wide variety of selection, very good pricing and great customer service , overall an amazing…read moreexperience

Having loved Asian food since I can remember, and having recently converted to all flavours Middle…read moreEastern, this is one of the best fresh and gourmet food finds of the area yet. One of the things I love Glenroy for is the variety of small, fresh food grocers, deli's and butchers. And now I've discovered Touch of Asia Pacific. Palaté perfection!! From your typical Asian sauces, soy, oyster, sweet chilli, and so on, tradish Asian veggies like the beautiful wombok and bak choy, to every spice you can imagine possibly coming from this side of the world, including my fave, Cumin. Authentic spices for curries, pickles and chutneys favoured in Sri Lanka, dips like tzatziki and hommus, all the different sorts of rice on the planet and a deli of gourmet goods. Seriously good produce and if you follow a recipe, it's so easy to make a genuine Middle East/Asian fusion gourmet dinner right at home! Prices are on the high side, but for produce this good I'm prepared to pay. Important: Address is listed as Pascoe Vale rd, but entry is to the side, in the alley between the Salvo's and the Fish Box. Located next to the car park between these two stores.

I went in here to buy a pair of jeans. It is not fancy or trendy but it is not down market either…read more It is the kind of no fuss menswear shop where you can find what you are looking for. They have everything from business to casual clothes. The sales staff are not pushy but helpful, they are used to dealing with men like me for whom shopping for clothes is a necessity and not a hobby.

This salubrious strip of Clifton Hill would not be complete without an independent book store for…read morethe cyclists to flick through after their coffee's. Clifton Hill Books stocks a mix of local/national authors as well as an international selection. No airport filler here, just the literary top shelf. There is a range of the cheap Penguin classics, best gift idea ever. Clifton Hill Books also holds readings from local authors, previous guests include local upstart Catherine Deveny who has read from one of her books here. Prices range from $10 to $60 for the more eclectic selection, not my regular bookstore but worth a look if you're after a tricky title.

Melody Nelson is a great little nook of surprises, full of things you didn't realise you wanted…read moreuntil you saw that it existed. Full of little knick-knacks, thing-a-ma-bobs and trinkets, it's an especially good place to visit if you're gift shopping (particularly as it bills itself as a gift shop). The goods are sourced locally and from Europe, and range from leather gloves, dresses, fancy hats, scarves and cushions through to brightly coloured and chunky potato peelers, rainbow water glasses and cute little tea sets. It's the sort of shop where you go around making little noises of approval as you browse. It's not cheap, but also not all that expensive and the things are nice. It's always worthwhile to drop in if you're in the area.

Great place for baby and toddler things. Pretty good parking with A huge selection of products…read more Most of the time their is enough staff but when their isn't it's difficult to make major purchases like prams and bedding. Friendly staff and warehouse people. Some large products are collected from the back. More staff is the only small irritation.

This small yet well regarded book haven in the Ivanhoe shopping precinct is a welcome spot to…read morebrowse the latest fiction collection when you arrive for your nearby coffee meeting early. The staff at Andrews are happy to help your selection or feel free to browse through the well considered stock. Great children's collection. Quality general fiction stock. Support for local authors. I love a bookshop, and this one supports its community. So Im so happy that Ivanhoe's community support the store in return. There is also a bargain store at: 163 Upper Heidelberg Rd, Ivanhoe VIC 3079 Ph: (03) 9499 9872

A refreshing haven from the overstuffed racks of the local op shops and knock off chains, Rred does…read moreboutique beautifully. A stark, light filled white space wreathed by lipstick red on the building's outer shell; Rred instantly pushes the focus onto its' stock and it's stock alone. All this is generally supplemented by the sounds of indie-electro-pop-alternative, depending on the day and season, which is as good a reflection of the clothing on offer's style as anything else. As for the clothes, Rred produces only a few simple basic clothes designs each season, but makes them with one off or limited run textiles and fabrics, so there's only a couple of each particular garment. Annoyingly, many of the clothes are often 'one size fits all' with all the usual ambiguity as to what exactly that size is, but the stiffer fabrics are generally utilised for the looser cuts and stretchy fabric for the tighter fitting items. There's also a rack of retro/secondhand clothes that throws out some real finds. Among the things that Rred does best is shoes, with a range of boots and/or footwear each season in a wide range of colours, but often themed around a similar, modern-idea-of-an-old-time-y-cobbler's-work aesthetic. Prices generally fall between the $20 to $150 bracket. The clothes are all well cared for, and the staff helpful without being too pushy.

Look, I'm not a huge fan of shopping centres, namely because they lack the authenticity of your…read moretypical main street, and the shops inside tend to be part of larger chains, so there also seems to be somewhat of a lack of personality to many of the shops as well. They do have their uses in part, and some of them are trying to create a bit of a main street feel, but unfortunately it tends to fail more often than not. As for this one, well, I have to admit that it is pretty fancy, though like a lot of them it is easy to get pretty lost inside as well. I liked it, and they do have a number of good coffee shops as well, so I'll certainly give it marks for that.

The Ugly Duckling that once was Westfield Doncaster has recently received the ultimate makeover and…read moreflourished as a stylish swan. Luxurious lounge area's to rest after intensive shopping are glittered throughout the centre and the brightly lit malls lead to over 400 shopping outlets. This shopping mall is a mix of chain stores from high street to designer fashion stores, home wares and electronics. Home to department stores Myer and David Jones, Village Cinema, Big W , Target, Safeway and Coles and countless food outlets. If your after high end designers then Chadstone is your best bet but for designers such as Alannah Hill and Max Mara then Doncaster is a more manageable option.This centre looks bigger then it feels so if your up for a shopping marathon you may feel let down by the size. But for my shopping and entertainment needs Doncaster is fantastic! The new personal shopper suite is perfect for individuals and groups who need a little fashion help, which may be useful in the upcoming party season! While not my speed I can totally appreciate its merits. The main obstacle to shopping bliss is car parking during peak periods, especially December and weekends its every car for itself. To ad insult to injury parking will cost you if you spend more then three hours in the centre. To remedy this you can pay $10 for valet parking and have your car sheltered for you. Doncaster Westfield is my pick for shopping in the Northeastern suburbs.