The World Loves Melbourne Blog

The Top 10 Reasons to visit Melbourne are - 

1. World's Most Liveable City

Melbourne has been voted the world's most liveable city out of 140 cities measured worldwide. Come and see why. Melbourne is an attractive city and brims with great facilities and infrastructure. Living conditions are sublime in this city of just over 4 million people. There's a low population density for a large city and several high profile infrastructure projects in action. The liveability measure looks at 5 main categories - stability, health care, culture, environment, education and infrastructure - and Melbourne comes up trumps. You might visit Melbourne and want to live here!

2. Global Gourmet City

I Love Dumplings is a popular dumpling house on Bridge Road that is growing in reputation and popularity. This is a great place to dine in with modern fit out of exposed brick, impressive artwork, funky lighting as well as traditional lamps, large tables that cater for groups, timber floor, and steel counter.

We felt like dumplings on a Sunday afternoon and I Love dumplings was an obvious place to visit with its forthright name. We can identify. I Love Dumplings satisfies with great dumplings but these guys deliver on a range of cuisine not just dumplings. The fried rice is a popular item and there is a huge range of Asian dishes with option of small or large sizes. And my visit on a Sunday was to a packed restaurant with many groups and a roaring take away trade.

Strange Wolf is a contender in the Melbourne burger stakes. The Wolf burger is a famous offering that stands out from the pack in the Melbourne burger scene. Strange Wolf is another nondescript Melbourne entrance in a laneway then down to a basement. Look for the blackboard out the front and then wind your way down the stairs past the neon sign.

Strange Wolf is a funky bar and venue that belies its humble entrance on Strachan Lane. So Melbourne.

A special dinner to celebrate Mark Briggs with our friends at The West Winds Gin

Date: Wednesday October 24, 2012

Time: Canapés from 6.30pm for a 7pm start

Vanishing Elephant, who hail from Sydney but who took a big leap and opened their first shop in Melbourne - Vanishing Elephant QV (Shop 14 Albert Coates Lane), are celebrating their first birthday this weekend.

Mocha Jo's is a super popular cafe in the heart of Glen Waverley with excellent coffee and cuisine and fabulous service. After driving around for 20 minutes trying to get a park on a weeknight I was struck again by how popular this precinct is. When the evenings are warm everyone gathers here and it's a cool ambience. Mocha Jo's is one of the iconic places to visit and a great cafe to meet with your friends.

Mocha Jo's has a modern fit out with quality furniture, modern lighting and intimate timber tables and hot chocolate colour themes. Service is sharp and the young hip waiters and waitresses are engaging.

Vue De Monde is a stellar restaurant that stands out from the fine dining pack with its class, cuisine and complete experience. While the food is amazing it's about the whole experience at Vue De Monde. Shannon Bennett is a man of the masterstroke and an ability to provide diners with something unique and special. Up to the 55th floor of Rialto Towers, into the private elevator then through the glass doors into a world of finery.

I was invited to the Glenmorangie Secret Society dinner for whisky lovers. This was to be a classy event and an impressive showcasing of some of the world's finest whisky. Intitially in the bar, the lounges and spaces are impressive and even the decoration above the bar looks like foam.

With a trend to more casual, even grungy, dining in Melbourne Vue De Monde is true to fine dining pleasure. It keeps that sense of occasion and the "wow" factor in everything it does. And attention to detail is a strength.

Coffeehead is a groovy and serious coffee destination in Camberwell that soars high above the pack. Coffeehead is another masterstroke of Paul Mathis, who is taking all before him in the Melbourne cafe and restaurant scene. Coffee devotees are impressed with the wide range of Melbourne's and Australia's top coffee brands and blends available for consumption. Check out the row of great coffee brands for sale along the wall including Gridlock, Plantation, Coffee Supreme and Padre or go online and order.

I rocked up to Coffeehead as part of my prep for the AFL Grand Final. I needed some coffee and carbs before the big game. This was essentially Hawthorn territory although a few Swans supporters were also at the cafe that day.

The Whoopie Pie Bakery is a great place for relaxing with friends for a sweet dessert fix. The whoopie pies are an American craze come to Camberwell. I enjoy the size and the texture of a whoopie pie with its creamy inside. 

The Whoopie Pie Bakery has a great array of whoopie choices behind the large display cabinet. I elected for the Chocolate and salted caramel. After all this has been declared the Year of Salted Caramel.

Blueberry Cafe is a consistently excellent cafe on Swan Street with character and coffee and cuisine with flair. It is one of the standouts in the precinct.

Blueberry has a great retro ambience with brown funky lighting, great use of timbers, a large window with natural light and several communal tables.

