Ok ... thanks to the sartorial largesse of my label obsessed friend CC, I now own a pair of Esprit shoes that have uncharacteristically been made in Italy.
I remember when Esprit was a must stop on any fashion lover's longsuffering trek in the 80s. We craved to be on the mailing list, receiving those jaunty crayon coloured cards in the mail announcing a new line or a midnight halloween sale. We salivated at the thought of the bargain bin at sale time and was positively frothing in the knowledge that our best friend N at the time could afford one of their denim jackets ... which I'm sure he dutifully stuck with safety pins and popstar buttons!!
Anyhoo ... I wouldn't be caught dead in Esprit now!!! How the times have changed. But these are made in Italy .. and lets face it ... are pretty cool.
Ok .. was the weather on the long weekend Melbourne's last hurrah ... feels like it as a mini gale blows outside complete with icy droplets of piercing rain.
I dearly hope not. I'm pining for those crisp Autumn mornings ... rugged up on a pavement somewhere sipping coffee.
The long weekend was not long enough as it never is. We spent the 4 2 extra days respite doing the proverbial sweet FA! We did go and see J & CC's new flat which is stunning!!! Pity this is only a stop gap rental property until they find something more permanent. I think they would buy this apartment in a flash if the opportunity presented itself.
It has so many quirky little touches including this massive tiled plinth of a bathroom sink that is certainly higher than most, and positively dwarfs everyone who stands in front of it except for J of course. His conference in Bangkok maybe cancelled, so their trip to Thailand and Laos may not go ahead. Which is a shame becoz I think they were really looking forward to a bit of R & R after the stresses of finding a place to rent and moving. We had dinner at this new Vietnamese joint called FaiFo, next to Ving Kye (sshhh don't let them know! apparently) which was not bad at all!!! And so cheap. We had a pork intestine salad, beef in claypot (least successful), spring rolls which came with a whole prawn inside the pastry, crab meat with vermicelli (we loved it so much we ordered a second one), fish with ginger and spring onions in claypot (beautiful) and fried rice with salt fish and chicken. Anyhoo, FF was there and she was telling us how in her family, mum is yellow and dad is red, so any discussions on politics are banned at the dinner table. I'm actually heartened by the fact that there still is some form of activism in that region, evidence of a social and political conscience that hasn't been entirely stamped out under the defense of cultural difference.
I ramble!! We also took a drive down an expensive piece of coast just for shits and giggles!!! Some people really know how to live!! Thats all I have to say on the subject. Oh and I have experienced how its like to live on the other side of the tracks but shit like this still gives me a thrill. In Black Rock there's a 2 storey house that fronts the coast road, so it has million dollar views to say the least and the convenience of being able to literally jump the road into the sea. However, this house also has a glass bordered balcony that covers the front of the house and snakes round the back. This is however no ordinary balcony ... it is not a really a balcony at all ... it is in fact a Pool!!!!
Sadly all I got to do was walk around a beach made up of shells and stones and wierdarse volcanic features ... hence black rock ... I'm guessing.
To round off the weekend we had a bbQ with K & M and also S & G and co in the cutest little park in Pascoe Vale. Can I be real here for a moment peops ... I'm tired of playing happy families ... but M was adorable reading Maurice Sendak's Where the wild things grow to the little tyke ... oh yes the hollyqood juggernaut is already making inroads into your household!!
Ooh and apparently N told our other little fav J to go away when he was playing with his bestie A ... oh J!!! I know exactly how you must feel ... story of my life ... I was the loner on the playground ... or worst yet I gave up joining in and hung around the adults ... hhmmmm!! We are soooo putting a stop to that one!! Hehe.
We still think you're kewl!!
PS ... I've been a little thrown by my gradually developing middle age paunch! I expected it to start growing a lot lower than it actually is?? I thought I would have to go up a trouser size, but I don't!! I do have to watch my tops though because the paunch starts expanding round about the second and third buttons ... oh and of course my flabby arms push everything else out or proportion with the end result that nothing fits ... AT ALL!!!
Ok ... so didn't I mention that it was a weekend devoted to the arts and food? No? Well let me try your patience a little bit longer. Back in the early days of this humble blog, I mentioned the Top Artsexhibition (at Ian Potter Fed Square) in a post ... we have pretty much been to every one since. They're good value, entry is free and its a pleasant way to spend an afternoon soaking in all that creativity and talent and being duly inspired and provoked. These are the young creatives of the future, names to watch out for!!
Me and M were very much taken byJim Gurr's14 minute video entry called Kunst Film. It was a loving homage to early German Expressionist cinema, with filmic nods in terms of style, content and editing. We actually sat through 2 runs of the thing ... we loved it that much. Its amazing what can be achieved on a budget, I think the constraints make the final product that much more satisfying ... definitely a name to watch out for!
stills from Jum Gurr's Kunst Film
Here are some of our other favourites:
* Jason Edwards take on consumerism and the environment - his earthenware sculpture of Pure white Ipod Video:
* Katie Kelso's Harriet - I particularly love the dega-esque touches here, the pastel highlights and that sort of curved perspective ... impressive!
