Kettle Black | thekettleblack.com.au

A: 50 Albert Road, South Melbourne P: (03) 9088 072 

If Daenerys Targaryen is the mother of dragons, Kettle Black is the mother of pancakes. This cafe was first on my Melbourne 'to-do' list and it did not disappoint. I will admit Instagram lead me to this cafe, however not even the most photogenic filter can capture it's chic hybrid atmosphere of resort spa meets contemporary cafe. 

Kettle Black diners are welcomed by a heritage terrence house exterior yet the modern design interior is 'contemporary industrial chic'. Subway tiling, clean lines, circle patterns, white marble and gold trimmings is everything this architecture and room styling nerd could dream of.

I am more of a savoury gal but I knew from the recommendations that the signature hotcake was the way to go, and boy did I consider ordering seconds. The menu description reads "Hotcakes with house made ricotta, blueberries, maple syrup, double cream & seeds." They were especially delectable in both the flavours and presentation.

In terms of service we expected less wait on a mid-morning weekday and were surprised by the amount of diners. We were seated outside at the entrance and politely given a estimated wait for a table that was close to a coffee trolley. Our coffee was pretty dismal, it arrived and both our drinks were starting to cool, however waitstaff were polite and friendly. We were unimpressed with waiting, but what can you do? Despite the waiting, Kettle Black provided a beautiful sensory dining experience. I occasionally joke that I would drive ten hours to have this breakfast again. But sometimes I wonder if this is a serious statement.

Hours

Monday - Friday 7:00am - 5:00pm
Saturday & Sunday 8:00am - 4:00pm

Melbourne Travel Diaries

Surprise this blog post is l o n g overdue but here it is; my trip to Melbourne! For me, returning home from a holiday calls for a reflection on the past traveling experiences and maybe planning the next adventure. No better way than to throwback to this time last year when I had taken a short 2 hour domestic flight from Sydney down to Victoria for a tattoo booking and was accompanied by my close friend and sister. Melbourne is a beautiful city this being my third trip in two years, I was familiar with the city but we had a long list of things to return to and visit for the first time.

We spent four nights and five days at a beautiful AirBnB apartment located in the suburb of Fitzroy. I can't recommend this place enough! The friendliest host whom had great recommendations and had styled this studio apartment like it was out of a interior magazine I would read. I will try to keep this post short and simply list the favourites from this trip. Now keep in mind we aren't huge clothes shoppers and believe money is better spent on food.

/ / Favourite sights \ \

+ Gallery of Victoria

+ State Library of Victoria Le Mis exhibit

+ Rose Lane Markets

+ Dreamworks animation exhibit

+ Hoizer Lane

+ picnic with goodies from Queen Victoria Markets

/ / Favourite Eateries \ \

+ Breakfast Thieves

+ Pellegrinis Espresso Bar

+ Industry Beans

+ Vegie Bar

+ Yong Green food

+ Lord of the Fries

+ Kettle Black

+Italian on Lygon street

MMXIV

Hello, I would like to say Happy New Year and I hope everyone is having a lovely start to 2k15. Here is the review of MMXIV (2014) 

top life events 
+Melbourne trip August/Sep new tattoo, good coffee (29/08/14)
+Arctic Monkeys live (06/05/14)
+Universal blessing of finishing tafe, uni, internship in the same week & getting a fancy new job (11/14)

Concerts 
Jan 14 - Sarah Blakso 
Feb 4 - Daughter (Support act: vancouver Sleep Clinic)
May 6 - Arctic Monkeys (Support act: Pond)
May 16 - Vance Joy
June 1 - The Paper Kites
June 26 - Chet Faker
July 12 - Lorde
July 24 - City and Colour Solo
July 31 - Ben Howard
Aug 1 - Broods
Aug 21 - Velociraptor
Sep 13 - Andy Bull
Sep 15 - Angus & Julia Stone
Sep 19 - Kingswood
Sep 22 - Boy and Bear
Oct 4 - Yours & Owls Birthday festival (Bootleg Rascal, Dunerats, The Griswolds, Hockey Dad, High-tails, Lyall Moloney, Safia, Sticky Fingers)
Oct 7 - Altj
Nov 27 - San Cisco
Dec 6 - Joe Mungovan

tv shows I binged watched
+Orphan Black
+The Strain
+It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
+Broad City
+Twin Peaks
+Brooklyn 99
+Penny Dreadful
+The Following
+Workaholics
+Mindy Project
+Orange Is The New Black

I've got some big plans for MMXV (2015) travelling to Europe for six weeks, which means learning Italian, fancy job applications & of course copious flutes of vino.

