Shopping Treasures from Melbourne!

Ok here's my finds in Melbourne. Bearing in mind the shops close at 6 and I never managed to wake up early than 9am, I skipped lunch to walk thru as many shops as I can in the little lanes, shopping arcades and musuems.


Am a fan for tin cans! I collect them in all shapes and sizes. Arent these nostalgia sewing kit and baking kit cans cute? The black one is actually shaping underwear thats keeps your fat tummy in. It is like a leotard. And the pink one is a panty liner packaging.


Book of erotic postcards that remind us of our teenage years reading Mill and Boons.


I fell in love with these vintage lace umbrella. But cost $89AUD! will display it in my showroom one of these days.


Inspirational postcard.


Plates with a cute bear face. I had to get it when I saw this because my boyfriend is nicknamed The Bear as well. So I gave it to him :)


all the sandals I bought in Oz. I have flat feet so any kind of heels make me crimp in pain.


The Melbourne ladies wear this fascinator and dressed to the nines while attending Melbourne Cup. It is annual horse racing event. The ladies are really a joy to behold on this day as they walk down the streets in groups in brightly coloured feminine dresses. I heard some even make their own dresses and fascinators. Perhaps more ladies here should dress up too.


Red glossy key pouch


Candles in yummy bottles. Smells heavenly.


One of my favourite brands there. I bought this socks as a gift for my girlfriend-Sabbie

Dining in Melbourne-Seafood Ahoy!

Dining in Melbourne is an expensive affair. Even if you just want to eat hotdog roll. It costs as much as a large plate of fried rice here or even more. The one I ate costs about $6-$10. And most pizza and pastas seem to be the staple of melbournians.

I may have fashion sense but I certainly dont have much food sense. My boyfriend always say I should be more adventurous in trying out food, but I am contented to eat the same tried and tested thing everyday as I know I wont go hungry if the food doesnt taste nice. So I am happy to eat seafood pasta -which is my favourite- everyday and the difference between the pasta in Singapore and there is the seafood is so much fresher, fatter and succulent and the pasta is indeed flavoursome. It seems a bite can release a burst of flavours in your mouth.

But on a few occasions, I did made a brave decision to try something else. So here goes.

Day 2 At The Verge which is recommended by Melbourne Secrets







I tried this so called Australian cuisine at this ex restaurant.. geesh was really ex and I hate the fact that they don’t put menus right outside. When u go in, u r trapped! But the food was good. Thinking abt it now makes me salivate. Australian seafood are best, big and fresh, the name of the dish I took was really long and fanciful but in actual fact, it meant there are dory fish, clams, mushrooms and dashi FOAM.. first time I heard of dashi foam, and was really foamy,, the mushrooms melt in ur mouth. And the clams spewed juice when u bite on them. I almost wanted to drink the sauce from the shell.

Dining is a pleasurable affair there. People take time to eat, and restaurant owner create their menu and place with pride. Each of the dining place I went has such a character of its own.

This is a place called Babble @ Greville Street , Prahran.



I tried this appetiser called Ginger salmon with Asparagus. Salmon is actually my favourite which i cant live without. The name of this appetiser sounded odd but I tried taking a bet. It did taste abit strong for me with asparagus embeded inside the salmon. I still managed to eat almost everything and when the waitress cleared the plate, she said " You did well!"





The menu is lovely isnt it!

One day when I was so tired from the shopping along Chapel Street, I came by this eatery. It is really interesting. They have all kind of noodles In A Box. Even Singapore noodles and laksa. At first, I thought it is a gimmicky thing, but the hot and piping noodles did taste yummy and it was surprisingly filling for such a small box. The Chef told me the small box holds 500g of noodles! woah.




I tried their Thai noodles with chicky. Really ooishi! Thinking about it makes me hungry again.

On the last day I went to this Greek restaurant called Stalactites with interiors like those of limestone caves. I think it is really the most adventurous choice I made. I have never tried Greek food before. As I look at the menu, I hardly know what to order as they sound really " Greek" to me.. So I asked the waitress what her recommendations are. After her list, I said ok I just want fish soup with rice. At least that sounds vaguely familiar.

The fish soup is something like the salty vegetable tofu soup we have except it is 10 times more sour! Ooh lala.. my boyfriend will have love it given his extremely sour tastebuds.

Every tourist must try this - Colonial Tramcar Restaurant

Ok this is not for the faint hearted! Why? Because this is really expensive. The colonial tramcar restauarant is a real restored tramcar that serves you meals while you sit inside the tramcar and tour around the suburbs. They serve luncheon, early dinner and late dinner. The early 3 course dinner I went for is a whopping $70 for 1 person! Geesh.. But you will get all your worth if you go with your date - cos it is romantic or if you drink alot as wines on board are covered in the charge and you can drink all you want- red wine , white wine, spirits ahoy!

