Category Archives: Melbourne Guide

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Let’s get naked for Satan!

One of my favorite places to go out in Melbourne: Naked for Satan. It’s different, it’s cosy, it has good music, good food, good drinks and it’s unique, you know?!

The story goes like that:

Around the year 1928, Leon Satanovich fled the Russian pogroms after seeing his family perish. He then made his way to Melbourne where he found work as a cleaner / caretaker at the Moran and Cato building in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy.

To the Aussies, the name Satanovich was a mouthful and so in typical Australian fashion, Satanovich was soon affectionately nicknamed ‘Satan’. When The Great Depression hit Melbourne a year or so later, part of the building was closed and Satanovich was given the task of clearing the space. Being the enterprising grandson of a former Russian vodka maker, he found some copper boilers and water tanks and convinced the maintenance department to assist his endeavour by welding them together. Satanovich created vodka stills in the caretaker’s quarters of the Moran and Cato warehouse. It was the time of The Depression; alcohol was expensive, and Satanovich was happy to share his creation with anyone who would help. Other workers would bring grain and keep him company through the process.

During the hot summer months, the combination of Melbourne’s soaring temperatures and the heat generated by the burners under the stills was unbearable. Satanovich often worked close to naked, distilling vodka in nothing more than his underpants. This moonshining was a guarded secret and those who came to partake, used the code phrase, “Let’s get Naked for Satan”. In time, it became a popular clandestine destination for the locals of Fitzroy. On Sundays, when the pubs were closed, those in the know would come with empty bottles to be filled with “Satan’s Vodka”. “Satan’s” stills served the population of Fitzroy throughout The Depression years. (source)

Cherry-apple infused vodka

Cherry-apple infused vodka

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Pintxos between $1 to $2 each

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Wall paper

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Menu

Honesty based on tooth picks

Honesty based on tooth picks

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April 22, 2013 · 4:35 PM
June 21, 2012 · 1:26 PM

Polish Night Pack

Melbourne is a fabulous enchanted place to explore every day, isn’t it? It’s simple as that: You walk through out a suburb and bump into new exotic places in every lane. That’s Melbourne charm and you can expect a million of the most assorted themed venues.

Last night, a group of friends and I discovered this polish restaurant at Chapel St., Borsch Vodka & Tears. We loved it. That’s the kind of a place we’re going back for sure.

We stopped by around 7pm and the place was packed. But wasn’t a problem at all. The waitress got our name and numbers, and told us the waiting time should be 15 minutes. So we went to the place next door to have a glass of wine while waiting. In less than 10 minutes the waitress called saying our table was available. That is definitely what should be called customer service!!

Our reserved table

Ok, we got the table, now it’s beer time. On the drinks menu, the first ten pages are all about vodka! They actually have a Vodka Menu, I’m being serious! Check it out! The bar offers over a hundred vodkas mainly from Poland and its neighbours, that you won’t find anywhere else in Australia because the import it themselves. So authentic!! If you have a chance, I bet you won’t miss the outstanding cocktails, will you?

Vodka, Gin and Blueberry Liqueur Cocktail with kiwi on top

We had a Polish beer last night, Zurb (and their pronunciation are awesome, phonetically saying it’s something like /jurrb/. Great pick!! In fact, one of my friends is Polish, so we were in good guidance!

Oooh the food! Oh my God, that was aaaaaaaweeesome!!! I had a Kopytka, which was a nhoc bow with mushrooms. YUMM-YY!! My friends had either Bigos, which had something with lamb in the cabbage, and Hungarian lamb which was also amazing. All served with a bow of delicious bread and butter to share! There’s nothing better than warm food for this weather. Perfect and cosy!!

But if you are up to finger food only, they also have a bar food menu to check! Don’t worry!

