Five for Friday

Well, this just seems wrong.

The suspended coffee movement in Brisbane.

A smartphone app for Melbourne bars and pubs. Because every person I know enjoys indulging in Melbourne's nightlife. 
 

The Vintage Dress Company. A New Zealand Company started by a former flight attendant with an eye for delightful vintage fabrics.  

Image courtesy of The Vintage Dress Company website.

Sedating children on long-haul flights; this will sound un-PC but I approve. Parenting blogs explode at 'near child-abuse' but parents who have ever taken a child on a long-haul flight think it's the ideal solution. Read one mother's account here.

I took a lot of long flights myself as a child and I think I was ok but with every landing, my ears would hurt so much from the pressure that I would scream at the top of my lungs. If I had been gently sedated, the whole experience would have been much less traumatic for myself, my parents and the rest of the plane.

On the flip side, I have been on flights with screaming, chair-kicking, running down the aisle, peek-a-boo playing children and I just want them to sit in their damn chairs and shut up.

Honestly, I'd sedate myself on long-haul flights if I knew which drugs to use. 

Book review: The Mystery of a Hansom Cab by Fergus Hume

On a chilly July evening in Melbourne, someone is murdered in the back of a cab. No one knows who he is or why he was murdered. The only suspect is the man who was in the cab with him for part of the journey home. But this man also has no name, no description, nothing to distinguish him from the throngs of well-to-do gents who are out every night in late nineteenth century Melbourne. So begins The Mystery of a Hansom Cab, best-selling work of Fergus Hume, and a positively ripping yarn it is too.

This baffling case is handed to Detective Samuel Gorby. He and a host of characters traverse the length of Melbourne society as their investigations into who this man was and why he was murdered take them from the drawing rooms of cattle kings to slums presided over by foul-mouthed drudges killing themselves with drink. Even as suspects are thrown into prison to await the gallows, secrets from the past come back to reveal new twists that might save or condemn innocent men.

Before there was Agatha Christie, before there was even Arthur Conan Doyle, there was Fergus Hume. The Mystery of a Hansom Cab was Hume’s first novel. Rejected by publishers, he self-published in 1886 and the risk paid off. Within months of publishing, the book had been read by 20,000 people in Melbourne. Impressive at a time when they cities’ population was less than half a million and literacy levels were significantly lower than they are today. The rights were subsequently bought by an international publishing firm and The Mystery in a Hansom Cab went on to be an international best-seller. It was in fact the best-selling detective story of the 19thCentury, beating out Conan Doyle’s early Sherlock novels such as A Study in Scarlet (1887).

Melbourne and the Very Big Meals

Ah, Melbourne. So many things to so many people. For my father, for his birthday, it's all about the food. And the wine. And sometimes the art. But mostly the food. So, for a very significant milestone birthday, he decided nothing could be better than a trip during which we would eat. A lot. We arrived late on Thursday night, freeing up the whole of Friday, Saturday and Sunday for outings, galleries, restaurants and cafes.

Friday Breakfast - Cumulus

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This well-known Melbourne Cafe is set in the front of the same building as Arc One Gallery, and features a large, open room with a bar on one side and cafe counter on the other. The coffee is super-strong, and the ham and cheese toasted sandwich is actually Kurabouta leg ham and gruyere. The clientele include your classic inner-city Melbourne foodies, trendier yuppies, and business people getting a coffee injection before work. Even so, the food is pretty delish, and I could definitely get addicted to the strong, bitter coffee...


Friday Lunch - TarraWarra Estate Winery

TarraWarra Estate is about an hour outside of Melbourne, in the Yarra Valley, in very pretty, classically rural countryside. The main building is on a hillside, and at first the ultra-modernity of the building seems incongruous, especially above the pond-weeping willow combination just below it on the hill. But when you actually get into the complex, it's easier to see how the building has been designed for outlook, to showcase the view of the landscape, rather than to present a visual image on the hill. Not that the building itself isn't striking, but it seemed to me that it was designed more for the people inside it.

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We arrived at around 11.30am - slightly too early for lunch - so we had a wine-tasting first, with a very helpful and friendly sommelier. Of course, none of us could agree on which wine we liked the best, so it was probably for the best that we were able to order flights and wine by the glass when we had lunch. (A flight is three glasses, of about 50mLs of wine each. This lets you have a taste of various wines, matched to your three course meal, without overdoing it.) (Honestly, though, we had a flight each and then another glass, so I think we might have been missing the point...)

TarraWarra Estate also includes a privately funded art gallery, which we visited after our meal. It was showing an exhibition called Sonic Spheres, which had key themes of music and sound, and featured contemporary artists including Eugene Carchesio, Ross Manning, Marco Fusinato, John Nixon, Sandra Selig and more.

Friday Dinner - The Press Club

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Do I even really need to say anything, here? This famous bar and restaurant is in the city, on Flinders Street, just up from the back of Federation Square. The fit-out is beautiful, the food is amazing. I doubt I could say anything that hasn't already been said; the food was excellent, and the wine delicious. The modern gastronomy - infusions, jellies and foams all over the place - isn't something I prefer to eat, and my asparagus entree wasn't really to my taste, but even that part of the experience was interesting. I had the chicken for main course, and it more than made up for it, with a delicious collection of flavours and perfectly cooked meat.

