Kinfolk: A Cafe with a Conscience

Everybody gets it - that warm fuzzy feeling inside when you have the very first sip of your latte in the morning. As you wrap your hands around your warm, comforting glass you can't help but get the sense that everything is right with the world. That everything is how it should be. At Melbourne CBD cafe Kinfolk, they're taking this feeling to a whole new level by donating 100 percent of its profits to four development projects, both in Australia and around the world. So as you take your first swig of daily caffeine you can be happy in the knowledge that you're giving back to a cause in need. 

Kinfolk was the first of its kind when it opened its doors in 2010, and has since paved the way for social enterprise in Melbourne. But don't be fooled into thinking that Kinfolk is anything less than a great city cafe. The volunteers run the joint like clockwork, serving a long black here and clarifying the blackboard-based menu there. Kinfolk has recently undergone a major renovation (made possible through Crowd Funding), allowing for more seating space and a commercial kitchen where the chefs churn out a new menu daily that features fresh, healthy and seasonal food. Every lunch menu will feature a soup, meat dish, fish dish, vegan-friendly dish, as well as a selection of side salads, baguettes and toasties. So whatever you're looking for, whether it be a take-away sanga as you rush between meetings or a leisurely sit-down lunch, there's something for everyone.

We were spoilt for choice when we arrived at the always bustling cafe, with a menu filled with so many deliciously appealing choices (why do cafes keep doing this to me...it makes my life so hard!). After much consideration I selected the pan fried ocean trout fillet with pea pureè and wild rice and broccolini salad. I gotta say, If I closed my eyes on the hippy-esqu, recycled interior of Kinfolk, I could have been eating in a good quality Melbourne restaurant. My trout was cooked to perfection, the purée added the perfect sweet note and the salad was texturally wonderful. To accompany this dish we ordered two side salads; the chickpea, roast pumpkin, rasin and pepita, and the Asian-inspired coleslaw with soy and sesame dressing. Both were fresh, delicious and made interesting with the addition of seeds and dried fruit. My Kinfolk companion selected the meat option, which was pork belly and pork terrine with morgrabieh and apple. There was a thick hunk of belly with impressively crispy crackling and smooth silky terrine, which got an added zing of crispness from the sweet apple.

Safe to say that Kinfolk generates a wonderful sense of good-will and hospitality. It is a warm, open and friendly space filled with people who just generally want to be there. Though they do all they can to support their development projects, they also aim to please you, the customer, by serving up delicious food in a healthy and very delicious way. Believe me when I say that giving back to the community never tasted so good!

Dukes Coffee Roasters on Flinders Lane

Sometimes...wait let me start again. All the time, I want a good coffee. So when I find a place in the city that can churn out a consistently great shot each and every time, it's a place I'm sure to return to.  Located down bustling Flinders Lane beneath a sign displaying a simple coffee cup, lies Dukes Coffee Roasters - a place where I have come to expect consistently great coffee.

The magic all began at the original cafe in Windsor before Dukes expanded to it's CBD sister store, where it has been fuelling the corporate crowds for over a year now. Like clock work each morning an ominously large queue of suits form, all itching for their morning fix of caffeine, before a merry barista sends them on their way with a short black under their belt and a take-away flat white in hand. Coffee is the main focus here (there's no menu, but food comes in the form of a great selection of cakes), with a sweet, fruity and creamy house blend taking center-stage and keeping the punters happy. You can also hit up filter coffees for only four dollars a pop, which is the cheapest Iv'e found in Melbourne thus far. Seating space is limited, but don't be fooled, the turnover here is quick so if you're patient you're bound to nab a table before you can say 'one strong flat white please'. And really, why wouldn't you want to sit back and soak up the atmosphere in a space like this? The fit out, created by Chris Connell, is light and spacious, featuring recycled tiles and reclaimed timber, which makes you feel like you're chilling out in a Nordic ski lodge.

 

So next time you're in the city and you want a darn good coffee, head to Dukes, where you can sit back and watch the hustle and bustle of the city pass you by as you sip on some sweet caffeinated deliciousness.

Classic and Comfortable

Some days nothing beats a simple outfit. Sometimes you don't want to have high heels pinching your toes, jeans that make your bladder want to explode or a body-con dress that rides up to your arm pits every 12 steps. Nope, some days you just want something easy and fuss free - and my outfit today was just that. I went with the monochrome look (which last year became more ubiquitous Than Miley Cirus meemes) in a classic black and white patterned skirt and black holter-neck top, which always gives me a flashback to the 90's...Spice Girls, anyone? I added a modern twist to this classic outfit by wearing one of my favorite turquoise statement necklaces, which stands out perfectly against a plain black background. Simple, comfortable and stylish! So much better than an arm pit-hugging mini dress.

