My friend, Rashmitha and I attended a Caribbean cooking class over the weekend.. The class was conducted by Jamaican-born, Roderick Grant from Boss Man Food.  I was so excited and didn’t really know what to expect, having not experienced Caribbean cuisine before the class.  We travelled to Abbotsford (not far from the CBD), where the [...]

I’m well and truly hooked on Instagram.  I love taking photos and Instagram is a fast and fun way to share your life with friends through a series of pictures.  You simply snap a photo with your iPhone, choose a filter to transform the look and feel and send to Facebook, Twitter or Flickr.  You can [...]

If you love your home and your garden then you will want to visit Better Homes and Gardens LIVE on 24th – 26th February 2012 at the Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton.   This fabulous LIVE event brings together household names from the Better Homes and Gardens family, providing home makers, DIY enthusiasts, keen gardeners and aspiring [...]

The Australian Open tennis tournament (Oz Open) starts in Melbourne today and what a glorious day to be playing tennis (pure sunshine and 33 degrees cels).  I’m an avid fan of the tennis and really excited that one of the grand slams is played in our city.  I had the good fortune to meet Ms. [...]

Last weekend I spent a few wonderful hours at the Melbourne Paris to Provence Festival. The festival was held at the beautiful Como Historic House and Garden, in South Yarra.  The grounds were full of fabulous stalls selling gourmet French cheese, pastries, chocolat and macarons.  Designers brought in French clothing and homewares. Importers were selling [...]

I fell in love with one of my city’s favourite restaurants, Red Spice Road, a few years ago. It’s the perfect venue for a fun, relaxing meal with friends. It’s located down a little laneway (MacKillop St) off Bourke St. The ambience of the restaurant is dark, rich and enticing.  The menu is full of [...]

The longest night of the year is honoured by many cultures as a sacred tradition.  Winter Solstice observances were held by virtually every culture in the world.  Solstice rites were practiced among such diverse groups as Native South Americans, Celts, Persians, Orientals, and Africans.  Solstice was known as Sacaea to the Mesopotamians, as the Festival [...]

Last week I had the great pleasure of planning a James Bond theme night for 36 guests.  It was in fact a mystery night played out with secret agents and villains.  Guests received secret envelopes and enjoyed fabulous cocktails before an opulent Chinese banquet, and then finished off the evening with a VIP poker tournament [...]

As part of Madame Bonbon’s My Melbourne Series,  here are five fabulous Melbourne city bars.   I must admit it was a challenge limiting this selection to just five bars.  The restaurant and bar scene in Melbourne is constantly “moving and shaking”.  Take my first bar – Ponyfish Island, located underneath a pedestrian bridge over the [...]

I was fortunate to be invited to a Melbourne Food and Wine Festival lunch at Gary’s Secret Vineyard last weekend.   The event was hosted by Gary Mehigan (British chef/owner of Fenix, Masterchef host) and Poh Ling Yeow (TV host Poh’s Kitchen, Masterchef  runner-up, artist, actress).   I didn’t actually know that this particular vineyard existed [...]