Hopetoun tea rooms is a hidden treasure located inside Block Arcade. I found this place while window shopping around the arcade. I saw many people lining up outside a shop and I thought I should check it out. The shop has a window display full of beautiful and delicious looking cakes . The presentation is superb and will make anyone looking at it drool and can't help to want to eat there. The inside is small but beautifully decorated in old style theme. The cakes and tea taste really good. I love the vanilla slice and my husband loves the lime tart. A word of warning though. The cakes here are not as sweet as some of the other cakes shop in Melbourne. If you love very sweet cakes, you might not enjoy the cakes here. I am the type who doesn't like mine too sweet so I especially enjoy the cakes at Hopetoun. They are always very crowded so don't expect much service from the waiters/waitresses. Although I do find there is one lady there (maybe the senior or the manager?) who is always very kind and attentive and looked after me and my husband very well each time we go there. Overall, a very pleasant experience to eat there surrounded by beautiful wallpaper and decors.

Like many great bars/restaurants in Melbourne, Izakaya Den is safely hidden underground. Unless someone takes you there you could get lost and not find it like a friend of mine. You have to actually go under the stairs and you'll find a door there and inside the door you'll find a very busy and crowded bar. The concept of Izakaya in Japan is actually a place to drink alcohol and chat with friends/coworkers. It's not really a restaurant where you eat big meals. They do serve food but very small serving (snack size). It's a good place to hang with a bunch of friends so you can order many different small dishes to share and the idea is to drink a lot while chatting and having fun. If you come to Izakaya Den to have a filling meal, you'll be disappointed unless you are prepared to spend lots of money for food. I always ordered mojito for drinks and I tried some of their dishes before and all were good. I especially love the tuna tataki (don't order this unless you can take raw fish). They could be very busy on weekends so be prepared to wait.

After few months of desperate search for new pair of glasses and lenses, I found eye society through womo. I took my chance to travel all the way to springvale to see if I could find any frames that will suit. I was amazed. I actually found a few that look good on me with Gloria's help. With her help and my husband's opinion, I purchased a pair and made an appointment the next day to have my eyes check. The day I had my eyes check, there was a traffic jam and we took a wrong turn so we were late by 15 minutes. I rang Gloria if it's still okay to continue the appointment since we were already close by and she said it's fine (even though it's after closing time). The optometrist Vivienne was very pleasant and patient and overall very professional. I also talked to Levon about lenses options and he was very professional and explain what is the best lenses option for my circumstances that will look good (not looking thick) and still within a reasonable budget. I have to say this is the best optometrist I have ever had the pleasure to do business with. Well worth the trip to Springvale and will definitely be back there to purchase contact lenses. I just found out today that I could get my colored contacts $60 cheaper than my previous optometrist! Very happy customer ^^

Approximate cost: $730

Etsy is a little like ebay except they sell vintage items and handmade goods made by artisans. Lots of beautiful items on offer and they always present them beautifully. Anyone with some artistic skills can sell handmade goods there not just a business so it's good for sellers. The downside to this though, is because anyone can sell things there, you may find that some sellers have no business ethics. Let's say there is a store in Melbourne. You purchased something with them and something gone wrong and it wasn't your fault. You can expect the business to resolve the issue, if not, you can file a complaint to consumer affairs. Most business will try their best though to solve it especially if it's not the customer's fault because they have a "name" to protect. But not with some etsy sellers. If there is any problem, you must rely on their personal ethics because if something gone wrong, you have nothing to rely on except paypal. I had some items I bought from a seller and never received. I contacted the seller and she told me "sorry I sent the items already but it's not trackable so can't do anything". This is after she ignored my first email. I was really upset so what do I do? I gave her negative feedback since I never received the items. Guess what she did? Gave me a negative feedback saying she warned me that she is not responsible if things gone missing (note: she never warned me before I purchased). I contacted etsy and they said there is nothing they can do. I should just open case with paypal. Alas, I did not know at the time that you need to open case with paypal within 45 days after purchase otherwise nothing could be done. Lessons learnt. If you really want to buy something on etsy, always make sure to open a case within 45 days of purchase if you are not happy with it. Because that is the ONLY way you'll be protected. Etsy WILL NOT help you at all. Beware of feedbacks as well. Most Etsy buyers give positive feedback because they want to receive positive feedback from sellers. If you give neutral or negative feeback, they will give you the same no matter if you are honest with it (eg. good is not as pictured or described). Oh and even worse. If someone has too many negative reviews, they could just open a new account and change their names. So the good thing about this website is that lots of beautiful things but buy and sell at your own risk and remember to use PAYPAL buyer protection. Never do lay away/ layby since it will not be covered by paypal. It has to be paid in one single transaction to be protected by paypal so no custom made items (deposit now and the rest later) will be protected.

One of the best leather goods retailer I found in Melbourne. Hunt Leather sells first quality leather bags, luggage, wallets, and leather accessories from Italy, Spain and France. If you love quality leather, you'll drool when you see their leather collections in store. From how they look, touch and smell, you know that they are using best quality materials and the craftmanship is superb. I own a few items from them and have gotten lots of compliments on them. They last forever too. I told some friends about this place and they all love it and have bought bags from them and all were very happy with their purchase. If you love quality leather goods then you must visit this place. They also have stores in other states and online (but not a complete collections).

It's frustrating to look for beauty therapists who can do a good job on my eyebrows. They always end up too thin and make my face wider. I could do better jobs doing it myself than most of them, until I found Carmen the eyebrow queen. She does fantastic jobs everytime. And never took more than 5 minutes. I've recommended them to a lot of my friends. It's expensive I know but you get what you paid for. Great looking eyebrows can make a HUGE difference in how you look. Trust me. I've had unkept eyebrows before and I had people done botched jobs on my eyebrows and I could tell you that it makes a huge difference on your looks. Great eyebrows could make you look younger and cost you less than a botox or plastic surgery.

Approximate cost: $50

Est is a small business located in Hawthorn and mainly sells organic extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) skincare products. They are made known by their round shaped evoo soaps (very lovely scents and will not dry your skin). Ever since I tried their soaps, I've been hooked and although they are not cheap, they are worth it. I am absolutely in love with their botanical salve (it's soooo good - not only it moisturises my hardworking hands but it soothes the itch and redness from cooking burns and washing detergent). I also love the honey and rose balm (I use it to treat lips and they smell and taste good ^^). They also sell many handcrafted items by local artists.

Cottle Coffee is a roaster/cafe/a shop selling many varieties of coffee, tea, snacks, jams, coffee tools and equipments and many other good stuff. Me and my husand LOVE Cottle coffee. Because they roast their own coffee on the same building, they always have the freshest coffee. No matter if you buy coffee beans or you simply want to have a cup of latte to take away, cottle will not disappoint. It's good. We also love this Canadian Maple biscuits/cookies by Dare. They are maple shaped and taste divine. They run out of stock all the time. For using on a plunger, we love Tolarno coffee beans.

Easily one of the best place to eat nigiri sushi (fish on top of rice) in Melbourne. Love the hot green tea as well. The other dishes are pretty good but you can find something equivalent somewhere else. I only go here for the sushi, green tea and desserts. The customer service here is very good and the atmosphere is pleasant. Not loud but not too quiet either.

Has been going to Shibui for a few years now for a haircut. Simon always do a very good job. Very tidy and the cut lasts for a long time. Also, I really like the idea of natural looks. They always cut your hair so that it will be little to no maintenance. They are not cheap but they pay lots of attention to make sure that you look good.