The World Loves Melbourne Blog

Albert Street Food and Wine is a serious hatted (The Age Good Food Guide) foodie destination and was the perfect venue to showcase the skills of Melbourne chef Philippa Sibley and international celebrity chef from New Zealand Annabel Langbein (known as "The Free Range Cook") as part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. 

Albert Street Food and Wine is a spacious restaurant housed in a heritage building on Sydney Road Brunswick and has a superb ambience of finery and modern fit out. There were 100 guests at this function dialling in to the amazing story of Annabel Langbein and to experience a menu put together with stellar dishes from both Philippa and Annabel.

Top Paddock is already one of Melbourne's standout cafes with its spacious modern fit out and extensive imaginative menu. Meeting here in a trendy part of Richmond with my salubrious brother (Melbourne businessman and food critic extraordinaire) we commented that "these people know what they're doing". And they surely do being of the stable of Three Bags Full, APTE and Two Birds One Stone - some of the best cafes in Melbourne. Chatting with one of the owners Nathan Toleman at the restaurant, the team have pulled their experience from the other cafes and have even progressed the cafe concept.

What I love is that the team have not reproduced their earlier successes but sought to give Top Paddock its own identity. In the early days of Three Bags Full it seemed there were similarities with the menu of stalwart APTE. Which is fine. But here at Top Paddock the menu options are distinctive and even exploring new ground. Kudos.

Top Paddock has a light and airy feel with plenty of space (and is accessible with nearby parking) and great use of timber paneling and modern fittings. Some serious coin has gone into the layout and to great effect. Top Paddock has a superb ambience for romantic escapades or catching up with friends. Check out the tiling along the wall, dark timber floor, semi industrial ceiling, cool world music (at the time) and the cute display cabinets with treats. The spacious outdoor area is also alluring on a fresh Melbourne morning.

Celebrating the unique rivalry between Melbourne's North and South sides, on the Easter weekend for the 5th consecutive year, Bimbo Deluxe (North) and Lucky Coq (South) will showcase the best in electronic culture, visual entertainment, food, booze and sound in the Best of Both Sides Festival.

For seven glorious days (25-31 March) both venues will offer 14 different events, with free courtesy buses running in between. Canvassing a multitude of musical styles from house to hip-hop, rock to blues, garage to electro, this year's round up includes up-and-comers DJ Who, Silversix and Uone, as well as Melbourne stalwarts Ransom, Tigerfunk and Kasey Taylor.

Look out for familiar faces - Boogs, Spacey Space and Muska as well as over 50 different acts and 13 live performances including visual DJ’s who will produce a projection spectacular. How much will this plethora of hedonistic good-times cost? Not a cent... The Bimbo and Lucky philosophy has long-been ‘always free, always fun’ and they're not about to change that now.

Bimbo Deluxe - 376 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy

Non Solo Pasta is a popular chic Italian cafe and restaurant in Docklands and has won the Age Good Food Under $30 award for best pizza. Traditional Italian style pizza. Non Solo Pasta has one of the best vibes in Docklands and is a great place to dine and meet up with people. It has that Italian air about it and the fit out is modern and spacious. The sunlight streams through the large windows and you can sit back and enjoy a wide ranging menu to suit all tastes. 

The hero here is the pizza, with Italian styles such as Gamberi, Rustica, Carbonara and of course Margherita. It's no surprise the pizza is great here given their other pizzeria +39 in Little Bourke St - a favourite of mine. Pizzas made in the Italian tradition with excellent slightly chewy dough, quality ingredients and sauce, but not overcrowded with too much ingredients. It is the Bunga Bunga pizza that caught the eye of The Age Good Food Under $30 with its thin base and winning toppings of berkshire pork sausage, fior de latte, porcini mushrooms, parmesan and parsley.

Or check out the Pasta dishes and exotic salads. Desserts are allluring including the Sweet Nutella Pizza.

G-Star introduces the RAW Tailored Atelier, an in-store denim customization service supporting our democratic belief that everybody should be able to create their own personal denim with the best fit and unique detailing. The RAW Tailored Atelier also gives us the opportunity to share our passion for denim with the customer in store and inspire them with our excitement for high-end craftsmanship, detailing and tailoring. 

In the RAW Tailored Atelier the clean 3301 five pocket denim is up for customization, the men’s 3301 fit is straight while the women’s version is a slim fit. At the atelier you will be advised by a professional G-Star tailor about the correct width, the length of the denim will be tailored to your preference. You also get the opportunity to personally choose the detailing for your denim like different buttons, rivets and back label. By doing so you can create your personal denim look, whether it’s modern, vintage or anything in between.  Afterwards the denim will be hand-finished based on your personal preferences and send to you in an exclusive RAW Tailored Atelier canvas bag.

