advice on creating a nav menu bar

hello,
I am a newbie to css. i would like to create a nav menu on the left of my site:
www.bigmamas.com.au

what is the best way to go about it? flash? fireworks? css?
The links are in a solid box background, the fonts arent usual to web fonts, and i would like them to roll over and highlight.
If i use coding will i still be able to have this font?
if i use flash or fireworks i dont like it how the whole screen refreshes for a split second to get to each page.

any tips? cheers