ESCAPADES | Sugared & Spiced

2012/06/042015/08/31

[Sydney] Shangri-La Hotel

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Shangri-La Hotel Sydney

Add: 176 Cumberland Street The Rocks, Sydney
Tel: (61 2) 9250 6000
Website: www.shangri-la.com/sydney/shangrila
Visited on: 2012-04

After an amazing week spent in Melbourne, we arrived in our second destination – Sydney. First thing on the list was to check-in at The Shangri-La, which was chosen because, well, it is The Shangri-La, and also because of its convenient location right on The Rocks. I peered out the windows of our Deluxe Grand Harbour View Room, which offers a spectacular view exactly as described on the hotel website: the stunning Opera House glows a pearlescent white against the blue of the sky and the sea, while the Harbour Bridge stands majestically for all to see.

Wow.

The room itself is in a warm and welcoming palette of cream and brown, simply decorated with necessary fixtures. Flatscreen TV, DVD player, radio, etc. – everything’s is there. What I especially loved about the design is the wide and padded window ledge, which is an ideal spot to sip a cup of tea or read a book, with the magnificent view as backdrop.

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2012/05/202015/08/31

[Melbourne] Cumulus Inc.

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Cumulus Inc.

Add: 45 Flinders Lane Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Tel: (03) 9650 1445
Hours: [Mon-Fri] 7am~11pm [Sat-Sun] 8am~11pm
Website: cumulusinc.com.au
Price: 50+AUD/person
Visited on: 2012-04

There are a number of good reasons as to why Cumulus Inc. is packed everyday. The decor is stylish, the atmosphere is abuzz, and the service is smooth, yes yes yes, but it’s mainly the food that keeps patrons hooked. It’s a place you wouldn’t want to miss when you are in Melbourne.

To start.

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2012/05/162015/08/31

[Melbourne] Mirka

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Mirka

Add: 42 Fitzroy St, St Kilda, Melbourne
Tel: (03) 9525 3088
Hours: 7:30am~11pm
Website: www.mirkatolarnohotel.com
Price: [small dishes] ~22 AUD [main dishes] ~34 AUD
Visited on: 2012-05

What I remembered most about Mirka is the vividly-colored Mirka Mora wallpapers that line the entire dining room. The dishes we had that evening, on the other hand, all seem like a blur to me now, and I debated whether to blog about this restaurant at all if the food wasn’t so memorable. Oh well, let’s take a look at the pictures anyway.

To start, a complimentary plate of fried polenta sticks with sea salt.

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2012/05/142015/08/31

[Melboune] Hosier Lane Graffiti

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Hosier Lane, only a few minutes walk from Flinders Street Station (and where your must-visit Spanish tapas restaurant MoVida is located), has graffiti-covered walls that are ever changing. So surreal, it’s simply amazing.

Here are some graffiti artists at work, and each has got his own style.

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2012/05/142015/08/31

[Melboune] Little Creatures Dining Hall

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Little Creatures Dining Hall

Add: 222 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, Melbourne
Tel: (03) 94175500
Hours: [Sun-Thu] 10am~11pm [Fri-Sat] 10am~midnight
Website: littlecreatures.com.au
Price: [snacks] 3.50~14AUD [larger dishes] 10~19 AUD [desserts] 7~10AUD
Visited on: 2012-04

We popped our heads into Little Creatures, and were instantly stunned by its sheer size. This massive concrete-and-steel warehouse has 260 seats in total, and in all imaginable permutations too: bar stools, high tables for two, spacious booths, and long communal tables. What people come here for are the beer (there are no spirits and only a limited wine list) and the food, which involved some all-time favorites like pizza, fish & chips and nachos, as well as some Australian specialties like grilled kangaroo. Despite its size, this ultra popular beer hall is often packed and does not take reservations, so be prepared to line up should you come on a weekend evening.

