Brownie points

I’ve often thought that in past life I must have been Asian.

No I don’t love karaoke or hello kitty. I’m hopeless at tai chi and my skin is whiter than rice. But when it comes to Asian food: 箸を渡しなさい (pass me the chopsticks).


Rice has always been my family’s staple carb. For some families its potatoes, for some its pasta, for mine it is rice. Our weekly meal plan was a constant rotation of stir-fries and curries, always accompanied by our favourite carbohydrate.
Recently I’ve found a new healthy version of my old love: brown rice.

White rice is simply brown rice with the bran layer removed. Removing the bran and polishing the grain gives rice that shiny, pristine white appearance. It also reduces cooking time and increases shelf life. On the downside in removing that bran layer you remove a whole lot of lovely, useful nutrients.

The bran layer is packed with fibre. One cup of brown rice has approximately 3.5 grams of fibre while one cup of white rice has less than 1 gram. The main function of fibre is to keep the digestive tract functioning effectively. Basically it makes sure your pipes don’t get blocked- which is always a good thing if you ask me. It can also aid in lowering cholesterol, prevention of colon cancer and regulating blood sugar levels.

Brown rice also contains significantly higher levels of Vitamins B1, B3, B6, iron and magnesium. These are all great for keeping your energy levels up, muscles strong and maintaining a healthy heart.

As I mentioned earlier I love Asian food. Japanese is probably my favourite cuisines and I could live off sushi. So what could be better than the normal sushi? You guessed it: brown rice sushi!
Today on our lunch break the lovely Elisse and I went on a brown rice sushi mission.

Using the highest levels of technology available to us (our iphones) we tracked down three possible options. We honed in on the closest target; Sushi Gallery conveniently located in Toorak and pounced.
This delightful little store is situated just off Toorak road down a cute thoroughfare. Often I don’t rate the ambience at sushi stores and usually opt for the takeaway option. But the vibe here was cheerful and friendly. We sat outside in the sun on red and white leather cubes. This is definitely one of the more aesthetically pleasing sushi stores in Melbourne.

Unfortunately we arrived just after the lunchtime rush so our brown rice options where limited. I had the tuna and avocado roll and it was delicious- fresh and flavoursome just as sushi should be. The chef was happy to cut it up and offer me numerous extras including ginger, wasabi, sweet and sour sauce or a ‘special’ sauce free of charge.

I also had a rice paper roll and one naughty steamed dim sum. Amazing.

At $7 for the lot I was very satisfied.


Honourable brown rice sushi mention:

Yes Sushi: 169 Bay St Port Melbourne.
These guys offer an abundant array of brown rice sushi options and smaller seaweed salads. Well-priced and cheerful service.





To try soon:

Kappayana: 223 Johnston St, Abbotsford

Yes Sushi: 620 Collins St, Melbourne

Yes Sushi: 398 Smith St, Collingwood

A sordid affair

Sometimes the best things in life are right under your nose.

Collective Espresso is one such place. I’ve walked past this café countless times.

The lack of time I spend in the suburb I hail from means whenever I am in the hood I instinctively migrate to my favourite local cafe- Butterfly. Which just happens to be positioned four shops up from Collective.

Collective Espresso opened about 10 months ago. As a loyal Butterfly devotee I felt strangely protective and territorial. I feel a completely unwarranted amount of ownership over my local cafes. However I was still quietly curious of this spanking new, oddly plain cafe. Feeling vaguely like an unfaithful partner slipping into a strip club I ducked down to collective to grab breakfast. Alas their kitchen was under construction and I slinked guiltily back to my cosy, comfortable Butterfly.

Since moving out of the hood I have become a café slut. I’m not ashamed of my lifestyle. I think it’s only natural to want to experience as many cafes as possible. Encouraged by my like-minded friends my desire has grown and grown. At first it was just on the weekends now it’s at least once, sometimes twice a day. My desire is insatiable. Any time of the day, any suburb, I’m always up for it. Erika I blame you.

