The Good Food and Wine Show – Melbourne 2015

Posted in Dining, Events & Happenings by melbournedarling

Explore, taste and learn the latest trends in cooking, eating and drinking from hundreds of local and international exhibitors, chefs and restaurateurs at The Good Food and Wine Show on during this Queen’s Birthday long weekend in Melbourne.

Some of the highlights this year include a great number of sessions, masterclasses and demonstrations covering not only food but wine, beer and cider. Visit the Cellar Door for informative sessions on wine, whether learning about different varieties and wine regions or engage in wine pairing sessions at the Dan Murphy’s Discover Centre. Don’t despair if you are not a wine drinker, just walk on down to learn about the latest trends and flavours in beer and cider at the Dan Murphy’s Beer and Cider Hall.

Visitors will have the opportunity to see, learn from and even meet some of the very best chefs and restaurateurs including Ainsley Harriott, Adam Liaw, Miguel Maestre, Sarah Wilson and Melbourne local favourites Frank Comorra (of MoVida) and Joe Grbac (of Saint Crispin). Lovers of Italian cuisine must check out the Gusto Italiano Masterclasses where you can learn how to make the perfect pizza crust from the chefs of DOC Pizza or for new ideas for your mid-week dinner planes, visit the Laucke Creative Kitchen to learn recipes from the 2011 My Kitchen Rules winners Sammy & Bella. Don’t forget to graze your way through the many exhibitors to see and taste new products and dishes and fill up your own stomachs with the offerings from the street food vendors and food trucks.

The Good Food and Wine Show will be on at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre from Friday 5th June through to Monday 8th June. Tickets available via the website.

goodfoodshow.com.au

Times:

Friday 5th June: 10am – 6pm

Saturday 6th June: 10am – 6pm

Sunday 7th June: 10am – 6pm

Monday 8th June: 10am – 5pm

Where:

Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre

2 Clarendon Street

South Wharf, Victoria

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15May2015

Hawkeye Vintage Designer Sale and Parisian Pop Up Shopping Event

Posted in Shopping & Sales by melbournedarling

Shop the finest in vintage clothing and sought after one-of-a-kind pre-loved treasures at the Hawkeye Vintage Designer sale on this weekend in Melbourne!

Hand selected vintage designer pieces from around the globe, magnificently housed for your shopping pleasure in the charming setting of Anton Venoir Interiors’ showroom, a lavish Parisian inspired abode. From Louis Vuitton handbags to Hermes bangles, Nina Ricci silk scarves to Versace shirts to Chanel and Dior jewels.

I was lucky enough to attend a preview and offer you a look inside, at some of the stunning items available to purchase at this weekend’s luxe vintage shopping pop up event:

Hawkeye VIntage Parisian Pop Up - Melbourne Darling

DATE: Saturday, May 16^th

TIME: 10am – 5pm

LOCATION: 26/321 Chapel Street, Prahran 3181 (Entrance Via Wattle St.)

For more information, visit the official Facebook event page

Be sure to follow Hawkeye Vintage on Facebook and Instagram to be informed of more upcoming exclusive pop up shopping events!

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13Nov2014

Taste of Melbourne 2014

Posted in Dining, Events & Happenings by melbournedarling

Taste of Melbourne is a four day celebration serving up the best offerings from Melbourne’s exuberant dining scene. Join like-minded foodies in a fun and casual, festival-like atmosphere with the opportunity to try the top selection of signature dishes on offer from a wide selection of the most popular dining locations, in and around the city of Melbourne. Every foodie’s one stop spot to sample the outstanding array of signature dishes on offer from Melbourne’s hottest eateries, participate in food , beer and wine workshops, cooking demonstrations and classes and interact with and learn from the creative and prominent chefs behind the delicious culinary creations.

Just to start those taste buds dancing, here is just a small selection of the dining pop ups that will be present and the dishes that will be served up throughout the event:

Soft Shell Crab Souvlaki by Gazi*

Wallaby Buns by Sake*

Chargrilled Corn by Mamasita*

Lobster Rolls by Mr Claws*

Taste of Melbourne 2014 runs midday and evening sessions from Thursday, November 16 to Sunday, November 19^th at Pelican Lawn, Albert Park Lake.

Tickets from $25, now available online from Ticketek, or available for purchase at the gates.

