Occasionally I come across a chilli beer which allows all the enjoyment of the spice and refreshment that would normally come with a curry and half a dozen lagers in one punchy little bottle; And this week I was lucky enough to find a real winner! Sunshine Coast’s Chilli Beer is indicated as being ‘hot’ by the evil, jagged looking chilli on the front of the bottle, and the pointy, red lettering reinforces the idea that this might be a little bit vicious. And it does not disappoint at all!

Not only is this one of the more ferocious chilli beers I have had the pleasure of enduring, it is packed with flavour from a lovely smack of spice and gorgeously refreshing beer. For the connoisseur, that fiery capsaicin flavour associated with such demons as the scotch bonnets and birds eye chillies is immediately apparent, as is all the depth of character and subtle smokiness of good raw chillies or angry hot sauces. The beer itself is a pale ale brewed in Australia and infused with Queensland birds eye chillies. Each bottle comes with a big fat chilli bobbing in the neck for a little bit of extra style, and once poured into a long glass it tantalisingly floats at the top, begging to be eaten.

I have to say that enjoying at least a few mouthfuls of the delectable amber ale before chomping down on the little red bastard is a must, because afterwards a lot of the subtleties of flavour will be a little bit masked – because although the beer itself is full of heat, the chilli adds another component altogether. That being said, waiting until you’ve finished the beer will mean you aren’t able to enjoy the extra heat that the chilli will provide as you continue to drink down the beer, which will dance across the tongue the cast of the musical ‘Stomp’ but in bigger boots. So if you do wait until the end of your bottle to munch down on the vicious red bugger, I’m sure you’ll want to follow my lead and grab another one of these beers straight away!

Enjoyed at Chapel Street Cellars, Melbourne.

I love that sentiment that where you end up has a lot to do with chance, and so I sometimes like to add a random element to my travels. So when money was dwindling and I was in need of moving on I started a search for a job across all of Australia. I knew I would probably have to take work in a city where most of the web development jobs were, but in addition to the big state capitals that offer most opportunities there are a plenty of smaller cities and towns which support enough business that the occasional computer programmer is required. I had worked in Sydney before, and knew there was plenty of work there, but I was hoping for something new; something that would take me to a new place where I could experience a new flavour of Australiana, meet new people – start a new chapter of my life.

I had been looking for a couple of weeks and heard very little other than the sycophantic calls from agents who have found me the ‘perfect match’ only never to call back again. It probably didn’t help that for half that time I had been on an island with no phone signal, or at least that is what I told myself to explain the lack of interest I was receiving. But eventually I got the call I had been waiting for, and an interview had been set up. So with an array of cheat-sheets spread out in front of me, I had the telephone interview that was hopefully going to determine where I would be living for the next few months.

I heard back from the interview in a couple of days, and was offered the job working as a Web Developer on the support team of a digital agency called Sputnik. So I put aside any reservations I had about having to go back to coding Classic ASP and started planning my move to Melbourne!

A week later and I was living in The Lord’s Lodge, a hostel I had stayed in before and which was a great place to meet people. The advantage of living in a hostel is everyone is there to make friends, everyone is new to the city or even to Australia, and everyone is up for a good time!

I had a couple of days to settle in before my job, so I unpacked my stuff and hung up my clothes for the first time in a couple of months. I had my own room – apparently a ‘bungalow’, though I think ‘potting shed’ was more appropriate, for although there weren’t too many freshly sprouted seedlings and garden tools, the place had a distinct air of a cramped garden shed about it that even the fairy lights around the window couldn’t dispel. I went to meet my agent and find out a bit more about the job. Well, that is why I went to meet her but not necessarily the outcome of our conversation. It seemed the job was a bit of a mystery, but would be fun. And once that was conversation was quickly dealt with we got on to more serious matters. Music. She’s very plugged in to the local musos’ scene and her boyfriend works in a guitar shop, so off we went to meet him and an hour later, on my first day in Melbourne, I was on the bus heading back to the hostel with a shiny new guitar and amplifier. I was ready to start city life!

The job turned out to be just as fun as I had hoped, and although there was a fair amount of Classic ASP support the job was so varied, working for dozens of clients throughout the week, I got to play with lots of websites, applications, and technologies. A few oldies required a bit of attention as I tried to remember concepts like XSLT coding from eight years ago, but I was pleased to be able to play with some more recent languages and new one ones too. But aside from the work, the place had a great energy to it. An open plan office with lots of areas to relax in – a nice coffee machine in the kitchen, bean bags and cushions spread over an area known as ‘the grassy knoll’, a fridge full of beer, even a room periodically reserved for massages! And the people I now work with are a good bunch too; some real boffins! One guy is using Arduino chips to help the office tomato plant send text messages and post instructions on Twitter when it needs watering or more sunlight; another person worth knowing is the guy who orders in our weekly hoard of beer and then promptly delivers the first one to your desk at 5pm every day! I can see myself getting used to this place.

