Melbourne Winter week 2

This week was low-key with just some wanderings and trying out new food and drink establishments.

BF always has to ask where someone is from so when our car rental agent said he was from Sri Lanka, BF asked for a recommendation for the best Sri Lankan restaurant. He told us that Sri Lounge was the destination but emphatically said we needed reservations. We went with another couple as a date night but there was only one other party in the place! We did not need reservations, it was very cold inside, and the food was meh. The best part was the night view of the city over the docklands. Not to be deterred from finding Sri Lankan food, BF found Ceylon Wok around the corner from our apartment. It was fine for lunch but after 2 underwhelming experiences, we decided we prefer other cuisines.

Unexpected Gem

During my weekly visit to the skydeck, there were flurries, rain, sun, and god-beams. I went out into the caged area where there is no window between you and the air. It was very cold and windy but a rainbow showed up to complete my weekly experience.

Afterward, I wanted to find the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art but got a little lost and found the Buxton Contemporary Art Museum instead. This University of Melbourne museum was a gift to the University by the art collector and property developer Michael Buxton.

In Still Life, imagination and empirical observation unite in contemplation of life’s interconnectedness. Exquisite drawings and models from the University of Melbourne’s Herbarium collection represent artistic and scientific traditions in which natural organisms are depicted in isolation from their environment.
https://buxtoncontemporary.com/exhibitions/still-life/

As I left, I told the receptionist that the museum was an unexpected gem in my Melbourne explorations. She liked that and asked if she could write it down for marketing. Of course 🙂

Anzac Biscuits

Anzac biscuits have long been associated with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps established in World War I.
Wikipedia

A GF told us about her mom making Anzac Biscuits, that they could be hard or soft, they were in Woolies (grocery store = Woolworths), and they were delicious. It took a while to find them in the store but totally worth it. They were a little coco-nutty which I loved. Then I smeared peanut butter on it and OMG: heaven. Highly recommend.

Not on the original list

Cecconi’s Flinders Lane is a New York style basement restaurant, serving some of Melbourne’s finest Italian cuisine. We had lunch and a bottle wine – a perfect Tuesday afternoon.

BF loves Atlas Obscura and found Wunderkammer which was a cross between a museum, curiosity shop and store. There were some taxidermied critters that I thought a favorite author Jenny Lawson would like, but I couldn’t take pix so send to her. Weird and fascinating way to spend some time.

Fail: We went to find the Mailbox Art Space but there was no art 🙁

There are so many alleys, lane-ways, and nooks as you wander the CBD. One day we ducked through an alley in Chinatown (1 block away) and found a dive bar that piqued BF’s interest. When we went to look for it yesterday, there were no open doors to peer into so BF thought maybe he just forgot where it was. We wandered for another 15 minutes and on the first alley I thought it was located, a door swung open at 3:30pm as we passed by and alas, the bar was open. FAD Gallery Bar is now BF’s favorite place. It’s dark, the walls are covered in unusual art, the decor covers every decade, there are clusters of over-stuffed chairs/couches for animated conversations, and the music was early 70s. I had a negroni and a french martini. A lovely afternoon.