Torch is a funky cafe that lights up Swan Street in Richmond. It's one of the standout cafes along Swan Street with its grungy if not quirky design and yellow and charcoal themes. Very Richmond colours.

Ambience is enhanced by the cool modern art wall (including the funky animals), concrete floor, open counter area, yellow stools, retro tables and black communal table and yellow lamps from the ceiling.

Torch serves up great coffee with Genovese blends (one of my favourites as it has a strength I like).

Rhone Wine and Tapas in Albert Park exudes elegance, charm and great cuisine with an emphasis on Mediterranean fare. This restaurant stands out with authenticity, passion and quality in a city that loves all things European. Rhone has a new Chef  in March 2013.

Both times I've visited Rhone I've been highly impressed. For my second visit I rolled up to one of Rhone's Flamenco nights which features a Spanish guitarist and specials on Spanish beer and sangria. The guitarist was on fire and several diners clapped after each song. Were we in Spain?

Rhone filled up and was packed just after 8pm. The place was pumping.

Stockholm in Style held in Somewhere Gallery showcases street fashion at various Fashion Weeks in Europe and is sponsored by Swedish Cider House Rekorderlig. The exhibition runs to October 13th. Just take the stairs next to Cafe E Torta...

Guests at the launch were treated to an awesome exhibition from the collection of Caroline Blomst from Stockholm who blogs about and celebrates streetwear. For years she has photographed fashionable young people of the street and posted the images on her fashion blog.

The blog has taken off and incorporates several European cities. It is famous for unearthing stunning fashion and looks on the street that can itself trend in the fashion world. Caroline now travels the world and has become influential in the fashion scene.

Check out Caroline's site at http://carolinesmode.com/stockholmstreetstyle/

Cheerio will have you coming back for the warm and personable service, great use of space, Seven Seeds coffee baby and funky cuisine. Just off Swan Street and on Lennox Street it has quickly attracted a following.  

I'm at first thinking minimalism as the room isn't huge but seems spacious. Cheerio has a great ambience featuring the large window with plenty of natural light, white walls, retro black and white tiled floor, a cool timber work ceiling structure, funky hanging lights, and a timber bench along the wall with chic blue cushions.

Dave Matthews says he likes his toast with coffee and jelly. Methinks Dave Matthews and his band would enjoy Cheeky Monkey with its cool ambience and excellent cuisine (including the toast and coffee). Cheeky Monkey has a great vibe with its dark timber and great use of space. The golden walls with monkeys and palms is awesome. As the light fills the room from the large windows we feel the light of love and darkness falls away (Dave Matthews).

Cheeky Monkey has a great fit out with timber tables, concrete floor, exposed brick wall, naked bulbs over the communal tables, and a counter with red themes. Spot the monkey figurines including on the timber beam above. Monkeys are watching you.

Tree of Us is a cafe/restaurant sensation and a great find in the uber precinct of North Richmond. Being familiar with many of the cafes along Bridge Road and indeed throughout Richmond I am always looking for a cafe that stands out from the pack. I can throw a blanket across several and only a handful rise into the outstanding category. Tree of Us is a breath of fresh air with its understated charm and foodie gourmet excellence.

Started by three friends who went to Primary School on the Mornington Peninsular together, there is a sense of destiny and romance about this place. To be honest I don't even have one friend from Primary School. It was too long ago and I have no idea where they are now. Certainly none of my Primary School friends were ex chefs at Rockpool that I know of. Shaun is a top chef ex Rockpool and brings imagination, flair and skill to the kitchen.

Chin Chin is a Melbourne phenomenon that continues to constantly draw a packed house and is surely among the best dining experiences in this city. It's a restaurant with "wow" factor. This is Asian (Thai, Malay, Chinese) cuisine that is so inventive and multidimensional if not exciting. The noise levels are high, there is movement all around, and the food aromatic and visually appealing. It seems like you're in Asia (which I am most fond of). Surely Chin Chin is one of the best sensory dining experiences around.

Chin Chin is chic. The vibe is sensational with modern chic decor, sexy lighting, a cool bar area where you can perch on a stool, and the hum of the dining area. Getting a table at Chin Chin can be difficult unless you are prepared to wait (you can always visit Go Go Bar in the interim). This can be at least an hour or two. The no booking policy means you take your chances (they only take bookings for groups of 10-12). So it was incredible that we walked in and scored a table to seat 9.

Heirloom exudes class and elegance at every level. It is primarily an izakaya and sake destination of note.

Heirloom loomed as a great breakfast destination for moi. I've been there several times for breakfast. The breakfast scene here is different to the izakaya - and so soon I will visit again for lunch or dinner.