Open House Melbourne 2022

Melbourne has so many beautiful, notable buildings and spaces. There is a mix of old and new architecture but I do wish that more of the old buildings are preserved for future generations because really, there is just nothing like them anymore. So, stop tearing down architecturally significant old buildings for ugly high rise apartments please!! And building a glass tower on top of an old building simply means a clash of style that doesn't work!

During this year's Open House Melbourne, we visited several places which we have not been before. Open House gives us the ability to go to special places not usually open to the public but because of that, it is always a stretch to go to more than 2 or 3 places in one day. So we went to the Victorian Pride Centre in St Kilda several weeks before the actual Open House. It is open to the public normally, except the roof top which boasts of beautiful views to the city. There are daily free tours carried out by the centre that brings visitors around the centre and the roof top. We stumbled on the tour but was too embarrassed to gatecrash halfway through so missed out on the tour. 

The Pride Centre is a public communion place for all LGBTIQ+ people. There is a lounge and workplace with tables on the ground floor past the reception counter which reminded me of the university days where students would be busily cramming before exams while some others casually flip through books or chatted. There is a gallery, computer lab and a bookshop also open to the public. There is a theatrette, co-working spaces in the building, which can be offered for hire. The rest of the upper levels are offices occupied by organisations with interests in the LGBTIQ+ community. 

The central piece of the building inside is a the spiral staircase and structure shaped like an egg. To me, it conveys the message that individuals need to break through the shell and emerge just as they are, beautiful to the world. Don't forget to book the guided tours of the centre to learn more about the centre, otherwise you'll only be theorising what this and that means, like me.

During the Open House weekend itself, we were fortunate to see the refurbished Capitol Theatre at RMIT University. This venue has been very popular in past years. It is a cinema designed in the deco art style by an architect firm from Chicago, husband and wife Walter and Marion Griffin. Marion Griffin was the first women architect in Illinois and it is believed that majority of the work at the Capitol was hers (because her husband was busy philandering, but that's just a rumour. They eventually divorced). 

There are so many centrepieces in the building but my favourite is the LED lighted (not in those days, they were normal light globes of different colours) in the molded ceiling which can change colours and controlled from a central point. She was really ahead of her time!

 After the tour, we had lunch at Kim Sing which had relocated from Flinders Lane to the newly refurbished Capitol Arcade, just next to the theatre. I remember going to Kim Sing's at Port Phillip arcade when I was in university, and then to their shop at Flinders Lane pre covid. I am glad to have found them again, which really was just a coincidence as I was exploring the surroundings while waiting in the queue to go into the Capitol Theatre. 

They have not broken away from their mantra of providing cheap and affordable meals to students. The chef's special dish of chicken steak on rice is $12 while some of the other dishes like stir fried chicken and vegetables on rice were $11.

After lunch, we visited Tribeca Brewery. This is actually an apartment building at Albert St, East Melbourne. Originally the home of Melbourne's most famous brew VB, it was illegally demolished to make way for apartment buildings when it should have been preserved due to its historical significance. In response, the government ordered the body corporate to create and maintain a museum dedicated to the brewery, which must be open to the public at least once a year. The apartment building must also be painted the same red brick colour as it was while a brewery, to retain a little piece albeit inferior of the brewery. 

The brewery commenced in 1850's and was still in use until 1985. That means in 1980's the residents around the area could still get intoxicated by the smell of yeast and beer in their homes! Workers in the brewery received better benefits - they receive 2 bottles of beer a day to drink on the job, and a dozen to tide them over the weekend! 

The museum spans several floors all accessed by a metal staircase that took us to each floor to see the old vats and machineries used in the process to make the golden drop. 

The next day, we visited Monash University's Alexander Theatre which was refurbished pre-covid to establish a state of the art sound gallery and performing arts theatre. It is one of the best theatres in the area so they receive many bookings from schools and organisations to hold end of year concerts and performances in the theatre. 