So when last Sunday on an early morning shift I heard Collective now had a fully functioning kitchen I jumped at the chance for a cheeky little breakfast date. Butterfly? Been there, done that.

Space is not a luxury this café has to enjoy. But to their credit the owners have done a good job with what they’ve got. Inside one long communal table stretches the length of the room. The white walls are decorated with brightly coloured paintings and delicate posies in black Hendrick's bottles adorn the table. Simple but charming.

Similarly I would describe the menu as short and sweet. I had the Bircher muesli with poached apple. It was delicious and nutty but not very generous. The avocado toast with fetta looked more satisfying. The menu didn’t blow me away but it was solid.

The coffee however blew my mind. I’m not a coffee connoisseur but I know what I like and I love this. My skinny cappuccino was like hot, velvety caffeinated heaven. They use Five Senses beans and also offer a rotating single origin. The owners are originally from New Zealand but don’t hold that against them. They’ve also clocked up plenty of experience in Melbourne’s café culture at the one and only Las Chicas. The prices were pleasantly affordable- $10.50 for breakfast is excellent value by my standards.

Butterfly I still love you but one café just cannot satisfy my needs.

Wild at Heart

I have a new girl crush: her name is Kym Ellery.

It began months ago. I was flipping through a magazine when a dress caught my eye. The brand was Ellery and the dress was from her capsule collection, The High Priestesses of Rock and Roll designed exclusively for Sportsgirl.

The more I learnt about this Perth born fashion icon the more I liked. Ellery is a young extremely successful and talented Sydney-based designer. She studied fashion illustration at London’s Central Saint Martins before she was snatched up by RUSSH magazine and dubbed marketing editor.

Since launching her own label Ellery in 2007 she has not put a foot wrong. Her edgy, glamorous and oh-so-feminine pieces have certainly caught the attention of the Australian fashion industry.

Her line for Sportsgirl is another step in the right direction.

Since I read about this exciting range every time I visited Sportsgirl (which is more often than id like to admit) I was slightly disappointed as Ellery was no where to be seen.

Then today on my quest to find new boots I strolled into Sportsgirl and there she was!

Her beautiful tough but girly collection was still in the process of being hung up by the friendly Sportsgirl staff. My eyes instantly located the dress I’d seen all those months ago. I grabbed it and made a beeline for the change rooms.

The Tiger print A line dress pictured above. I’m in love. It’s so cute, so flattering and so me.

I’ve had a thing for pretty dresses since I was a little girl. Not just simple shifts mind you but structured, sleeved, detailed dresses. Give me colour, frills, pleats, jewels, bows just give me anything that makes me feel like a princess and I’m happy.

My long suffering mother began her career as my dressmaker when I was 6 and Target no longer satisfied my tastes. She learnt how to make petty coats, double skirts, puffed sleeves and lacy collars. We spent countless hours at spotlight selecting material- always a pattern or print.
Nothing’s really changed. A cute dress is still my wardrobe staple.

This dress is no exception. The rock inspired tiger print gives this little cutey a bit more street cred. I love the shape, I love the print and I love the price.

Kym Ellery thankyou!

"Dude you have to go see this giant, newborn baby"

I’d never heard of Ron Mueck until my friend brought up his exhibition over lunch. Shocked I could be so uncultured he whipped out his phone and preceded to flick through a multitude of photos featuring this 15-foot, blood stained baby. I was intrigued.

Visiting an art exhibition is like reading a dickens book. You always say you’re going to do it. You know you should do it but often more trivial past times, like season two of the hills, take precedence. It takes a bit more effort but once you take the plunge you never regret it. On the weekend I put on my highbrow hat and dragged my boyfriend to the Ron Mueck Exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria.

I always feel a bit out of my comfort zone at this type of thing. I ‘m nervous that at any second someone’s going to come up and ask me what style I think the artist is aspiring to? And I’ll be exposed as an art fraud. Of course that didn’t happen. The gallery was full of all kinds of people from families to tourists to a group of giggly teenage girls. I quickly relaxed and found myself completely absorbed in the world of Mueck.