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2012/05/132015/08/31

[Melboune] MoVida

melbourne

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MoVida

Add: 1 Hosier Lane Melbourne CBD VIC 3000
Tel: (03) 9663 3038
Hours: 12pm~late
Website: www.movida.com.au
Price: 40+AUD/person
Visited on: 2012-04

If you live in Melbourne and haven’t been to MoVida, go. This Spanish tapas restaurant, nestled in a graffiti-covered cobbled lane near Flinders Street Station, serves innovative small bites that will keep you on your toes. The only thing you might not like about this place is how difficult it is to secure a table, and we tried to get around this problem by coming at a less popular hour – 2:00 in the afternoon – though we still had a 20-minute wait before we got seated at the bar.

But let me tell you, it’s well worth it.

To start, we cooled down with a glass of 2008 Yarraloch (12AUD), a chardonnay from Yarra Valley VIC.

MoVida offers both tapas (small dishes to be finished in a bite or two) and raciones (bigger plates to be shared amongst two or more people), and after taking a quick look at the menu, we decided to give the waiter full control over what to serve us.

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2012/05/072015/08/31

[Melboune] The Hardware Sociéte

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The Hardware Sociéte

Add: 120 Hardware Street, Melbourne
Tel: (03) 9078 5992
Hours: [Mon-Fri] 7:30am~3pm [Sat] 8:30am~2pm
Price: 20~25 AUD/person
Visited on: 2012-04

Ok, I can now say that I’ve eaten at the most popular brunch spot in Melbourne. When we arrived at Hardware Sociéte at 8:46am on a Saturday morning, only a mere 16 minutes after it opened, it was already full. At 8:46 in the morning, on a Saturday! What’s the charm?

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2012/05/062015/08/31

[Taipei] The Sparkle Spa

taipei

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Sparkle Spa

Address: 2/F No. 294, Section 1 Dunhua South Road, Taipei / 台北市大安區敦化南路一段294號2樓
Tel: (02) 2784-9883
Hours: 12:00~11:00pm
Website: www.thesparklespa.com
Price: [body treatment] 3,000~5,500 NTD
Visited on: 2012-01

When I was looking for information on day spas in Taipei, The Sparkle Spa – opened by Jeffrey Huang (黃立成) – caught my attention. This is apparently a favorite among celebrities in Taiwan due to its very private setting: hidden on the 2nd floor of a non-descriptive building on Dunhua South Road, you wouldn’t even notice it unless you are specifically looking for it. Let’s explore, shall we?

Upon entering Sparkle Spa, the spacious rest area made quite an impression. The design is modern yet comfortable, with sharp geometric lines softened by the combination of natural wood and olive green. It’s almost like entering a well-manicured forest.

At the reception, I was greeted by a therapy consultant, who led me through a brief questionnaire regarding my body condition and needs. She then presented 7 different blends of essential oils, each focusing on a different part of the body: heart, throat, stomach, head etc., from which I was to pick out one that I particularly fancied. So what are we in the mood for fixing today?

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2012/05/052015/08/31

[Melbourne] D.O.C. Pizza & Mozzarella Bar

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D.O.C. Pizza & Mozzarella Bar

Add: 295 Drummond Street, Carlton, Melbourne VIC 3053
Tel: (03) 9347 2998
Hours: [Mon-Sat] 5:30pm-11pm [Sun] 12-10pm
Price: [entree] 13.50~23.50AUD [pizza] 14~24.50AUD [dessert] 8AUD
Visited on: 2012-04

D.O.C. Pizza & Mozzarella Bar is a simple place. The storefront is bare and the decor is minimal, but owner Tony Nicolini, who is apparently the granddaddy of artisan pizza in Melbourne, has struck the right cord with his brilliant pies. We arrived at 10pm on a weekday evening and the place was still boisterous, with customers filling up every table in the house and a swarm of Italian men in the kitchen busy shoving pizzas in and out of the oven. We knew we were at the right place.

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2012/05/032015/08/31

[Melbourne] Great Ocean Road

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Yes yes, I know the Great Ocean Road is for tourists, but I am a tourist after all. We drove along the beautiful route, stopped randomly to marvel at the gorgeous blue, munched down some fish and chips with ginger beer, watched the sun set over the 12 apostles, then, when it’s completely dark, star-gazed in the fields next to a pack of cows (more details on this later..)

And yes, it was a wonderful, wonderful day.

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