Possibly the most divine, best value vegetarian dish I've had in a long time... a marinated medley of mushrooms, tofu, vermicelli and crunchy greens was my first taste of Miss Chu's newbie in Melbourne. The food savvy are voting with their feet if the queue out the door and down Exhibition Street last Friday was any indication. In fact it was so yummy I popped back for a late lunch on Monday and took a few happy snaps for you all. I first reported on this kooky concept that hails from Sydney in my pre-blog days (newsletter #12). This tuck shop is an absolute treat (go early or late to get a seat or you'll be ordering take away). 297 Exhibition Street Melbourne. And one more thing .. can anyone tell me if Tom met Jane for that beer?
Oooh Miss Chu how fabulous are u?!
Rose’s are red
Whilst I generally like to have 'been and seen' whatever I blog about I just had to share this story spotted on Elle Decor. What an absolutely striking installation (would love to know how they arrived at the display concept) ... and what a gorgeous husband Daniel Rose must be!
When Joanna Rose, a lifelong collector of American red-and-white quilts, turned 80 recently, she had no idea her husband Daniel was planning a show of her collection (I can almost hear the collective 'aww'). She also had no idea that her quilts would inspire an iPhone and iPad app offering a visual and audio tour of 650 of her quilts with commentary by the American Folk Art museum curators and Rose herself. On March 25, the largest quilt display in New York City history (also known as Rose’s birthday gift) opened at the Park Avenue Armory, with towers and spirals of unique red-and-white quilts suspended in the air. Google suggests more than 20,000 attended the exhibit over the 6 days, Oh 'Appy Days (Download the app for free ... and have a think about how you might do something really special for the person you can't live without the most whilst you're at it ... go on, it won't hurt a bit). Oh and BTW...Happy Birthday Joanna Rose.
Serving it up
Tracey Neuls dishes up rather delicious handmade shoes. If you want to feast on this fab foot ware you need to go to 25 Marylebone Lane, London.
Take a seat
Matali Crasset's Double Side Chair has a double function, with one easy movement it can be transformed into a small desk, that can hold your laptop, lunch or an object of loveliness (if that took your fancy). The chair will be launched at the Salone in Milan next week. Via Shoebox Dwelling.
Fab folding
My lovely friend VP gave me this book for my birthday. Who would have thought a sock and white shirt or two could look so good with an iron?
German engineering
Clever catalogue cover for the Design.Art.Fashion fair held in Munich before Christmas.
Snag tag line
Spotted this sizzling-sausage-to-go shop just near Embankment in London. The simplicity of the branding and tag line sold me!
Love is in the air / cash is in the till
Royal Wedding buzz wasn't quite at fever pitch whilst I was in London late March but it was certainly building and retailers were making the most of the pending nuptials. "Middleton Blue" was the fashion colour of the moment. Lots of variations of the engagement dress featured in high end designer windows along New Bond Street as well as department stores around the corner on Oxford. Amongst the sea of tacky souveniers I spotted a couple of cute ones that stood out from the landfill. A beautiful set of iced biscuits in commemorative tin (around the 40 pound mark from memory) and the very silly 'Knit your own Royal Wedding' book had just arrived in store the very day I went to Liberty. I thought this was just waaaay too much fun so I bought it for my mum (she being a Pom and all). I hope she knits me a Corgi!