Pacific Seafood BBQ House is a popular eatery in Victoria Street, the CBD and South Yarra -  and the cuisine has impressed customers for some years. When it gets down to it, some well cooked seafood and BBQ fare is just the ticket on any day. Who doesn't love flavoursome BBQ taste? 

The menu reveals a few different styles including Cantonese and Shichuan. Order a hot pot, or a whole flounder. The menu selection is amazing. This is reinforced by the many menu items wrtitten colourfully on posters on the wall (written in both English and Chinese).

For mine I was keen to eat the BBQ pork with rice, a mainstay I often order. It was a toss up between that and the BBQ duck (looking inviting in the window). Having explained to the waiter I didn't have long for lunch , the food literally arrived within a couple of minutes. It was just a matter of cutting up the pork into slices to go on the rice with accompaniments.

Are you a lover of finery and classy hand made chocolate? When it comes to gourmet subscriptions the crew at agendaselects.com have it covered. They're teaming up with Ganache to provide a superb chocolate subscription - delivered to your door each month.

We were able to taste the Easter theme Ganache chocolate offering and it was the perfect indulgence. For a start this month's selection came in an attractive red Ganache bag to keep the product in top notch condition. This bag is something we will keep and use over and over...

Inside the bag was a range of superb chocolate including individual hand made chocolates, Easter Egg component and a variety that was great value. This is the best chocolate in Melbourne. Why consume average standard chocolate over Easter when you can order the best!

The Pho Chu is one of the best pho eateries in Melbourne. The restaurant is modern and inviting, the staff are friendly and the pho rocks with generous portions of tasty broth, perfectly cooked meat and accompaniments. I left The Pho Chu feeling warm from the satisfying pho and the engaging service.

How do you tell one pho from another? In my opinion you look for generous portions full of ingredients, a broth that is not too fatty, a broth that actually is full of flavour and not bland, accompaniments that are not wilting but super fresh quality, perfectly cooked pho noodles, and meat that is perfectly cooked and quality cuts. But of course the main distinguishing feature is the broth. Making a great broth takes hours. You can tell a great broth by tasting it before any seasoning is applied. The Pho Chu has that great broth that entices you and beckons you.

Foodies can travel the culinary world through Feasting in Footscray, a series of events for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, running 1-11 March.

Ethiopian, Vietnamese, Chinese and Cambodian cuisine will be plated up, celebrating Footscray’s multicultural history, authentic dining experiences and two fresh food markets.

Those yet to discover the hands-on Ethiopian cuisine can sign up for A Cultural Blend: The Origins of Coffee and Ethiopian Spices, where they will learn how to scoop up spicy slow cooked meat and vegetable dishes with bubbly injera bread while experiencing a traditional coffee ceremony.

Diners looking for a meal with a difference can hop on their own personal rickshaw for a six course dash about town on theRickshaw Run, touring the best Vietnamese restaurants, exploring the Vietnamese market and learning how to make rice paper rolls.

What: Cook From The Book | Melbourne Central MFWF Event

The World Loves Melbourne has interviewed Richard Ampudia, the Godfather of Mexican street food as he heads to Melbourne for a series of events hosted by Touche Hombre and Davis Yu. Richard Ampudia is synonymous with top New York Mexican eateries L’Esquina, Super Linda, Bar Bruno and London’s La Bodega Negra...

Coinciding with the annual Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, Touché Hombre will host a string of dinners, Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th March, specially designed by Ampudia to excite Melbourne foodies with the flavours of his Mexican heritage and to get a taste of what New Yorkers have been raving about.  

Bookings for Richard Ampudia’s Mexican Street Food dinners at Touché Hombre in March and the Rooftop Mexican Party are limited. To register your interest email  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Here is The World Loves Melbourne interview with Richard Ampudia - 

La Svolta Pizzeria e Trattoria is a standout Italian restaurant in Prahran (as well as one in Hampton). I dined here with my mate Mark who is of Italian heritage and knows his Italian cuisine. We both remarked that the food here is top notch and were glad it's not just celebrating award winning Naples style pizza but also the rest of the menu is first class. My friend said to me we may as well be dining in Rome. It has that Italian feel with modern fit out, personable Italian staff and menus on large black boards written in Italian. The food is traditional Italian but also with a modern twist. (We were guests of La Svolta).

La Svolta has a cool if not chic ambience with exposed brick wall, artwork, timber tables, concrete floor, large windows at the front, sleek bar, open kitchen and mood lighting...

