ESCAPADES | Sugared & Spiced

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

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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

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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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2012/05/022015/08/31

[Melbourne] Storm in a Teacup

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Storm in a Teacup

Add: 48A Smith St, Collingwood, Melbourne
Tel: (03) 9415 9593
Hours: [Tue-Wed] 10am-5pm [Thu-Sat] 10am-11pm [Sun] 11am-4pm
Website: www.storminateacup.com.au
Price: [tea] 3.50~8.00AUD [desserts] 3.50~7.50AUD
Visited on: 2012-04

“Tea drinking” wasn’t on my itinerary for Melbourne – I mean, this city is known for its thriving coffee culture, not tea brewing – but when we passed by Storm in a Teacup on a late afternoon, we were so drawn to its cute storefront that we just had to go in for a look…

It’s a small place, with no more than 10 seats at the bar and only 2 tables near the back. We sat ourselves down at the bar and began to peruse the extensive tea menu. Black tea, green tea, white tea from all corners of the globe: China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Hawaii, Australia, South Africa, Kenya, India and Sri Lanka. They’ve also got some modern twists, like bubble tea, frappes, and cocktails…and if you must, there are even a couple of filter coffee options from 5 Senses. But you are at a tea bar, so why not try the tea?

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2012/05/012015/08/31

[Melbourne] Fitzroy

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Home to Melbourne’s bohemian set, the suburb of Fitzroy is a great mix of art galleries, studios and specialist bookshops. What you can do here: shop for vintage goods and local designer pieces, check-out street arts and commissioned wall murals, people watch, sip lattes, have dinner at a stylish restaurant, hang out at a bar till way after dark…We spent two whole afternoons here, mainly staying at Smith Street and Brunswick Street, and that wasn’t nearly enough time for us to explore the neighborhood!

There are vintage shops all over the neighborhood, but a good one to start with is Lost & Found Market on Smith Streets:

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