Five Bar... High Five!

Everyone always gets excited about alternative and funky places these days (which is fair enough since Perth is severely lacking), and let's face it, they are cool.

Who doesn't love cushions?!

Another spot to add to that list is Five Bar on the evergrowing Mount Lawley strip. You walk in to a combination of wooden timber and polished concrete, where every theme contradicts itself yet makes so much sense! There's velvet couches, high wooden stools, a verandah type setting near the rear (complete with big cushions and a sun roof), vintage lamps, chandeliers, detailed wallpaper, walls of exposed brick... do you see my point? But it all works.

Housing a fantastic range of bottled and draught beer, including casket-brewed Hop Hog, there is no shortage of selection here. Their liqueur and wine offerings will accomodate the majority of taste-cravings as well.

Five Bar

Foodwise, Five have tid bits to pick on, small snacks and a brief menu of some delectable sounding mains. I'm always a sucker for fetta stuffed peppers and kalamata olives over drinks, but their chunky cut chips with curry mayonnaise was a different treat altogether!

Also, which possibly matters more to me than others, the service is great. By great I mean attentive, friendly and actually engaged with the customers' needs. Competing businesses please note -- Good service IS important.

Give me Five!


Five Bar
Open Monday to Saturday 11am until midnight, Sunday 11am until 10pm
560 Beaufort Street, Mount Lawley
0467 534 267
fivebar.com.au (wesbite coming soon)

How should one feel about drinking Pussy?

When I first saw these cans humbly sitting in the fridge of a local lunch bar, I thought I had surely misread it. But alas 20/20 vision doesn’t lie and this natural energy drink is indeed called Pussy.  

What… the… duck?! By ‘natural’ maybe it contains essence of cat? No, there is no justifying the name, but it definitely serves its attention grabbing purpose. Jonnie Shearer created this product in London, which has been in the making for seven years.

Pussy is a blend of white grape juice from Southern Italy, Mexican limes and lightly carbonated water. These are then mixed with Grenadilla and Lychee flavours, infused with six botanical herbs including; Milk Thistle (improves and protects liver function), Guarana (we know this one by now – for a bit of zing!), Siberian Ginseng (antioxidant properties), Sarsaparilla (helps to cleanse the blood), Schizandra (improves memory and combats depression) and Gingko Biloba (enhances memory and concentration – the brain herb). 
Sounds pretty dandy to me!

The business was launched by Holly and Sam Branson, their first enterprise independent of Virgin. Holly is a personal friend of Jonnie Shearer and has no doubt been present from the inception of this frisky beverage.

The slogan reads: “The drink's pure. It’s your mind that’s the problem.”

After discovering the business side has the Branson name on it, Pussy and its fantastic slogan is now all so fitting… and you wouldn’t expect anything less from them.

Good product thus far – check. 

Great marketing – check. 

Bransons ensuring the senseless makes sense – check.

For more information visit pussydrinks.com

Shake it, cake it or just chill out

Every town needs a place where one can hang out any night of the week without being lame or intoxicated. Ask... and Greens & Co shalt deliver!

Greens & Co

This funky bohemian spot in the heart of Leederville is a great place to meet up with friends, colleagues, fellow students or possibly special 'someones'. There is nothing worse than trying to create decent conversation in a bar when heavy bass is abusing your eardrums and you have a beer stain on your right bossom from the guy that just bumped into you.

Greens & Co work with cakes, milkshakes, ice cream, coffee and sandwiches... so it's almost like a diner from the 1960s when majority of the population lived in a PG rated world.

The custom made wallpaper consists of old concert and festival posters (very cool), the uniform is by the individual (also cool), decor consists of low tables, couches and milk crates, which sit below a ceiling full of hanging lanterns that gently sway to let you know the air is circulating (uber cool).

My last visit consisted of a whopping slice of lemon meringue with a caramel milkshake. Heaven.

Oh and they have a great contingency plan if you get stuck with bad company or if your date is nervous beyond words... they have board games and books!!


Greens & Co
Open daily, breakfast until 11pm
123 Oxford St, Leederville
(Their phone number doesn't work!)

There's little false in Falsettos

Previously known as Mends Street Hall, the Old Mill Theatre company has been running since 1959 but had the hall formally re-dedicated to them in celebration of their 60th anniversary during 2009. Located opposite the well sampled Windsor Hotel, it's one of the most historical buildings in South Perth.

The theatre is host to plays throughout the year and in the past has included Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Daisy Pulls it Off and Lady Windemere's Fan to name a few.