Although at times I miss the mountain air or the solitude of island life, living in a city again has its advantages. It had been a while, and although I had spent a fair amount of time in my previous year pottering in London, Melbourne has a very different feel. I don’t live or work right in the CBD, so maybe that contributes a bit to the more laid back vibe, but I think it is something typical of most of the city; less rushing, less traffic, more smiling. And typically my first few nights out were spent getting to know the people who work in a few decent bars and restaurants! I quickly found out where to get the best coffees, beers, and cocktails. Which place serves the tastiest souvlaki and which to go to for some decent pasta; and where the best conversation and music can be heard.

Melbourne is as much a bohemian city as it is a metropolitan one. Street art is huge here, with tours operating to show the visitors to the city some of the finest examples. Every street corner or alleyway proclaims some mural of interest so it hardly seems necessary to join a group! There are plenty of buskers keeping the spirit of live music and celebration of freedom alive, such as Brendan who plays home-made ‘Dag Pipes’ made from an empty goon bag and an air-bed pump! Living practically on Chapel Street also meant I was close to both the fancy and the affordable – expensive restaurants and wine bars at one end and great local pubs at the other. The shops too cover all grounds, whether I want to buy a posh new frock or wander around the ‘op-shops’ looking for second hand treasures.

After a little over a week in The Lord’s Lodge I had drank too much, slept too little, and met lots of people. It was time to find a place of my own now I felt more at home and settled in, and it was with a professional skater amongst others that I decided to stay. It seemed a logical middle ground between a hostel and a quiet place of my own; with lots of visitors, friendly laid back people, and a kitchen and bathroom only shared with three other people!

And that’s where I am now living, gradually accruing more unnecessary baubles to adorn the room with – it started with pillows, posters and plants but slowly more is being added to make my room feel more like a home; a box or two of wine, a pile of books and an ever-growing collection of unsolved Rubik’s puzzles!

I’ve found Melbourne a difficult place to photograph; it would appear I’m much more at home with photographing lizards and trees – but I’ve tried to grab a few snaps, so take a look!

Highlights:
- dozens of world class beers
- hearty main courses
- happy hours: 16:00-19:00 for drinks, 16:00-18:30 for food

Having recently moved to Melbourne my diary has been jam-packed with new bars, cafes and restaurants to try out. I wonder if I tried a different one for lunch and dinner every day whether I’d make it round them all before I struggled to fit through the doors, but that thought is not going to stop me from trying.

One of the cafes in Windsor that I have occasionally been dropping in to is the new Bohemia Cafe run by established head chef Viktor Sallay (Brighton Savoy Hotel, Hungarian kitchen at the Newmarket Hotel) and his business partner David Buchler. As with their other restaurant, Budapest restaurant and palinka bar, the aim of Bohemia is to deliver authentic Hungarian and European food and drink to the hungry and thirsty people of Melbourne. And they certainly deliver on this promise!

When he’s not needed in the kitchen, Viktor can often be seen at the tables in front of this tucked-away restaurant or hovering around the bar offering advice or conversation about the food and drink of his native Hungary. Having lived in Eastern Europe myself I can say that the best of the cuisine and beers are perfectly represented in Bohemia, whether you drop in for a delicious breakfast bagel topped with scrambled eggs and hollandaise sauce, a more substantial meal of stuffed schnitzel or goulash, or just want to try some of their expertly selected beers.

The menu evolves in complexity and variety as the day goes on but stays true to the restaurant’s European theme. The breakfasts served at the weekend combine the traditional bagel with a variety of accompaniments such as eggs, bacon, sausages, and much more if you’re feeling particularly hungry. There are simple lunchtime dishes; goulash, schnitzel, and salads or daily specials such as pastas. The evening choices, some of which are discounted during happy hour, include starters such as deep fried camembert which is crumbed with a crispy and crunchy coating served with csiki dipping sauce made from mayonnaise, beetroot, apple, onion and mushroom which complements the flavour of the cheese excellently. There are also the cevapcici skinless sausages which are well spiced and char grilled to give them an authentic flavour. The mains include a perfectly cooked half-duck with an abundance of moist meat and delicately flavoured crispy skin served with a heap of peasants’ mash and red cabbage and many signature stuffed schnitzels. The goulash is also perfectly prepared with a delicious creamy paprika sauce and Hungarian nokedli dumplings, and although the meat could have been of a higher quality I think this would have detracted from its authenticity!

To accompany these dishes is a selection from a drinks menu even longer than their food listing. This includes a good variety of wines and spirits (including several types of slivovitz, palinka, and absinthes) but it is in the choice of beers that this part of the menu really excels. On tap is Krusovice – a flavoursome Czech bitter lager, and Shofferhofer – an aromatic and fruity German wheat beer with undertones of banana. In addition to these are a large variety of bottled beers from all over Europe. Notable highlights include the multi award winning Krusovice Cerny for fans of a full flavoured dark beer, and Svijany, a classically produced Czech pilsner with no preservatives.

And if you have any room left after all that – a position I am yet to be in – I am told that the pancakes are pretty good as well!