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Death can be a hard topic for a TV show to deal with, so you credit is due for a show that’s found a unique way to deal with death every episode. The main characters, themselves, are dead. They’re Grim Reapers (though, without the cloak and scythe), assigned the task of removing souls from bodies prior to their deaths. The material is handled with a darkly comic touch and, though the opportunity is there, they’ve wisely steered clear of religious postulation about the afterlife. Reasonably strong performances throughout and the interesting take on the subject matter make this worth watching.
For a show that I’m surprised even made it past the first preliminary briefing meeting, I’m impressed that it’s made it to its second (and now slated for a third) season. This second season re-hashes many of the themes from the first (it’s hard not to when the entire premise is built around one characters philandering ways), but the performances remain strong, even if some episodes blur into each other. The writing for Duchovny’s ‘Hank Moody’ character is what really drives the appeal of the show, but it wouldn’t surprise me if a fair bit of his dialogue were improvised.
Much like a fancy sports car, the loud chatter and buzz means that you usually hear The Quarter before you see it. And, sticking with the sports car metaphor, it plays on the attention it gets as more and more people look over to see what the fuss is about. That fuss is over decent food and great coffee, in a café environment that defines the laneways of Melbourne. Make sure you’re comfortable with close-quarter seating arrangements, as even though the tables aren’t officially communal, you’ll know all the details of your neighbours’ lunch before you know about your own.
After describing the plot of ‘When The Rain Stops Falling’ to someone who hadn’t seen it, I was asked how the time-shifts had held up on stage. The answer, in this case, is a little iffy. As far as staging goes, it was handled well, often with overlaps, but always with a clear understanding of where was when. Unfortunately, it wasn’t always clear who was who, and three quarters of the play is spent figuring out which character was which in each timeframe. A little more attention to plot clarity, and less on directorial clichés would have helped this production.
With a fit-out like this, you could be very well be sitting in an opulent dining hall in Rajistan itself. The courteous staff aid this feeling, as does the complex aroma drifting from the tandoor oven in the kitchen. The menu is extensive and the food is great. The heartily spiced curries have more body behind them than many Indian restaurants are serving at the moment, and the garlic naan bread could be a meal on its own. With good food, reasonable prices, and BYO with cheap corkage, it’s a great place for an after work dinner in the city.
From the fitout, you could be sitting in any monochrome kitchen from the early nineties. The service, however, is very different and reminiscent of Hawkers Café, with staff laying down patter and joking around as they served. The menu is extensive and relatively easy to get your head around, but not being too familiar with Malaysian food, some of the dishes were not quite what I was expecting, and seemed dense, dry and very heavily flavoured. Great vegetarian laksa, though, with tender tofu absorbing the creamy broth around it. Overall, definitely worth a visit if Malaysian is what you’re after.
There’s certainly an audience for Undertaker Dining Room out there, but I’m not sure who it is. They’d need to be the kind of person who’s willing to be served by an emotionless robot, sit in an eclectically decorated dining room, and pay in the high-$30s for an overly complex meal that is quite good – but not as good as you’d expect for the price. It is pleasant, though, and I had a very nice night, but that had much more to do with the event and the company than the venue. So I’d recommend downstairs at Undertaker Social, instead.
World Bar has changed its look a couple of times, but still manages to provide a nice casual dining experience for a reasonable price. As the name would suggest, menu variety is the name of the game, with lamb burgers next to lentils and steaks next to souvlakis. It can get busy at times, with menus, drinks and meals being misplaced, but these issues are all handled with a smile and quick one-liner by the staff. It’s not a gourmet date night, but for fish and chips and a couple of pints of beer, you could do a lot worse.
If it hadn’t been for YourRestaurants (but more on that another time), I’d have never known about Stax, hidden at the top of the city, just behind Swanston St. I’m glad I did find out about it though. A wide variety of cheap and tasty food, and brilliant coffee make it a nice option for lunch. My creamy chicken and bacon pasta was solid lunch, even if the sauce seemed a little watered down. The service is very friendly, but they do have a bit of a problem with trying to crowd too many people into too small a space.
Some restaurants draw you in with flavours and aromas, others with talk and service. Hawker’s Café is an example of the latter. It was somewhat of a surprise to have such a friendly face taking our orders and offering suggestions without feeling like we were being up-sold. After that, it was little things: a glass of water whilst waiting for our take-away order, and descriptions of other dishes to tempt us back. The food itself was good – a heavily noodled laksa and a dry beef curry – but wouldn’t have been enough for a return visit if not for the service.