This week marks the closing shows of Falsettos, a musical by William Finn and Director John Milson. The Italian title translates to 'Little false' and follows a modern family through a time when social rules are changing and sexual choices are in the midst of being liberated -- fun times for parents everywhere!

Sharon Wisniewski, WA's première of Falsettos' cast member

According to critics this show will have you laughing and crying (possibly simultaneously) throughout. I don't know about you but I revel in any opportunity where my emotions get so confused they cross paths!

Have nothing on over the next few days? Falsettos is on every evening at 8pm until Saturday 18 February (this Saturday for all my simpletons out there). Tickets are $25 and $20 for concession, enjoy!


Falsettos
Until Saturday 18 February
Old Mill Theatre, corner Mends St and Mill Point Rd, South Perth.
oldmilltheatre.com.au
08 9367 8719

How the art scene is evolving in our isolated city...

This wombat is originally from Perth and has spent the last three years in Melbourne, the world's most liveable city and now number one holiday destination in Australia as of late last year. So you can imagine my scepticism on moving back and fear of walking down to a bar and thinking "Where is everyone? Did I miss the apocalyptic memo?" 

Although much remains the same here on the sunny side, vibe has evolved significantly and I thought the Spiegeltent was going to be my summer highlight!? Festivals and events of all sorts are popping up everywhere and I can't wait to peek inside Heath Ledger Theatre (bless his Guildford Grammar cotton socks), which serves as one of the many venues for the 2012 Perth International Arts Festival starting today! 

Dennis Rollins, Perth Festival performing 13 February at Festival Gardens.

It has circus acts, theatre, visual arts, opera, contemporary and classical music, family events, festival films and loads of free shows too! Perth Festival incorporates the Perth Writers' Festival, plus they're running the Great Southern Festival as well. So if you're not in Perth city, relax they're coming to various WA destinations too.

A complete plethora of events and venues scattered around town, giving Perth an extra little stamp that marks us on the map. *Fist pump!*

2012 Perth Festival

Friday 10 February to Saturday 3 March

perthfestival.com.au

The Spiegeltent is in town!

Translated from Dutch to mean 'Mirror tent', the Spiegeltent in Perth originates from 1905 and is one of the few left in the world. This little beauty is called the 'De Parel Van Vuren' or in English 'The Pearl of Fire', and will be a new cultural feature for Western Australia from here onwards!

Serving as the main venue during this year's Fringe World Festival, hundreds flock from all suburbs to attend one of the many shows put on by both local and global talent. The festival runs until Sunday 19 February and has everything from cabaret to comedy, dance to plain outrageous and more. A once empty space between Perth central station and the State Library is brought to life featuring fluro caravans, organic yoghurt, meat and veggie burgers to die for, drinks, live music, bean bags and or course milk crates covered with fake grass (why didn't I think of that!).

This festival is not to be missed. I've attended Briefs (male burlesque, feathers and thongs = Yes!) and Meow Meow in Feline Intimate (fabulous world class cabaret). Both were phenomenal nights out and you'll find most shows average $25 per ticket - talk about bang for your buck! 

Shows do sell out so recommend booking online, and I would advise to arrive an hour early to embrace your surroundings and line up to get good seats!

I'll be booking my tickets for next week very soon.

Fringe World Festival 2012
Until Sunday 19 February
fringeworld.com.au

Welcome to my burrow

Greetings and thank you for reading Curious Wombat Tales!

As it is still being shaped I can’t say for sure what these tales will be, but I can tell you what they won’t be. It will not contain stories of my life, unless it would be of exceptional entertainment value, it won’t be depressing or too serious (because life is serious enough!) and if you want to read about fashion, retail, material beauty and whether Michael Jackson did it or not… you’ve come to the wrong place.

This blog will talk about life adventure, great places to eat and drink, travel, events, music, random awesome things, dance and scuba diving with a splash of global topic thrown in here and there – but this is not a restricted space.

The purpose? Well, if you haven’t read the introduction to the right, maybe you should because it’s absolutely riveting ----->

Through sharing posts to come I hope you feel like some of the drama in your life, whether silly or serious, seems a little less heavy. Let’s not forget all of the amazing things that we have available to us, and to also make the most of every moment as lost time is never found again.

I hope reading this blog brings you joy, laughter, inspiration and most of all...

...encourages you to stay curious.

Christmas Tree Worm, The Great Astrolabe Reef, Fiji.