Kopytka

I don’t know which part is the best , I would say this restaurant is a perfect combination of everything. We had an amazing time, awesome drinks, incredible food plus lovely customer service and a free live show!! Can’t forgot about them!!! It was a fabulous Polish style live show! Two ladies: one on a violin, the second one on the accordion and an incredible voice! They rock a mix of 90′s and polish style! Splendorous!!

Polish style live show

You can either stop by for breakfast and lunch between 9am to 3pm on weekdays and from 10am on weekends. And that’s also one of my favourites hobbies in Melbourne: to have an outside breakfast in different places.

I’ve been living in Melbourne for over two years and I can’t stop loving it.

Let’s keep exploring…

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November 22, 2011 · 4:56 PM

Acarajé from Brazil in Melbourne

I don’t know about you guys, but one of the things I miss the most from home is food. But why am I missing Brazilian food, since most things can be found here in Australia? Well, that’s because I don’t like cooking. I cook to survive, but I’m so more likely to order a pizza instead. God bless the food deliveries! Hahahaha

I do miss grandma’s and mum’s dishes a lot! And of course, the whole comfort about it. I’ve tried so many times to successfully follow their recipes, but they don’t work with me!! Yeah… Can I order a pizza?

But thanks God, Australia is an amazing multicultural country, where international food festivals take place every year. The Latin Food Festival is certainly my favourite! The last one happened last weekend at Johnston St, Fitzroy. And specially this year we could find a traditional dish from Bahia, Brazil, called Acarajé.

The Acarajé is a delicious dish from Bahia, Brazil, made of black-eyed pea flour, beans, with prawns, and a traditional sauce called vatapá! It’s specially cooked in Bahia, and it’s really difficult to find it elsewhere. Every Brazilian who doesn’t live in Salvador, is only able to delight this passionate dish when they travel to Salvador.

Outside Brazil it’s really difficult to get all the ingredients and it’s a lot of work to fry it up. I won’t even try, as I am that food lover who does not cook!

But, I’ll give a recipe that I found in the Flavours of Brazil blog if you are up for the challenge:
RECIPE – Acarajé1 kg. of dried black-eyed peas
2 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. salt
1 litre dendê oil (for frying)
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In a very large bowl, cover the peas with water and let soak for at least 24 hours to soften the peas and to facilitate the removal of their skins.

Drain water, re-fill the basin several times, stirring the peas to remove as many skins as possible. Rubbing handfuls of beans vigorously between the hands assists in this process.

After several changes of water, drain, and individually remove the skins from any peas that still have them. (Allow plenty of time for this.)In batches, blend the skinless peas, the onion, the garlic and the salt in a blender or food processor until you have a light batter.

Pour the batter into a large, dry bowl, and beat with a wooden spoon, lifting the mass from bottom to top until you have a airy mass that has doubled in volume.Heat the oil in a large pan, or deep-fryer.

Meanwhile, soak two very large wooden spoons in water, then use them to form fist-sized balls of batter. Drop them one by one into the hot oil to fry until they are bright orange and crispy, turning them over halfway through the frying process.

Remove from the oil, and let cool for a few minutes. Serve the acarajé with vatapá, hot pepper sauce, fried dried shrimps, and finely chopped green tomatoes.

From: http://flavorsofbrazil.blogspot.com/2010/01/recipe-acaraje.html

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November 7, 2011 · 7:43 PM

Get Ready Your Fascinators

The horse races are one of the most traditional events here in Melbourne.

It’s the time when all women get their most beautiful dresses out of the closet and wear their most fashionable elegant fascinators no matter what the weather’s like! Men, not left behind, come all in stylish suits. And it’s time to get started the bets, drinks, and fun!

In my second year living in Australia I hadn’t had the chance to be part of this major event (until last Saturday)! When you are in Australia, you’ve got to live some of those unique experiences!

To get dressed up beautifully and put make up it ain’t something I’m use to do in the morning! But there we go…

The huge crowd was all dressed up from little 3 year old cutties to elegant ladies ready to show their different colours and styles.