Full schedules, booking details and ticket information can be found on the Taste of Melbourne website:

www.tasteofmelbourne.com.au

Facebook.com/tasteofmelbourne |Twitter/Instagram: @tasteofmelbourne

*Images provided by Taste Festivals Limited ®

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10Sep2014

DJB World Photography – Melbourne Photography Walk ‘Laneways, Rooftops and Street Art’ Review

Posted in Events & Happenings by melbournedarling

Looking for a unique and interactive way to discover and explore some of the overlooked areas within the city of Melbourne whilst brushing up on your photography skills? DJB World Photography offers a fun way to discover and appreciate the quirky, colourful city of Melbourne through the lens of a camera for photography beginners. Let me assure you that I am probably the best example of an absolute beginner photographer, I can barely work out the number of automatic camera settings and functions on my camera let alone dare to brave the switch on my camera dial from automatic to manual. However, DJB Photography School aims to help its students do exactly that, offering a casual introduction to what could be the start of your new love for photography. DJB World Photography runs a number of different Melbourne photography walks and I attended the two hour sphotography walk ‘Laneways, Rooftops and Street Art’.

DJB World Photography Melbourne Photography Walk

The session was run for two hours on Sunday afternoons in a small size group (eight people maximum). My session was led by the ever knowledgeable Rachael. Upon joining the group of attendees at the designated meeting spot on a Sunday afternoon, I was at first a little intimidated seeing the rest of their group with their serious photography gear, SLR cameras and big lenses. However, attendees are invited to bring whatever camera and photography gear they feel comfortable using. You can simply choose to bring along an iPhone if you wish and my Sony digital camera ended up doing the job perfectly!

We started off with an introduction on the manual settings, and the features of shutter speed, aperture, ISO and exposure levels, but keep in mind this was really the only time during the session we were taught about manual camera functions as this is not intended to be an instructed class about camera functions, but more of an introduction to manual settings and a guided tour focused on exploring different areas of Melbourne for creative photography. Although if you do have any questions about camera functions (as trust me, I had many!) Rachael, our guide was always more than happy to help. All of the locations we stopped at during the walk were perfectly selected as I found myself taking notes on where each was so I could come back and explore on my own. That being said, we were able to explore different areas at each stop at a very leisurely, relaxed pace and were never rushed to move on.

DJB World Photography Melbourne Photography Walk

Whether you are looking to learn photography techniques, explore the often overlooked pockets of Melbourne’s CBD or meet new people, a DJB World Photography course offers an artistic new perspective on Melbourne city streets while allowing you to brush up on your photography skills.

For more information on DJB World Photography and the Melbourne Photography Walks on offer, visit the link below:

DJB World Photography- Melbourne Photography Walks

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post and Melbourne Darling was not invited to attend the DJB World Photography walk as a guest. The opinions shared in this article are based completely on my own honest and personal views, thoughts and experiences.

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10Aug2014

Little Girl Big Dream Masterclass

Posted in Events & Happenings by melbournedarling

Little Girl Big Dream was developed three years ago by Sarah Liu as a platform to connect and develop professional young women through their Dream Collective membership program consisting of a range of leadership training, professional development events, conferences and mentoring sessions with a focus on marketing, entrepreneurship and corporate leadership.

Melbourne Darling featured a ‘Spotlight On’ article on Sarah Liu for her dedication to encourage and motivate young business women to dream big and take action to follow and fulfil them.

Last weekend I was fortunate enough to attend the Little Girl Big Dream Melbourne Master Class. The Master Class was a half day workshop focusing on professional development, networking and mentoring, facilitated by two very special guest speakers, industry experts Alexie O’Brien, former General Manager of Lululemon Athletics Australia and New Zealand and Juliana Nguyen, Marketing Director of Nike Pacific. I found the Master Class to be a stand out because the group was limited to a small number which allowed for attendees to meet and listen to two prominent, experienced and extremely knowledgeable business women in an intimate and comfortable setting for personalised attention. Despite differences across everyone’s individual work-life situations, career points and industries, the Master Class encouraged in-depth discussions for sharing career and work challenges and receiving thoughtful advice and guidance in return.

Little Girl Big Dream Melbourne Master Class

I sincerely respected the two special guest speakers for having the honesty and openness to strip back their stories and share personal recounts of their lives and their own personal successes and challenges. It was very humbling to hear how they began, who influenced them along the way and essentially how their values allowed them to find direction in their dreams and set out to achieve their career success.

Not only was I inspired by Sarah Liu, Juliana and Alexie but also the group of women that attended the Master Class were all so inspiring in their own way. It was wonderful to meet and be surrounded by so many talented individuals. The Little Girl Big Dream Master Class provided invaluable advice and career guidance, newfound inspiration and the opportunity to get to know and connect with a group of remarkable young women.

Little Girl Big Dream is an excellent source for young professional women seeking guidance, mentoring, inspiration or networking opportunities. For more information on Little Girl Big Dream, the Dream Collective Membership program and upcoming events visit www.littlegirlbigdream.com

Disclaimer: Melbourne Darling was invited to attend the Little Girl Big Dream Melbourne Master Class as a guest. The opinions shared in this article are based completely on my own honest and personal views, thoughts and experiences.

