The week in our world smells, tastes, looks, and even sounds good. Read on.

Ekka Eve at Essa

Ekka but make it Essa. Ekka Eve at Essa as part of their weekly Five Chefs 5 Plates series welcomes show day favourites with a luxurious twist. The Ekka serves sausage dagwood dogs, Essa serves lobster dagwood dogs – you get the gist of it. The menu extends to house-made bread, baby gem salad with ranch dressing (yeehaw!), fried chicken with hot sauce and potato gems with Queensland truffle. Get in the spirit here.

What’s that smell?

It’s NYC born fine fragrance company, Le Labo which has taken up residency on James St next door to FINEPRINTCO. The perfumery lab stocks unisex colognes, candles, plus hair and body care. If the name isn’t familiar, their product packaging might be. Le Labo is well-known for their personalised labels which note where the product was bottled (James St) and who it was bottled for (you).

Steak for breakfast

We take our morning sustenance seriously and it turns out we aren’t the only ones. As Hellenika prepare to celebrate their 5^th birthday, they have temporarily closed to undergo renovations and who has stepped-up to the AM plate in their absence? None other than SK Steak & Oyster (SK) – the sophisticated restaurant typically reserved for lunch and dinner. The menu looks to the USA for inspiration with big flavours in the form of burgers, bagels, and pancakes – Hellenika breakfast staples are on the menu too which extends to their eggs with eggs with eggs. Be quick as this brekky is limited edition, ending Sunday 13 August.

Jazz hands

On Monday night when cruising west down James St you will stumble across live music at Gemelli’s hip younger brother, Bar Tano. Last week’s insouciant jazz musician was stationed near the entrance playing sounds worthy of a toe-tap with leisure guests and business types coexisting over an early tipple and smooth tunes. What an arty way to start the week, or any evening for that matter. Get jazzy 7-days a week.

Tasty accessories

Maryon’s is the only boutique on James St solely dedicated to shoes – pun absolutely intended – and handbags. This week, they welcomed new arrivals from Italian designer, Rodo who has been crafting elegant accessories since 1956. We’re talking florescent pink pumps (hi Barbie!), embellished clutches, and luxurious leather slides. Maryon’s Store Manager, Lara Keating positively confirmed that the hot drop will be a sell-out – we stopped by on Tuesday afternoon and two new styles had already been snapped-up, so take note.

Good to know

Our drop in at Maryon’s coincided with afternoon tea, so we asked the team what their go-to 3pm snack is – the unanimous answer was melting moments or a bouchon from Jocelyn’s Provisions. As we write this memo, it just so happens to be tea time again… so hi ho, off we go.