His work is awe-inspiring. He uses silicone and fibreglass to create sculptures so real I swear I could see the blood pumping and muscles tensing. His attention to detail is painstakingly flawless. He uses a tiny needle to apply each hair individually, drills each pore into the skin, and hand paints tiny veins and wrinkles- even adds perfectly scaled bruises and pimples.
What I found the most captivating was the expressions. From manic, to passive every sculpture captured a unique but familiar emotion. The way the skin creased, the half closed eye, the wrinkles on the forehead made everything was so real.

Take for example “The Wild Man”. He sits perched on his larger than life chair rigid, hairy and naked. With a crazed look in his eye he surveys his curious observers. He is nearly 9 feet high and his presence is very real. His legs are covered in thick black hair that stretches all the way up his thighs. His face is dominated by a smothering of coarse black hair laced with a few rogue greys. His eyes blood shot and manic convey vulnerability and fear. He so is alive studying him is both fascinating and discomforting.

The figures are intentionally disturbing. Mueck presents mankind in a raw and vulnerable state. His figures are exposed both physically and emotionally. For example “Dead dad” is an interpretation of Mueck's fathers corpse. The dead man lies completely naked on a white slab. There’s something morbidly fascinating about being so close to a corpse it’s so lifelike you feel almost perverted for being so intrigued.

Mueck is an Australian artists born right here in Melbourne. He studied art at Kew High School and worked in Australia as a puppeteer before moving to London to pursue his career in hyperealistic sculpture.

The exhibition is running until the 18th of April at the National Gallery of Victoria and it’s well worth the $15 dollar entry fee.

After all it’s not every day you see a giant 15-foot newborn baby.

Knitwear you can fall in love with

When I think of knitwear I think big warm scarves and fluffy beanies, the woollen socks my mum used to knit and the oversized jumpers I wear only around the house. The term is intrinsically linked to comfort and warmth. These aren’t necessarily negative discourses but they are limiting. The question I’d like to pose today is: Can knitwear be sexy?

Wool is an incredibly versatile material that never gets its full due. Yes it is a great insulator but it can also be a very luxurious, fine and elegant material. If you need any proof just look to Rodney Thanh’s 2010 collection of beautifully crafted fine Marino knitwear.

Thanh has spent years perfecting the art of knitwear. His innovative style takes a unique approach to traditional knitwear. He uses the same tried and true techniques our grandmothers used to knit our jumpers but what he creates is nothing like what my grandma wears. Think heavy chain embellishments, cheeky cut outs, thick plaits and plunging necklines.
There are no itchy, scratchy pieces in this collection. He uses the finest quality Australian merino wool as his core yarn. In an interview with LMFF Thanh said “I have manipulated these beautiful natural fibers to mould, drape and wrap around the female form.”

The highlight of his collection, I think, is the floor length, beaded dress pictured above. When he showcased this piece at LMFF the crowd buzzed with excitement as every woman in the room let out a collective sigh of appreciation.

However Thanh’s favourite piece is the more practical hand knitted rope sweater. “I love creating knitwear which is technically challenging and also keeps the function of what knitwear should do... keep you warm” said Thahn

It seems wool is a popular fibre this season. Vogue editor Kirstie Clements opened the LMFF Designer awards night with a toast to the Australian Wool Innovation. “Fashion starts with fabric” Clements declared “Wool is the best fibre”.

With various shades of grey and black making up 90% of Thanh’s collection it truly is a quintessentially Melbourne label. Don’t get me wrong I love a big, soft, comfy woollen jumper on a cold morning and my scarf collection is frankly out of control. But with winter fast approaching I think it might be time to invest in some beautiful, good quality knitwear from the Thanh collection. Available at http://www.thanh.com.au/

The answer is yes. Knitwear can be sexy.

sources:

http://www.lmff.com.au/designers/2010-designers/thanh

http://www.thanh.com.au/