What amazed me during the tour was how sound can be massaged and changed to enhance a performance. We were ushered into the David Li sound gallery where we saw a piano performance. There were many sound speakers all around the room which can be controlled from the single tablet. During the performance, the tour manager switched them off (resulting in a 'dead' atmosphere, the room absorbed all sound, the music sounded unpleasant) and changed settings (from sounding like an orchestral hall with a measured echo effect, even though this room was quite intimate to a medium sized sounding room). What the performance made me realise is that we rely not only on our sight but also our ears to indicate our surroundings. 

If you have missed Open House Melbourne in July 22, don't worry because you can still attend Open House Bendigo on Oct 22-23. 

Treasure Bowl, Bayswater

We love to seek out new restaurants and give them a try. Treasure Bowl is a relatively new kid on the block. It serves Cantonese cuisine and also has the usual BBQ meat fare for sale even though they are not hanging by the window like most BBQ restaurants. It also serves yum cha which one can order via the list tick system (vs. trolleys). 

On our visit, we ordered some unique dishes which I have not eaten before or available in other restaurants. The dishes seem like home cooked fare but appeals to the taste buds.

The first dish is a soup based beef ball, prawn ball and tofu. I have forgotten what this dish is called but I have not seen this on the menu in other restaurants. We did not know that it was soup based so it was a nice surprise - can't say no to comforting hot bowl of soup when the weather is cold and rainy like it has been this autumn. 

The beef and prawn balls were home made and bouncy with a QQ texture. The beef balls reminded me of the ones at yumcha, sans the worcestershire sauce. It seems like quite an odd dish simply because I wouldn't have thought to combine beef and prawn balls and tofu in a dish. A little vegetable like lettuce would have made this a complete dish on its own.

Steamed brinjal, BBQ pork with shrimp paste. Full of umami from the shrimp paste, and soy based sauce, this dish was good to eat with a bowl of steaming hot rice. I imagine this would not be too difficult to put together but the portion was generous and the simple dish was delicious.

Treasure Bowl is a welcome addition to the dining scene in the area. The menu has interesting dishes but geared towards the mid to pricey range, the service was very attentive and fast. The yumcha service is something I would like to try for our next visit. 

The news are awash with images and tributes to Queen Elizabeth 2, who passed away aged 96 on 8 Sept 22. What an admirable lady! I can't imagine working until 96 years old. Even though her work seems like it is mostly socialising with people, I imagine it'll be quite taxing to get out of the house at that age. 

I wonder if she'd ever wanted to just stay home in bed on a particularly cold and wet day, like most days in England are, and how she motivates herself. If she'd ever been stuck in a conversation that is going nowhere and what she does then (probably walk off, 'look, there's Viscount Severn, I must go say hi'). 

She's spent 70 years on the throne so she must have done something right.

Lezzet, Elwood

Lezzet is the sister restaurant of Tulum, which was recently listed third in Delicious magazine's Top 100 Restaurants in Australia. It has a more casual, relaxed vibe, it's food is rustic and portions are generous. Taste wise, it is no lesser than Tulum - the flavours are bold and packs a punch. 

We ordered the Kuzu ($38.50) - 40 hour braised leg of lamb, smoked cheese and covered with lavash bread. The bread when pierced, released the appetizing aroma of the dish. It was also useful in gathering pieces of lamb which just melts in the mouth and the cheese for eating. I find the cheese a little salty but when eaten together with the lamb and bread, was fine. I like the presentation of the dish, which reminded me of the past popular bowl of soup covered with pastry. 

This is my favourite dish - Seafood Guvec ($36.50) which is a casserole of scallops, prawns, fish, mussels, olives in a tomato based sauce on pilaf rice. There is just something about casseroles that make it such a comfort food. I love that it is ladled over rice which makes it feel like home and so comforting to eat. This was so delicious to eat that Gaz requested that I look up recipes for Turkish Guvec to cook at home. 

 From my searches on the Internet, guvec is Turkish for casserole and it can be made from meat, vegetables and seafood. The staple ingredients seem to be tomatoes, paprika, cumin, oregano, black olives regardless of what protein (or veges) is in the dish. I hope to cook it successfully one day!