* Rania Tabet'sOrange Juice ... in the making - there were a whole series of these kitchenalia paintings which are so much better in real life. we love the effect of the reflections on the shiny surfaces of these kitchen fittings and utensils ... reminds me of those Koon paintings.
* Rhys Griffiths' A thousand Years of Darkness - I'm not overtly fond of digitally maipulated pictures in art ... but these are strangely appealing ... I do love looking at the luminescence of jellyfish at the aquarium ... which is what these remind me of ... and I'm reading alot of books on faerie at the moment ... and these look like changelings caught in jars ...
* Rhys Parkinson's Kevin ... this is so good because its done in colour pencil!!! (damn I wish I could draw)
Ok ... whats a drink amongst friends?? ... a bloody good time thats what!
We met the lovely P after his stint manning the ikebana store at the floral whatsit for drinks at Southpaw.
I've always wanted to go here ever since I walked past the white picket fence and fake green turf on the footpath outside.
Its Gertrude Street after all, THE street in Melbourne at the mo. And it is a cute little joint with quite a wierd mix of people, as befitting fitzroy really. You've got your crazies, your stylies, your hobohemians, your stinkies and even your hip hoppity hoppies ... there's also the hostess rocking it in a 60s monochrome licorice allsorts dress complete with beret and red heels ... and then there's us!!
We whiled away the hours on red wine and red wine alone ... sampling a fantastic sangiovese and you guessed it ... a temperanillo:
We were meant to go round the corner and try to get into Gigibaba's but I don't think it would have been wise of me to peel myself of the pvc stool and attempt any form of physical exertion ... as it is I believe we left at exactly the right time!!
We did end up ordering some nibblies at Southpaw itself, including some yummy sausage rolls, some vege tart thingeys, blinis with smoked salmon!! and chips wrapped in newspaper. Our new friend R had a vego rice dish with apricots and yoghurt and shizz like that ... couldn't really tell in the light but I gather it was yummy.
And we are skating round the elephant in the room dear reader(s) ... but we musn't let details get in the way of a good time!!
Ok ... knowing that we would be out drinking later on Saturday night, we decided to have a quick snack at the Antipasti over at Yazza's.
Coffee ain't that great here which is annoying, but the arrancini ball and ham and cheese in turkish bread that we shared were exactly what the doctor ordered. I like doing the grocery shopping here because this deli is great, there's the meat shack a couple of doors away where youc an score a hefty aged beef fillet for about $40 total .. and the eye candy ... both the 2 legged kind and the 4 legged furry variety. Its not exactly our local but quite often on our way ...
We chanced upon the Williamstown Festival Art Prize Exhibition being held at The Substation in Newport coinciding with a monthly arts and crafts market ... and it was the perfect way to spend a couple of relaxing hours before heading out to meet P and R for drinkies at South Paw.
Substation - 1 Market Street Newport
These old buildings of industry are always the prefect foil for an art exhibition, something about all that brick, concrete and large windows, elements in themselves that are of artistic note ... I was tempted to explore the surrounds rather than the art works themselves ... and I'm sure M was inwardly hyperventilating at all the stairways leading off and away from the beaten path ...
The very first piece we encountered as we walked in was Amaia Iturri's Convinced Pacifist. Blindfolded bearded man in animated comicbook brushstrokes on linen ... the combination of muted pinks, blues and purples aestheticly pleasing .. my mind registered terrorist ... why? because of the artist's name? because of the beard and the blindfold? Because of the word pacifist? I knew I was in for an interesting time.
Here are some of our favourites:
Suzie Bourne's photo called Alfresco Dining. M was so taken by this that he is comtemplating buying one of the 8 prints available. I'm not actively encouraging this as its really time to tighten the belts at the moment. But the whimsy of it with the Melbourne skyline in the hazy background is very appealing ... and it would look so good in the house. (sorry no pic!)
We also loved Patrick Delbosc's whimsical blue dog ... we would love this in the garden ... peaking out of the ferns under the magnolia tree!
Julie Collins & Derek John's scupltural "Shared Journey" offered strong colour and texture .... although P was puzzled at first as to what he was looking at on the iphone.
There was whimsy amongst the wares ...
Amanda Hills Carp ... plastic bag fish arranged as sculptural installation ($90 each but!!!)
Liz Walker's Junk Mail - envelopes fashioned out of discarded corrugated iron:
Apart from the Bourne photo, M was also taken by Louise Skacej's Brain Patterned Heart:
2 vietnamese artists certainly caught our eyes:
Trinh Vu's light fixture called Sacred Season -
And an amazing video installation of morphing japanese tattooes by Phi Van Nguyen.