What I Wore:

Skirt: Retro Star

Top: Cotton On

Necklace: Market

Ankle Boots: Django and Juliette 

Come Out and Playsuit

You may have noticed the new trend that has surreptitiously snuck its way into our stores and our wardrobes over the past six months. It seems that the forever classic Little Black Dress (or LBD to some) has been given a shake up and been transformed into, gasp, the Little Black Playsuit! In fact, they're not just appearing in black, but are popping up in all colours, prints and fabrics. It seems like any time I pull a dress off a clothing rack these days it turns out to be sneakily attached to a hidden pair of shorts. Originally, I was horrified that my forever and only best friend the LBD had been so easily replaced, but then I began to appreciate the playsuit in all of its practical and playful glory - after all, the LBD will never die, but a little bit of fashionable updating from season to season never hurt anyone, right?

So, when I recently pulled what I thought was a beautiful little black Cameo dress of the shelf (psych, it was a playsuit!), I decided that instead of giving a heavy sigh and returning it, I'd bite the bullet and try it on. Much to my delight, I loved it! I was amazed that a playsuit could look so formal and have discovered that it works perfectly for any evening occasion. Chunky jewellery and dark eye make-up intensify the look, but it works just as well with nice summer sandals, bright nail polish and minimalist jewellery. For me, the LBD will never die, but I can definitely embrace the LBP this summer.

 

What I wore:

Playsuit: Cameo

Necklace: Zara

Shoes: Target

The Art of the Hair Donut: A Tutorial

It's no secret that when it comes to achieving creative and exciting hairstyles, I'm about as skilled as a monkey missing both opposable thumbs. About the most I can manage (when I'm still half asleep in the morning and staring into my bathroom mirror like a zombie) is to scrunch my hair up into a very unimpressive ponytail. So when an extremely savvy student from Melbourne make up and beauty school Elly Lukas offered to teach me the ways of the hair donut (not to be confused with an actual donut...don't get those mixed up or you could be in a very sticky situation) I was more than grateful.

I'd had a go at the hair donut before, which is supposed to make putting your hair in a perfect high bun a sintch, and I gotta say, I had a few problems. Actually, thats an understatement - I was on definite struggle street. But after my one on one session with my girl with the beauty know-how, I feel like I can now produce a successful bun every day if the week! For those who still have difficulty getting this one right, I've included instructions and photos of my hair donut tutorial, so you can be bounding around with a perfect bun in no time! Turns out you can eat your donut and wear it in your hair too!

What you'll need:

A hair donut (duh)

Hair ties

Bobby pins

Comb

Step One: Tie hair in a high ponytail, or wherever you would like the bun to sit. Make sure it's nice and secure.

Step Two: Put your pony tail through the middle of the donut

Step Three: This is where it can get tricky people! Find the middle of your pony tail and spread your hair over and around the donut so that it's hidden. Secure this by placing a hair tie over the donut. After this step you can gentle pull at the center of the donut to 'fluff' the bun and give it texture...no one likes a totally uptight ballerina bun!

Step Four: Twist your remaining loose hair (or plait or braid if desired) and wrap this around the base of the bun. Secure this with as many bobby pins as needed. The idea here is to hide the hair tie.

Step Five: Gently pull out any whispy bits at the front and back to give a messier bun, or add bobby pins and smooth for a more structured look.

And hey presto! My hair bun!

And some final tips for you:

 If your hair doesn't quite cover the donut, you can always tease your pony tail to make hair a bit thicker. It's also important to buy a donut, hair ties and bobby pins that match your hair colour, this will create a much more pulled together effect.

And now that I have imparted my newly acquired wisdom on you, go forth and donut to your hearts content! You also have my permission to eat many, many doughnuts...

Andrew McConnell's Field of Gold

Becoming a noted chef in Melbourne can be a tuff gig, there's incredibly fierce competition and if you don't bring your A-game you'll be putting up a closed sign on your door before you can say 'fussy Melburnian's'.  But there's one guy, by the name of Andrew McConnell, who has seemingly relished the challenge and has propelled himself to the forefront of Melbourne's dining scene in a matter of years. McConnell has not only opened some of Melbourne's most popular restaurants, including Cumulus Inc, Cumulus Up and Cutler & Co, but has also done much to define food trends and cuisine in this very culinary conscience city. Luckily for me, I had the opportunity to dine at his St Kilda venue Golden Fields a few nights ago and was able to see what all the hype about McConnell was all about.

Located on the so-hip-it-hurts Fitzroy Street in St Kilda, Golden Fields gives off a wonderfully laid-back modern vibe without feeling like it's trying too hard. The space, created by Melbourne architects Project of Imagination, is clever and considered with an open kitchen and long marble bar that gives the whole space a, airy and honest vibe without a hint of pretension. The Asian-inspired menu offers a broad selection of sharing dishes that draws on McConnell's years spent working in Shanghai and Hong Kong, where he was exposed to traditional street food as well as modern interpretations. The extremely helpful wait staff explained the well thought out menu, which is divided into 'Raw', 'Starters', 'Salads and Veggies', 'Meat and Fish' and 'Dessert', which makes ordering less of a minefield. It means you can avoid choosing the braised lamb shoulder that is quite frankly, huge, for an entrée...because we all know that's not going to be pretty for anyone. The only problem that I encountered with the menu was that, most unfortunately, I wanted to eat everything on it...I know, first world problems. But how could I not be tempted with dishes like tuna, white miso and eggplant, fried chicken with sticky soy and ginger or the pan roasted John Dory with mussels. Still I made my decisions and I was more than happy with all of them.