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30Jul2014

Coburg Drive-In Food Truck Festival

Posted in Dining, Events & Happenings by melbournedarling

Image Via.

When popcorn and choc tops get a little boring my friends and I set a challenge for ourselves, what is the most crazy and delicious ‘outside food’ we can get away with bringing into a cinema? Pizza? Burgers? Burritos? Chicken? Churros?

Coburg drive-in cinema is now providing movie-goers with an ‘outside food’ free-for-all, offering the most tasty movie time bites at their monthly food truck festival, once a month during July, August and September on Wednesday nights from 5.30 starting tonight!

Grab a carload of friends, and purchase a ticket to any of the movie sessions playing on the night to join in the fun and watch a flick (or two) on the largest screens in the Southern Hemisphere from the comfort of your own car (car boot pillow forts optional) while chewing on your favourite foods from Iv’s Burritos, Mr Burger, Nandos, Señor Churro, Nem N’ Nem Vietnamese Hawker Kitchen and Señor BBQ.

Coburg Drive-In Food Truck Festival

Where: Coburg Drive-In, 155 Newlands Rd, Coburg VIC.

When: From 5.30pm on Wednesday 30^th July, 27^th August and 24^th September

Price: $17.50 each or $40 for a carload

Wednesday 30th July 2014 from 5:30pm

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13Jul2014

Melbourne Dining Review – Rumi, Brunswick East

Posted in Dining by melbournedarling

If I told you I went to a Middle Eastern restaurant on Lygon Street Brunswick, my guess is that your first question would be ‘which one?’ There are quite a few of Middle Eastern restaurants along Lygon Street Brunswick, but in my opinion, what makes Rumi a stand out was the sophisticated, clean and modern set up, attentive service and wonderfully rich yet homely meals, (also there were no belly dancers or sequinned draped fabrics in sight).

From the eye-catching signage highlighting the restaurant’s name “Rumi’ to the sleek, modern interior of this restaurant, Rumi was impressive, and I am happy to say this feeling remained for the rest of my visit on a Wednesday night. I could not fault the attentive service from our waiter Rose, she was very knowledgeable about the dishes, asked if we had any dietary requirements or intolerences and made very helpful recommendations on how the chefs would alter the dishes to work around this. She was friendly and accommodating, she provided good recommendations on which dishes and wines to order and frequently came over to ensure we were looked after and our water cups were kept full! She was fantastic.

We ordered Sigara, cigar shaped pastries filled with three cheeses (haloumi, feta and kasseri), these were very creamy, rich and salty encased in a crisp and light pastry.

Sigara at Rumi

The meatballs were a little more fatty than ideal but were covered in a delicious, rich tomato based sauce. The chicken kebab was a little dry and bland, however once again helped by the spices and nuts added.

Chicken Kebabs and Meatballs at Rumi

The fried cauliflower was sweet and tastefully seasoned with spices and nuts. The spiced lamb shoulder was the standout, don’t let the dark, charred appearance fool you, one stroke of a fork reveals incredibly soft and tender, fall-of-the-bone deliciousness!

Fried Cauliflower and Spiced Lamb Shoulder at Rumi

The pricing was reasonable but I found the larger meals (like the lamb shoulder) of much greater value and good pricing in comparison to the prices charged for the smaller dishes (like the sigara) which were a little pricey for the small servings. We ended the night with a serving of Turkish Delight which was very nice also, the rosewater flavour was not too overpowering and they were not overly sweet to the point of being sickening.

A wonderful dining experience overall, where an outstanding variety of dishes on offer, impeccable service and a lovely atmosphere make Rumi the Middle Eastern restaurant in Lygon Street, Brunswick with the most flair.

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25Jun2014

Melbourne Dining Review – Little Henri

Posted in Uncategorized by melbournedarling

Little Henri has made itself one lovely home on the busy intersection of Dundas Street and High Street Thornbury. It is difficult not to notice the cafe with its bright, white brick walls and child silhouettes walking across the café’s façade and step inside Little Henri where the peeling paint, wood panelling and old furniture surprisingly make for a very striking and grand atmosphere. I love the interior of Little Henri and think it has great character, look close enough and you can even spot some of the architectural features reminiscent of this location’s previous use as a bank. (Look out for the doorway behind the coffee machine which would have previously been the bank’s safe, but now acts as a wine cellar!)

Coffee at Little Henri

The menu was quite substantial and featured a good variety of dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner options. I tried the Zucchini fritters with house smoked salmon, avocado + horseradish cream ($16.00) and the Smashed avocado with thyme buttered mushrooms, Persian feta + basil ($17.00). Both dishes were flavoursome and filling. The mushrooms, feta and basil in the avocado smash were particularly delicious, but the zucchini fritters tasted a lot like corn fritters and while on their own they were a bit bland, the smoked salmon and horseradish cream was a delightful addition. The presentation of both dishes was a little sloppy and didn’t add to the appeal of the meal, although the coffee was good. I like my coffee on the strong side, and Little Henri served up a strong, smooth coffee that went down pleasantly.