Well but I guess all tourists to Melbourne must try it for once at least. The mahogany tramcar is really beautiful and sitting inside to dine is a real experience! It gives you an old fashioned experience of being back in time eating on board a real tram, as it moves slowly across Melbourne's fringes taking you to the parks and the famous St Kilda Beach. And the crew on my tram really looked like celebrity chefs Anthony Boudain and Jamie Oliver! They serve you like authentic waiters of 5 class restaurants-with flair and finesse.


Cream Liver and Cognac Pate, roasted red capscium dip with assorted crisp bread.
The appetiser sure sounds "cheeem" but they are quite delectable. Makes me want to eat the crackers dipped in the sauce again and again.


Prime Eye fillet of beef resting on potato and herb rosti.
I told the waiter that I will like to have my beef tender but not bloody so he ordered medium rare. But it is still abit tough, but i like the sauce though. It made the whole dish really savoury.


White Chocolate and Passionfruit Mousse with praline and vanilla rasberry syrup.
I am not a dessert or chocolate fan but this is really really heavenly-sweet with abit of yoghurty sourness. Melts in your month and I really wish I had more of this. The best dessert I ever tasted in my life!


Doesnt he look like Jamie Oliver?

A home away from home @ Somerset Gordon Place, Melbourne

This is a cliched advertising line which almost all hotel ads use. But few live up to this promise. But at the Somerset Gordon Place which I stayed in Melbourne is truly an enjoyable abode to return to after a day's of adventure. It is actually part of the Ascott Group that is from Singapore and co-incidentally the CEO is also Fuchsia Lane's customer. :) But of course what I said is unbiased.

The apartment is a beautiful red brick old heritage building that is restored, right smack in the city centre. The train station is less than 5 mins walk. When I reached there at 12pm, the staff checked me in immediately despite the check in time was 2pm. That was a relief as I just had a weary midnight flight. And the studio apartment is clean and cosy with its own bathroom and kitchenette. The bed is full of plush pillows and warm sheets. Those that you see and you just want to sink in. I am especially impressed by the pillow menu which has different pillows for you to choose from a good firm support pillow to a down feather European pillow. The set up is just nice for one person like me who is travelling alone.

And the staff are so ever ready to help you. They are not impatient to explain to you how things work in the hotel, how to get around to a destination. Whatever they do not know, they will try their best to find out for you. They even post the letters for you and always greet you with a big warm smile! A particular staff I like to commend is the Australian Asian counter staff - Rochelle who is always so bubbly. She is like your friend in an unfamiliar land.

The only bad thing is there are no movie channels and you have to pay for internet usage which is either per hour or daily. Oh well, but that is something I can lived with. I will still go back the apartment again if I am back in Melbourne!

Melbourne's Great!

Melbourne's great.. that is if you can stand not shopping after 6. It is difficult for someone like me who came from a city where people complain the shops close at 9 and not 11 or 12 like Hong Kong. BUT in Melbourne, the atmosphere is relaxed and unhurried, the people are generally more friendly, the air is fresher, weather is cool. The people believe in living a quality life balanced with after work enjoyment, hanging out with friends and family and exercising.

There are no impatient honkings from rude drivers. In fact, the cars will almost always stop to let you pass even if the pedestrain light is RED. People have time to stop and greet each other. And there are so many asians in the city like Hongkies, Singaporeans, Malaysians and Indonesians that as an asian I dont feel left out at all.

And what is worthy to mention is the glorious seafood! Oh my! Fat succulent prawns, clams that spew juice when you buy on them, a burst of flavours. When you taste seafood there, it will never be the same again. But then again food is generally more expensive than in Singapore. There is no concept of hawker there, the cheapest hot dog roll or sandwich will set u back at AUD $6-10! A plate of noodles from an eatery will cost $10+ which is cheap for their standards. An average meal cost $30 per person and a very good meal cost $50-$60 Per person. And the tramcar colonial restaurant which I went (and which I will talk about late) is a whopping $70 Per person! Oh well, but at least they dont have service or entertainment tax. What u see on the menu is what u pay.

But oh well, people are paid high there. One of the sales assistant told me the average retail pay is $20+ per hour, and $35/hr on sundays! But most prefer to work only 4 days a week. Imagine if you are a hardworking chap, you can earn over $2500
just being a store assistant-a far cry from here.

Now for the transport. You dont pay by fare per trip. You either buy 2 hours pass ($3.50)or 24 hours pass ($6.50) and you can take as many rides as you want. So no matter you take only 2 rides or 10 rides within 24 hours, is still $6.50. Flinders Street Station is the main train interchange. And it has 14 platforms! A good workout for me trying to run up and down to find which platform goes to the destination I want.


Except for the closing early part, the city is lovely with its intricate shops, charming laneways, you can see lotsa of effort goes into decorating every nook and crannny of the shop. Every small little lane has a treasure trove of shops. There is no cookie cutter shops and every shop is unique. The sales staff are smiley and not pesky. Their opening line is a booming" Hello! How are you today!" It is ok if you dont buy after trying, it is not a problem for them. But they dont have concept of giving discounts. It is either you buy or dont buy. Try haggling and they will probably think you are weird.