To start we had the wonderfully light kingfish sashimi with avocado, fresh wasabi and konbu. It was fresh with clean flavours and the wasabi was a delicious addition that was more for flavour than blow your face off spice. Thank-god. We also couldn't go past one of Golden Field's signature dishes; the mud crab roll. Fried soft shell crab sandwiched between two soft brioche buns with a healthy dose of kewpie mayo for good measure. The crab was crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside and wonderfully sweet, with the mayonnaise adding necessary punchy flavour. I can now understand why this dish sent shock-waves through Melbourne's epicurious stratosphere about a year ago (seriously, I'm pretty sure I read about 43 articles on this one little burger), because it is very good. To finish our starters we chose from the wednesday night dumpling menu (a great little additional menu) and had the fried shiitake and cabbage dumpling with sweet chilli sauce. Of course these were delicious, they're dumplings!

For the main course we braved the heat with spicy fish, sichuan chilli broth and glass noodles. It was indeed spicy, but not enough to make my taste buds go numb, I was still able to enjoy the perfectly cooked and delicately flavoured fish, the freshness of the spring onions and the smooth glass noodles slicked in broth. Over all a winner of a dish. To accompany the fish we opted for the refreshing sounding marinated eggplant, silken tofu, coriander and chilli vinegar. I like to think of eggplant like a flavour sponge and this was no exception. It soaked up the beautiful marinade, leaving it wonderfully soft and intense in flavour. The tofu was soft and decadent and was a welcomely refreshing after a few mouthfuls of our sichuan fish. For dessert we could hardly pass up another signature dish; the peanut butter parfait with soft chocolate mousse and salted caramel. Oh yes, it is as amazing as it sounds. To sum it up in one word, all I can say is deliciousness. I'm not a huge dessert person, but if there were one dessert to float my mostly savoury-dominated boat, it would be this one. The parfait was beautifully peanutty, the chocolate mousse was creamy and rich and the salted caramel wasn't overly sweet or cloying. Scattered peanuts over the top added a necessary textural crunch to keep things interesting. All up, the dish was balanced, texturally perfect and not too heavy.

Now for the bad news. At the end of March Golden Fields will be moving to Flinders Lane and turned into Supernormal, a new venture by McConnell. But before you begin to have nightmares about missing out on the peanut butter parfait (I would if I hadn't tried it either), take heart, because Supernormal will follow a very similar structure and menu to much loved Golden Fields. It promises to be just as laid back and with the Asian-inspired sharing menu still in full swing. McConnell also intends to fill the Fitzroy Street space with another restaurant, meaning that the loss of Golden Fields will actually bring the eager public a gain. So now all we have to do is wait and see what McConnell comes up with...seriously, does this guy ever sleep?

This Modern Love

In recent years the Bendigo Art Gallery has become renowned for its fashion exhibitions, including The Golden Age of Couture, The White Wedding Dress and Grace Kelly: Style Icon, bringing this rather sleepy country town under the eye of the fashion world. This year it presented Modern Love: fashion visionaries from the FIDM Museum LA, featuring some of the world's most innovative designers from the past 40 years. Drawn from the archives of the FIDM Museum at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Modern Love reflects key moments in fashion design over four decades that have influenced and changed the way we dress today. The exhibition features over 60 works from the 1980's to the present day and considers influential designers such as Chanel, Dior, Louboutin, Alexander McQueen, Valentino, YSL and Toni Maticevski. 

The exhibition closes this weekend, so on Thursday I hurriedly made the decision to take a little road trip to Bendigo to catch this once in a lifetime overview of the modern fashion world. Though smaller than previous exhibitions, the works were rich in diversity, technique and, of course, beauty, making the whole experience completely worthwhile. There was much detail provided about each designer and their rise - and in some cases fall - from the fashion world. Here are some of the exquisite pieces on display.

Evening dress by Carolina Herrera, New York, 1988

Chanel suit jacket, Washington, 1991

This suit jacket appeared on the front of the 1991 addition of American Vogue and was inspired by the sand and sea.

Evening gown by Arnold Scassi, New York, 1988

My absolute favourite dress from the exhibition. Evening dress by Alexander McQueen, Fall/Winter 2008-09.

The focal points of this dress are the two peacocks on the front and back of the dress in black and white hues, creating a half-mourning palette. The hundreds of yards of gathered silk were tea dyed; the frayed edges blur one tear into the next, allowing the black lace overlays to stand out.

'Haute drape dress' by Toni Maticevski, Spring/Summer 2013-14. 

Light and shadow constantly morph as the onlooker walks around the pure white, 3D creation. The soft-form neoprene dress is the first example of Maticevski's work acquired by the FIDM museum.

Evening dress by Valentino

Vivienne Westwood bustier and shorts, 1994

Design sketches by Chanel