Zucchini Fritters at Little Henri

Avocado Smash at Little Henri

Customer service was where Little Henri fell short for me. When we arrived, the café was busy and we were seated straight away on one of the vacant tables. Five minutes later after we received our menus we saw two of the employees pointing at us and talking. One lady then came over and asked us to move to another table, as she actually needed our table for a reservation that was due any minute and needed to join two tables together for a table for 6 (we had three people in our group). We were then moved to a large round table for five. Because it was round and quite big, the three of us were awkwardly seated around the table. I placed my handbag on one of the spare chairs, and we ordered our meals and coffees, then one of the ladies returned and asked if she could remove the two spare seats for another table. It was difficult to get the attention of staff and one of the employees in particular was quite abrupt and unfriendly. However, I should note that my visit occurred on a public holiday so maybe this could have influenced the service that day. Also be aware that Little Henri is cash only and incur a surcharge for public holidays. While there have been a number of trendy, quality cafes popping up along High Street Thornbury in recent times, Little Henri serves up good food and coffee and I would recommend it as one cheerful space to try!

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16May2014

The Love Vintage and Retro Fair Melbourne

Posted in Events & Happenings, Shopping & Sales by melbournedarling

Image Via Love Vintage and Retro Fair

The most exciting and entertaining vintage shopping event is nearly upon us! The Love Vintage and Retro Fair, being held at the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne this weekend!
Make your way through the extraordinary collection of vintage fashion and home ware dealers and shop for the best quality selection of vintage treasures. See the classic cars on display, fashion parades, special guest speakers and burlesque shows or take part in a vintage styling makeover and photoshoot, and try out a burlesque workshop! See the full program of events here and a full listing of exhibitors and retailers here.

For anyone who loves being inspired by the fashion and lifestyle of the dazzling eras gone by, the Love Vintage and Retro Fair is an event not to be missed!

Let the good old’-fashioned fun begin!

Opening Hours:

Friday, May 16th 5.30pm – 9pm

Saturday, May 17th 10am – 5pm

Sunday, May 18th 10am -4pm

Location:

Royal Exhibition Building

9 Nicholson St

Carlton VIC 3053

Carlton Gardens, Melbourne

Admission:

Adult $15 (at the door)

Age & Disabled Pensioner $12

Senior Card Holder $12

Student $12

Children 10-16 years $7

Under 10 years free

Or buy your Early Bird tickets online here!

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14May2014

Melbourne International Coffee Expo 2014 (MICE 2014)

Posted in Dining, Events & Happenings by melbournedarling

Image Via Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE 2014)

Melbourne coffee lovers, get excited!

You’ve sipped on lattes, sampled filter brews and downed shots of espresso and now the time has come for a sensory celebration of all the very best in the bean scene with Australia’s largest dedicated coffee event!

The Melbourne International Coffee Expo 2014 (MICE 2014) is being held from 15 – 18 May, 2014. From all your favourite coffee roasters and coffee beans to coffee-brewing equipment along with the chance to learn some of the tricks and techniques to help perfect your coffee making skills, you can find it all at MICE, which has become one of the world’s leading coffee expos. Whether you are looking to perfect your own barista skills or watch the best battle it out at one of the three global competitive events that MICE is proudly hosting this year, the World Cup Tasters Championship, the World Latte Art Championship (because froth never looked so good) and the World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship (coffee and alcohol, need I say more?) join your fellow caffeine addicts at the Melbourne International Coffee Expo open to the public this weekend, 17^th – 18^th May at the Melbourne Showgrounds on Epsom Road, Ascot Vale.

Head to the internationalcoffeeexpo.com to register your attendance and see what all the caffeinated induced buzz is about!

For more information, take a look at the official event brochure here or plan your day with the official event schedule.

SATURDAY 17TH MAY
10am – 5:30pm (open to public)

SUNDAY 18TH MAY
10am – 4pm (open to public)

Image Via Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE 2014)

melbourne darling

A real girls guide to living stylish, savvy and inspired in Melbourne

The Good Food and Wine Show – Melbourne 2015

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Hawkeye Vintage Designer Sale and Parisian Pop Up Shopping Event

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Taste of Melbourne 2014

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DJB World Photography – Melbourne Photography Walk ‘Laneways, Rooftops and Street Art’ Review

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Little Girl Big Dream Masterclass

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Coburg Drive-In Food Truck Festival

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Melbourne Dining Review – Rumi, Brunswick East

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Melbourne Dining Review – Little Henri

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The Love Vintage and Retro Fair Melbourne

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Melbourne International Coffee Expo 2014 (MICE 2014)

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