The Melbourne Foodie Post

Sorry Sydney, but in my (not so) humble opinion Melbourne is the foodie capital of Australia… and here, captured over two extra-long weekends during June are just a few of the reasons why…

Warning: do not read on an empty stomach.

Breakfast

Hardware Societe

As their cookbook states this place is “not just eggs on toast”. They have a really inventive brekky menu, but a croissant and tea were all I was after… Plus, I love the tea cosies…

Also in Hardware Lane… White Mojo and Ten Square are worth a look for brekky.

Higher Ground

Located at the Spencer Street end of Little Bourke St, this cafe is housed in an old power station and is an influencer’s paradise and really is Melbourne on a plate.

I had dark rye and chive waffles with smoked salmon, horseradish, fennel, whipped ricotta, and a poached egg. Heather’s choice was the avocado pretzel with whipped ricotta, lime dressing, seed cracker, and poached egg.

Not so posh nosh…

Queen Victoria Markets

A foodie paradise, it was also our choice for a super cheap brekky one morning – borek and coffee. (Prahran and South Melbourne markets are also excellent to look around…)

And there’s this bookshop just outside…Shelves and shelves and shelves of books for cooks.

Dumplings…

Our go-to for a quick not too pricey lunch…but I told you about these in last month’s What’s on your plate… you’ll find that story here.

Hawker Chan

Melbourne has a really vibrant Chinatown, but sadly Sarah and my favourite Chinese BBQ in Little Bourke Street has now been taken over by Korean BBQ. There is, however, now a branch of Hawker Chan in Melbourne.

Hawker Chan began life in Singapore as a (wait for it) Hawker stall in Chinatown but when Chef Chan Hong Meng was awarded a Michelin star for his soya sauce chicken rice, things changed.

Chef Meng’s special soya sauce is still made to a secret recipe in Singapore, but you can eat it – and BBQ char siu pork – in Lonsdale Street for not a lot of money – $15 for the soya sauce chicken and $10.30 for a side serve of beautifully burnished char siu pork.

Cellar Bar

Guy Grossi’s Cellar Bar at the top end of Bourke Street is where Sarah and I head for a bowl of pasta on the first night in Melbourne.

It’s the sort of place where during the afternoon a group of five elderly Italian gents will stride in, greet the staff in Italian and take their coffee at the bar, standing up, before striding back out again.

While it’s no longer as cheap as it used to be, the menu changes all the time, the pasta is excellent and unfussy – and sitting outside on a winter’s evening with the heaters and a glass of red wine is Melbourne in a meal for us.

Ombra Salumi Bar

Next door to Cellar Bar is Ombra. This place specialises in (surprise surprise) cured meats and cicchetti – Italian small bites designed to be shared. We shared Baccala Mantecato, Tramezzini, Paprika – a posh toastie that left both Sarah and me speechless – eggplant chips with smoked aioli and nduja and potato croquettes.

Heather and I also visited and weren’t disappointed.

Miznon

Israeli street food, the blurb reads:

In 2011, The first Miznon opened in Tel Aviv, subsequently expanding to Paris, Vienna, Melbourne and NYC. We are using fresh and seasonally inspired ingredients to create a new kind of Mediterranean street food. Our vision is to take the flavor of each city and translate it into pita. 

This place is about more than pita and their whole roasted cauliflower is a must-try dish. Our group of four ordered their feed me menu and left so much food on the table.

Everything comes served in paper bags and on sheets of brown paper. Oh, and there are tomatoes on every table. Apparently it’s a trademarky type thing. Anyways, it’s a bit more fun in a buzzy-book-or-you’ll-miss-out restaurant.

Rice Paper Scissors

Or, as they’re known, Rice Papr Scrs. Whatever.

The food is Asian street food in style – designed to be shared. Although having tasted the smoked broccoli salad with pea puree, I’m not sure I’d want to share that with anyone!

Posh Nosh

Freyja

Touted as being a contemporary, ‘New Nordic’ approach to Australian dining and produce, the executive chef has a Michelin-star pedigree and has worked in some of the best restaurants in the world. We opted for the Taste of Freyja menu and, while quite expensive was an experience indeed.

Farmer’s Daughters

Where Freyja was all about Nordic sophistication Farmer’s Daughters is pure paddock to plate with their open campfire kitchen fueled by charcoal and wood, and produce from the Gippsland region in Eastern Victoria. While you can only do the tasting menu in the restaurant, more casual options are available in the deli.

Instagram Wonders

This cake is apparently the most instagrammed cake in the world. It’s a strawberry and watermelon slice and it’s available at Black Star Patisserie in Driver Lane. And no, I didn’t try it, but the guy on the counter told me they sell more than 200 slices of it a day.