DRINK > Bar Soul B, Tokyo

Bar Soul B is a bar we have walked past more than a dozen times, each time thinking we must go down and check that place out, never doing so. But last night we decided it was time, a rainy night in Shibuya and we wandered down in the damp from a delightful…

ByCrispyMarch 29, 20240Comments

CAFE > TOKYO

CAFE > Bread, Espresso &, Shibuya

If you arrive in Tokyo early in the morning and go looking for coffee you are going to be a little surprised. This is a city where retail opens at 11am and many of the food and drink venues similarly don’t open. Sure you can find a Starbucks, Gloria Jean or similar…

ByCrispyMarch 29, 20240Comments

EAT > MELBOURNE

EAT > Bistro Gitan, South Yarra

It had been more than a year since our last visit to Bistro Gitan, a restaurant that was our local for so long, was suddenly not so local given our move across the city and living more of our lives in the country. Bistro Gitan is one of a group of restaurants run by the…

ByCrispyMarch 25, 20240Comments

EAT > MELBOURNE

EAT > Ten Minutes by Tractor, Red Hill

Ten Minutes by Tractor is 90 kilometres from Melbourne CBD, a ninety minute drive that highlights everything that is brilliant about the Mornington Peninsula. The local council zoning rules have meant that land can not be subdivided (unless it is larger than 90 acres in size), which has meant most of the peninsula is…

ByCrispyMarch 22, 20240Comments

DRINK > WINE > Pinot Noir DRINK > WINE

WINE > Domaine Joblot – Clos Du Celliers Aux Moines – Givry 1er Cru, 2019 (90/100)

Givry is located in the centre of the Côte Chalonnnaise, just south of Mercurey, the terroir there is largely composed of a rocky limestone, some clay and sandstone. Clos du Celliers is a Premier Cru sub region of Givry and was a vineyard originally established Cistercian Monks the year 1130 who it as…

ByCrispyMarch 8, 20240Comments

EAT > MELBOURNE

EAT > IDES, Melbourne

It is not that long ago when Smith Street in Collingwood was considered more a place to see a grunge band than a place for fine dining and slick cocktail bars but Collingwood has gentrified a lot in the last 10 years and now there are lots of outstanding places to eat and drink. …

ByCrispyMarch 3, 20240Comments

STAY > ROME

STAY > G-Rough, Rome

Just off the Piazza Navona at the end of a quiet little square and across the road from the famous Roman 'talking statue' Pasquino, you will find the design hotel G-Rough a bespoke ten room hotel. Set in a 17th century building the rooms offset the rough patina on the walls with slightly weathered…

ByEd ItorFebruary 26, 20240Comments

STAY > ROME

STAY > Soho House Rome

The Soho House brand has gone global and the once slightly secretive hipster private club now has venues around the world and some of them are excellent hotel choices for those looking for comfort, style and familiarity. Soho House Rome is a dedicated building 10 floors with a gym, rooftop pool, the Soho House signatory…

ByEd ItorFebruary 19, 20240Comments

DRINK > SYDNEY

DRINK > Busby’s Bar, Paddington (Sydney)

Busby's feels a bit more like a bar you might find in Tokyo or Kyoto rather than Paddington and that is due to the resurgent popularity old vinyl and enjoying those good tunes in a funky dark space. But Busby's is in Paddington, Sydney not Japan so it has a focus on wine…

ByEd ItorFebruary 16, 20240Comments

DRINK > TOKYO

DRINK > Gen Yamamoto, Tokyo

You have eaten an omakase (degustation course) before but have you experienced an omakase cocktail bar? Probably not. With only 8 seats this bar has a slightly reverential experience as cocktails are elevated beyond mere libation to fine palate experiences. You have to make a reservation (at least a week in advance) as…

ByEd ItorFebruary 15, 20240Comments

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