Street, Adelaide), and it was very nice. Being on holiday, we figured we deserved alcohol at breakfast time, so we had a Bellini each (prosecco with peach juice). Bellini-licious The coffee was made on a pretty red Ruggero, and was also served up all pretty-like: We both had the same thing for breakfast: a beautifully-presented concoction of smoked salmon bruschetta with poached eggs, goats curd and beetroot jam. As well as the fac...