For the month of March 2010 and in support of the official Melbourne Food and Wine Festival , Beer DeLuxe, at Federation Square, will showcase Japanese culture, beers and food as part of the Shinobi Japanese Secret Beer Garden. Just in case you are wondering, Shinobi means Ninja in Japanese. Also in support of L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival and promotion of young creative talent, this secret garden is especially designed by Tokyo-born and Melbourne-based graphic designer, Nami Kano and University of Melbourne Master’s of Architecture student, Olivia Fielding.
I was thrilled to receive an invite from Beer Deluxe to the garden and had a taste of some of the Japanese offerings that is served here for a short time only. I had been to Beer Deluxe a couple of times before after work when I used to work in the CBD. They have a big repertoire of beers from around the world and I believe about 8 – 10 different beers on tap. And I was totally surprised how the outdoor area facing Flinders Street has been transformed. It is such a pity that this set up will be taken down early April as it’s a great outdoor area for beer lovers.
I was going through the photos the other day and realised that I have taken many food and coffee shots of St. Ali but never blogged since the one I did in August last year – name of post. It deserves a part 2 and even 3. I tend to visit it when I have a long morning at work or when I just feel like chilling out by myself and away from work. It isn’t exactly the quietest cafe in South Melbourne. It is always buzzing with people, the slayer hard at work, beans roasting in the far end and sipping of coffee and kling klang of cutlery.
I need to take a break from all the feasting after this hectic 2 weeks of eating and drinking. It all started a couple of weeks before Chinese New Year where we spent my weekends making pineapple tarts, cashew nut cookies and kuih bangkit. And I made heart-shaped ones because the first day of Chinese New Year falls on Valentine’s Day as well. So more love around for everyone!
A small group of us decided to celebrate both eve and first day of Chinese New Year together. And our place were opened to them. On the eve, we opted to have steamboat. As usual, I volunteered to shop and make 2 types of broth for the evening. The night before was the 30th birthday of 2 friends. Mister and I were shopping totally hungover. We were not a pretty sight. But the party must go on and so we dragged our sorry self to the markets.
What a feast! My need-to-lose-weight-diet was definitely thrown out of the window that evening. I could not help myself. The spread was fantastic and to top it all, great company. So many thanks to Nuffnang and Collins Kitchen for organising this foodbloggers event. More I say!
The executive chef, Jason Camillo took us around the open kitchen and introduce us to its 5 different stations – sushi & crustacean, deli counter, wok, grill & wood fire oven and of course, patisserie. It is all about the food. Most of the produce here is sourced locally and menus are changed once every 6 months.
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