Bars pubs :

HOT Chat: Owen Thomas of Hipside Guides

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I liked the idea of Hipside Guides as soon as I heard about them – a city guide written by a local to help visitors and locals find the the cool, hidden places of Melbourne. Kind of like MEL: HOT OR NOT, in map form! Today’s[...]

The Salusbury: Youth, Beauty and Italian.

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The Salusbury is the obvious hip hang out junction, where the beautiful, the youthful, carefree inhabitants of this rapidly gentrified part of NW6 flaunt their hide. It is hardly ever empty, and undoubtedly the most happening joint in and[...]

HOT: Gingerboy, 29 Crossley St, Melbourne

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For various reasons, I’ve had to cancel three successive meals at Gingerboy – now I’m half-mad at my friends that I’ve been denied for so long. Gingerboy is awesome. The narrow space is darkly sexy and very cool, with[...]

HOT: Napier Hotel, 210 Napier St, Fitzroy

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In a bid to remain semi-healthy in my eating-out diet, once in a while I suggest to RM that we should go eat a vegetarian restaurant. It’s become a running joke that he always counters with ‘well if you’re going to have vegetarian[...]

A Grelha at The Gun: More view than food.

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And what a view indeed. Positioned on the edge of the Thames, overlooking the water and the O2 centre in the distance. However, A Grelha is not technically a restaurant in its own right, rather it is a make shift al fresco area of The Gun,[...]

HOT Chat: Carley Andrews of Ujamaa Hostel

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Today’s HOT Chat is the first time I’m interviewing a Melburnian who actually no longer  lives in Melbourne. Melbourne-born Carley Andrews now lives in Tanzania with her husband, running a hostel focusing on providing volunteer work[...]

HOT Chat: Natasha Skunca of Make Me Iconic

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I’ve been compiling my Christmas presents cupboard recently (yes I’m very organised when it comes to gift-giving) when I came across the Skipping Girl mug and tea-towel I bought from Make Me Iconic Iconic back at the Magnolia Square[...]

HOT: Fox Hotel, 351 Wellington St, Collingwood

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The Fox Hotel is an old-school boozer which outwardly looks more ‘pub’ than ‘gastro-pub’. The venue is an eclectic conglomeration of sticky-carpet-esque spaces, including the high-stooled front bar, the dimly lit[...]

HOT Spots Summer Edition 2010 and Summer Serve

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It’s summer. The sun doesn’t go down till 9pm. Everyone is feeling relaxed and refreshed. So why not spend some time discovering, or rediscovering, the great things Melbourne offers in summer? If browsing through MEL: HOT OR NOT[...]

HOT: Markov Place, 350-352 Drummond St, Carlton

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Today my recently Melbourne-relocated Sydney friend commented that Melbourne seems to have a particular fascination with Spanish cuisine which wasn’t evident in the Sydney dining scene. I can’t vouch for whether that’s actually[...]