Chin Chin: 125 Flinders Lane, Melbourne VIC www.chinchinrestaurant.com.au I imagine Chris Lucas sitting cross-legged, chin-stroking Monkey-style, pondering how he was going to import the simple naivety of South East Asian eating houses and still have it fall within the Lucas lexicon. By the hair of his chinny chin chin, Lucas realised the only real way
Sensory Lab: David Jones, 297 Lt Collins St, Melbourne, VIC (03) 9643 2222 or www.sensorylab.com.au St Ali owner and coffee evangelist, Salvatore Malatesta, wants to ‘own’ the coffee learn space, just as, he says, Apple ‘owns’ the touch space. Malatesta has got one up on Apple though; because with the opening of Sensory Lab, which
Gingerboy Upstairs: 27–29 Crossley St, Melbourne VIC (03) 9662 4200 or www.gingerboy.com.au Teage Ezard’s Gingerboy Upstairs has been refurbished to tie in with the downstairs dining area. Still keeping with Ezard’s penchant for hawker street-style eating with more structured dining options, Gingerboy Upstairs adds another dimension. “We have designed the upstairs space as a grouping
Portello Rosso: 15 Warburton Lane, Melbourne, VIC (03) 9602 2273 or contact@portellorosso.com.au Photo: Corey Sleap Nestled in a laneway in the old merchant district of Melbourne’s CBD, Murmur has been quietly bubbling away for four years with positive word-of-mouth recommendations ensuring the first-floor Cuba-inspired cocktail bar happily ticks over. While Murmur built up a following,
Wah Wah Lounge: 185 Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC (03) 9654 5793 or www.wahwahlounge.com.au Owners of Melbourne’s Wah Wah Lounge went on a trans-continental odyssey of discovery prior to fitting out the two-storey dance club, eventually returning with a Euro lighting feature inspired by a Daft Punk video clip, and installed by designer Ritchie Park. The
Rooftop Cinema: Curtin House, 252 Swanston Street, Melbourne VIC Where you watch a movie is becoming just as important as the movie you watch. If you’ve seen a movie at one of the more inspiring open air cinemas you’ll know that nothing ups the atmosphere like the great outdoors. So how about movies on top
The Red Hummingbird: 1st Floor, 246 Russell St, Melbourne VIC (03) 9654 2266 or www.theredhummingbird.com.au Thomas Kiltorp and his partners at The Red Hummingbird are gunning for an air of exclusivity: forget about a sign over the door that leads upstairs to the bar, the only pointer is a red birdcage. Exclusivity is one thing
The Deck Mercantile Place: cnr of Flinders and King Streets, Melbourne VIC (03) 9629 1350 or www.deckmercantileplace.com.au The Deck Mercantile Place is a unique rooftop offering, perched on the redeveloped Waterside Hotel. The views take in the Rialto, Yarra activity, Crown fireballs as well as a healthy dose of gritty urban architectural ‘armpits’. Thanks to