good life: A good life guide to Melbourne

As a traveller, I'm not usually one that spends an entire holiday based in a city so I never thought I'd enjoy spending 4 days in Melbourne as much as I did!

From inside National Gallery in Victoria

We went over recently with Mark and Cath and caught up with some good friends while we were over, really just to squeeze a last trip in for the year on a Jetstar 'deal'.

Melbourne to me is a food mecca, a cultural and artistic melting pot, (even the grafitti is great) a shoppers paradise and of course its surrounded by a number of fabulous wine regions, so its no surprise I guess that we had such a good time.

Melbourne 'grafitti'

We stayed at a little boutique hotel in the city centre called The Lindrum which was perfect. We could walk pretty much everywhere in the city from there. The river was literally just out the door and this is a city that has really made use of its river and outdoor spaces.

Trams in Melbourne

I'd highly recommend a long weekend in this city and if you should find yourself in Melbourne, here are some things to check out.

Food

Melbourne was seriously a food pilgramige. I either have recipes or cookbooks from most of the places we went to!

Corn at Mamasita

1. Mamasita for lunch on Collins St. The quirkiest little Mexican place serving modern takes on some classics. We arrived there at about 11.55 for a 12pm opening and there was already a queue of people! Apparently at night, people queue all the way up the long stair case and down the road.

They do Mexican corn just the way I like, with Chipotle Mayo, a dusting of spice, some cheese and a wedge of lime, and the little tostaditas and quesadillas are fab. All washed down with a decent margarita and I almost got transported to Mexico.

Grafitti - Movida style!

2. Movida for dinner. Spectacular. Simple, blow you away tapas.

We had the 10 course degustation as there were 6 of us. The first course was anchovy and tomato sorbet on a crostini (I don't even like anchovies!) and the last course was rabbit and in between were a number of seafood and meat tapas that went well with extremely good company, wine and atmosphere.

Huevos flamenco at Lorca

3. Lorca for breakfast. This is a little Spanish restaurant down one of the many interconnected alleyways in the city. Perfect for people watching and great bistro food. Al had huevos flamenco and I had iberico cheese and sliced serrano ham on sourdough rubbed with garlic and tomato and drizzled with olive oil. Why can't someone serve this in Auckland!?! I'd be there tomorrow.

4. Spice Temple for dinner. I love Neil Perry from Rockpool and this is one of his Asian inspired restaurants. Holy dynamite. We did the 10 course banquet and some of the dishes like the bang bang chicken were blow your socks off spicy (even my equally heat loving friend Jo would have found this on the hot side!) but oh so tasty and oh so creative.

Al Stu and Mark tucking in to real food

Wine

We actually didn't do that much wine touring to be honest, but we went to some Fabulous wineries in the area. Thanks to our good friend Stu, we had a ride through the Melbourne surrounds. He doesn't like red wine as it turns out, but we are sure working on him. (Given he lives in the home of some of the world's best reds it doesn't seem right!) Probably the biggest wine buzz was seeing Adam and Liss's purpose built wine cellar which they've dug into the ground under the renovation they're working on!

Here are some I'd definitely recommend checking out:

Craiglee with Pat Carmody

1. Craiglee, Sunbury. The Craiglee Sunbury Shiraz is a Langton's top Australian wine, so we were expecting a pretty flash cellar door but this truly was one of the most unassuming wineries I think we have been to. Dilapidated entrance, parking in a sheep paddock, walk down a long overgrown path, and then...wine mecca. A wine shed build in the 1860's and the winemaker Pat Carmody who is passionate about his wines, and not what other people think. Tastings here are 'by appointment only' or I think he opens on a Sunday.

2. Jasper Hill, Heathcote. Another wine icon, Ron Laughton from Jasper Hill is the self professed pioneer of the Heathcote wine industry and the soils or 'terroir' is as good as it gets for good Shiraz. We spent 2.5 hours here and Ron not only opened his Grenache, Georgia's Paddock and Emily's Paddock Shiraz, he also pulled a few back vintages (including '98 and '00) from his cellar. A good time was had by all! Another 'by appointment only' tasting.

The crew with Ron from Jasper Hill

3. Ten Minutes by Tractor, Mornington Penninsula. We had this at the last lab night dinner and their Pinot Noir is sensational

Al and Stu, 10 minutes by tractor

4. Red Hill Estate, Mornington Penninsula. This has got to be the most scenic winery in Victoria with a stunning view of the harbour and some spectacular 5 star cool climate Shiraz and Chardonnay

Other

Drinks at the Supper Club - the coolest art deco place which also has a garden bar on the top floor.
Went to the NGV (National Gallery of Victoria) and saw a few interesting Aboriginal art exhibitions, my favourite of which was Living Waters.
Took a free tram ride around the city circumferance