People set up their own picnic blankets, chairs, food and umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun (which was shinning then never was in the past five months) and wait to the horses racing!

There’s about 8 races! We bet, we support and we celebrate if we win! And meanwhile, we got a few drinks, barbecue and people watching! :D

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September 8, 2011 · 10:03 PM

Melbourne world’s best city to live in

Melbourne has been rated the most liveable city in the world last week, according to the latest survey from the Economist Intelligence Unit. Go Melbourne, congratulations!!

Apart from the unlikeable weather changes, everything else seems to work pretty well, from my point of view. One thing we can judge: public transport. Although Melbournians think that it doesn’t work properly, I have never had any problems in all the time I’ve been living here. In comparison with what I’ve experienced in Brazil, Melbourne’s public transport is fascinating, believe me. There are trams everywhere, when there aren’t, it’s easy to catch a train, they are safe and take you to wherever you want to go. I understand that it might be difficult for those who live further away in the suburbs and need to come to the city every day. But that’s the way it is in big cities, and believe me, it’s worse in cities where the population is larger than Melbourne’s.

Another thing we can count on: entertainment. Melbourne is a cultural place. The city is known for its laneways, libraries, coffee shops, art galleries, parks, theatres, attractions and amazing street performers. Melbourne has this underground style and you can easily see it by the graffiti lanes in the middle of the city, eclectics pubs in hidden laneways, and through people’s outfit. Have you realized how people don’t care about what your’re wearing? I love this place!

My first night out in Melbourne was not planned, we were just getting to know the city, walking through the streets, going from pubs to pubs, when we found a big tent with all those lights and great music coming out…“Is that a party? Did we just bump into a party in the middle of the street? Is this real life?” Yeaah! We were suddenly in. There were no walls, there was a DJ, and lights, and fog, and of course there was no booze because it was on the streets, but who care’s? A party had just sprang up in front of us!! That was a great one!

So, Melbourne topped the ranking of 140 cities around the world, ahead of Vancouver, which has not come in on top for the first time in almost a decade, slipping slightly to third place in the survey. The survey ranks the locations as having the best or the worst living conditions, with cities scored on political and social stability, crime rates, access to quality health care, cultural events, the environment, education and the standard of infrastructure. Let’s celebrate aussies! Despite the fact I’m not Australian, I’m as just proud as you guys to live in the land Down Under. Oh yeah!

Right! I know I’ve been complaining about the cold weather all the time, but as I told you on a previous post, I’m learning to appreciate it, and everything else helps a lot to enjoy to living in Melbourne. Except for missing family overseas we’ve always had a great time. Now spring is already giving us its grace and warm days have been more frequently, which gives me reasons to step outside smiling even more.

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August 22, 2011 · 2:50 PM

Driving inside out


As the saying goes, ”the first impression is the last impression”.

My first impression of Australia was that everything was inside out. Specially the traffic, which is the opposite from Brazil, it was very confusing, even though I rarely drive here. I almost got run over a couple of times when trying to cross streets, simply because I was looking in one direction and cars were coming from the opposite direction… Do you know what I mean?

So the driver sits on the right hand side of cars in Australia. I got it. But many times I saw a dog or a child on the left hand side of the car and got myself scared: “Oh my God! There’s a dog/child driving that car!” And two seconds later, realized that my mind was still thinking people drive on the left hand side.

Takes a while until you get used to it. You grow up with your mum saying you need to look at both sides of the road before crossing it, but you get used to look at one direction, and once I came here, because the traffic moves in the opposite direction, I often looked the wrong way. Very confusing!

One thing I’ve done over and over again, as a passenger, was to try to get in the car through the right hand side door, where actually that’s the drivers sit. Thank God I’m getting used to it. At least I think so. And slowly, trying to drive again, once a month. I’m learning the way from our place to the supermarket. It’s funny I know. But it’s already something, isn’t it?

Can you imagine how to drive through a roundabout in the opposite way?

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