   

Blue Mountains pt.2

Grand Budapest Hotel doppelgänger or what?! These pictures were taken on a detour when visiting The Blue Mountains in late July 2014. I spotted the candy pink exterior out my passenger window on the road trip and demanded a u-turn be made to explore the landmark. It is as if the fictional Wes Anderson set came alive before my very eyes.

Inside the absolutely gorgeous Hotel Grand View disclosed interior just sweet and delightful as The Grand Budapest; ruby red tapestry carpets, navy patterned chairs, burgundy stained wooden staircase, cream coloured walls the very likes features on Mendel pastries. Hotel Grand View happens to have vacancy to stay over night, operational restaurant & a function room to host your soirées. I practically weeped out of happiness when I entered the building, here a a few photos taken on our visit.

Currently // Summer

Summer has got me feeling how much I wish to be child again. Okay to eat ice blocks for dinner, okay to have an afternoon nap, okay to be scarred at the arrival of loud storms, okay to unemployed and the luxury of zero responsibilities. The photo above shows my much loved childhood porcelain figurines, a collection that has grown with my current twenty-something-year-old-adult/nana hobby.

For those new to this spectator sport where I pretend to be a blogger, and you sometimes observe my attempts; I usually upload regular 'Just A Minute' monthly posts describing personal life events, recent reads, music I'm listening too and screen time highlights (films or tv series). These posts have been a constant but not recently, and this is a representation on how little time I have had this half of the year. However I always make time for music, so I created my first season mixtape for spring '14  and here is another for summer 14/15. I pinky promise each of you that regular posts will start happening after the christmas mayhem.

summer 14/15 from paperdollchronicles on 8tracks Radio

Tracklist  1. Bon Iver Re-stacks 2. James Vincent West Coast  3. Conor O'Brien Mysteries of Love 4. #1 Dads So Soldier (feat. Ainslie Wills) 5. The Paper Kites Featherstone 6. Glass Animals Gooey 7. Airling Wasted Pilots  8. Zero 7 In The Waiting Line 9. Sarah Blasko God Fearing  10. Seabear I Sing I Swim

Special Mention Marc Ronson and Kevin Spacey - Daffodils 
Click here to listen because the internet has only provided a single shoddy phone camera footage of the band playing a live (early version) and I really really wanted to add it into the mix but due to quality restrictions yadda-yadda. I am totally loving this groovy Motown meets funk Tame Impala hybrid. 

Blue Mountains pt.1

Okay, so Christmas in July was happening way back when we took a road trip to The Blue Mountains now it is only a few weeks away! Basically, I'm am a shocking excuse for a 'blogger'. I don't think you could call this visit to Katoomba a road trip or not but we were travelling from The Illawarra on the South Coast it was about three hours in the car. But there is something about an open window and the blurring of colours on a long drive that makes me recall Kerouac and youthful bliss.

We drove through heavy rain most of the journey to far Western Sydney and the mist blanketed the region's vast tablelands and valleys it formed droplets on my outstretched arm and made the scenery more beautiful. After a couple of quick pitstops by the time we reached the windy observation platform at National Park the clouds were moving low and fast above us, almost creating a mirror of the rolling landscape. I 'grammed a picture of a polaroid my sister and I on that platform and I was so petrified my hat would fly off.

Katoomba area is so lovely with it's cobblestone roads and old buildings but after spending so long in the car we were all feeling a bit feverish and conveniently we stumbled across a lady with two fluffy dogs she recommended  Station Bar pizza  Obviously, pizza cures travel sickness and we were feeling so much better and ready to continue our day. P.S I'm convinced the manager and I are musical soulmate because the playlist he was playing was awesome. We then explored the nearby streets and did a bit of retail shopping in the charity shops and used bookstores.

Lincoln's Rock is this magical place where the sky blends into the land and I could of lived the rest of my days here. I will let the photo's articulate the beauty of this phenomenal place. After spending a good hour at Lincoln's Rock we followed the chilly winds that swept off the mountains home. Part two of this Blue Mountain series will have photos from Grand Budapest Hotel themed shoot when we gate crashed an retirees Christmas in July function.