The restaurant also has a wine list with about forty pages, which comes in a binder. The Press Club offers wine from across the world - Greek, French, Italian, Australian... Our poor sommelier had to put up with a lot, however, as my father is fairly picky and wanted to discuss the dinner bottle in depth. He also had to try not to look horrified when I wanted red wine first, regardless of whether or not it matched my food (we'd had a lot of white wine at lunch, and the last thing I wanted was yet another glass!), so I'm pretty sure I got written off as a total heathen right around then. But after the meal he provided us with a complimentary shot of Skinos Mastiha liquer, which has quite an amazing taste and was a delicious finish to the meal, so perhaps he didn't dislike us too much.

Saturday Lunch - Gypsey and Musquito

This is a small cafe down on Bridge Road in Richmond, and was an excellent place for lunch. It has mismatched, rustic furniture, a slight bush/outback theme to the menu, great-looking muffins and cakes on retro cake stands, and again, super-strong coffee. The food was delicious - I had something called a box, which was essentially a square-shaped pie without a lid. There was a steak and potato version, but mine was organic chicken and corn, and it was absolutely delicious. It came with broccoli, avocado and green bean salad. The clientele ranged from people picking up coffees, to hipster kids with piercings, to an old lady reading a book at the table next to us. I was a little jealous of her, as it would have been a great place to sit and drink coffee and read something for a while.

Saturday Dinner - Cutler & Co. Dining Room

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Cutler & Co is on Gertrude Street in Fitzroy, close to the city but just outside. The front is very unassuming, with big windows and a small logo painted on one door, to let you know you're in the right place. Once inside, though, the beautiful design and fit-out of the restaurant is immediately obvious, with a variety of dining spaces, intriguing lighting, and an impressive glass wine cellar. The staff were professional and accommodating - including the sommelier, who had slightly more success with my father than the poor guy at the Press Club - and the restaurant experience was great before we even tasted the food.

And the food, honestly, is amazing. I had an entree of peas, broad beans, sunflower seeds, onion and

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bergamot, which does nothing to describe the small, adorable collection of ingredients I received, which the waiter proceeded to dress with an onion reduction. My main was chicken again; a slow-roasted chicken breast with pancetta, braised turnips and onion, and we also had roast potatoes with garlic dressing. I managed to make room for dessert, which is always worth it when there's a chocolate ice cream sandwich with vanilla parfait and salted caramel sauce on the menu.

From the helpful yet unobtrusive service to the delicious food, the whole meal with Cutler & Co was
absolutely worth it, and made it clear the place deserves every accolade it receives. (Incidentally, it's owned by the same folks that run Cumulus.)

Sunday Lunch - The Hellenic Republic

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By Sunday, my personal desire for another big meal was flagging considerably, but I braced myself - and didn't eat breakfast - in preparation for a classic Sunday lunch with the extended family, in final celebration of my father's birthday. And I was glad I did - the food here is fantastic. It's owned by the same folks who run the Press Club, but the Hellenic Republic is far less gastronomie, far more family-style shared food. It's down at the far end of Lygon Street, for starters, miles away from the Italian section near the city. The restaurant is in a white-painted low building with lots of windows, and overall the atmosphere is casual and relaxed. It also has an open kitchen like the Press Club does, so you can see the rotisseries of grilled meat, and occasionally get a waft of barbecue smoke.

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We ordered one of the banquets - because too much is never enough, apparently - and were inundated with food. We had grilled meat, fish, prawns, pita, taramasalata, tyri saganaki, lahano salata, delicious Cypriot Grain Salad, and a lot more. It was all excellent, and was topped off with a dessert of Hellenic Mess - broken meringue, orange blossom jelly, vanilla crema and strawberry ouzo sauce - and watermelon, feta and mint salad. I had also decided, by that point in the weekend, that I was totally sick of white wine, so I drank a beer and had some Greek red. I didn't regret it!


So, our weekend of meals was finally over. And you know, while I really enjoy having the occasional gastronomically-fabulous meal, it's not something I prefer to do on the regular, and for me, this many huge eats in one weekend was a bit of a stretch. Which is not a complaint! More a lament that we can't all live in Melbourne, so as to go to these amazing restaurants with a bit more space between visits. I suppose some of us just have to eat too much, then spend the plane ride back to Brisvegas digesting. Which I did. I did not require dinner on the plane at all. Or breakfast on Monday, come to that...

The Ring Cycle

For those not in the know, Wagner’s The Ring Cycle is one of the most famous operas ever written. It tells the tales of German and Scandinavian legends – of Gods and Rhine maidens and magical rings and features the famous ride of the Valkyries.

It is arguably the biggest Opera ever conceived. It is certainly the longest. In its entirety, the full cycle – made up of 4 separate ‘operas’ - takes 15 hours to perform over 4 nights.

It is a hugely expensive production and is very rarely performed. Opera lovers will plan over seas travel to see it. Opera companies staging a production need additional millions to put it on and start promotion at least 18 months out. If you need to find enough Opera buffs who are keen to put themselves through 15 hours of intense Wagnerian Opera, paying hundreds if not thousands of dollars on the tickets to attend – let alone get to the host city – you need a start asap!


As far as I can tell, The Ring Cycle has only been performed in Australia three times. In Melbourne in 1913, in Adelaide in 2004 and now again in Melbourne in 2013!

Opera Australia are staging the full 15 hours in November / December 2013. Tickets go on sale in late 2011 and I am pre-registering because I am super-keen to see this magnificent work in its entirety once in my life. It is sure to be spectacular.

These are some of the stats from the Opera Australia website:

• Rehearsals will begin a year in advance.
• The orchestra will include more than 100 players.
• 350 singers, dancers, designers, costume-makers and backstage staff will be involved
• The Ring Cycle features 34 principal roles.
• The set is expected to take 14 months to build.

For a look at what The Ring Cycle is like, check out my favourite Looney Tunes cartoon of all time.