Kirsten Perry's ink sketch called stroke really made me wish I could draw ... and also that i had the money to collect ... this would have certainly been a purchase!
Ditto for Veronica Kent's print called The Young Spaniard - I have exactly the spot for this ...
And I took a photo of this light block because its called "Like Spinning Plates" - by the Contextual Villains:
I can keep boring you with more examples and unfortunately I can't encourage you to go as the prizes have been awarded and the exhibit is now closed. But you can still look out for the monthly art markets for a chance to view the space.
Oh and surely I wouldn't have dropped a radiohead reference without belabouring the point ... so enjoy:
Ok ... its been quite a weekend!! So much to catch up on that I'm tempted to do it all in point form ... but lets just press on.
We'll start with the discoverty of a new casual eaterie ... which is always good fun!! I've been curious about Yim Yam for such a long time ... mainly because its billed as serving both Thai as well as Laotian cuisine. I've always been curious about Laotian food, not the watered down version that caters to the western palate (and lets face it ... it makes good commercial sense!), but what the true Laotians eat when they crave some home comforts ... the kind Lu et al ate for lunch at Red Robin ... the food the rest of the Europeans turned their noses up at .. that curious scent of the top notes of chilli mixed with the dubious whiff of fermentation which for these south east asian olfactory cells it simply spells Hea-Ven!!
Admittedly Yim Yam for my tastes could have just been that little bit more Lao, as the menu was overrun by your usual thai staples. However! Prices are relatively cheap and the servings huge. More importantly, concensions are not made for the non-asian palatte ... and if a dish is denoted by three red chillies representing heat, then you're getting exactly what it says on the tin ... exhibit A ... my starter ...
Tom Saap (beef soup) - tender beef pieces in a broth flavoured with tamarind and lemongrass
The soup had a fair bit of bamboo shoot in it ... which usually is a turn off for me ... but it did actually add to the flavour in a good way. And of course the mushrooms as well. It did singe a few nose hairs and probably scraped an entire layer off the insides of my mouth and throat .. but it was so so good!
M had the old Tom Yum with just mushroom which was a little more than pedestrian and equally fiery ... he washed it down with some Lao beer which tasted pretty nice ...
As you can see the crockery comes from the golden nostalgia collection at your local Salvos ... but it was kinda endearing that they paired it all up so fearlessly ...
The menu itself gave us a chuckle with its 60s movie poster which was also replicated on the wall in a massive piece of canvas ... and just to follow on the theme ... they projected the Thai movie Monruk Transistor (not exactly one for the kiddies!!) on the wall ...
Moving onto the mains, we went for dishes that were unfamiliar on paper, although the flavours were not entirely new.
(i) Ancient Ayudhaya Fish - mild fish pieces served with tangy lemon and peanut sauce
Despite the heavy drizzle of sweet chilli sauce and nothing resembling peanut sauce of any description, this was actually pretty tasty, "I could have had an extra serve" tasty.
We teamed this with Chicken Ferung - ginger, bacon and chicken stirfried with Mekong Whisky:
This was a little on the sweetish side, and only a slight hint of the breath of the whisky rounding up the flavours ... but it worked well with the sticky rice we ordered (tad on the tough side) which came wrapped in plastic in a little woven basket:
For greens, we ordered the Vientianne Salad - vermicelli with shredded green papaya, tomoato, herbs and lemon flavoured dressing:
This for me was a total success, just the right amount of tanginess ... although I would have liked a bit more green papaya. We asked for a traditional chilli sauce ... and was given a mild prawny paste a bit like the burmese belachong ... nice but they could have turned up the heat a little.
After such a fucked up week, it was the best way for us to wind down. It was giggles all the way home in the car ... and surely that has got to be the best testament for a restaurant, its ambience and its food!
You can read Matt Preston's review of the Yarraville branch here.
Ok ... fuck! C (the bro) and G (his partner ... oh and yes there's 2 in the family!) are coming and have asked to stay at our house!!! OMG ... I said of course but they will be slumming it for the weekend!!
And why am I carrying on?? Well this is what the bro is used to ...
Ok ... this is how I tweet the twit!!!
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Tina?? (sorry obscure reference from my teenage years - well I had to do something to wake me up!!)
10.18 AM Apr 2nd from twitdotcom
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Are you seriously reading this???
10.16 AM Apr 2nd from twitdotcom
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Don't want to be here!!!
10.15 AM Apr 2nd from twitdotcom
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YAWN!!!
10.14 AM Apr 2nd from twitdotcom
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The 566 inbox items are ALL about work, so I've taken the better option of surfing the "interweb"
10.09 AM Apr 2nd from twitdotcom
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At work staring at 566 items in my inbox - 52 Unread
10.07 AM Apr 2nd from twitdotcom
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