It was heaps of fun and hugely instructive to be part of the Perfect Australian Pork Masterclass with Chris Badenoch (Masterchef and Josie Bones fame) at Chadstone - The Capital. Arriving a little early I was able to pick up some shoes at Zara before the class began - bonus. This masterclass was sponsored by Rainbow Meats, who have a popular outlet in Chadstone. Proceeds of the masterclasses over 3 days went to STREAT - very cool.

Chris Badenoch was a superb instructor all miked up and at his convivial best. Here is a man that is a pork devotee with his restaurant Josie Bones popular for its suckling pig. The masterclass included ingredients, instruction, use of materials and equipment, and eating the signature dishes!

I was glad to be at a table with a fun team and soon we were donning our aprons. As Chris put us through our paces a good crowd gathered to take it all in.

Guzman Y Gomez is a quality Mexican fast food joint that has standout ambience and cuisine for food of this genre. People are expecting more from fast food restaurants these days including some healthy choices. Guzman Y Gomez delivers in terms of fresh ingredients, taste, portion size and healthy options. Its actually a Mexican taqueria - which means street food.

I dined here twice with out of towners and all were highly impressed. First of all the vibe is excellent if you want to meet with friends. Cool modern fit out with use of various textures including wood and pebbles. It's colourful and cool, even chic. Colour scheme with dark wood, black and bright yellow. Enjoy the wood panelling on the ceiling.

The point was we wanted to catch up for half hour or so before I drove them to their accomodation. Here was a place with atmosphere, quick food served within a few minutes, helpful service, and impressive healthy tasty food. It doesn't seem to be a watered down western version of Mexican. There's some kick.

There is something marvellous about a well put together pho. And at I Love Pho 264 on Victoria St you can enjoy top notch pho at reasonable prices. Few things are better than a flavoursome broth (some fat but not too fatty), quality and quantity of meat cuts, awesome rice noodles and the bonus of crunchy shoots and mint and lime. Then choose your level of chilli.

Being a seasoned pho journeyman I rate this place. For a start the restaurant itself is cool with its colours and artwork and board with the menu options.

Free tea is a kind of standard on Victoria St and is welcome.

Lord of the Fries, always innovative, have introduced the Eco City Burger in their array of fine cuisine. This is their most sustainable burger yet and is full of locally sourced ingredients and is the official burger of the Sustainable Living Festival.

LOTF do exciting stuff and this is no exception. 

I was invited to test out this burger by LOTF and felt it was a triumph. The Eco City Burger consists of beetroot dip (so tasty), pickles (not to be underestimated as a key component), lettuce, mozzarella cheese (well done LOTF on a great vegeterian cheese), aoli (this is a superb one) and the LOTF pattie (healthy and seasoned well).

I loved the flavoursome nature of the burger, the softness of the bun, the Aussiness of the burger with its beetroot component, the balance of the flavours (combines so well) and the burgers' uniqueness. To be honest I'm a big carnivore but I turn for the brilliance of LOTF. It may be a cliche but I found the Eco Burger to be absolutely delicious.

As part of the 2013 Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, the Dandenong Market will host the Dandenong World Fare on Sunday 3 March. A favourite on the MFWF event calendar, the Dandenong World Fare will see the market emerge as an urban bazaar of earthly delights, unique produce and stand-out entertainment from the four corners of the globe.

Stallholders and food vans will fill the Merchandise Hall and Market Square creating a delightful array of authentic aromas. Experience a delicious abundance of cuisines as market vendors serve plates of traditional morsels from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East including:

Davis Yu is taking Melbourne by storm when it comes to imaginative dining and a sense of fun. You don't get same old, same old. You get reinvention and a modern twist.

Claremont Tonic in South Yarra is launching a new Yum Cha menu to be featured every weekend on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 am to 3pm. This is Yum Cha new style. You won't get stern looking waiters peddling trolleys with traditional offerings of pork dumplings and chicken's feet. No. Chef Dylan Roberts and the Claremont Tonic team turns Yum Cha on its head.

We were privileged to be at a media lunch to preview the new style Yum Cha (note the disclosure). No hype, it was simply brilliant. While some Yum Cha is eaten in a bite or two, these offerings are more substantive than most Yum Cha I know.

Borsch Vodka and Tears is one of the best vibes in Melbourne for those looking for an edgy night out. There's an amazing Eastern European ambience as you step into a restaurant that seems somewhat like a club. I caught up with a good friend from Adelaide here at a table with Engineers with an Eastern European background.

The place was buzzing at 8.30pm on a Thurday night and you couldn't get a seat. it was a wonderful cacaphony of taste, colour and loud conversation. It had the feeling of a European restaurant.